die if the vehicle is not landed correctly (it is slightly tilted), being crushed as they attempt to board the chopper. While grounded, the helicopter may be attacked by enemy tanks, which it can shoot at only by returning to the air. Also, the enemy scrambles jet fighters which can attack the vehicle in the air with air-to-air missiles or on the ground with bombs. Development Coming off a stint working for the Rand Corporation, Dan Gorlin initially developed Choplifter using an Apple II loaned to him by his grandfather. At first Gorlin imagined Choplifter as a 3D game, but switched to a traditional 2D game environment due to technical limitations. The game was developed in six months. After Gorlin began experimenting with animating a helicopter on the Apple II, he added scenery, tanks, and planes, with the hostages added last. He stated that, as a story developed, "movie camera techniques seemed appropriate", including the final message "The End" instead of "Game Over". Gorlin's first demonstration to Broderbund was "too realistic, too much a helicopter simulation", and the company helped him make it easier to fly. The concept of rescuing hostages came about after Gorlin learned about Defender, in which the player must protect people on the ground. Although the Iran hostage crisis ended the year before the game was released, Gorlin said "the tie-in with current events was something that never really crossed my mind until we published". Gorlin would later revisit the 3D concept in a failed attempt to remake the game in the 1990s. Reception Debuting in May 1982, the game sold 9,000 copies by June, appearing on Computer Gaming Worlds list of top sellers. II Computing listed Choplifter seventh on the magazine's list of top Apple II games as of late 1985, based on sales and market-share data. In Japan, Game Machine listed Sega's arcade version of Choplifter in the November 1, 1985, issue as being the most successful table arcade unit on the bi-weekly chart. After being dethroned by Taito's The Legend of Kage on November 15, Choplifter returned to the top of the chart on December 1, 1985. Reviews Softline in 1982 called the game "what may well be the first Interactive Computer-Assisted Animated Movie. A fusion of arcade gaming, simulation, and filmic visual aesthetics, Choplifter is destined to occupy a place in the software Hall of Fame". The magazine praised the animation and