Exidy games

Exidy was one of the largest creators of arcade video games during the early period of video games, from 1974 until at least 1986 (when Chiller was released). The company was founded by H.R. "Pete" Kauffman. The name "Exidy" was a portmanteau of the words "Excellence in Dynamics."

Notable games released by Exidy include Circus, Death Race, Star Fire, Venture, Pepper II, Mouse Trap, Targ and Spectar.

Exidy found competing with larger video game companies such as Atari, Inc. difficult. The company's Lila Zinter claimed in 1983 that "Exidy is an innovator, but ... we have a hard time breaking through the politics of getting a game a fair chance."

One of Exidy's efforts aimed at trivia lovers during the 1980s was the quiz game Fax, a multi-level game housed in a large wooden cabinet that stood about 4 feet high and looked nothing like other video games of the time period. Much like the 2000s game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, players were shown a series of questions with four possible answers. A point value "clock" ran down to zero after answers were shown, meaning players answering quicker earned more points for their correct answers. (Incorrect answers incurred no penalty.)

Beginning in 1983, Exidy released a series of light gun games, the first and most well known of which was Crossbow. These presented an unusual twist to the light gun genre: the goal is to protect characters walking through the screen by shooting things which are trying to kill the characters. These games were also the first to feature fully digitized sound for all sound effects and music. Other "C" series games include Cheyenne, Combat, Crackshot, Clay Pigeon and Chiller. Chief designer for these games was Larry Hutcherson. Exidy also made two rarely seen motion cabinet games with vector graphics called Vertigo and Top Gunner. Chief game designer for this game was Vic Tolomei.

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