Frogger

Name: Frogger
Programmer(s): Olaf Lubeck
Publisher: Sierra Online
Year: 1981

Description: This is the official "Apple Version" of the very popular arcade game Frogger. The game is a very week clone of the arcade version and has several "quirks" that drag game play down. The first and most annoying is the intro music that plays every time you start a new game. The second biggest drawback is the graphics which are a couple lines above simple squares and circles. I'll give Olaf Lubeck the benefit of the doubt here and say that it was RUSHED to market without much development time or QA. His other titles such as Cannonball Blitz and Jawbreaker are excellent examples of classic Apple 2 games. This looks like a job by a freelancer that Sierra Online hired over a weekend.

Check out Ribbit for a much better version of the game plus a back story of an indie developer/publisher vs. corporate game publisher.

Frogger for the Apple II brought the arcade hit home in 1981. Published by Sierra On-Line, this version challenged players to guide a frog across busy highways and dangerous rivers to reach safety. The game became one of the most popular titles in the Apple II library.

In Frogger, you control a small green frog trying to reach five home spaces at the top of the screen. The journey requires crossing a highway filled with cars, trucks, and bulldozers, then hopping across a river using logs and turtles. Each successful trip home earns points, but you must fill all five spots before time runs out. The game gets harder with each level as vehicles move faster and logs become less predictable.

The Apple II version uses simple graphics with basic shapes and limited colors. Cars appear as rectangles, logs as brown lines, and your frog as a small square that hops with each keystroke. Players use the I, J, K, and M keys to move up, left, right, and down. Sound effects include beeps for movement and a distinct noise when your frog gets squashed or drowns.

What makes Frogger special is its pattern recognition gameplay. Players must study traffic patterns and time their movements perfectly. The highway section requires quick reflexes to dodge vehicles moving at different speeds. The river section adds complexity since logs and turtles move in opposite directions. Some turtles dive underwater, creating extra danger. Missing a jump means starting over with one less life.

The Apple II port faced technical challenges due to the computer's limited memory and graphics capabilities. Programmers had to simplify the arcade version's graphics while keeping the gameplay intact. Despite these limitations, they created smooth animation and responsive controls that made the game fun to play.

Frogger succeeded because it combined simple rules with challenging gameplay. Anyone could understand the goal in seconds, but mastering the timing took practice. The game influenced many other Apple II titles that used similar dodge-and-weave mechanics. Schools often included Frogger in their computer labs because it taught hand-eye coordination and planning skills.

The Apple II version sold thousands of copies and introduced home computer users to arcade-style action. While it lacked the colorful graphics of the coin-operated original, it captured the addictive gameplay that made Frogger famous. Today, collectors consider it an essential piece of Apple II gaming history.