Nibbler (video game)
| Nibbler | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Joseph H. Ulowetz and John M. Jaugilas |
| Publisher(s) |
Rock-Ola Datamost (home) |
| Designer(s) | Joseph H. Ulowetz and John M. Jaugilas |
| Platform(s) | Arcade (original) Apple II Atari 8-bit |
| Release | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Snake game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, 2 player alternating |
Nibbler is an arcade game by Rock-Ola, the most successful game released by the company. Its gameplay is a variant of Pac-Man and Snake: the objective is to navigate a snake through an enclosed maze, while consuming dots along the way. The length of the snake increases with each object consumed, making the game more difficult. The player must avoid colliding with the snake's own body sections. When the snake hits a wall, it stalls and rapidly runs down the level timer. After all the objects on the screen have been eaten, the player progresses to the next maze.
A home version was produced by Datasoft for the Atari 8-bit and the Apple II.
Nibbler was the first arcade game on which a player could achieve one billion points.
Nibbler was the first video game with a nine-digit score counter and the first game where it was possible for a player to score one billion points. The core patterns and strategies used to achieve that were introduced at Twin Galaxies Arcade by Tom Asaki of Montana, who made a pilgrimage to the arcade in Ottumwa, Iowa in 1983. Asaki aimed to become the first gamer to reach one billion points on any game and to win a Nibbler machine from Rock-Ola, who were running a contest for the first billion point game. Due to a number of setbacks, Tom only reached a score of 838 million points.
The billion point mark was first reached by Tim McVey at the Twin Galaxies Arcade on January 17, 1984, scoring 1,000,042,270 points. News of his accomplishment was carried by the wire services and a feature story on his feat was published in the July 1984 issue of Computer Games Magazine. As McVey was a resident of Ottumwa, which had just been declared the "Video Game Capital of the World", he became the first video game player in gaming history to have a civic day set aside in his honor: "Tim McVey Day" on January 28, 1984. Officials from Rock-Ola, the game's manufacturer, were in attendance to award Mr. McVey a free "Nibbler" arcade machine for his accomplishment.
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