Uploaded November 2015 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Programmed by David Crane. What started out as a simple animation of a running man evolved into one of the most influential VCS games of all time. Pitfall helped paved the way for Super Mario Brothers and the whole side-scrolling, platform genre. The game's Tarzan "yelling", vine-swinging, and treasure-seeking was influenced by both old Tarzan movies as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark. The crocodile-skipping scenario was inspired by an old Terrytoons cartoon show. From Crane: "I remembered from deep in my childhood a pair of cartoon characters (magpies) called Heckle and Jekyll. They had a sequence during which they would run across the heads of alligators, barely escaping the jaws. I thought that would make for an interesting sequence in the game." The original version gave players only 1 life, until his fellow co-workers convinced Crane (at the last minute) to add more extra lives. Scoring over 20,000 points got you an "Explorer's Club" patch by sending proof to Activision.
See my interview with David Crane at the Atari Compendium website:
ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/david_crane/interview_david_crane.html
Programmed by David Crane. What started out as a simple animation of a running man evolved into one of the most influential VCS games of all time. Pitfall helped paved the way for Super Mario Brothers and the whole side-scrolling, platform genre. The game's Tarzan "yelling", vine-swinging, and treasure-seeking was influenced by both old Tarzan movies as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark. The crocodile-skipping scenario was inspired by an old Terrytoons cartoon show. From Crane: "I remembered from deep in my childhood a pair of cartoon characters (magpies) called Heckle and Jekyll. They had a sequence during which they would run across the heads of alligators, barely escaping the jaws. I thought that would make for an interesting sequence in the game." The original version gave players only 1 life, until his fellow co-workers convinced Crane (at the last minute) to add more extra lives. Scoring over 20,000 points got you an "Explorer's Club" patch by sending proof to Activision.
See my interview with David Crane at the Atari Compendium website:
ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/david_crane/interview_david_crane.html
