Raster Blaster is a computer pinball game by Bill Budge. It was released in 1981 for the Apple ][, Commodore 64 and Atari 8-Bit Computers.
At its heart, the game is an unlicensed adaptation of Williams Electronics' Firepower. Complete the top rollovers and hit the right drop target bank to spell R-B. Knock down the six center targets to activate the capture claws, then lock three pinballs to start multiball. The game offers two difficulty levels and supported up to four players.
Raster Blaster was one of the major hits of early eighties computer gaming, for its fast action and then-unprecedented realistic gameplay and physics. It was voted "Most Popular Program of 1981" by Softalk magazine, and is often misidentified as the first Digital Pinball Table and/or first home video pinball game.note The success of Raster Blaster led Budge to create the groundbreaking Pinball Construction Set.
Raster Blaster demonstrates the following tropes:
- Alternate Company Equivalent: To Firepower.
- Anti-Frustration Feature: Unlike Firepower, Raster Blaster has two kickbacks, one for each outlane. They are always enabled in Easy mode.
- Brand X: The "Billy" logo on the top of the display board is a copy of the logo for arcade game maker Bally.
- No Plot? No Problem!
- Serial Numbers Filed Off: Invoked, as Raster Blaster is a clear copy of Firepower.
- Top-Down View
