Thwocker

About

Thwocker is an unfinished Atari 2600 platformer that sees you controlling a character who bounces nonstop across the screen. You cannot stop this rhythmic movement, so your only real job is to adjust how high each jump goes. Your goal involves grabbing specific musical notes shown at the bottom while dodging floating instruments that block your path. Once you gather enough of these smaller notes, you must reach a large note near the top to start a song. This triggers a bonus phase where you can collect everything else on screen for extra points before the level ends. The game sits in a weird spot as it was never finished by its creator Charlie Heath but found life later in various collections and Microsoft Game Room. Players often find the constant bouncing mechanics surprisingly challenging since there is no way to slow down or stop moving. It feels like a quirky experiment where timing your jumps against the rhythm of the screen matters more than precise control. The concept of collecting notes to build a symphony gives it a distinct flavor compared to other standard platformers from that era on the Atari 2600.

Storyline

For Thwocker, music is his life. Literally. He wants nothing more than to complete his symphony. To find the perfect notes, Thwocker will have to navigate through a cacophony of noisome instruments. It's up to you, Maestro!