Pitfall ?-??-82

 

This version appears to be earlier than the late WIP rom that was discovered last year.  What makes this version so interesting is that you are give only one life to complete the game.  According to David Crane this was the way he originally designed it, but gave in to his co-workers demands that the player be given three lives.  In the end this was probably a wise decision as Pitfall with only one life would be fiendishly difficult.

 

Prototype Differences
You only have one life as such, there are no tally marks.
There are 4 different game variations.  Each variation appears to contain a different series of screens.

The game text is a dull red

There are extra branch graphics in the trees.  These may have been taken out due to space limitations.
Pitfall Harry's shirt is a blue/green instead of a light green
Harry's swinging graphic is slightly different.  In this version his knees are a bit higher and there is some color overlap with his shirt due to them being on the same scanline.  In the final version his knees were lowered a bit so this wasn't an issue.

 

Notice the game variation number

 

Man make fire...

 

Not gonna make it...

 

Who leaves gold bars just sitting around?

 

You take the high road and I'll take the low road...

 

Notice the blue at the top of Harry's knees?

 

 

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