Parsec

About

Parsec is a side-scrolling shooter for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. You control a spaceship navigating 16 distinct color-coded levels. Avoid collisions with flying objects and the ground while dodging enemy fire. Three waves of fighters and cruisers attack, each with different behaviors. Fighters like Swoopers and Saucers threaten with collisions while cruisers like Urbites and Dramites shoot at you. Every level ends with an asteroid belt that you must clear to progress. Developed in 1982 by Jim Dramis and Paul Urbanus the game’s enemy names hint at its origins. The Urbites and Dramites likely reference the programmers themselves. Bynites might be a nod to TI executive Don Bynum or their stealthy attacks. Though it ran on a now-obsolete platform its tight controls and escalating challenges kept it popular among TI-99 owners. Players still cite it as one of the system’s standout titles decades later.