Klax (video game)

Infobox VG
title = Klax


caption = Screenshot of Klax
developer = Atari Games
publisher = Atari Games
designer = Dave Akers, Mark Stephen Pierce
released = 1989
genre = computer puzzle game
modes = Up to 2 players simultaneously
input = 8-way joystick, 1 button
cabinet = Upright
arcade system =
platforms = Arcade, Various
cpu = Motorola 68000 @ 7.15909 MHz
sound = OKI6295 @ 6.779 kHz
display = Raster graphics, 336×240 pixels (Horizontal), 512 colors

"Klax" is a 1989 computer puzzle game designed by Dave Akers and Mark Stephen Pierce. The object is to line up colored blocks into rows of similar colors to make them disappear, similar to "Columns". Atari Games originally released it as a coin-op follow up to "Tetris", which they were tangled in a legal dispute about at the time.

History

Akers programmed "Klax" in just a few weeks using Amiga Basic, then ported it line-by-line to C. In a 1990 interview, he said he wanted to "produce something playable, compact and relatively quick to develop." His influences were both Tetris and tic-tac-toe. [ [http://www.atari-explorer.com/articles/articles-atari-games.html atari-explorer.com ] ] He chose the name from the sound tiles make rolling across the screen.

The prototype game ran on the same hardware as Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters.

Atari Games released "Klax" in February 1990, ["Tengen sets arcade titles for NES, PCs; video games," "HFD-The Weekly Home Furnishings Newspaper", June 4, 1990] and soon called it a "major arcade hit". ["Tengen sales increase to more than $41 million," press release dated May 23, 1990.] Atari Games quickly released several home versions under the Tengen brand. Akers created the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Mega Drive editions himself. [ [http://www.cgexpo.com/guests.htm Classic Gaming Expo ] ] Some 16-bit conversions featured improved graphics.

The original U.S. "Klax" arcade game shows an ad for "The Official "Klax" T-Shirt" for $11.95 sent to Atari Games' headquarters in Milpitas, CA. The shirts are now considered a rarity."Klax" also received the Parents' Choice Foundation's seal of approval in 1990 and won Best Mind Game at the 1991 European Computer Leisure Awards. Also, the "Chicago Tribune's" Dennis Lynch named it the Best Cartridge of 1990.

Midway Games gained the rights to "Klax" upon purchasing Atari Games in 1996. The title has been re-released in retro compilations for modern consoles. A 1999 press release called it Midway's "tic-tac tile puzzle game." [http://www.atarimax.com/freenet/freenet_material/6.16and32-BitComputersSupportArea/8.OnlineMagazines/showarticle.php?725]

"Klax"'s catchphrase, "It is the nineties and there is time for Klax," appears during the game's attract mode. The Game Boy Color version of the game, released in 1999, changed "nineties" to "millennium." Later versions, such as the 2005 Game Boy Advance version, still use "nineties."

Gameplay

"Klax" features a conveyor belt at the top of the screen. It constantly rolls toward the well-like playing area, delivering a steady supply of colored blocks. The player controls a small device which sits at the interface between the conveyor belt and the playing area. By moving this left and right, the player can catch the blocks and deposit them in the playing area.

Failure to catch any block results in it falling down the gap between the conveyor belt and playing area and one drop being used. Once all of the drops are used, the player is given a chance to continue. Otherwise, the game ends. (In the original coin-op, the game ends when all drops are used.)

At the beginning of the game, the player can choose to start at level 1 and get 3 drops; level 6 with a bonus of 100,000 points and 4 drops; or at level 11 with a bonus of 200,000 points and 5 drops. At the end of every 5 level section, the player gets the same choice, except that the no bonus choice is the next level, the 100,000 bonus is 5 levels ahead and the 200,000 bonus 10 levels ahead.

The block-catching device can hold up to five blocks at any time, in the form of a stack. It can also eject the uppermost block a short distance back up the conveyor belt; this can, however, be a risky move if not judged correctly, for a block might land directly beside another coming down, making it difficult or impossible to catch both at the same time.

In the playing area, blocks can be eliminated in the same manner as in "Columns": by getting three or more of the same colour in a line. Each one of these finished groupings are called a "Klax". As well as the standard colour blocks, there is also a multicoloured flashing block which can be used as any colour.

The player advances to the next level through one of several methods, depending on the level. Each five-level sequence usually begins with the player having to complete a certain number of Klaxes, typically a multiple of 5. Next is a level where the player must perform a certain number of diagonal Klaxes. Following that is a level where the player must survive through a certain number of falling tiles. In the fourth level one must score a certain number of points. In the final level the player must complete a certain number of horizontal Klaxes. During gameplay, a group 4 or 5 tiles in a row counts as more than 1 Klax.

There are 100 levels in Klax, and a score of 250,000 is required to complete the last level. The unreleased Atari 7800 version added three "impossible" levels.

In a few early levels, the player may be able to warp ahead 45 levels if he builds a large X with five blocks for each diagonal. Doing so awards a 600,000 point bonus (plus any due warp bonus).

coring

Scoring can vary between versions.

Scoring During Play

* Vertical-3: 50 points
* Vertical-4: 10,000 points
* Vertical-5: 12,000 - 50,000 points (usually 15,000)
* Horizontal-3: 1,000 points
* Horizontal-4: 2,000 - 5,000 points (usually 5,000)
* Horizontal-5: 6,000 - 10,000 points (usually 10,000)
* Diagonal-3: 5,000 points
* Diagonal-4: 10,000 points
* Diagonal-5: 20,000 points

A player also earns a multiplier for creating multiple Klaxs and combinations. Multipliers can take effect in two variations. Most commonly, a player receives a bonus multiplier for each Klax created, which continues if he/she creates a combination. For example, if the player makes a vertical-3 and a diagonal-3 at the same time, the score is 50 + 5,000 = 5,050 * 2 = 10,100 points. If the player then combos into a diagonal-3, the player receives 5,000 * 3 = 15,000 points.

The second variation is that the player receives a bonus multiplier only if the player creates a combination. This multiplier increases only by one in each combo iteration.

The highest known score for the arcade version is ~21 million points, performed by 'Leper' at the University of Notre Dame in 1997.Fact|date=September 2008

Bonuses

* Empty stack: 200 points per empty space (maximum of 5,000 points)
* Tiles not placed: 0-25 points per tile (usually 25 points)
* Exceeding required points in a points wave: 0-1 points per point over (usually 1 point)

Ports

After the arcade version, Klax saw ports to most contemporary video game systems of the 1990s:
* The Atari 2600 version of "Klax" was the last licensed game ever officially released for the 2600 system.Fact|date=October 2007
* The Atari Lynx version is widely thought to be the best home version produced.Fact|date=June 2007
* "Klax" was the first game with versions for all three of 1990's leading consoles, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sega Genesis and the NEC TurboGrafx-16. ["They're hot, they're new, they're fun," by Dennis Lynch, "Chicago Tribune", November 23, 1990.]
*"Klax" was included in "Arcade Party Pak" for the PlayStation. The game was also reissued in "Midway Arcade Treasures", a 2003 compilation for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC.
* MAME emulates several arcade versions of "Klax", including a prototype.
* Interestingly, the Genesis version was released in Japan by Namco, while the Game Boy and NES versions were released in Japanese by Hudson Soft.
* Midway licensed the interactive TV rights to "Klax" to RuneCraft in 2001.

Consoles

* Amstrad GX4000
* Atari 2600 (1990) (only in PAL format) [http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/klax/klax.htm]
* Atari 7800 (1992) (completed but never released) [http://www.atariprotos.com/7800/software/klax/klax.htm]
* Microsoft Xbox
* MSX (1990)
* Nintendo Entertainment System (1990)
* Nintendo GameCube
* Sega Master System (1991)
* Sega Mega Drive (1991)
* PlayStation ("Arcade Party Pak"),
* PlayStation 2
* TurboGrafx-16 (1990)

Computers

* Atari ST (1990)
* Commodore Amiga (1990)
* Amstrad CPC (1990)
* Commodore 64 (1990)
* Intel x86 (Microsoft DOS) (1992) (part of Domark's "Tengen's Arcade Hits Collection")
* Intel x86 (Microsoft Windows)
* SAM Coupé (1991)
* ZX Spectrum (1990)

Handhelds

* Atari Lynx (1990)
* Nintendo Game Boy (1990)
* Nintendo Game Boy Advance (2005, along with "Marble Madness" In "Midway Arcade Treasures")
* Nintendo Game Boy Color (1999)
* Sega Game Gear (1992)
* Sony PSP

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.klaxworld.com KlaxWorld.com]
* [http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/manuals/klax.txt Reprinted manual] from Tengen's version of Klax.
*KLOV game|id=8266|name=Klax
* [http://www.midwayarcade.com/MAT2/MAT1/gameinfo.php?game=9 Midway's Klax page] , includes screenshots.
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*WoS game|id=0002707