Ruggill, J: Tempest

Atari's 1981 arcade hit Tempest was built around glowing, vector-based geometric shapes. Among its many important contributions to both game and cultural history, Tempest was one of the first commercial titles to allow players to choose the game's initial play difficulty. Ruggill and McAllister analyse Tempest's landmark qualities, exploring the game's aesthetics, development context, and impact on video game history.