Tugboat was developed by Enter-Tech, Released in 1982
Each level contains exactly 28 buoys. Logs are placed at random and will be re-arranged upon losing a ship on the same level. Of the eight stages, the first four are with a nice, wide river channel. Each of these four stages increases in speed and the number of logs on it. Stages five to eight have a much narrower river and increase in speed on each stage.
Level eight is believed to be unbeatable given the complex arrangement of densely clustered logs on a narrow river. The best strategy is to pass each of the 7 stages first without losing any ships and collecting as many buoys as possible. Then, on stage 8, collect as many buoys as possible until you crash. Once you crash, the stage will re-start and rearrange the logs (giving the player a chance to re-negotiate the tight river).
Bonus scoring is cumulative.
Other Informations:
Main CPU : MOS Technology M6502 (@ 2 Mhz)
Sound Chips : General Instrument AY8910 (@ 2 Mhz)
Screen orientation : Vertical
Video resolution : 224 x 240 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.00 Hz
Palette colors : 256
Players : 1
Control : 2-way joystick
Buttons : 1
Tugboat was the first in the series of Moppet Video games that were geared towards children. The games were small in size, even smaller than most cabaret (mini) games.
Originally, the software was developed using the company’s already existing board that was used in El Grande 5-card draw poker. However it quickly became apparent that the graphics capabilities of that board were insufficient for an arcade game.
A hardware design consultant was brought in and designed the daughter board that plugged into the original El Grande’s main board and added an additional layer of video along with scrolling capabilities.
Creators:
Lead Programmer: Paul Walters
Programmer: George Hefner, Rick Harris
Graphics Designer: Barb Ultis
Graphics Hardware daughter board designed by: Cash Olsen
Tugboat