| Poly Play | |
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| Developer(s) | VEB Polytechnik |
| Publisher(s) | VEB Polytechnik |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release date | 1985 (estimate, exact date unknown) |
| Genre(s) | Various |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Input methods | Joystick; 1 button |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Display | Raster, standard resolution (Used: 512 x 256), horizontal |
Poly Play is an arcade game developed in the German Democratic Republic in 1985; it is the only such machine to originate in the GDR. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video VEB Polytechnik was a company from the German Democratic Republic, located in Chemnitz (then called Karl-Marx-Stadt VEB Polytechnik was a company from the German Democratic Republic, located in Chemnitz (then called Karl-Marx-Stadt In Computing, a platform describes some sort of Hardware architecture or Software framework (including Application frameworks, that allows An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in businesses such as Restaurants Pubs Video arcades and Family Entertainment Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) See also [[Game classification]] Video games are categorized into Genres based on their Gameplay interaction In video gaming, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling In Computer graphics, a raster graphics image or bitmap, is a Data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of Pixels An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in businesses such as Restaurants Pubs Video arcades and Family Entertainment The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state Events Notable releases Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific It was created by VEB Polytechnik and contained a number of games, including a knock-off of Pac-Man. VEB Polytechnik was a company from the German Democratic Republic, located in Chemnitz (then called Karl-Marx-Stadt is an Arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution
Hardware
Poly Play ran on a Soviet clone of the Zilog Z80 CPU, which was clocked at 2. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit Microprocessor designed and sold by Zilog from July 1976 onwards 457600 MHz and a custom sound chip. The hertz (symbol Hz) is a measure of Frequency, informally defined as the number of events occurring per Second. Its display ran at a resolution of 512*256 at 50 Hz and supported a palette of ten colours, though it could also use coloured overlays. The hertz (symbol Hz) is a measure of Frequency, informally defined as the number of events occurring per Second. The machine's coin slot was designed for 50 Pfennig, but it was flawed - the pressure sensor could be deceived by pressing a 1-Pfennig coin very sharply into the top of the slot. The Pfennig (abbreviation Pf) is an old German coin or note which existed from the 9th century until the introduction of the Euro However, this was largely tolerated because the machine was not a capitalistic commercial venture, but a state-owned product found predominantly in FDGB holiday homes, youth hostels and non-profit clubs. Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where The Free German Trade Union Federation, in German Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (FDGB was the Trade union federation in East Germany. Hostels provide budget-oriented accommodation where guests can rent a bed, sometimes a Bunk bed in a Dormitory and share a bathroom A non-profit organization ( abbreviated "NPO" also "not-for-profit" is a legally constituted Organization whose objective is to support or engage The machine ran with a deactivated coin slot in many youth clubs. However, the free play often caused large crowds to form around it, which incited their reactivation.
A Poly Play machine is currently on display with the touring video game show "Game On". Two machines can also be seen at RetroGames e. V. in Germany.
Games
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Hirschjagd (Deer Hunt) is similar to Robotron 2084. Robotron 2084 (often called simply Robotron) is an Arcade game created in 1982 by the company Vid Kidz ( Eugene Jarvis Translation from the game: The fleeing deer must be pursued and hunted, but only 10 shots are available. A shot that hits the deer is not deducted. Around every 15 seconds, a shot must be fired or it will be lost. |
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Hase und Wolf (Hare and Wolf) is a faster-paced Pac-Man clone and was based on the Russian cartoon series Nu, pogodi!, popular in the GDR. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The word cartoon has various meanings based on several very different forms of Visual art and Illustration. Nu pogodi! ( Ну погоди!, Well Just You Wait! or You Just Wait!) is a Soviet / Russian animated The Hare must eat everything that it can get. It has to avoid the Wolf, who wants to eat it! Scoring: Pea 1 point, carrot 5 points, pear 7 and/or 10 points |
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Abfahrtslauf (Downhill Run) is a simple sport game in which one must ski between the flags. A ski is a long flat device worn on the feet designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow The gates go from 6 metres wide, half the screen size (very easy) down to 0. 2 metres (impossible). This game can become very fast. |
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Schmetterlinge (Butterflies) with Pittiplatsch or Mole, both stars of children's television series in the GDR; however, the game is more suited to adults. A butterfly is an Insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a Pittiplatsch (short Pitti) is a German fictional Kobold character who was very famous in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany especially The Mole (called Krtek or Krteček little mole is an animated character in a series of Cartoons created by Czech animator Zdeněk Miler The flowers act as obstacles that must be traversed. |
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Schiessbude (Shooting Gallery) is a Carnival clone. Carnival is a Fixed shooter Arcade game created by Sega in 1980 not to be confused with CarnEvil, and has the distinction of being Shoot to score. A balloon gives you one point; a duck, two; and a flower, three. Ammunition can be reloaded by shooting into the left magazine. For each of the three rows there is, in the top right, a multiplier field to hit (coloured yellow, blue and pink). The longer one plays, the greater the number of ducks to emerge; ducks in the lowest row can steal one's ammunition if not dealt with quickly. |
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Autorennen (Motor Race) is a racing game. The player's red car must win 2 out of 4 rounds. It is not a very difficult game as you start in a good initial position and can pass the first curve more easily than the other racers. |
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Merkspiel (Memory Game) Remember all pictures and reveal them, playing against time. Each picture also has its own sound. If you forget a picture, its sound plays. |
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Wasserrohrbruch (Water Pipe Break) This is the last Poly Play game. The objective is to prevent a room from flooding. In the room above, a water pipe bursts. By catching drops with the bucket, you can prevent the water level from rising. The bucket can be emptied out of the cellar windows (play button). If the bucket is full, one does not obtain any points. Scoring: Water level too high: -1 game; Caught drop: +5 points; Bucket emptied into the cellar: -x and Bucket emptied out of the window: +3x (where x = amount of drops caught); with good play: +1 game (max. 3). |
Four other games were planned. In the source code, there are paragraphs referring to the following games: "Der Gärtner / The Gardener", "Im Gewächshaus / The Greenhouse", "Hagelnde Wolken / Hailing Clouds" and "Der Taucher / The Diver". At least two games (probably "Hagelnde Wolken", a Space Invaders clone, and "Der Taucher" (a game where malicious fish attack a diver) have been installed on some machines.
External links
- Andy's Arcade page with many internal views of the surviving cabinets.
- RetroGames e.V. German Club with two working Poly Play machines.
- Poly Play at the Killer List of Videogames
- BBC article about Poly Play
- PolyPlay.de - German Website about Poly-Play, here you can play the Poly-Play-Games.
- Poly Play at robotrontechnik.de (in German, with screenshot of the game "Der Gärtner / The Gardener")
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