<s>
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
is	O
a	O
single-player	O
arcade	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
subgenre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
version	O
to	O
date	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
"	O
concept	O
,	O
surpassing	O
the	O
prior	O
Moonlander	B-Application
and	O
numerous	O
text-based	O
games	O
,	O
and	O
most	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
concept	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
this	O
Atari	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
began	O
with	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
a	O
vector	O
graphics	O
engine	O
by	O
Atari	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
1978	O
Cinematronics	O
game	O
Space	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Engine	O
co-designer	O
Wendi	O
Allen	O
proposed	O
using	O
it	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
game	O
,	O
a	O
genre	O
which	O
dates	O
to	O
1969	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
sold	O
4,830	O
units	O
,	O
a	O
moderate	O
success	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
soon	O
overtaken	O
by	O
the	O
November	O
1979	O
Asteroids	B-Application
,	O
and	O
300	O
Asteroids	B-Application
units	O
were	O
shipped	O
in	O
Lunar	O
Lander-branded	O
cabinets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
games	O
to	O
be	O
registered	O
with	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
Copyright	O
Office	O
,	O
though	O
the	O
prior	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
genre	O
kept	O
the	O
gameplay	O
from	O
being	O
patented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
was	O
included	O
in	O
an	O
art	O
installation	O
at	O
the	O
Dublin	O
Science	O
Gallery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
is	O
a	O
single-player	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
subgenre	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
attempts	O
to	O
land	O
a	O
lunar	O
landing	O
module	O
on	O
the	O
Moon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
arcade	O
games	O
,	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
does	O
not	O
feature	O
a	O
time	O
limit	O
;	O
instead	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
starts	O
with	O
a	O
set	O
amount	O
of	O
fuel	O
and	O
inserting	O
additional	O
quarters	O
purchases	O
more	O
fuel	O
,	O
allowing	O
indefinite	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
concept	O
was	O
initially	O
created	O
in	O
1969	O
as	O
a	O
text-based	O
game	O
called	O
Lunar	O
,	O
or	O
alternately	O
the	O
Lunar	O
Landing	O
Game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
graphical	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
subgenre	O
,	O
Moonlander	B-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1973	O
by	O
DEC	O
,	O
which	O
commissioned	O
a	O
real-time	O
,	O
graphical	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
game	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
the	O
capabilities	O
of	O
its	O
new	O
DEC	B-Device
GT40	I-Device
graphics	O
terminals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
1977	O
Cinematronics	O
vector	O
graphics	O
game	O
Space	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
,	O
Atari	O
began	O
work	O
on	O
their	O
own	O
vector	O
graphics	O
engine	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
graphics	O
are	O
constructed	O
by	O
drawn	O
lines	O
instead	O
of	O
pixels	B-Algorithm
like	O
in	O
the	O
more	O
standard	O
raster	B-Algorithm
graphics	I-Algorithm
engines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
it	O
was	O
done	O
,	O
she	O
proposed	O
using	O
the	O
monochrome	O
game	O
engine	O
for	O
a	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Allen	O
had	O
previously	O
played	O
Moonlander	B-Application
during	O
a	O
tour	O
of	O
NASA	O
and	O
had	O
played	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
text-based	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
games	O
in	O
college	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Fall	O
1978	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
began	O
,	O
with	O
Allen	O
in	O
charge	O
of	O
the	O
hardware	O
and	O
Rich	O
Moore	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
only	O
been	O
with	O
Atari	O
for	O
a	O
few	O
months	O
and	O
who	O
had	O
also	O
played	O
a	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
game	O
in	O
college	O
,	O
focusing	O
on	O
the	O
programming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Allen	O
noted	O
in	O
an	O
interview	O
in	O
2010	O
,	O
"	O
even	O
the	O
real	O
lunar	B-Application
landers	I-Application
had	O
computer	O
assist	O
!	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Eventually	O
,	O
they	O
settled	O
on	O
including	O
four	O
difficulty	O
levels	O
,	O
as	O
compared	O
to	O
Moonlanders	B-Application
three	O
,	O
though	O
Allen	O
has	O
referred	O
to	O
the	O
hardest	O
level	O
as	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
painful	O
difficulty	O
spikes	O
in	O
gaming	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
thrust	O
control	O
has	O
ten	O
levels	O
of	O
thrust	O
,	O
as	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
single	O
on	O
or	O
off	O
level	O
of	O
thrust	O
in	O
previous	O
Lunar	B-Application
Landers	I-Application
,	O
though	O
Moore	O
has	O
noted	O
that	O
this	O
gives	O
players	O
more	O
incorrect	O
options	O
to	O
choose	O
from	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
She	O
also	O
wanted	O
to	O
add	O
in	O
a	O
McDonald	O
's	O
location	O
easter	O
egg	O
,	O
as	O
was	O
present	O
in	O
Moonlander	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
development	O
started	O
,	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
August	O
1979	O
,	O
just	O
after	O
the	O
tenth	O
anniversary	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
human	O
Moon	O
landing	O
,	O
though	O
Atari	O
did	O
not	O
link	O
this	O
connection	O
in	O
its	O
marketing	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
proved	O
moderately	O
commercially	O
successful	O
,	O
selling	O
4,830	O
cabinets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
two-player	O
version	O
was	O
cancelled	O
as	O
Lunar	B-Application
Landers	I-Application
popularity	O
was	O
soon	O
overtaken	O
by	O
Atari	O
's	O
Asteroids	B-Application
(	O
November	O
1979	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
used	O
the	O
same	O
vector	O
graphics	O
engine	O
and	O
which	O
had	O
initially	O
been	O
based	O
on	O
Lunar	B-Application
Landers	I-Application
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
ceased	O
production	O
early	O
on	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
in	O
favor	O
of	O
shipping	O
Asteroids	B-Application
games	O
in	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
cabinets	O
;	O
the	O
first	O
300	O
Asteroids	B-Application
games	O
were	O
released	O
with	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
artwork	O
on	O
the	O
side	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
was	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
version	O
to	O
date	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
"	O
concept	O
,	O
surpassing	O
the	O
prior	O
Moonlander	B-Application
and	O
text-based	O
games	O
,	O
and	O
most	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
concept	O
are	O
implicitly	O
or	O
explicitly	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Atari	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1977	O
,	O
Atari	O
produced	O
Star	O
Ship	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
contained	O
several	O
space-related	O
games	O
;	O
one	O
of	O
these	O
was	O
titled	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
,	O
though	O
despite	O
the	O
name	O
its	O
gameplay	O
involved	O
landing	O
on	O
a	O
surface	O
while	O
avoiding	O
enemy	O
spaceships	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
gameplay	O
of	O
the	O
arcade	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Atari	O
did	O
not	O
produce	O
any	O
true	O
sequels	O
or	O
contemporary	O
ports	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
in	O
1980	O
Adventure	O
International	O
produced	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
concept	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
arcade	O
game	O
clones	O
for	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
which	O
,	O
though	O
featuring	O
differences	O
from	O
the	O
Atari	O
version	O
,	O
was	O
advertised	O
as	O
"	O
an	O
arcade	O
game	O
simulation	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
least	O
one	O
other	O
arcade	O
game	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
concept	O
was	O
developed	O
around	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
non-vector	O
graphics	O
game	O
Lunar	B-Application
Rescue	I-Application
by	O
Taito	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
has	O
been	O
included	O
in	O
several	O
Atari	O
compilation	O
releases	O
for	O
various	O
platforms	O
starting	O
in	O
2003	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Atari	B-Application
:	I-Application
80	I-Application
Classic	I-Application
Games	I-Application
in	I-Application
One	I-Application
(	O
2003	O
,	O
personal	O
computer	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
Atari	O
Flashback	O
2	O
console	O
(	O
2005	O
)	O
,	O
Millipede	O
/	O
Super	O
Breakout	O
/	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
(	O
2005	O
,	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Advance	I-Device
)	O
,	O
Retro	O
Atari	O
Classics	O
(	O
2005	O
,	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
)	O
,	O
Atari	O
Masterpieces	O
(	O
2005	O
,	O
N-Gage	B-Device
)	O
,	O
Atari	O
Classics	O
Evolved	O
(	O
2007	O
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
Portable	I-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
Atari	B-Application
Greatest	I-Application
Hits	I-Application
(	O
2010	O
,	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
Atari	O
Flashback	O
Classics	O
Volume	O
1	O
(	O
2017	O
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1980	O
,	O
Asteroids	B-Application
and	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
became	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
games	O
to	O
be	O
registered	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
Copyright	O
Office	O
,	O
though	O
Burness	O
has	O
claimed	O
that	O
Atari	O
also	O
attempted	O
to	O
patent	O
the	O
game	O
design	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
rejected	O
due	O
to	O
his	O
prior	O
Moonlander	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012	O
,	O
for	O
the	O
40th	O
anniversary	O
of	O
Atari	O
's	O
founding	O
,	O
it	O
released	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
its	O
early	O
games	O
as	O
browser-based	O
games	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
Atari	O
Arcade	O
"	O
;	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
initial	O
set	O
of	O
eight	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
Lumen	O
Prize-winner	O
Seb	O
Lee-Delisle	O
presented	O
his	O
"	O
Lunar	O
Trails	O
"	O
art	O
installation	O
at	O
the	O
Science	O
Gallery	O
in	O
Dublin	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
machine	O
draws	O
out	O
the	O
cumulative	O
paths	O
taken	O
by	O
players	O
of	O
a	O
Lunar	B-Application
Lander	I-Application
arcade	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
