Serpentine

Serpentine
Title	Serpentine
Release date(s)	1982
Original Platform(s)	Apple II
Original Publisher(s)	Broderbund Software
Developer(s)	David Snider
Category(s)	Entertainment, Arcade

Overview

Serpentine was originally developed on the Apple II, written by programmer David Snider and published by Brøderbund in 1982. Its core idea—competing serpents chasing each other through a single-screen maze— drew clear inspiration from Konami’s 1981 arcade game Jungler, but Snider reworked the premise into a finely-tuned home-computer action game.

Releases and Platform Variations

Serpentine debuted on the Apple II, requiring 48K RAM, and released shortly afterwards for the Atari 8-bit family of computers, followed by a version for the Commodore 64. Also released in 1982 was a Vic-20 version licensed by Broderbund and published by Creative Software.

In 1983 Broderbund released a boot-disk version of Serpentine for the PC.

Gameplay

The game casts players in a dystopian, post-civilization setting where mighty serpents rule decaying corridors, and humans are mere prey. Snider's narrative has the player as a "good" blue serpent taming beasts, laying eggs to raise young, and battling escalating threats in a harsh ecosystem.

Gameplay revolves around controlling a multi-segmented blue serpent in ever-changing mazes, outmaneuvering and devouring enemy serpents.

Key mechanics include:

Predatory Attacks: If your snake is longer than an enemy's, you can nibble their tail to shorten them or attack head-on for a full meal; colliding with a longer foe's head is fatal.
Growth and Power-Ups: Eating frogs that sporadically appear causes your snake to grow, enhancing your dominance.
Egg Mechanics: Both player and enemies can lay eggs; yours hatch into extra lives if protected, while enemies' spawn new threats— eating them preemptively is strategic.
Enemy AI and Progression: Enemies grow larger and more aggressive across levels, sometimes "teaming up" to trap you, with mazes evolving to increase difficulty.

Snider optimized the game for the Apple II's 48K RAM and disk system, incorporating vibrant colors, smooth animations, and sound effects like serpentine hisses, despite hardware constraints like limited audio.

Reception and Legacy

Serpentine was well publicized and reviewed by the popular computer magazines. Softalk ranked it among 1982’s most popular Apple II titles, and reviewers called out its “devilishly addicting” play and clever spin on maze combat. Computer Gaming World praised it as better than the sum of its inspirations; Space Gamer recommended it for its polish and longevity.

Beyond its commercial and critical moment, Serpentine is an example of good early-’80s home-computer design: taking a fresh arcade concept, then tightening the rules for one-screen, joystick-quick play with emergent strategy (length management, tail-biting, egg control). The mix of immediacy and depth makes Serpentine's gameplay timelessly enjoyable.

Releases

Links

Wikipedia