| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
When the trigger was pulled, the game blanked out the screen with a black background for one frame, then, for one additional frame, drew a solid white rectangle around the sprite you were supposed to be shooting at. The photodiode at the back of the Zapper would detect these changes in intensity and send a signal to the NES to indicate whether it was over a lit pixel or not. A drop followed by a spike in intensity signaled a hit. Multiple sprites were supported by flashing a solid white rectangle around each potential sprite, one per frame.
A game had to be specifically made to use the Zapper, and several of these are considered the most addicting games ever made. Many are the stories of a hard core enthusiast spending six hours attempting to earn a million points on Duck Hunt.
The orange Zapper appears as the weapon used by the title character of , a cartoon and comic book series.