Surround

Surround is a snake-style video game programmed by Alan Miller and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System, later known as the Atari 2600. Released in September 1977, it was one of the console's nine launch titles and adapted the emerging trail-and-collision game format associated with Gremlin Industries' 1976 arcade game Blockade. The central contest is simple: each player controls a continuously moving block inside an enclosed playfield, leaving a wall behind the block. Players attempt to force the opposing block into a wall, earning one point for each collision. The first player to reach ten points wins. The game offered more variation than its minimal visual presentation might suggest. Its competitive modes included faster movement, diagonal travel, trail erasure, and wraparound movement from one edge of the playfield to the opposite edge. These settings could be combined in two-player matches, creating different levels of speed and tactical complexity. A limited single-player mode paired the player with a computer-controlled opponent. Surround also included two Video Graffiti modes, which repurposed the joystick as a simple drawing tool. One operated similarly to an electronic sketchpad, while the other allowed the player to erase marks. Such drawing features were relatively common among early home consoles, but they broadened Surround beyond its primary competitive format. The title was developed during the first wave of home-console adaptations inspired by Blockade. After Blockade was demonstrated at the 1976 Music Operators of America Expo and attracted substantial operator interest, other companies produced related trail-based games, including Ramtek's Barricade, Meadows Games' Bigfoot Bonkers, and Atari's arcade title Dominos. Atari's home-console version was initially identified internally as a Blockade-style game. Alan Miller, who had studied computer simulations at the University of California, Berkeley, joined Atari after responding to a recruitment advertisement for microprocessor specialists and made Surround his first assignment there. Contemporary reviewers generally regarded Surround as challenging and more sophisticated than its basic graphics implied. Reviewers praised the tension and replayability of competitive matches, particularly when faster movement and diagonal travel were enabled. The Video Graffiti modes received a more mixed response, with some critics viewing them as a useful novelty and others finding them uninteresting. Later assessments commonly criticized the game's primitive visuals and sound effects, but continued to recognize its effectiveness as a two-player contest. Retrospective commentary has placed it among the stronger early Atari VCS games because its rules are immediately understandable while its competitive play rewards quick reactions and planning. Atari distributed the game for more than a decade. The Sears Tele-Games version was marketed under the name Chase, and documented sales continued as late as 1988. Surround subsequently appeared in historical Atari compilations, including Atari 80 in One, Atari Anthology, Atari Greatest Hits, Atari 50, and a compilation associated with the Atari 2600+ platform. Its continued inclusion in retro collections reflects its importance as an example of early console design, rather than evidence of a modern standalone commercial operation.

Surround emerged from the rapid expansion of arcade and home-console games based on trail-building mechanics. Gremlin Industries' Blockade, designed by Lane Hauck and shown at the 1976 Music Operators of America Expo, established the basic format: moving objects left persistent barriers behind them, and players attempted to make opponents collide with those barriers. The concept attracted attention from arcade operators and prompted several imitations and adaptations as manufacturers sought games that could be implemented on relatively limited hardware. Atari developed its own version for the Atari Video Computer System. Internal development notes reportedly referred to the project as a Blockade game. Alan Miller joined Atari after answering a recruitment notice seeking microprocessor expertise and was assigned Surround as his first project. The resulting design translated the arcade concept into a home-console format supporting either two human players or one human player against a computer-controlled opponent. Players guided blocks through a bounded field, with collisions against an opponent's trail producing points. A match ended when one player reached ten points. Atari added several selectable rule variations. Speed Up increased the movement rate at intervals; Diagonal Movement allowed travel along diagonal paths; Erase let players temporarily stop producing a trail; and Wraparound connected opposite edges of the playfield. These options could be combined for two-player sessions, allowing the same basic game to support slower introductory play and faster, more demanding contests. Two Video Graffiti modes provided a noncompetitive drawing activity, reflecting a broader early-console interest in using joysticks for simple electronic illustration. Surround shipped in September 1977 as one of the nine launch games for the Atari VCS. It was not necessarily available through every retail channel immediately, since early Atari software distribution relied in part on mail order. Sears sold a Tele-Games edition under the alternate title Chase. The game remained in circulation for many years, with documented copies still sold in 1988. Initial criticism was generally favorable. Contemporary reviewers described the game as challenging and complex for an early console title, and they particularly valued the sound cues and replay potential of its competitive modes. The drawing features divided opinion. Later reviewers were more critical of the sparse graphics and simple audio, yet often agreed that the two-player game remained tense and entertaining. Retrospective histories of the Atari VCS have treated Surround as an important early example of how a small rule set could produce substantial replay value. The title was preserved through multiple Atari retrospectives. It appeared in Atari 80 in One for Windows, Atari Anthology for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Atari Greatest Hits releases for Nintendo DS and iOS devices, Atari 50 for modern consoles and PC, and a compilation connected with the Atari 2600+ hardware. These reissues have kept the game available primarily as a historical and archival work within Atari's catalog.

• 2022

  Atari 50 reissue

  [1]Surround (video game)en.wikipedia.org

  The game was preserved in the Atari 50 anniversary compilation for modern platforms.

• 2004

  Atari Anthology reissue

  [1]Surround (video game)en.wikipedia.org

  Surround was included in Atari Anthology for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

• 1977

  Atari VCS launch release

  [1]Surround (video game)en.wikipedia.org

  Atari released Surround for the Atari Video Computer System in September as one of the system's nine launch titles.

• 1977

  Sears Tele-Games edition

  [1]Surround (video game)en.wikipedia.org

  The Sears version of the Atari VCS game was marketed under the title Chase.

• 1976

  Blockade establishes the trail-game format

  [1]Surround (video game)en.wikipedia.org

  Gremlin Industries presented Blockade at the Music Operators of America Expo, helping establish the arcade format that influenced Surround and other snake-style games.

A straightforward but tactically demanding two-player launch game for Atari's first home video-game console, with optional speed, movement, trail, and drawing variations.

• Atari VCS/Atari 2600 video game · 1977

  Surround

  The original release is a two-player competitive trail game in which moving blocks leave walls behind them. Players score when an opponent crashes into a barricade, and the first to ten points wins. Optional modes alter speed, directional movement, trail creation, and edge behavior. The cartridge also includes two Video Graffiti drawing modes. The design is intentionally compact but supports repeated matches through combinations of rule settings.

• Sears Tele-Games edition · 1977

  Chase

  Chase was the Sears Tele-Games branding of Surround for the Atari VCS. It retained the original game's core trail-building competition while presenting the software under Sears' alternate product name.

• 2003

  Atari catalog preservation through compilationsOther

  Background

  Atari began presenting older software as part of retrospective and collection-based products.

  Action taken

  Surround was included in later Atari compilations and portable collections, extending its availability beyond its original cartridge release.

  Aftermath

  The game remained accessible as part of Atari's historical catalog on newer platforms.

  Source

• 1977

  Atari selected Surround for the VCS launch lineupProduct launch

  Background

  Atari needed a group of games capable of demonstrating the new Video Computer System with limited early console hardware.

  Action taken

  The company released Surround as one of nine launch titles and included multiple rule variants plus drawing modes to increase replay value.

  Aftermath

  Reviews generally recognized the title's competitive depth, although later commentary criticized its basic visuals and sound.

  Source

1. 1Surround (video game)en.wikipedia.org