River Raid

Article summary

River Raid is a 1982 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Activision for the Atari 2600 and designed by Carol Shaw. The player controls a fighter jet over the River of No Return in a raid behind enemy lines. The goal is to navigate the flight by destroying enemy tankers, helicopters, fuel depots and bridges without running out of fuel or crashing. Before joining Activision, Shaw had developed games for Atari, Inc. Inspired by the arcade game Scramble (1981), she set out to make a game with a continuously scrolling screen. Shaw programmed and designed River Raid herself, taking occasional advice from other Activision staff. River Raid was one of the best-selling games of 1983 and the second best-selling Atari 2600 video game of the year after Ms. Pac-Man. It received year-end awards from The Video Game Update and the Arkie Awards. The game was ported to several other consoles and computers and received a sequel in 1988. It has continued to receive praise as one of the best games for the Atari 2600 from various publications.

Key claims

1. release date: 1982 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. release date: 1983 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. release date: 1986 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the release date is "1982". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the release date is "1983". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the release date is "1986". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
6. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1376506775