Cover art for Elite

Elite

September 20, 1984 · Acornsoft, Frontier Developments, David Braben, Ian Bell

Elite is a space trading video game, written and developed by David Braben and Ian Bell and originally published by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in September 1984. Elite's open-ended game model, and revolutionary 3D graphics led to it being ported to virtually every contemporary home computer system, and earned it a place as a classic and a genre maker in gaming history. The game's title derives from one of the player's goals of raising their combat rating to the exalted heights of "Elite". Elite was one of the first home computer games to use wire-frame 3D graphics with hidden line removal. It added graphics and twitch gameplay aspects to the genre established by the 1974 game Star Trader. Another novelty was the inclusion of The Dark Wheel, a novella by Robert Holdstock which gave players insight into the moral and legal codes to which they might aspire.

Release date
September 20, 1984
Developer
Acornsoft, Frontier Developments, David Braben, Ian Bell
Publisher
Hybrid Technology, Firebird, Merlin Software U.K., Imagineer, Acornsoft, Digital Integration, Acornsoft
Platforms
Acorn Archimedes, BBC Microcomputer System, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST/STE, Acorn Electron, DOS, Tatung Einstein, Amiga, Apple II, Amstrad CPC, Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX
Genres
Shooter, Simulator, Strategy

Screenshots

Screenshot 1 from Elite Screenshot 2 from Elite Screenshot 3 from Elite Screenshot 4 from Elite

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