Qix


is a 1981 puzzle arcade game developed and published by Taito. The objective is to fence off, or claim, a supermajority of the playfield. At the start of each level, the playing field is a large, empty rectangle, containing the "Qix"—a stick-like entity that performs graceful but unpredictable motions within the confines of the rectangle.
Qix was ported to the contemporary Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit family, and Commodore 64, then was brought to a wide variety of systems in the late 1980s and early 1990s: MS-DOS, Amiga, another version for the C64, Apple IIGS, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Atari Lynx.

Gameplay

The player controls a marker that can move around the edges of the rectangle. Holding down one of the draw buttons allows the marker to move into unclaimed territory and draw lines in an attempt to create a closed shape. If completed, the captured area becomes filled in with a solid color and points are awarded. To complete a level, the player must claim 65% of the playfield.
The player's marker can move at two different speeds; areas drawn exclusively at the lower speed are worth double points. It cannot cross or backtrack along any Stix in progress. This means that if the marker starts a spiral, it gets smaller and smaller until the marker cannot move and there is no way out, and hence is known in the game as a spiral death trap.
A life is lost if the Qix touches any uncompleted Stix or if the marker is touched by any of the Sparx – enemies that traverse all playfield edges except uncompleted Stix. In addition, if the marker stops while drawing, a fuse will appear and burn along the uncompleted Stix toward the marker; if it reaches the marker, the player loses one life. The fuse disappears once the player moves the marker again. The player has no defenses against the enemies and must out-maneuver them in order to survive.
A meter at the top of the screen counts down to the release of additional Sparx and the mutation of all Sparx into Super Sparx, which can chase the marker along uncompleted Stix.
After the player completes two levels, the difficulty increases by the inclusion of multiple Qixes, additional Sparx, speed increases, and the eventual appearance of only Super Sparx. In levels with multiple Qixes, the player can also complete the level by splitting the playfield into two regions, each containing at least one Qix.
If the level is completed by exceeding the threshold percentage of area, a bonus of 1000 points per percentage point above 75% is awarded. If the level is completed by splitting the Qix, no immediate bonus is awarded, but all scores for all levels for the remainder of the game are multiplied by a bonus multiplier. This multiplier starts at double after the first time the Qix are split up to a maximum possible multiplier of 9.

Reception

Upon release, Qix was a commercial hit. In 1983, Electronic Games reported that the game exceeded Taito's expectations, quickly rising to being one of the most popular titles of the year. The magazine attributes the game's success to it being unlike any other game at the time, specifically for its unique premise and gameplay mechanics. A year after its debut, its popularity declined and the game became largely forgotten. Keith Egging, a representative for Taito America, told Electronic Games: "Qix was conceptually too mystifying for gamers... It was impossible to master and once the novelty wore off, the game faded." The game has since been dubbed a sleeper hit.
Qix and its home conversions have received largely positive reviews. The game was praised for its original concept and ideas, and has been described as a cultural phenomenon. At the 5th annual Arkie Awards in 1984, Qix received the Certificate of Merit in the category of "1984 Best Videogame Audio-Visual Effects ". Video, who reviewed the Atari 5200 release, applauded its gameplay and bizarre yet interesting premise. They reported similar reactions from players, who enjoyed its mechanics and gameplay. Video staff described the game as being a "cult phenomenon loved by a few and ignored by the blasto brigade". The home computer versions of Qix were praised by Russel Sipe of Computer Gaming World, who enjoyed its "fascinating" gameplay and for welcoming newcomers.
Retrospective coverage of Qix has also been positive. In 1997, the staff at Electronic Gaming Monthly listed the Nintendo Entertainment System version at #100 on their "100 Best Games of All Time" for its risk-versus-reward system and scoring. AllGames Brett Alan Weiss commended Qix for its addictive gameplay, technological accomplishments, and responsive controls. While he believed the graphics and sound effects were overly-simplistic and crude, he said the game as a whole is "Abstract minimalism at its videogame best." Retro Gamer staff enjoyed Qix particularly for its addictive nature. They compared its concept to that of the Etch A Sketch, a toy that allowed its user to draw straight lines across a small screen. The staff believed the game's simplicity was also one of its strong points, alongside its sound effects for being satisfying to hear. The Killer List of Videogames listed it as #27 in their "Top 100 Video Games" list.

Legacy

Sequels

Qix II - Tournament is a version of the original Qix with a new color scheme and which awards an extra life when 90% or more of the screen is enclosed. Super Qix was released in 1987. Another sequel, Twin Qix, reached a prototype stage in 1995, but was never commercially released. The later game Volfied, also known as Ultimate Qix on Sega Genesis or Qix Neo on PlayStation, was created as an additional sequel to Qix and also released on several mobile phones.
The 1990 Game Boy port of Qix was developed by Nintendo and features intermissions in which Mario is involved; in one, he is seen in the middle of a desert wearing Mexican clothing and playing a guitar with a vulture looking on. The Mexican clothing later appears as a costume that Mario can wear in Super Mario Odyssey. The Game Boy port was released as a Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console title in Japan on June 15, 2011, and in North America and Europe on July 7.
In 1999, a remake for the Game Boy Color was released called Qix Adventure. This version features a new "Adventure" mode where the player travels a map screen, taking on various opponents which appear on the playing field. Although optional, enclosing an opponent in the box would open a treasure chest, which can also be enclosed, giving the player an item. Battle Qix was released for the PlayStation in 2002 by Success, under their Super 1500 Lite budget title series. It includes a remake of the original Qix alongside a competitive multiplayer mode. On December 9, 2009, Taito released a new version of Qix for the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Portable, Qix++.

Clones

In 2011, Den of Geek included Qix on a list of the top 10 most cloned video games.