The name River Raid was- and still is- synonymous with high-energy shooting action. A classic on the Atari 2600 when originally released during the holiday season in 1982, Carol Shaw’s creation is regarded as one of the most enjoyable and original arcade dogfighters ever on the system and is an early staple in the Activision brand.
Fast forward six years (a lifetime in gaming) in 1988 and the video game industry had changed quite a bit. After the infamous North American video game crash of 1983, Atari, as well as Activision- and a plethora of other companies had to rediscover themselves and adapt to a new marketplace that now featured competition the likes of Sega and Nintendo that wasn’t around prior. Luckily for Activision, the Atari 2600 was sexy again and with a stable of solid programmers, they cashed in considerably.
But make no mistake- this was anything but a scam. The 2600 had the largest catalog of games available on any console at the time and with a console generation under its belt, the industry now had the beginnings of a “retro” movement and the only company that could reap the benefits was Atari. Just like the Nintendo Classic’s bevy of aficionados, the 2600, in 1988 had a fan base that demanded more. With the release of the sleeker Atari 2600 Jr. console, gamers could both reconnect with the brand, or be introduced to it. Companies like Activision wasted zero time in scooping up licenses and creating games for an audience that wanted them.
“In the late 1980s, there was renewed interest at retail in the 2600,” River Raid II Producer and Co-Designer Dan Kitchen said. “I theorize that the original players of the system in the early ‘80s moved onto the NES and other systems and their younger siblings who matured in the late ‘80s helped fuel the renewed interest in the games. At this time Activision wanted to release new games based more upon licenses and brands than original concepts. River Raid was one of these top-selling games, so they wanted to release a sequel to capitalize on the sales opportunity.”
But for the relaunch of the Atari home console brand to truly take off, they needed more than more games. And they couldn’t be just any games. They needed to be good as well. This was certainly not an issue for Kitchen, but it could have been for a weaker developer. With more powerful hardware available from their competitors, the developers of the last run of the 2600 software needed to stand out and push the hardware harder than ever before. Again, this was one of Kitchen’s specialties. And naturally, of all of the final batch of 2600 games, River Raid II had some of the biggest shoes to fill. With over 1.6M units shipped, it’s one of the best-selling 2600 games of all-time. Six years after its original release, gamers were hungry for a sequel. It needed to be good.
Looking to drive sales on the reborn franchise, Activision entrusted Kitchen to lead the way as co-designer and producer. While he wasn’t yet the veteran of the industry he’d eventually become with such games as The Simpsons, Age of Empires, Bust-A-Move and Earthworm Jim franchises, he had over a dozen designs under his belt and a version of Ghostbusters on the 2600 (which sold over 450K units) that absolutely pushed the console to new limits in terms of visuals, sound and gameplay. Now Kitchen’s job was to do the same thing- but not with a movie license, but with one of the most important games in the history of the console. It wasn’t going to be an easy job, but Kitchen was ready for it. After proving he wasn’t afraid of “no ghosts” with his version of Ghostbusters, aerial dogfighting would be a synch, right? While if you’re wondering where River Raid series creator, Carol Shaw, was, she was no longer in the industry by the time River Raid II began development. Nevertheless, she was technically there in spirit, even if Kitchen had already proven the franchise was in more than capable hands.
“In the case of Ghostbusters, I wrote the game from scratch,” Kitchen said. “With River Raid II, I had to use the original polynomial algorithm Carol used to create the scrolling playfield data so that the game resembled the original. Also, it was a brilliant compact routine to generate the appearance of an ever-changing river estuary.”
Kitchen wasn’t alone on this mission, however. Along for this flight with Kitchen was David Lubar, who went on to program Frogger on both the Super Nintendo and Game Boy, as well as pen over 20 books for teens and young adults. Their mission was to take the fan-favorite title and make it different enough to warrant a purchase, yet not disconnected enough to feel like an entirely different experience altogether. According to Kitchen, working with Lubar was always a fun time. “I very much enjoyed my time working with David Lubar,” Kitchen said. “It’s always a pleasure collaborating with someone who is both highly technical and creative. Dave is a fun guy with a good sense of humor. We also share the love of playing guitar. On an average day, I would contact Dave in the afternoon to discuss how the game was going. Near the end of the development cycle, we got together a number of times to review the gameplay. I had the pleasure of working with Dave on several games after the release of River Raid II.”
Taking five months to develop, Kitchen called the development process of River Raid II pretty “standard” in terms of time investment, but the creative effort was a dynamic one. A lifelong fan of planes and jets, Kitchen had his Flight Simulator program, F-14, which later turned into the Turn and Burn franchise in the works, but River Raid II was cut from a different cloud entirely. More arcade in nature, Kitchen had to fight the urge for realism and focus on the type of arcade gameplay that made the first game in the series a million-seller. “When designing my fighter aircraft games I did try to stress realism, but not at the expense of gameplay,” Kitchen said. “With River Raid II, it was an easy shift to focus more on the shooter aspect of the game as I too was a fan of the original title.”
That doesn’t mean River Raid II didn’t lack gameplay depth either. Employing a new altitude system, gamers had to maintain proper altitude throughout or were in risk of crashing into objects, or even into the water. For a top-down arcade-style game, on the 2600 no less, this was a risky, but unique innovation. At the time, no other flight or top-down shooter game on the system had that much depth to their gameplay. According to Kitchen, it was all about making the game stand out more. “Activision wanted to capitalize on the River Raid brand while differentiating it from the original game,” Kitchen said. “They wanted to give the players familiar with the original game new challenges in addition to the canyon play. So I thought adding an altitude component to the aircraft would achieve that.”
The added altitude spiced up gameplay and made the game stand out and rounded out a package that confirmed River Raid II was anything but a cheap sequel. Going on to sell over 501K units in 1988, on a system that was well past its prime, is an achievement in itself. For Kitchen, however, it was another game on his resume where he pushed the Atari 2600 hardware to levels never before seen and saw significant sales. If you didn’t know who he was before River Raid II, you definitely knew after. “It’s always a good feeling when a game you work on has commercial success,” Kitchen said.
Financial success is one thing, but creating a gameplay experience that many thought wasn’t possible before, well, that was another. For those that have experienced Kitchen and Lubar’s aerial dogfighter, it’s absolutely a game that proved the Atari 2600 was capable of much than it was originally intended for. “River Raid on the Atari 2600 already felt complex and looked as if it had pushed the limits of the system, but then along came River Raid II,” Brian Pudden, from the YouTube Show, Brian’s Man Cave, said. “The sequel gives a fresh take on the original top-down shooter and adds many new skills to learn and master, everything from learning how to accelerate off an aircraft carrier to refueling on both land, sea and air. I will admit that it is not easy to just pick up and play and I would recommend giving the manual a good read before attempting, as there are many new obstacles to overcome. Away from the core gameplay, even the box art is amazing as its full-color graphics set it apart from the many prior Activision titles that came before it.”
Positive reception, solid sales and gameplay that still works well over 30 years later aside, Kitchen did have a few things he thought could have been polished a bit more during the development cycle. “I wasn’t happy with the controls, specifically that you have to press down (pull back) on the joystick the moment your aircraft catapulted off the carrier at the beginning of the game,” Kitchen said. “Additionally, I don’t like the fact that the aircraft takes a split second to visually rotate in the direction you move the joystick before you start moving in that direction.”
Away from those qualms, the fact that Activision was able to take a dormant franchise and turn it into a game that sold well and played well on a system on its last legs is more than enough for Kitchen to be satisfied with the final product. While there hasn’t been another game in the series since Kitchen and Lubar’s take on it, River Raid II is anything but a letdown. “I feel the legacy of River Raid II is that the game captured the fun of the original title,” Kitchen said. “While adding some incremental gameplay to create a satisfying sequel experience.”
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