Skydiver

Sky Diver is a competitive action game where you guide a daredevil skydiver from plane to landing pad. Two planes fly across the screen simultaneously in opposite directions, and your goal is to release your diver at the right moment, open the parachute at the perfect altitude, and land squarely on the colour-coded pad . The longer you wait to open the chute, the more points you score—up to 11 points per jump—but wait too long and the chute won't open at all, resulting in a four-point penalty . A wind sock at the bottom of the screen indicates wind direction and speed, pushing your diver off course and demanding constant compensation . Each game consists of nine jumps; the maximum possible score is 99 points .

Atari 2600

Programmed by Jim Huether and published by Atari, Inc. in April 1979, Sky Diver features five distinct game variations selected via the Game Select switch . In Games 1 and 2, the landing pad changes position each jump, with Game 2 featuring narrower pads for greater challenge. Games 3 and 4 have moving pads but no wind factor, while Game 5 offers a single shared pad—only the first player to land scores points . The difficulty switches control plane speed: position B for slower, novice-friendly play, position A for faster, expert-level action . Using the joystick, press the red button to jump, pull back to open the parachute, and move left or right to steer against the wind . The game was later re-released by Sears under the name Dare Diver and included in the Atari Anthology compilation.