1970s
Gotcha
1973 · Maze · Arcade
Overview
Gotcha is a classic 1970s maze game developed by Atari for Arcade.
Deep Dive
Gotcha is a classic 1970s maze game developed by Atari for Arcade.
Developer Story
Gotcha was released by Atari in 1973, designed as a maze chase game where one player pursues another through a randomly generated maze. It is historically notable — and notorious — for its original joystick design: hemispherical rubber protrusions intended to suggest female anatomy, which were quickly replaced with conventional joysticks after public complaints.
Did You Know?
- Gotcha's original joystick design was shaped like a breast — a marketing decision by Atari that caused immediate controversy and was quickly replaced.
- The game established the maze-chase format that Pac-Man would perfect seven years later.
- It was one of the first two-player games where one player chased the other rather than both competing symmetrically.
- The random maze generation meant no two games were identical — an early example of procedural content in games.
