StuntCopter was a shareware game for the Apple Macintosh developed by Duane Blehm from 1986-1988. It was the most popular among a handful of games he designed before his untimely death, after which his parents made it freeware.
In the game, you control a helicopter that must drop a stuntman into a horse-drawn haywagon. Points are awarded based on the height of a successful jump.
Remakes for OS X
, iPhone, and iPad now exist. The original is playable on modern computers via emulation.
This game contains examples of:
- Alternate Character Interpretation: From the iPhone port's homepage: "Does he fall or is he pushed? That's not for us to decide."
- Easy Level Trick: There's nothing forcing you to challenge yourself. You can get the copter into perfect sync with the wagon from just pixels above it, click five times to beat the level, and continue racking up points in this way indefinitely.
- Gravity Screw: A helpful readout informs you of the Earth's current mass, eg. NORMAL, HEAVY, or OH BOY.
- Not the Fall That Kills You…: Later versions expand the gameworld to fit any size of monitor—and even from miles in the air, the haywagon is enough to ensure a safe landing.
- Scoring Points: The point is to earn as many points as possible based on the height of your jumps.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: Despite it resulting in an instant Game Over, many players prefer to drop the stuntman onto the horse or driver.
