The Perils of "Pitfall!" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Activision

David Crane (b. 1954) designed the game which was published by Activision on behalf of Atari 2600 in 1982. He had worked for both Atari, Inc. (beginning in 1977) and Activision by the time he created "Pitfall!". The game would eventually be adapted to several platforms including Atari 5200, ColecoVision, and Commodore 64. "Pitfall!" received positive reviews for its appearance and gameplay in addition to being one of Atari's best-sellers.

Answer: Harry

The player (this was a one-player game) had a time limit of twenty minutes to navigate the avatar through the jungle. Pitfall Harry has entered the jungle in search of treasure which is scattered throughout the game. Harry traveled through a large number of screens where quite a bit of treasure was scattered. Pitfall Harry was a featured character on "Saturday Supercade" (CBS, 1983-1985).

Answer: Platform

A platform game is a subgenre of an action game. It is named for its uneven playing surface. Going across the screen requires a player to climb to a higher platform of drop to a lower platform. In the game, Larry could be directed to go down ladders to underground tunnels or swing on vines above the surface of the game.

Answer: Fly

Harry had the ability to jump over objects (such as alligators or scorpions) or climb up vines. He could also travel up and down ladders connecting the tunnels with the main level. In addition, the player could move the avatar to the right (forwards) or to the left (backwards). The player could lose points through colliding with an object or falling.

Answer: Lions

The heads of the crocodiles could be found poking out of the swamps. The scorpions and cobras were to be found underground in the tunnels. The player started with three lives. Each could potentially cause a player to lose a life along with landing in quicksand, swamp, or tar pit.

Answer: No

In addition to being a well-selling game, "Pitfall!" was actually the best-selling Atari game that did not originate as an arcade port. It was later included in various Activision compilation packs. Designer David Crane designed several Activision games including "Fishing Derby", "Freeway", and "Grand Prix". Crane and others had left Atari and formed Activision in 1979.

Answer: 255

The player encountered 255 different screens in the twenty minutes of game play. The screens loaded one at a time as this is not a side-scrolling game. The development of the game saw the development of a noting or "running" man first with that then leading to Crane then developing the setting around the character avatar. One inspiration for the game was "Heckle and Jeckle" cartoons with the character being able to run across the closed mouths/jaws of crocodiles.

Answer: Yes

It was possible to complete "Pitfall!". The game had a twenty minute time limit. The player would need to follow a specific track and travel to the right and the left. The player would finish the game with less than one minute to spare. The game concluded with the screen flashing.

Answer: Thirty-two

The player started a game with 2,000 points. There were thirty-two treasures in the game-each valued between 2,000 and 5,000 points each. Some of the individual treasures include money bags and diamond rings. The treasures represented the primary positives of the game as opposed to the negatives (such as various dangerous animals).

It was estimated that the game represented about 1,000 hours of programming time.

Answer: Lost Caverns

"Pitfall II: Lost Caverns" was released in 1984. David Crane designed the game for Activision. The reviews for the game were very good, with many finding it even better than "Pitfall!". Crane would describe later sequels as games that had the title "Pitfall!" slapped onto them.