Robotron: 2084

Robotron is a twin-stick shooter game in which the player controls the on-screen protagonist from a top-down perspective. The game uses a two-joystick control scheme; the left joystick controls the on-screen character's movement, while the right is used to fire the character's weapon in specific directions. Both joysticks allow for an input direction in one of eight ways. The game is set in the year 2084 in a fictional world where "Robotrons" have, after a robot uprising, eradicated most of the human race. The main protagonist is a super-powered genetically engineered mutant who attempts to save the last human family.

Each level, referred to as a "wave", is a single screen populated with a large number of various enemy robots and obstacles; types range from invincible giants to robots that manufacture other robots. Coming into contact with an enemy, projectile, or obstacle costs the player one life; more lives can be earned at certain point totals. Waves also include human family members, who can be rescued to score additional points, but certain robots can either kill them or transform them into enemies. Destroying all vulnerable robots allows the player to progress to the next wave; the cycle continues until all lives are lost.

Robotron: 2084 was developed in six months by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar, founders of Vid Kidz. Vid Kidz served as a consulting firm that designed games for Williams Electronics, whom Jarvis and DeMar had previously worked for. Under the working title Robot Wars, the pair used a Gimix 6809 computer to write the game's program in assembly language. Jarvis and DeMar playtested the game themselves and continually tweaked the designs as the project progressed. The game was designed to provide excitement for players; Jarvis described the game as an "athletic experience" derived from a "physical element" in the two-joystick design.

After spending 18 months working collectively on Defender and Stargate, the developers desired a new creative focus and chose robots. The game was first inspired by Stern Electronics' 1980 arcade game Berzerk and the Commodore PET computer game Chase. Berzerk is a shooting game in which a character traverses a maze to shoot robots, and Chase is a text-based game in which players lure text characters into obstacles. The initial concept involved a passive main character; the object was to force robots chasing the protagonist to collide with stationary, lethal obstacles.

Robotron garnered praise soon after its debut. Steve Bloom of Video Games magazine proclaimed it the "best new game" at the Amusement Operators Expo and noted that attendees constantly played it. Video game critic Bill Kunkel praised Robotron as the best coin-operated game of the year after the 1982 Summer CES. Similarly, Owen Linzmayer of Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games called it "one of the most dazzling arcade games released" that year.

Writing for RePlay Magazine, Todd Erickson noted that Williams' early use of difficulty settings in its arcade machines set it apart from other manufacturers by providing flexibility. He cited Robotron as an example, noting that arcade owners had increased their income by steadily intensifying the challenge from lower settings.

Jarvis's contributions to the game's development are often cited among his accolades. Vince considered him one of the originators of "high-action" and "reflex-based" arcade games, citing Robotron: 2084's gameplay among other games designed by Jarvis. It was listed as one of Jarvis's achievements when he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2005 Game Developers Choice Awards. In 2007, IGN writers named Jarvis the tenth top game designer whose titles, including Robotron 2084, have influenced the industry. GamesTM's retro staff referred to the game as the "pinnacle" of his career.

Players have competed to obtain the highest score at the game. Video game magazines tracked high scores soon after the game's release. Scores for Robotron, among many popular games, were tracked at the Video Championship, a long-distance competition between players in California and North Carolina, in August 1982. Twin Galaxies, who officiated and tracked competitive high scores for players, recorded high scores for the arcade version into the 2010s.