Mind Strike

INTELLIVISION CARTRIDGE [Mattel Electronics #4531]

Release 1983

AKA Mindstrike

Design/Program/Music/Sound: David Warhohl

Gameboard designs: David Warhohl and Mark Buchignani

Graphics: Connie Goldman, Peggi Decarli, Joe [Ferreira] King

CATALOG DESCRIPTION

A futuristic, 3-dimensional space version of a chessboard game. Pit your skill against a computer, or another player. Alternate turns with your opponent or move simultaneously for a fast-action game. You can even sit back and watch the computer play itself. Use the keyboard to program the computer opponent to match your skill as you master the game. Select from over 50 challenging game boards.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

Mind Strike was an original game that David Warhol had created before coming to Mattel Electronics.

He started work on it as an Intellivision cartridge. Since the Master Component didn't have enough memory for a computer player, he designed it as a two-player game.

When the Entertainment Computer System was introduced with its extra RAM, Dave was asked to change Mind Strike to a one- or two-player ECS cartridge. He proposed making it two-player for Intellivision, one-player for ECS, but Marketing insisted on it being unplayable without the ECS module in order to boost ECS sales.

FUN FACT: David Warhol called the game Mindstrike; he wasn't happy when Marketing changed it to two words.

FUN FACT: All the game boards are symmetrical; they look the same when viewed upside-down. So Dave had the name Mind Strike on the title screen designed so that it, too, reads the same upside-down.

EASTER EGG: Dave's favorite number is 47 (it's a thing amongst Pomona College alumni), so board 47 reads "DAVE."