Threshold
Threshold is a fixed shooter written by Warren Schwader and Ken Williams for the Apple II and published by On-Line Systems in 1981. Based on Sega's Astro Blaster arcade video game, Threshold introduces many enemy ship types and wave formations as the game progresses. Reviewers found the variety distinguished the game from similar shoot 'em ups.
Threshold
- Date
- 1981
- Publisher
- Threshold was published by Tigervision.
- Genre
- fixed shooter
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Threshold is a fixed shooter written by Warren Schwader and Ken Williams for the Apple II and published by On-Line Systems in 1981. Based on Sega's Astro Blaster arcade video game, Threshold introduces many enemy ship types and wave formations as the game progresses. Reviewers found the variety distinguished the game from similar shoot 'em ups.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Threshold. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6146230
In this article
The object
The object
Ports to other systems were released on ROM cartridge: Atari 8-bit computers and VIC-20 in 1981, Commodore 64 in 1983, and ColecoVision and Thomson computers in 1984. An Atari 2600 adaptation was published by Tigervision in 1982. It is unique in allowing the player's ship to move vertically.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Threshold • Developer — On-Line Systems • Publisher — On-Line Systems Tigervision (2600) France Image Logiciel (Thomson) • Designer — Warren Schwader • Programmer — Apple II Warren Schwader Ken Williams Atari 8-bit Peter Oliphant • Released — 1981: Apple, Atari, VIC 1982: 2600 1983: C64 1984: ColecoVision, Thomson • Genre — Fixed shooter • Platforms — Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari 2600, VIC-20, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, Thomson
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — Threshold on Atari 2600 The player moves a spaceship, the Threshold, left and right along the botton of the screen and uses its laser weapon to destroy waves of aliens attacking from above. When a wave is eliminated, another appears. As in Astro Blaster, firing the laser increases its temperature, and it cools when not in use. If the temperature bar fills completely, then the weapon is disabled until it fully cools. Once per ship, pulling back on the joystick activates a "warp drive" that briefly slows the action. In the Atari 2600 conversion, the ship can be freely moved in eight directions in the lower portion of the screen, but lacks the warp drive ability.
Development
Development
The game was inspired by Ken Williams playing an Astro Blaster arcade machine in a store and calling Warren Schwader. In an interview in Halcyon Days, Schwader said: Instead of trying to duplicate the game in every detail, I set out to just take the concept and run with it–after first playing Astro Blaster for hours on end though. No matter how hard we tried, we never could get to the end of that game. There were always more new creatures to discover and that kept us coming back. We set out to provide the same experience for Threshold players. It took two months to implement. Williams only worked on the project for two weeks of that time, writing the Apple II animation routines.
Atari 2600
Atari 2600
Tigervision's Atari 2600 adaptation received a "Certificate of Merit" in the "Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Videogame" category of the 1983 Arcade Awards. JoyStik magazine gave the 2600 version four out of five stars and wrote: "Finally, a bottom-shoot space game where you can move vertically, as well as horizontally!"
Reception
On-Line Systems sold approximately 25,000 copies of Threshold. Reviewing the Apple II original for Creative Computing, David Lubar wrote, "The animation in Threshold is superb", and he found the number of enemy types and waves to be a strong point. The magazine's Steve Williams said that the VIC-20 version "is a fine action game with a few interesting twists... one of the best Galaxian derivatives available for the Vic". The Book of Atari Software 1983 gave the Atari 8-bit port a B rating: "It's the usual scenario, with this exception: the game offers unusual depth and variety." They found they sometimes mistook the stars in the animated background for enemy bullets. In Ahoy! magazine, R.J. Michaels led off his review with, "Only humor saves this game from being a run of the mill slide-and-shoot burn-the-alien-invaders game." Appraising the Atari 8-bit computer version, Electronic Games noticed the Astro Blaster connection and wrote "The graphics in Threshold are tremendous." The reviewer disliked the loading that occurs every so often between levels and found the game overall too difficult.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Thrasher Presents Skate and DestroyWork
- Threads of FateWork
- three-hole pipeTerminology
- ThreesWork
- Thrige-TitanOrganisation
- Thrill KillWork
- ThrillvilleWork
- throat microphoneTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a copy of Threshold?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.