Legionnaire (computer game)
| Legionnaire | |
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| Developer(s) | Chris Crawford |
| Publisher(s) | Avalon Hill |
| Designer(s) | Chris Crawford |
| Programmer(s) | Chris Crawford |
| Engine | custom |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, Apple II |
| Release | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | strategy, real-time tactics |
| Mode(s) | single player |
Legionnaire is a computer game for the Atari 8-bit series created by Chris Crawford in 1982, and released through Avalon Hill. Recreating Julius Caesar's campaigns in a semi-historical setting, the player takes command of the Roman legions in real-time battles against the barbarians.
Crawford had written an earlier Legionnaire for the Commodore PET in 1979, his platform before moving to Atari. This was a fairly simple game using character graphics and featuring a limited amount of logic. He later ported this to the Atari platform and released it as Centurion, but this saw limited sales.
After writing Eastern Front, Crawford was looking for ways to use the new scrolling-map technology introduced in that game. Avalon Hill had approached Crawford with positive comments about Eastern Front, and he promised to make a game for them. After three months of preliminary work, he started development in January 1982, delivering the first version in February and a final version in June. Crawford published an article on game design in the December 1982 BYTE, using Legionnaire as example.
Legionnaire was the last game Crawford would release using the original Eastern Front engine. His next game for the Atari was Excalibur, which used a different model of interaction based on moving from room to room within a virtual castle. When Atari collapsed in 1984 he turned his attention to the Macintosh computer, releasing the famous Balance of Power in 1985.
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