Tax Dodge (video game)

Tax Dodge is a 1982 video game published by Island Graphics.[1] It is the first game created by Free Fall Associates, a developer which later became best known for Archon: The Light and the Dark.

Tax Dodge
Developer(s)Free Fall Associates
Publisher(s)Island Graphics
Designer(s)Jon Freeman
Anne Westfall
Platform(s)Atari 8-bit
Release1982
Genre(s)Maze

Gameplay

Tax Dodge is a game in which the player navigates a maze collecting the stacks of coins.[2] Having accumulated money, the player then tries to keep as much of it as possible out of the hands of four tax agents who are in constant pursuit.

Development

When asked about the genesis of the concept, designer Jon Freeman replied:

we wanted to create a few maze games that weren't Pac-Man clones. The subject matter came from spending too much time doing our taxes, and the details were there partly to illustrate the absurdities of the tax code. The layout was designed to combine the Atari 800's scrolling capabilities with the feel of a board game.[3]

Reception

Allen Doum reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "As a game, Tax Dodge starts easy but becomes quite difficult starting with the fourth year. From there on out, players are going to have to work out patterns and, tricks to stay in the game. My only real complaint is that it seems much harder to 'corner' in this game than in most games — even with practice. Tax Dodge is a good, solid game that makes the most of its' [sic] theme and somewhat overdone play mechanics."[2]

Jon Freeman, of Free Fall Associates, said that the game appealed to adults, "but the average young gamer just didn't get it."[3]

References
  1. Demaria, Rusel (7 December 2018). High Score! Expanded: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games 3rd Edition. ISBN 9780429771392.
  2. Doum, Allen (Jan–Feb 1983). "The Atari Arena". Computer Gaming World. Vol. 1, no. 8. pp. 34–35.
  3. Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers. dadgum.com. 1997.
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