Codex Gamicus
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Interactive Maps
navigation
Main page
Community portal
Recent changes
Random page
Admin noticeboard
Forums
Company Index
Character Index
Hardware Index
In-Game Index
Ratings Index
Video Game Index
Fandom
Gamepedia support
Report a bad ad
Help Wiki
Contact us
FANDOM
Fan Central
BETA
Games
Anime
Movies
TV
Video
Wikis
Explore Wikis
Community Central
Start a Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Sign In
Sign In
Register
Fandom's centric source of video game knowledge
42,423
pages
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Interactive Maps
navigation
Main page
Community portal
Recent changes
Random page
Admin noticeboard
Forums
Company Index
Character Index
Hardware Index
In-Game Index
Ratings Index
Video Game Index
Fandom
Gamepedia support
Report a bad ad
Help Wiki
Contact us
Editing
Lunar Lander
Back to page
Edit
VisualEditor
View history
Talk (0)
Edit Page
Lunar Lander
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{for|the spacecraft that landed humans on the Moon|Apollo Lunar Module}} '''Lunar Lander''' is the name of several [[video game]]s. In all variations of the game, the player must portion a limited amount of [[fuel]] to land on the [[moon]] without crashing. ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' described it as one of the first fun programs neophyte programmers start with and continually improve upon as they improve their skills.<ref>{{citation | date = MayโJune 1982 | last = McGrath | first = Richard | periodical = [[Computer Gaming World]] | title = The Eagle Has Landed | year = 1982 | pages = 34โ35}}</ref> ==''Lunar Lander'' (1969)== '''''Lunar Lander''''' started as a text-based computer game and went by the names '''''Rocket''''', '''''Lunar''''', '''''LEM''''', and '''''Apollo'''''.<ref>Ahl, David. ''BASIC Computer Games'' New York, NY: Workman Publishing, 1978. p. 106</ref> '''''Lunar''''' was originally written in [[FOCAL (programming language)|FOCAL]] (a [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] language for the [[PDP-8]]) by Jim Storer while a student at Lexington (MA) High School in the fall of 1969.<ref>{{citation | date = July 2009 | last = Edwards | first = Benj | periodical = [[Technologizer]] | title = Forty Years of Lunar Lander | year = 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{citation | date = July 1994 | last = Chien| first = Philip | periodical = [[Compute!]] | title = Blast off! | year = 1994 | pages = 90 }}</ref> A somewhat different version called '''''Rocket''''' was written in [[BASIC]] by Eric Peters at [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]], and a third version, '''''LEM''''', also in [[BASIC]] was written by William Labaree II of Alexandria, VA. [[David H. Ahl|David Ahl]] converted Jim Storer's [[FOCAL (programming language)|FOCAL]] version to [[BASIC]], changed some of the dialog, published it in the EDU newsletter and distributed it through [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]]'s Education Product Group, which he headed at the time. A year or so later, all three [[BASIC]] versions first appeared under the names ROCKET (Storer version), ROCKT1 (Peters version), and ROCKT2 (Labaree version) in [[David H. Ahl|David Ahl]]'s book, '''''101 Basic Computer Games''''' published by DEC in 1973. [[David H. Ahl|David Ahl]] and Steve North converted all three versions to [[Microsoft BASIC]], changed the name to '''''Lunar Lander''''', and published them in ''[[Creative Computing]]'' magazine in 1976. They also appeared in an updated version of [[David H. Ahl|Ahl]]'s games book simply called '''''[[BASIC Computer Games]]''''' published in 1978. ==''Lunar Lander'' (1973)== '''''Lunar Lander''''' (also known as '''''Moonlander''''') is an early [[computer game]] that runs on the [[DEC GT40]] graphics terminal (typically downloaded from a [[PDP-10]] mainframe computer). DEC commissioned the game to be written in 1973 as a demonstration of the capabilities of the GT40; it was seen at many trade shows. The goal was to correctly land a lunar module on the surface of the [[moon]] using the game's [[telemetry]] data. If the player miscalculates the module's landing, the module will either fly off into space or crash hard against the moon's surface or the mountain over which the lander first passed. The interface was through a [[light pen]] and the output display was a [[vector graphics]] system; the light pen allowed adjusting the throttle value and the angle of the lunar lander. Sophisticated players could achieve a landing on the mountain while cheaters learned the address of the word of [[magnetic core memory]] in which the fuel value was stored. Later versions offered the ability to run the game on a free-standing [[RT-11]] system as well as an [[Easter egg (virtual)|Easter egg]]: a specific landing site offered a [[McDonald's Corporation|McDonald's restaurant]]. Upon landing successfully near the restaurant, an astronaut would walk over to get lunch. Crashing into the restaurant destroyed it permanently (until the program was reloaded) and displayed an amusingly sarcastic message berating the player. == ''Lunar Lander'' by Atari (1979) == {{main|Lunar Lander (arcade game)}} '''''Lunar Lander''''' is an [[arcade game]] released by [[Atari]] in 1979, that uses a [[vector monitor]] to display [[vector graphics]]. ''Lunar Lander'' featured two concepts previously unseen in arcade video games: # A proportional throttle control that allowed perfect timing of [[fuel]] expenditure # A 'fuel for money' system which allowed the player to spend money to continue their play and purchase more fuel in-game == Text version == A text-only version of ''Lunar Lander'', written in [[BASIC]], was included with the eight-inch [[floppy disk|floppy]] operating system diskettes for the [[Datapoint|Datapoint 2200 series]] in the early 1980s. Playing it required three separate loadings: first the operating system, then BASIC, and only then the program itself. ==Calculator versions== A moon landing game was also popular on [[programmable calculator]]s such as the [[Hewlett Packard]] models 65 and 67, and the [[Texas Instruments]] SR 52, using the calculator's single-line numeric display to show altitude and function keys to increase or decrease fuel flow.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} Later calculators had improved graphics with LCD screens. ==Memorable words and phrases== ''Boy, are you inept!'' was the error message that appeared if the lunar lander went off either end of the map of the lunar surface. It became a cult phrase, for use as an error message for many in-house computer programs. ==See also== * ''[[Thrust (video game)|Thrust]]'' * ''[[Lunar Lander (arcade game)]]'' ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://technologizer.com/2009/07/19/lunar-lander/ Forty Years of Lunar Lander] - An in-depth history of the game. * [http://atariarchives.org/basicgames/showpage.php?page=106 BASIC Computer Games source listings] * [http://computerscienceforkids.com/LunarLanderfromSmallBasicComputerGamesbyDavidAhl.aspx Lunar Lander for Microsoft Small Basic ] - A 2010 Microsoft Small Basic source code port of Lunar Lander. * [http://games.atari.com/arcade.php?game=lunarlander Atari's official online version of Lunar Lander] *{{KLOV game|id=8465|name=Lunar Lander}}
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to the Codex Gamicus are considered to be released under the CC BY-SA 3.0
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Templates used on this page:
Template:Category handler
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Citation
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Citation/core
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Citation/make link
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Citation needed
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Delink
(
view source
)
Template:Fact
(
view source
)
Template:Fix
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Fix/category
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:For
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Hatnote
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:KLOV game
(
view source
)
Template:MOTG
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Main
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Main other
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Reflist
(
view source
) (protected)
Module:Arguments
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler/blacklist
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler/config
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler/data
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler/shared
(
edit
)
Module:Check for unknown parameters
(
edit
)
Module:Delink
(
edit
)
Module:Namespace detect/config
(
edit
)
Module:Namespace detect/data
(
edit
)
Module:No globals
(
edit
)
Module:Unsubst
(
edit
)
Module:Yesno
(
edit
)
Follow on IG
TikTok
Join Fan Lab