Rescue On Fractalus! is a 1985 computer game created by Lucasfilm Games (later LucasArts Entertainment). It was originally released for the Atari 8-bit systems, such as the Atari 800 and the Atari 5200. It was also ported to other popular platforms of the day, such as the Apple II, ZX Spectrum (by Dalali Software Ltd), Amstrad and Commodore 64. The development version of this game was called Behind Jaggi Lines (this has a double meaning. The aliens in the game are called "Jaggi", so when playing the game you are flying "Behind Jaggi Lines". The word "Jaggi" was derived from "Jagged" during development due to the fact that the graphics depicting the cockpit of your Valkyrie spacecraft are not anti-aliased and are therefore very "Jagged". So the player is "Behind Jagged Lines"). Many of Lucasfilm Games' early releases were widely available to the computer underground on pirate bulletin boards.

The game utilized fractal technology to create the mountains of an alien planet, where the player controlled a space lander from a first-person view, attempting to land and pick up stranded pilots. Some of these mountains held anti-aircraft-type guns, which had to be avoided or destroyed.

As an interesting twist on this relatively straightforward premise, some of the "pilots in distress" were actually hostile aliens in disguise. After landing near a figure, the player could watch it run off-screen, and then wait for several tense seconds—if it was human, a frantic "tap-tap" noise would be heard from the ship's hatch; otherwise, the alien would suddenly jump back into view, roaring and trying to smash into the cockpit.

Disk and cartridge based versions, on the atari 800, also had an extra intro screen depicting the players mothership.

Credits from the game manual

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Rescue on Fractalus! was created by the Lucasfilm Computer Division Games Group. David Fox directed the project and created the concept, transition scenes, animation, and documentation. Loren Carpenter of the Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Project did the 3-D fractal landscape image generation and co-created the concept. Charlie Kellner was responsible for animation, music, sound, and flight dynamics; Gary Winnick provided animation; David Levine provided support; and Peter Langston, the Games Group Leader, contributed to the concept and designed night flying, music, and sound. Special thanks to George Lucas.

Unreleased Versions

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In 2004, an unreleased prototype of Rescue on Fractalus! for the Atari 7800 was found in the possession of its original programmers. While most of the core elements of the game were intact, the project was cancelled before the gameplay could be completed. The 7800 version would have taken advantage of the system's better graphical performance to produce a much smoother simulation of the planet Fractalus.

See also

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• Lucasfilm Games
• Ballblazer

External links

• Rescue On Fractalus! at Moby Games
• An Atari 8-bit reminiscing site
• Video from the 1984 Lucasfilm press conference introducing Rescue on Fractalus! and Ballblazer
• Atari Protos' article on the 7800 version of Rescue On Fractalus!
• Thrills, Chills & Pant-Spills — Rescue on Fractalus elected as one of the scariest games ever by the Way of the Rodent gaming magazine

1985 computer and video games | LucasArts games | Amstrad CPC games | Apple II games | Atari 5200 games | Atari 7800 games | Atari 8-bit family games | Commodore 64 games | ZX Spectrum games | Epyx games | Science_fiction_computer_and_video_games | Rescue on Fractalus