Shadow World (video game)

Shadow World is a shoot 'em up for Atari 8-bit computers written by Mike Potter and published by Synapse Software in 1983.

The Rigillians have launched "seed crystals" towards the planet from space, which emit small defensive drones as they fall towards the ground.

These colonizers constantly emit seeker drones, acting as a defensive station protecting new seed crystals that are dropped.

Using the smart bomb also returns the player to their base, which prevents it from being used immediately prior to attacking a crystal.

All make use of smooth scrolling and demonstrated an evolution in technique, growing more graphically complex over time, and becoming much faster paced.

Even in early stages, the screen quickly fills with enemies. The large blue diamond is a seed crystal. The pile of blue blocks below it is a crystal that has reached the ground and mutated into a colonizer.