Marble Madness

1984 arcade video game

Marble Madness is a platform racing video game. It was both published and developed by Atari Games.[1]

Marble Madness
Developer(s)Atari Games
Publisher(s)Atari Games
Designer(s)Mark Cerny
Programmer(s)Bob Flanagan
Artist(s)Mark Cerny
Sam Comstock
Composer(s)Brad Fuller
Hal Canon
Platform(s)Arcade
Amiga
Apple II
Apple IIGS
Atari ST
Commodore 64
Game Boy
Game Boy Advance
Game Gear
Java ME
Master System
Nintendo Entertainment System
IBM PC
Sega Genesis
X68000
ZX Spectrum
ReleaseDecember 15, 1984
Genre(s)Platform, racing
Mode(s)One-player, two-player
A Marble Madness cabinet in a Shinjuku arcade.

It was released in December 1984 in arcades, not too long after the video game crash of 1983.[2] Outside of arcades, Marble Madness would also be released for many consoles including the Master System, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Sega Genesis home consoles. It would also be released for the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Game Gear handheld consoles.[3] As well as the Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Java ME, IBM PC, X68000, and ZX Spectrum home computers.

In the game, the player controls a marble and has to move it through a maze. The player has to get the marble through the end of the racecourse maze before the timer runs out. The mazes are inspired by artwork by M. C. Escher.[4]

A sequel titled Marble Man: Marble Madness II was planned and at least 12 prototype boards were produced but the game was never released.[5][6]

Reception

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When the game was released in arcades, it was very well liked by game critics. Critics said they liked the hard difficulty of the game, graphics, visuals, designs, and soundtrack.[7][8] It has often been placed on Top Games lists.[9][10][11]

The game was also very popular and was the highest-earning game in arcades for the first six weeks of its release.[12]

References

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  1. "Marble Madness". IGN. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  2. "GDC 2011: Mark Cerny Discusses Marble Madness' Turbulent Development". Gamasutra. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  3. "Marble Madness (GBC)". IGN. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  4. "Retrospective: Marble Madness". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  5. "Williams 'Cements' Reputation as Ball Breaker". Next Generation. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  6. "After 30 years, the world can now play the lost Marble Madness II". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  7. "Dream Arcades". IGN. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  8. Sellers, John (August 2001). Arcade Fever: The Fan's Guide to The Golden Age of Video Games. Running Press. pp. 142–143. ISBN 0-7624-0937-1.
  9. "The Greatest Games of All Time: Marble Madness". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. "Top 100 Games of All Time". Next Generation. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  11. "The 10 Best Arcade Games of All Time". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 100. Ziff Davis. November 1997. p. 130.
  12. Grannell, Craig (August 2008). "The Making of Marble Madness". Retro Gamer (53). Imagine Publishing: 82–87.