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Elite (video game)

Elite
Elite org cover.jpg
Cover art for Firebird releases of Elite
Developer(s) David Braben, Ian Bell
Publisher(s) Acornsoft (Acorn/BBC)
Firebird (ports)
Imagineer
Designer(s) David Braben
Ian Bell
Writer(s)
Composer(s) Aidan Bell
Johann Strauss
David Whittaker
Wally Beben
Platform(s) BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Apple II, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Tatung Einstein, IBM PC compatible, Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari ST, Nintendo Entertainment System
Release 20 September 1984
Genre(s) Space trading and combat simulator
Mode(s) Single player
The Dark Wheel
Elite The Dark Wheel Novella.jpg
Original Acornsoft cover
Author
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Acornsoft, Firebird Software
Publication date
1984
Media type Paperback
Review scores
Publication Score
Amtix CPC: 94%
CVG C64: 36/40

ZX: 37/40

Atari ST: 82%
Crash ZX:92%
Sinclair User ZX:5/5 stars
Your Sinclair ZX:9/10
Amstrad Action CPC: 94%
BEEBUG BBC: 5/5 stars
Personal Computer Games BBC: 9/10
Zzap!64 C64: 97%
Amiga: 98%
Awards
Publication Award
Golden Joystick Award "Best Original Game" (1984)
Crash Readers' Awards "Best Game Overall" (1985)
Computer Gamer "Game of the Year", "Best Arcade Game" (1985)
Next Generation Magazine #1 "best game of the 1980s" (2008)
IGN #12 "Top 25 PC Games of All Time" (2000)
Retro Gamer #1 "Top 100 Retro Game" (2004)
Times Online #3 most influential video game ever. (2007)
Stuff #6 "100 Greatest Games" (2008)
Telespiele trade show One of the 16 most influential games in history. (2007)

Elite is a space trading video game, written and developed by David Braben and Ian Bell and originally published by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in September 1984.Elite's open-ended game model, and revolutionary 3D graphics led to it being ported to virtually every contemporary home computer system, and earned it a place as a classic and a genre maker in gaming history. The game's title derives from one of the player's goals of raising their combat rating to the exalted heights of "Elite".

Elite was one of the first home computer games to use wire-frame 3D graphics with hidden line removal. It added graphics and twitch gameplay aspects to the genre established by the 1974 game Star Trader. Another novelty was the inclusion of The Dark Wheel, a novella by which gave players insight into the moral and legal codes to which they might aspire.

The game was followed by the sequels Frontier: Elite II in 1993, and Frontier: First Encounters in 1995, which introduced Newtonian physics, realistic star systems and seamless freeform planetary landings. A third sequel, Elite: Dangerous, began crowdfunding in 2012 and was launched on 16 December 2014, following a period of semi-open testing.

Elite proved hugely influential, serving as a model for other games including Wing Commander: Privateer,Grand Theft Auto,EVE Online,Freelancer, the X series and No Man's Sky.


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