PaTaank

PaTaank is a 1994 video game developed by PF.Magic for the 3DO.

PaTaank
Developer(s)	PF.Magic
Publisher(s)	NA: Crystal Dynamics[1] UK: BMG Interactive
Producer(s)	David Feldman Rob Fulop
Designer(s)	Curtis Norris Joel Dubiner Leslie Hedger
Programmer(s)	Andre Burgoyne
Artist(s)	Charles Hacskaylo Lisa Wong
Composer(s)	Nicolaas tenBroek
Platform(s)	3DO Interactive Multiplayer
Release	NA: 3 November 1994 JP: 3 November 1994[2]
Genre(s)	Pinball
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer (up to four players)

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

Pataank is a pinball game where the player steers the pinball, hitting it into targets.

Development and release

PaTaank was developed by San Francisco-based PF.Magic for affiliate Crystal Dynamics, the latter of which had established itself as a sought-after name early in the life of the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer.^[3] It was the first game signed to the company's publishing partner program for publishing, sales and distribution in early 1994.^[4] Producer Rob Fulop suggested that it was the console's manufacturer, The 3DO Company, that paid for the project's production, similar to how Philips funded the developer's Max Magic for the CD-i. "We were drawn to the machines because they would allow you to work with real images and audio and that was a new paradigm which could open us up to new things," he said.^[5] When asked about the game's origin, Fulop responded, "We just wanted to do something cool for the 3DO system ... and 3D pinball sounded cool .. so we tried to make it. It came out okay ... certainly not an epic game by any standards."^[6] Fulop also stated that the concept of playing as the ball inside of a pinball machine may have been too innovative for its time.^[5] BMG Interactive picked up the distribution rights for the European and Japanese releases. The game's title (pronounced "puh-tonk") is the onomatopoeia for the sound a pinball or puck makes when hitting a surface.^[3][7]

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	24/40[8]
GamePro	17.5/20[9]
Next Generation	[10]
3DO Magazine	[11]
Coming Soon Magazine	[12]
Electronic Games	D+[13]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[14]
Génération 4	8%[15]
VideoGames	7/10[16]

Reception

Next Generation reviewed the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "It's an interesting idea, done badly."^[10] Entertainment Weekly gave the game an A−.^[14]