How to play Sky Diver online
Sky Diver uses the joystick, not the paddle controllers, and is built for two players at once.
- Player 1 – jump from the plane: Space bar; open the parachute: down arrow; steer: left and right arrow keys
- Player 2 – jump from the plane: A; open the parachute: G; steer: F and H
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Choose a game variation: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Plane speed: F4 (Player 1) and F9 (Player 2) toggle the difficulty switches
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
Both players get nine jumps, and the game ends once all eighteen are done. On each jump you choose when to leave the plane, fall freely, then pull back to open your chute and steer onto your pad. A wind sock at the bottom of the screen points the way the wind blows; it hangs loose in a light breeze and stands out stiff in a strong one. The wind changes between jumps and can shift a little on the way down.
You only score if you land squarely on the pad with your parachute open. A jump is worth between 0 and 11 points, depending on how late you opened the chute. Wait too long, though, and there comes a point where the chute will no longer open. Missing the pad with an open chute scores nothing, but hitting the ground without one costs you four points. The best possible total is 99.
Variations and switches
- Games 1 and 2: the landing pads stay still; game 2 has narrower pads.
- Games 3 and 4: the pads slide back and forth, but there is no wind; game 4 has narrower pads.
- Game 5 (“Chicken”): one shared pad in the middle of the screen. Whoever lands on it first gets the points for that jump, and the other player gets nothing.
The difficulty switches set the speed of the plane. Position B is slower and suits beginners, while position A is faster. Game 5 always uses the fast speed.
Tips
- Read the wind sock before you jump. If the wind blows right, leave the plane a little to the left of your pad and let it carry you in.
- Find your safe height first. Open the chute early for your first few jumps to learn where the point of no return is, then open it a little later each time.
- In Chicken, speed counts. Only the first diver on the pad scores, so a late chute that makes you land second is worth nothing.
History
The Sky Diver arcade machine came out in 1978, designed at Atari by Owen Rubin. The 2600 cartridge followed in March 1979. It was later included on Atari’s 32 in 1 compilation cartridge in 1988, and the arcade version has reappeared in modern collections such as Atari Anthology and Microsoft’s Game Room.
Similar games to play next
- Canyon Bomber – another early Atari game where timing a drop from the sky is everything
- Air-Sea Battle – Atari’s two-player shooting gallery from the launch era
- Human Cannonball – fire a stuntman from a cannon and land him in a water tower
- 32 in 1 – the 1988 compilation that includes Sky Diver