A defeated enemy turns into a falling egg which can be collected for points. A collision of equal height repels the characters apart. The higher of two jousting lances is the winner. Players pilot the knight to collide with enemies.
Upon completing a wave, a more challenging one begins. The objective is to defeat the groups of enemy knights riding buzzards in each wave. Moving off the left or right edges of the screen wraps around to the other side. The rate at which the player repeatedly flaps causes the ostrich to fly upward, hover, or slowly descend. The joystick controls the horizontal direction that the knight travels, while the button flaps the ostrich's wings. The player navigates the protagonist around the game world, which consists of rock platforms floating above a flat island surrounded by lava, via two-way joystick and a button. The player controls a yellow knight riding a flying ostrich. The player controls the yellow knight (top center) attempting to defeat enemy knights. Joust was ported to numerous home systems and was followed by a more complex and less popular arcade sequel in 1986: Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest. The game was well-received by players and critics, and the mechanics influenced other games.
Newcomer aimed to create a flying game, with cooperative two-player gameplay, while avoiding the overdone space theme. John Newcomer led the development team: Bill Pfutzenreuter, Janice Woldenberg-Miller ( née Hendricks), Python Anghelo, Tim Murphy, and John Kotlarik. In a collision with enemy knights riding buzzards-or the other player-the higher rider dismounts the other.
Repeatedly pressing the flap button gains altitude, while a two-directional joystick controls direction. Player 1 rides an ostrich, player 2 a stork. While not the first two-player cooperative video game, Joust 's success and polished implementation popularized the concept. Joust is an action game developed by Williams Electronics and released in arcades in 1982.