Raiders of the Lost Ark

1982 · Adventure · Atari 2600

Overview

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1982) is Howard Scott Warshaw's Atari 2600 adventure based on the film, played with two joysticks: one moves Indiana Jones and the other manages his inventory.

Deep Dive

Set in Cairo in 1936, the game sends Indy through the Temple of the Ancients, across a mesa and into the Map Room, with stops at a Thieves Den and a Black Market. The Ark is finally dug up inside the mesa after a parachute jump. The second controller selects and drops items, so Indy can carry more than one thing at a time.

Developer Story

Warshaw volunteered when Atari offered the licence and started work in mid-1981 after meeting Steven Spielberg. It fitted on an 8 KB cartridge, with Indy animated by Jerome Domurat. Warshaw's next licensed game for Atari, released a month later, was E.T.

Did You Know?

Warshaw opposed Atari's decision to print hints in the manual.
Bruce Chadwick wrote that it sold under a million copies by February 1983, below Atari's hopes.