Stargate (video game)
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- This article is about the 1980s Stargate video game. See Stargate SG-1: The Alliance for the game based on the Stargate SG-1 television series.
Created by Eugene Jarvis, Stargate is an arcade game released in 1981 by Williams Electronics. It is a sequel to the 1980 game Defender, and was the first of only three productions from "Vid Kidz", an independant development house formed by Jarvis and Larry DeMar.
The game is also known as "Defender Stargate" and "Defender II." The latter name was used in home video game releases, due to legal issues (according to the bonus matarial for Midway Arcade Treasures, Williams wanted to "make sure they could own the trademark" on the "Defender" name). The name "Defender II" has been used on all of its home ports, and game compilation appearances, however there were never any "Defender II" arcade units.
This sequel adds new enemy ships to the alien fleet such as firebombers, Yllabian Space Guppies (note that Yllabian is based on "Yllab", the word "Bally" spelled backwards, a friendly poke at Williams' then-competitor, Bally-Midway), Dynamos and Space Hums. The Defender ship is now equipped with an Inviso cloaking device, which renders the ship invulnerable when activated, but has a limited charge. A Stargate will transport the ship to any humanoid in trouble. There are now two special stages, the Firebomber Showdown and the Yllabian Dogfight, that occur every fifth and tenth wave.
The game is much harder than its predecessor, though world-class players such as Wes Simonds, Bill Fye, and Charles Warrell are all known to have scored over five million under strictly-controlled tournament conditions. As in the first game, if all the humans are captured the planet explodes and turns all the landers into mutants.
A Stargate machine appeared in an episode of the TV comedy series NewsRadio, in which it was referred to as "Stargate Defender". Eugene Jarvis had a role on the episode as "Delivery Guy #3"
This video game has no connection to the Stargate franchise which comprises Stargate, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.
Secret Tricks
Catching four humans without returning them to earth and then entering a stargate (nose first) will result in a level jump whereby the player immediately advances several levels. Entering the Stargate thrusters-first will prevent the warp. This will allow you to gather more humans, thereby scoring significantly more points. To enter the Stargate in reverse, fly toward the Stargate as usual, then at the last instant press the reverse button but do NOT hit the thrusters. Just let momentum carry you in.
Another trick is possible if the last alien in an attack wave is a lander which is allowed to capture a humanoid. Shoot the lander; as the humanoid falls, position your ship so that it will catch the humanoid right at ground level. If you manage this without allowing the humanoid to die, the screen will light up with a special display of sound and colors and you will receive a 2000 point bonus.
Ports
In July 2000, Midway licensed Defender II, along with other Williams Electronics games, to Shockwave for use in an online applet to demonstrate the power of the shockwave web content platform, entitled Shockwave Arcade Collection. The conversion was created by Digital Eclipse. It is currently freely available to be played within the shockwave web applet.