Ballblazer — stories left

Along with Rescue on Fractalus!, it was one of the initial pair of releases from Lucasfilm Games, Ballblazer was developed and first published for the Atari 8-bit computers.

Ballblazer and Rescue on Fractalus! were the first two games developed by the fledgling Lucasfilm Computer Division Games Group.

The Games Group had been established in 1982 on a $1 million funding from Atari, Inc. in exchange for the "right of first refusal" for Atari as publisher.

The games were ready by March 1984 and were first publicly revealed on a Lucasfilm press conference on May 8.

Cartridge versions for the Atari computers and the 5200 were planned to be the released first in the third quarter of 1984, with disk versions for the Commodore 64, IBM PC, and Apple IIc and IIe coming under the Atarisoft label in the fourth quarter of that year.

The Games Group had been established in 1982 on a $1 million funding from Atari, Inc. in exchange for the "right of first refusal" for Atari as publisher.

Langston, an experienced jazz, rock, and folk musician, said of Ballblazers music: "One reviewer, an eminent jazz player [Pat Metheny], said it sounded like John Coltrane did it.

Computer Gaming World stated that the "quick and intense" Ballblazer "squeezes more out of the Atari 400/800 than any game I've ever seen ... spectacular graphics".

In a retrospective review of the Commodore 64 version from 2007, Eurogamers Kristan Reed said "its visual approach has dated hideously" but it remained "a fascinating period piece".

The Games Group had been established in 1982 on a $1 million funding from Atari, Inc. in exchange for the "right of first refusal" for Atari as publisher.

Computer and Video Games gave the Atari 7800 version a 97% score in 1989.