Back in 1979, programmer David Crane had figured out how to make a semi-realistic sprite of a little man. In 1982, he wanted to figure out how to use that little running man in a video game and the idea that followed was the basis for Pitfall!
Pitfall! went on to become an early smash hit in the history of video games, selling over 4 million copies and was the second best selling game on the Atari 2600 system. The game was ported to the Intellivsion, Colecovision and a number of home computers in the 1980s as well.
The game was well known for pushing the boundaries of the Atari 2600's hardware and is also known for the special tricks that went into its programming to make sure that the game could fit the system's 4k memory.
Pitfall! had a number of sequels over the years and has gone on to have lasting popularity. One of the more notable sequels was 1998's "Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle" that had Army of Darkness star Bruce Campbell as the voice of the game's protagonist, Pitfall Harry.
