1974 · Atari · Arcade · Light-gun shooter

Qwak!

Qwak! is a duck hunting light gun shooter arcade video game developed by Atari and released in 1974.

Released: 1974
Platforms: Arcade
Genres: Arcade Light-gun shooter Shooter
Developers: Atari
Publishers: —
Perspective: First person
Themes: Action
Country: United States
Languages: English

About

Qwak! is a 1974 light gun shooter video game developed by Cyan Engineering and published by Atari for arcades. In the game, ducks fly one at a time across the screen, and the player shoots at them using a light gun attached to the game cabinet. The player gets three shots per duck; ducks change direction away from missed shots, and fall to the bottom of the screen when hit.

A screen overlay adds images of reeds and a tree branch, and an image of a duck is added to a row at the top of the screen whenever a duck is hit. Games continue until a time limit, set by the machine operator, is reached.

›Story

Qwak! A unique and innovative game from Atari in 1974. Players fire at flying on-screen ducks using a rifle with a light gun attached to the end. Your shots would appear on the screen as you fired, ducks would "veer" away from missed shots.

If a duck was shot it would fall into the marsh to be retrieved by your on-screen digital dog. The coin-op incorporated a unique alarm system that if the gun was stolen or tampered with the game would emit a loud buzzing sound.

Keywords

single-screen level

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Qwak! is a duck hunting arcade game in which the player uses a rifle-shaped light gun to fire at targets on the screen. One duck at a time flies across the screen, with each duck appearing in a different place on the sides of the screen and flying in different paths. The player is allowed three shots to hit the duck as it flies across the screen.

As with other light gun games, a hit is registered if the gun is pointed at the duck or similar light source when the trigger is pulled; no projectile is fired. When a shot is fired, a mark appears on the screen where the player was aiming; if the shot misses the duck, it changes direction away from the bullet. If the player hits a duck, it falls to the ground, and a hunting dog runs over and collects it. Each duck hit adds a small image of a duck to a row at the top of the screen.

Development

The game was developed for Atari by their Cyan Engineering subsidiary, recently purchased in 1973. The earliest schematics in the service manual are from June 1974, and the last is from November. Ron Milner was the principle designer. The schematics bear the logos of both Atari and Kee Games, a subsidiary company established by Atari in 1973 to reach more distributors, and which was merged with Atari in September 1974.

The game was announced and shown at the Music Operators of America (MOA) Music & Amusement Machines Exposition on November 1–3, for release that month. It was then first advertised in the December 7 issue of Cash Box, the trade magazine for the amusement arcade industry.

Legacy

Qwak! did not perform well commercially; according to Ralph H. Baer in his book Videogames: In the Beginning, approximately 250 units were sold. On November 16, 1974, U.S. Billiards announced in Cash Box magazine a two-player electro-mechanical clone game titled Duck Shooting, featuring a projected seven foot by seven foot screen instead of a monitor, and allowing two players to shoot at multiple ducks simultaneously.

In 1982, Atari developed a prototype for a touch-screen duck-themed game similarly titled Qwak. With the goal of "help[ing] mama duck and her three ducklings get home safely", the player shifts picture blocks into place to create a safe path for the ducks to get home. The player's score in the 15 levels is determined by how long the ducks are on-screen and by how many get home safely.