I, Robot was the first arcade video game to use filled 3D polygon graphics.
Atari released I, Robot in 1983, designing it under the direction of Dave Theurer, who had also created Missile Command and Tempest. The game placed the player in control of a robot navigating geometric platforms while avoiding the gaze of a giant red eye. Players could alter surfaces by shooting them, adding a distinctive geometric puzzle element.
Its major technical innovation was the use of filled polygons to construct a three-dimensional game world. Earlier titles such as Atari’s Battlezone displayed wire-frame 3D graphics, while I, Robot rendered solid polygonal shapes. The cabinet also offered a short “Doodle City” mode for free-form exploration.
I, Robot was commercially unsuccessful and received limited distribution, but historians regard it as an important step toward later polygon-based arcade games. Virtua Racing and other 1990s titles made 3D graphics far more mainstream.