Space Wars

Space Wars is an early vector graphics arcade game based on Spacewar!, the PDP-1 program, and was ported to the Vectrex in 1982. Larry Rosenthal, an MIT graduate fascinated by the original Spacewar!, developed custom hardware and software to play the game. Cinematronics worked with Rosenthal to produce the Space Wars system. Two players control separate ships. Controls rotate the ship left or right, engage thrust, fire shells, and activate hyperspace, which makes the ship disappear and reappear randomly elsewhere on the playfield. Gameplay options include a central star with positive or negative gravitational pull, playfield edges that either wrap to the opposite side or do not, and shells that can bounce. Space Wars requires a human opponent and has no one-player mode. Ships can survive glancing hits but take visible damage: fragments break away, and the damaged ship turns and accelerates more slowly. Match duration is determined entirely by deposited money, with each quarter purchasing one and a half minutes of play; one dollar buys six minutes, while ten dollars in quarters allows two players to play continuously for one hour.

Space Wars pits two opposing pilots against each other in a direct spaceship duel inspired by the original Spacewar! Each player navigates a shared starfield, using thrust, weapons, hyperspace, and gravitational hazards to outmaneuver and destroy the rival ship.