Gauntlet
Gauntlet is a fantasy-themed hack and slash arcade game which
can be played by one to four players simultaneously, unique for arcade
games of its day. Released during the emergence of popularity of
role-playing games like
Dungeons & Dragons, the game was a sensation, being the first
true dungeon crawl arcade game.
A player may control either Thor the Warrior, Merlin the Wizard, Thyra the Valkyrie or Questor the Elf. The hero being controlled is dictated by the player's position on the cabinet. (There is only one of each hero.) Each hero has a unique specialty/advantage: The Warrior is strongest in hand-to-hand combat, the Wizard has the strongest magic, the Valkyrie has the greatest armour and the Elf is the fastest in movement.
Controversy came after the release of this game in the arcade and subsequently ported to the Nintendo NES system. Ed Logg, the creator of Asteroids and Centipede is credited for Original Game Design of Gauntlet in the arcade version, as well as the 1985 NES release version. After its release, John Palevich threatened a lawsuit, asserting that the original concept for the game was from Dandy (later Dandy Dungeon), a game for the Atari 800 computer written by Palevich in 1983. The conflict was settled without any suit being filed, with Atari Games doing business as Tengen allegedly awarding Palevich a Gauntlet game machine. Logg is taken off this credit in versions subsequent to the 1985 NES release. While he is credited as "special thanks" through 1986, his name is entirely removed from credits on later releases. Logg currently claims no involvement in any of the Gauntlet series. The game Dandy which was the basis for the threatened lawsuit was later reworked by Atari and re-published for the Atari 2600, Atari 7800 and Atari XE as Dark Chambers in 1988, subsequent to the release of Gauntlet II in 1987. (Wikipedia)
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