1991 · Activision · Action-adventure · Adventure

Hunter

Hunter is a 3D action-adventure game in which the player navigates around a series of islands. Hunter was developed by Paul Holmes and Martin Walker (music), and it was released by Activision for the Amiga and Atari ST home computers in 1991. The combination of the game's 3D graphics and sandbox-type gameplay has been subsequently compared to the Grand Theft Auto series and similar sandbox games, such as Far Cry 2.

Released: 1991
Platforms: Amiga Atari ST Atari ST/STE
Genres: Action-adventure Adventure Arcade
Developers: Activision
Publishers: Activision
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action Sandbox Open world
Country: United Kingdom

About

Hunter is an early 3D action-adventure game in which the player navigates around a series of islands. Hunter was developed by Paul Holmes and Martin Walker (music), and was released by Activision for the Amiga and Atari ST home computers in 1991.

›Story

ADAPT TO SURVIVE. SEEK TO DESTROY

The Hunter is alone behind enemy lines. With the versatility to make best use of range of options, and the expertise to complete dangerous mission, the Hunter is a breed apart.

Keywords

modern warfare
3d
shark
tank
modern military
useable vehicles

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player controls a soldier in a large three-dimensional world and can move by walking, swimming or using various vehicles ranging from cars to tanks to surfboards. The player may also enter and explore a variety of buildings.

Other in-game characters include enemy soldiers, civilians and animals such as seagulls, sharks and cows. The player has a range of weapons. Surrounding terrain can be surveyed with aerial observation units and radar. Food and money can be used to bribe and gather information from other characters. Target coordinates can be recorded into a log book, and the player's position in the game world can be seen on an overlaying map.

Development

Hunter began development in February 1990, and was originally planned for a February 1991 release date, but was delayed to August. The December 1990 issue of British gaming magazine The One previewed Hunter's development. Hunter's maps are randomly generated each time the game is played, and are created using fractal geometry. After the map is generated, pre-made 3D objects are randomly placed in the game environment.

Hunter is 64 kilobytes large, and has a total of 182 pre-made 3D objects. The code for Hunter's 3D environments was written by Paul Holmes, and was originally intended for a game by CRL Group before they went defunct and the game was cancelled. This code, while used as a base, was "substantially rewritten" according to The One; the code relied on the Amiga's blitter chip, but due to Hunter's planned Atari ST release, this needed to be reworked. Holmes created software that mimiced the Amiga's blitter chip that was compatible with Atari ST hardware; the program turned out to run faster than the Amiga's blitter.

Reception

Hunter received very positive reviews (ranging from 85 to 95 points out of 100) in various game magazines. Although occasional graphical glitches and simplistic animation were noted, most of the reviewers considered Hunter one of the first serious takes on 3D gaming. The game was characterized as an innovative addition to 3D vector games and a bold step forward.

What gathered most attention, however, was the scope of the game and the freedom of movement inside the game world: