Tank (video game)

Tank, often referred to as Tank!, is a two-player arcade game developed by Atari and released in November 1974. It is considered one of the earliest arcade games to feature artificial intelligence.

The game involves two players, each controlling a tank in a maze-like arena. Players maneuver their tanks to hunt down and destroy their opponent's tank. Gameplay is simplistic, involving movement controls and a firing button. Tanks can rotate and move forward or backward. Upon being hit by an enemy shot, a tank is destroyed, resulting in a point awarded to the opponent. The game continues until a pre-determined score is reached.

Tank utilized a black and white vector display, which allowed for sharp, clean lines compared to raster graphics of the time. This gave the game a distinct visual style. The game's internal ROM stored the outlines of the tank and the maze, which were then drawn on the screen.

A unique feature of Tank was the use of the TIA (Television Interface Adaptor) chip, co-designed by Steve Mayer, which would later be used in the Atari 2600.

The success of Tank led to numerous clones and variations, contributing to the proliferation of tank combat games in arcades and on home consoles. While graphically simple by modern standards, Tank is recognized as a significant title in the history of video games, influential in the development of AI and multiplayer gaming.