{{Short description|1981 video game}} {{Infobox video game |image = Raster Blaster cover.jpg |caption = |developer = Bill Budge |publisher = BudgeCo |programmer = |released = 1981 |genre = Pinball |modes = Single-player |platforms = Apple II, Atari 8-bit }}
'''''Bill Budge's Raster Blaster''''' (or '''''Rasterblaster''''' on the disk label) is a home computer pinball simulation written by Bill Budge for the Apple II and published in 1981 by Budge's company, BudgeCo. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Raster Blaster|url=http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-raster-blaster_4292.html|website=Atari Mania}}</ref> ''Raster Blaster'' closely resembles the Williams ''Firepower'' table from 1980.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 2017 |title=Pinball Wizard - Bill Budge on the Apple II and Raster Blaster |url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-uk-2017/Retro%20Gamer%20UK%20165/page/58/mode/2up |magazine=Retro Gamer |page=59 |issue=165}}</ref>
While not the first pinball game for home computers, ''Raster Blaster'' set a higher bar for visual fidelity, and the next several years saw a flurry of Apple II pinball titles: ''David's Midnight Magic'' (1982), ''Night Mission Pinball'' (1982), and Budge's own ''Pinball Construction Set'' (1983).
== Gameplay == At the start of each ball, it is launched towards the four rollovers at the top of the table. Below these are located four bumpers, each with three targets on them; by hitting these targets the player can activate three "claws" to grab the ball. After all claws have grabbed a ball, all three balls are released at the same time for multiball. The initials of the game can be spelled by the player: the R lights when the upper rollovers are completed, and the B lights when the three targets on the right are hit. The game has two difficulty settings, and can be played by up to four players.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Teverbaugh |first=Rick |date=November 1983 |title=Video Pinball flips out |url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Games_Volume_02_Number_09_1983-11_Reese_Communications_US/page/n47/mode/2up? |magazine=Electronic Games |pages=48-49 |volume=2 |issue=9}}</ref>
==Reception== thumb|left|Gameplay screenshot Debuting in April 1981, the game sold 25,000 copies by June 1982, tied for fourth on ''Computer Gaming World''{{'}}s list of top sellers.<ref name="lombardy1982sepoct">{{cite magazine | title=Inside the Industry | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1982&pub=2&id=6 | format=PDF | magazine=Computer Gaming World | page=2 | date=September–October 1982 | accessdate= 2016-03-28}}</ref> ''BYTE'' praised the game's realistic physics, writing that "most microcomputer games that are versions of existing board or equipment games aren't worth the disks they're printed on, but ''Raster Blaster'' does not fall into that category!"<ref name="byte198112">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1981-12/1981_12_BYTE_06-12_Computer_Games#page/n37/mode/2up | title=The Coinless Arcade | work=BYTE | date=December 1981 | accessdate=19 October 2013 | pages=38–41}}</ref>
''Raster Blaster'' was voted ''Softalk'' magazine's Most Popular Program of 1981.<ref>"Most Popular Program of 1981: Raster Blaster!" Softalk. April 1982.</ref>
''Softline'' stated when reviewing ''David's Midnight Magic'' that it "ratifies Bill Budge's extraordinary program as a programming tour de force" and "proof of Budge's technical lead over his rivals", as ''Midnight'' was merely equal to ''Raster Blaster'' despite being nine months ("an eternity in the Apple II world") newer.<ref name="tommervik198201">{{cite news | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1982&pub=6&id=3 | title=David's Midnight Magic | work=Softline | date=January 1982 | accessdate=13 July 2014 | author=Tommervik, Al | pages=32}}</ref>
''Compute!'' called the Atari version "addictive", although it noted some bugs.<ref name="kopp198210">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1982-10-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_029_1982_Oct#page/n131/mode/2up | title=Raster Blaster | work=Compute! | date=October 1982 | accessdate=30 October 2013 | author=Kopp, G. L. | pages=131 | type=review}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{cite book |last=Hague |first=James |date=March 1997 |title=Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers |title-link=Halcyon Days (book) |chapter=Bill Budge |access-date=15 September 2025 |publisher=Dadgum Games |chapter-url=https://dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/BUDGE.HTM}}
Category:1981 video games Category:Apple II games Category:Atari 8-bit computer games Category:Pinball video games Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Single-player video games