Developer: Alex Leavens

Alex Leavens programmed Crazy Climber for Atari, the 1983 home version of Nichibutsu’s 1980 arcade game. You climb the outside of four skyscrapers one ledge at a time, dodging closing windows, falling flowerpots, a condor and swinging girders. The arcade machine used two joysticks, and Leavens turned the climbing into a rhythm on a single stick.
The game is below, and it runs right in your browser.

Crazy Climber

Crazy Climber for the Atari 2600 is Atari’s home version of the 1980 Nichibutsu arcade game, programmed by Alex Leavens and released in 1983. You scale the outside of four skyscrapers one window ledge at a time, dodging closing windows, falling flowerpots, a giant condor and sweeping steel girders, and grab a helicopter at the top. The arcade machine used two joysticks; the 2600 version cleverly turns climbing into a rhythm on a single stick. You can play it here in your browser.