Protector (Atari Jaguar video game)

Protector is a scrolling shooter game similar to Defender (1981) and Defender 2000. The story is set in a future where an interstellar war erupts after alien forces arrive on Earth. The inhabitants of a nearby planetoid called Haven-7 are left to fend for themselves, with the Starblade ship as their only defense. The player commands the Starblade, protecting Haven-7 against waves of invading aliens. On certain levels, the player must survive a meteor shower or fight a boss. Some enemies instead drop green pods, offering power-ups such as energy, hyperspace jumps, or "Protectors" that block enemy landers from kidnapping humans. The player can endure three hits before losing a life, forcing them to restart the level with only their basic firepower. In addition, the game allows two players to play by alternating turns. == Development ==

was declared an open platform by Hasbro Interactive. Protector began development under Bethesda Softworks, a Maryland-based game studio founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986. It was executive produced by Weaver and Todd Howard. The game was designed by Danish developer Jørgen Bech, who worked on Globulus for the Amiga, Spider-Man for the Master System, and several other titles for the ZX Spectrum. In 1994, Bethesda received free Atari Jaguar development kits and initially tasked Bech with porting NCAA Basketball: Road to the Final Four 2 to the Jaguar. However, due to his lack of 3D programming experience, they decided he should first familiarize himself with the hardware by working on a solo port of Søren Grønbech's Datastorm (1989). Bech decided against making a direct conversion, as the Jaguar's capabilities exceeded those of the Amiga and wanted to make a game closer to Defender (1981). Sprites were kept small to prevent memory issues with the Jaguar’s object processor, while the number of active on-screen objects were maintained by lists. Bethesda cancelled Protector and halted all work on Jaguar, prompting Bech's departure the following month. Atari dropped support for the Jaguar soon after. Years later, a programmer named Carl Forhan began searching for unreleased Jaguar games that he might license and finish on his own. In 1998, he saw Bech discuss Protector on a Usenet forum. Forhan asked Bech to share the game's source code with him so he could publish it, however, Bech told Forhan that he must seek Weaver's consent since Bethesda had the rights to the title. Forhan initially obtained the rights to view the source code for educational use only, but eventually managed to secure a license to publish the game. The following year, Forhan founded Songbird Productions to complete Protector and other unreleased games he had licensed from former Atari developers. That same year, Atari fans successfully lobbied Hasbro Interactive to release the console's patents and rights into the public domain, transforming the Jaguar into an open game development platform. Forhan proceeded to finish the game with his own improvements, including a reworked enemy AI and power-up scheme, and fixing bugs in the original source code. == Release ==

Protector was first showcased at the 1999 Classic Gaming Expo, followed by a playable demo at the Atari Jaguar-focused JagFest '99. The cover art was created by Tony Ferguson. It was initially scheduled for April 10, 2002, but delays in cartridge production postponed the release date to April 30, 2002. The special edition offers more graphics, new enemies, revised gameplay and bug fixes. The game includes JagFree CD and BJL, program loaders that allow users to play unencrypted Atari Jaguar CD titles and assist with homebrew game development respectively. Each copy came bundled with a demo of Native for the Jaguar CD. An expansion pack called Protector: Resurgence was released for the Jaguar CD in 2014. It features new graphics, music, enemies, and gameplay mechanics when the special edition cartridge is attached. == Reception ==

According to Forhan, Protector sold 100 copies in the first year, with the special edition selling 500 copies by 2002, making it Songbird's best-selling title for the Atari Jaguar. The game also received acclaim from critics. GameFans Eric Mylonas felt the game was a standard but solid Defender-style shooter. Video Games Ralph Karels lauded its gameplay and smooth performance, but noted that the game's visuals may not impress. The special edition later earned a reputation as one of the best Jaguar games. GamesTM ranked it as one of the most fun Jaguar titles, stating that offered a decent take on the gameplay of the original Defender compared to Defender 2000. They also highlighted its audiovisual elements, game feel, and difficulty curve. Retro Gamer found the game better than Defender 2000 and praised it for having some of the best 2D graphics on the Jaguar. Reviewing the special edition in 2009, neXGam commended its simple graphics, additional content, and fast-paced intuitive gameplay. == References ==