Burgertime
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rm retro genre per discussion at [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Computer and video games]] (though I'm not too sure "puzzle" describes it)
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Burgertime ( バーガータイム) is a 1982 arcade game created by Data East Corporation for its DECO Cassette System. The game was originally titled Hamburger in Japan, but was renamed Burgertime before being introduced to the United States. A maze game, Burgertime puts the player in the role of a chef ("Peter Pepper") who must drop layers of a hamburger onto trays by walking over them while avoiding other food characters who chase him around the maze.
The game was quite popular in arcades. In the United States, Data East USA licensed Burgertime for distribution by Bally Midway. The Data East and Midway versions can be distinguished by the manufacturer name on the title screen and by the marquee artwork.
Gameplay
The playfield consists of ladders and catwalks on which rest oversized hamburger layers (the bun, the meat patties, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese). The layers are arranged vertically so that they can be dropped directly onto each other.
The player's objective is to control his chef to make hamburgers by walking over the layers. When the player has walked along the entire width of a layer, the layer falls down one level. If a layer falls atop another, the lower layer will also fall down by a level. When all of the hamburger layers have fallen onto a tray below, that hamburger becomes complete. When all hamburgers are completed, the level is won. The fastest way to assemble a burger is to make the top-most layer fall with an enemy on the bun (see below).
Each level becomes more difficult, with harder maze layouts making it easier to become trapped by enemies and making it harder to get to the hamburger pieces. Some levels will require more pieces to be dropped to finish the burgers, there may be more burgers to complete, and there may be more enemies.
While assembling the burgers, the player must dodge animated "enemy" foods: Mr Hot Dog, Mr Pickle and Mr Egg. Enemies may be temporarily killed by crushing them under falling layers; they will respawn at the edge of the playfield within a few seconds. The player can also lure the enemies onto a partially-traversed layer and then finish crossing the layer, thus causing the layer to fall; the added weight of the enemy makes the layer drop by more than one level, and the dropped enemies are stunned for a few seconds.
The player has a limited supply of pepper which he can shake on nearby enemies to stun them and render them harmless for a few seconds. Extra shots of pepper can be obtained by collecting bonus foods, such as coffee, an ice cream cone or french fries, which will appear in the center of the maze each time a certain number of hamburger pieces has been dropped.
Legacy
Due to this game's success, it was ported to several home computers and consoles: DOS, Apple II, NES, Atari 2600, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, TI99/4A and Intellivision. More recently, it can be found on mobile phones.
The game appeared on a compilation of Midway games, Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Midway Collection 2 on the PlayStation.
Burgertime had a planned sequel, PizzaTime, in development when the video game market crashed. PizzaTime was never released.
Burgertime did spawn two later sequels: Peter Pepper's Ice Cream Factory and Super BurgerTime. Neither was widely released or very popular. Super BurgerTime allows two players to play at once and is fairly true to the original BurgerTime but with many added features and greatly improved graphics.
Mr. Egg makes an appearance in an episode of Matt Groening's animated series Futurama.
The 1982 television commercial for Intellivision's Burgertime is still memorable to old school gamers. In particular, the end of the commercial where the giant hot dog character (an actor in a hot dog suit) slams the drive through window door in the face of an innocent couple while screaming "We are closed now". A year later, this catchprase became a running gag with the Intellivision employees when Intellivision was going out of buisness.