Page 44 - OSG Presents Video Game Trader Magazine #14

time. The player must keep his eye on the countdown
GET YOUR KICKS FROM QIX
timer and avoid working himself into an irreversible
The screen flickers ―Your marker controlled with joy- death spiral. The player is safe from the menacing Qix
stick. To draw stix press fast or slow. Claim areas by while not drawing, but it is pursued by and vulnerable Atari 5200 Atari XE
joining walls with stix.― Or so the first three simple to sparks and fuses that can travel on any player-
sentences of the original Qix attract mode boldly created line paths. This dynamic of always being safe
stated. It continues, ―Scores based on area. Fast and in danger at the same time is a unique element
score 250. Slow score 500.‖ Ten words on how I am and a big (ahem) DRAW to the game!
to be rated. Already a sense of urgency is mounting Qix was an immediate hit upon its release. It per-
within. However there is more – a SURPRISE... formed BIG numbers for Taito, especially in more logic
―Claim more than 75% of playfield for special bonus.‖ -minded location such as on college campuses. Qix
What could it be? I must know. All that lies between was also profitable among older players in bars,
me and the goal are the ―Opponents: Qix, Sparx, where Inebriated clientele fumbled their pocket
Fuse, Spiral Death Trap.― These odd and abstract change into this difficult quarter-eating machine at an
antagonists move in such an uncanny manner. What amazingly fast rate. The casual gamer, those not
methods do I need to apply to ―Evade Qix‖ and wearing ―beer-goggles‖ or of an eager mind were
―Dodge Sparx?‖ What do I need to do to become a often turned off by the plain nature of the game and
coveted ―Kicker‖ member? color scheme.
The fall of 1981 and an eleven year-old boy‘s mind
stumbles with many intriguing questions, including the The early eighties arcade scene, like many other
obvious. How do I pronounce this crazy game, any- arenas, had its share of societal rules. For games that Apple II Commodore 64
way [quix], [squix], [quicks], [kicks]? It is only three required a large portion of playing time, it was a trend
letters long and my fourth grade education is already for eager players to place their waiting quarters
failing me! against the glass screen of the coin-op machine to
imply that they had ―dibs‖ on the next game. Many
The true diction is not "QUIX" but ―KICKS.‖ There are game players at the time would brag by learning pat-
two stories that explain the possible origin of how the terns or strategies that would allow them to take enor-
game was named. As with much lore, the tales mous amounts of time on a machine, piling up anxious
should be taken with a grain of salt, and not argued quarters and endearing and frustrating fans. Since
amongst friends at classic gaming expos across the crowds entice more to gather, it makes a dynamic and
country. fuels the popularity. This was NOT the case with Qix.
The machine was deemed as ―simply unbeatable‖ by
The first tales goes something like this: Taito debuted masters of the trade because of the random and un-
the Qix machine at the 1981 AMOA show. As with predictable movement of the dreaded Qix. With an
such events, the press was on-hand for the event and enormous amount of possible movement combina-
after Taito unveiled the game, it was made available tions and no patterns to fool the Qix opponent, even
for play to attendees and honored guests. This was the best of players lost interest when they could not
the early eighties and Atari was on top. Much of the improve their scores and best the Qix cabinet. Commodore Amiga “Quix” for Tandy
camera eye focused on Atari founder Nolan Bushnell.
Rumor has it that Nolan took the time to sample Qix vanished from the arcades rather quickly after a
Taito‘s new game, giving the cabinet ―kicks‖ in frustra- short but modest success. Most machines were con-
tion as he quickly lost his markers to the machine. verted to better earning Taito titles. The arcade ver-
sion of Qix is a rare find and is becoming more valu-
While it is not wholly unusual for a product to be dis- able to coin-op collectors and fans alike. Many enthu-
played before a product name has been assigned, siasts have been pursuing the Japanese counterpart
and while this event is recorded to have happened, it of the game, known as ―Volfied.‖
is probably more plausible that the second account is NES DOS (EGA/VGA)
more accurate. This alternate story reports that co- After offering an enhanced variant that offered a differ-
designer and programmer, Randy Pfeiffer (half of the ent color scheme, ―Qix II Tournament,‖ also by the
rhyming husband and wife team of Randy and Sandy rhyming couple Sandy and Randy Pfeiffer, Taito
Pfeiffer) had an automobile sporting a vanity license placed ―Qix‖ in a state of dormancy for years. In 1987,
plate stating ―JUS4QIX.‖ According to his wife Sandy, Taito released ―Super Qix‖ to little fanfare. Taito also
Randy enjoyed the phonetically sounding variant so licensed ―Qix‖ for release on the Nintendo Entertain-
much that he named his game after it: Qix! ment System and Game Boy. Unfortunately, these
reissues of the Qix titles sold quite poorly. When the
While maze games and intergalactic battles ruled the Lynx Game Boy
early arcades, Qix was a breath of fresh air and a shot rise in popularity of strategy and puzzle games
of originality when it appeared on the scene in 1981. emerged with the release and continued success of
Being the first ―drawing game‖ there was nothing like Tetris, Taito chose to revive the series as ―Twin Qix‖ in
the title in the arcades, and it was very much ahead of 1995. However, Taito was too late and a slew of other
its time. manufacturers had already overcrowded the market
with competing games of ―Tetris‖ variations or other
The game was published by Taito, the same company thinking games such as ―Bust-A-Move‖, ―Columns‖,
that brought us the fondly remembered Space Invad- ―Klax‖ and a handful of others.
ers in 1979. Unlike Space Invaders and most Taito
games, Qix was created in America and not imported Qix is currently enjoying a loyal cult following In Qix Ripp-off: Cacoma Knight (SNES) Ultimate Qix for Genesis
from the Japanese market. 2004, a small publisher by the name of Mud Duck,
quietly released the latest Qix installment, Qix Neo, for
As the attract mode of Qix implies, it is a simple but the original Playstation. A year later, a classic game
very challenging strategy game. The player controls a compilation that collected twenty-nine Taito coin-ops
marker that is shaped like a small diamond that moves was released under the moniker Taito Legends. This
around the game screen similar to the popular child‘s collection, available on the Playstation 2, X-Box and
toy, the Etch a Sketch. Using two different speed PC, includes many fantastic games, including Volfied
buttons and a 4-directional joystick, the player tries to and Super Qix.
gain real estate from the unpredictable moving Qix by
enclosing parts of the play area a single block at a
44 • Video Game Trader Magazine • Issue #14 • Winter 2009/2010 • www.VideoGameTrader.com