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Centipede (video game)

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For the modern remakes, see Centipede (1998 video game) and Centipede: Infestation.
Centipede
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Atari
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Dona Bailey
Ed Logg
Programmer(s)Arcade
Dona Bailey
Ed Logg
Atari 8-bit
Dave Getreu[6]
Platform(s)Arcade, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, BBC Micro, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, Game Boy, IBM PC, Intellivision, TI-99/4A, VIC-20
ReleaseArcade
Atari 8-bit
2600, 5200
Intellivision
C64
7800
Genre(s)Fixed shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Centipede is a 1981 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Atari for arcades.[7] Designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg, it was one of the most commercially successful games from the golden age of arcade video games and one of the first with a significant female player base. The primary objective is to shoot all the segments of a centipede that winds down the playing field. An arcade sequel, Millipede, followed in 1982.

Centipede was ported to Atari's own Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, and Atari 8-bit computers. Under the Atarisoft label, the game was sold for the Apple II, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, VIC-20, IBM PC (as a self-booting disk), Intellivision, and TI-99/4A.[8] Superior Software published the port for the BBC Micro. Versions for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color were also produced, as well as a version for the short-lived Game.com developed by Handheld Games and published by Tiger Electronics.

Gameplay

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A new game, with the centipede at the top and a spider in the lower right

The player controls the small insect-like creature called the Bug Blaster. It is moved around the bottom area of the screen with a trackball and fires small darts at a segmented centipede advancing from the top of the screen through a field of mushrooms. Each segment of the centipede becomes a mushroom when shot; shooting one of the middle segments splits the centipede into two pieces at that point. Each piece then continues independently on its way down the screen, with the rear piece sprouting its own head. If the centipede head is destroyed, the segment behind it becomes the next head. Shooting the head is worth 100 points while the other segments are 10. The centipede starts at the top of the screen, traveling either left or right. When it touches a mushroom or reaches the edge of the screen, it descends one level and reverses direction. The player can destroy mushrooms (a point each) by shooting them, but each takes four shots to destroy. At higher levels, the screen can become increasingly crowded with mushrooms due to player/enemy actions, causing the centipede to descend more rapidly.[9]

Arcade machine

Once the centipede reaches the bottom of the screen, it stays within the player area and one-segment "head" centipedes will periodically appear from the side. This continues until the player has eliminated both the original centipede and all heads. When all the centipede's segments are destroyed, another one enters from the top of the screen. The initial centipede is 10 or 12 segments long, including the head; each successive centipede is one segment shorter and accompanied by one detached, faster-moving head. This pattern continues until all segments are separate heads, after which it repeats with a single full-length centipede.

The player also encounters other creatures besides the centipedes. Fleas drop vertically and disappear upon touching the bottom of the screen, occasionally leaving a trail of mushrooms in their path when only a few mushrooms are in the player movement area; they are worth 200 points each and take two shots to destroy. Spiders move across the player area in a zig-zag pattern and eat some of the mushrooms; they are worth 300, 600, or 900 points depending on the range they are shot from. Scorpions move horizontally across the screen, turning every mushroom they touch into poison mushrooms. Scorpions are also worth the most points of all enemies with 1,000 points each. A centipede touching a poison mushroom will attack straight down toward the bottom, then return to normal behavior upon reaching it. This "poisoned" centipede can be both beneficial and detrimental to the player; the player can destroy them rapidly as it descends down, while at the same time, they can be very challenging to avoid, especially if already split into multiple segments.

The Bug Blaster is destroyed when hit by any enemy, after which any poisonous or partially damaged mushrooms revert to normal. 5 points are awarded for each regenerated mushroom. An extra life is awarded every 12,000 points.

Development

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Dona Bailey and Ed Logg developed Centipede for Atari.[10] Logg, a supervisor, said that he did the design, while Bailey did about half of the programming.[11] Bailey was one of the few female game programmers in the industry.[12] Logg believed that its design was not biased by sex, unlike a fighting or sports game. Bailey said: "I really like pastels ... I really wanted it to look different, to be visually arresting".[13][11] Bailey had only recently discovered video games when she heard the song "Space Invader" (1979) by The Pretenders and then played Space Invaders (1978), but she was one of the few American women at the time with experience in assembly language programming.[14]

Reception

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Atari 8-bit computer cartridge (1982)

Centipede was one of the top four highest-grossing arcade games of 1982 in the United States, along with Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.[15] The Atari VCS port of Centipede sold 1,475,240 cartridges during 1982 to 1983, becoming the 11th-best-selling Atari game.[16]

It was also one of the first coin-operated arcade video games to have a significant female player base.[17][18] How to Win Video Games (1982) estimated that half of its players and 60% of Pac-Man's were women, while 95% of Defender players were men.[19]

In 1983, Softline readers named Centipede ninth on the magazine's Top Thirty list of Atari 8-bit programs by popularity.[20] The game received the award for "1984 Best Computer Action Game" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards where the judges described it as "pack[ing] a real roundhouse punch", and suggested that some "insist that [the Centipede] Atari cartridge is the best home-arcade edition you can buy".[21]: 28  David H. Ahl of Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games said that the Atari 5200 version was "delightful fun".[22]

In a 1984 Video review of the Apple II version of the game, Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz commented that "the graphic limits of the Apple crimp the style" and expressed disappointment in the game's "sluggish" interfacing with trackball controllers.[23]

In 1995, Flux magazine ranked the arcade version 15th on their "Top 100 Video Games".[24] In 1996, Next Generation listed the arcade version as number 84 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", praising the cool concept, trackball control, and that it is accessible enough that "any human on the planet can play it well enough to enjoy it" yet "hard enough that even excellent gamers find it challenging".[25]

In 2020, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Centipede to its World Video Game Hall of Fame.[26]

Reviews

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Legacy

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Re-releases

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Sequels and remakes

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Centipede was followed by Millipede in 1982.

In 1992, Atari Games developed a prototype of an arcade game called Arcade Classics for their 20th anniversary, which includes Missile Command 2 and Super Centipede with co-op 2-player mode.[30]

A 3D fantasy role-playing game based on the original game was being developed by Dark Science for the Atari Jaguar CD under the working title Centipede 2000.[31] The source code of the project no longer exists and the only remaining proof of its existence is a short video clip from the developer.[32][33][34]

In 1998, after acquiring the intellectual property of Atari from then-owner JT Storage, Hasbro Interactive released a new version of the game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Dreamcast, and Mac OS. It is very different from the original: 3D graphics, free movement around the map, and a campaign which can be played in single-player or multiplayer mode.

In 2011, Atari, SA released Centipede: Infestation for Nintendo 3DS and Wii.

In 2019, ICE created a remaster of Centipede known as Centipede Chaos for arcades.

In 2020, GameTaco released Centipede: Cash Blast for iOS.[35]

A revamped version of the game, titled Centipede: Recharged, was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Google Stadia, and Atari VCS with exclusive content in September 2021 as part of the company's Atari Recharged series.

Clones

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The Centipede concept was widely cloned, especially for home systems.

Arcade clones

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  • War of the Bugs or Monsterous Manouvers [sic] in a Mushroom Maze, by Food and Fun Corp./Armenia Ltd in 1981[36]
  • Jackler, by Konami in 1982[37]
  • Slither, by GDI in 1982 and ported to ColecoVision[38]

Home system clones

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  • Bug Attack, 1981, Apple II, by Cavalier Computer[39]
  • Arachnoid, 1982, VIC-20, by UMI
  • Centipede, 1982, ZX81, by Llamasoft
  • Aqua Attack, BBC Micro as part of the Welcome disk/tape with the BBC Master
  • Bug Off!, 1982, Atari 8-bit, by Adventure International[40]
  • Caterpillar, TRS-80 Color Computer, by Aardvark[41]
  • Exterminator, 1982, VIC-20, C64, by Nüfekop and Bubble Bus
  • Katerpillar Attack, 1982, TRS-80 Color Computer, Dragon 32, by Tom Mix Software[41]
  • Megalegs, 1982, Atari 8-bit, by Megasoft[42]
  • Myriapede, 1982, Atari 8-bit
  • Video Vermin, 1982, VIC-20, by UMI[43]
  • Arthropod, 1983, TI-99/4A by North Hills
  • Bug Blaster, 1983, C64, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, by Alligata[44]
  • Bug Blaster, 1983, as part of the Friendlyware PC Arcade suite by Friendlysoft for IBM PC
  • Centi-Bug, 1983, ZX Spectrum, by DK'Tronics (titled Centipede on screen)[45]
  • Maggotmania, 1983, C64 by Commodore
  • Megapede, 1983, ZX Spectrum, by Computerware[46]
  • Mouse Stampede, 1983, Mac, by Mark of the Unicorn
  • Mushroom Alley, 1983, C64, by Victory Software
  • Spectipede, 1983, ZX Spectrum, by R&R Software
  • Wiggle Worm, 1984, TRS-80 Color Computer, by Chromasette[47]
  • Decipede, 1987, type-in version for the C64 by COMPUTE!'s Gazette[48]
  • Apeiron, 1995, Macintosh, by Ambrosia Software
  • Champ Centiped-em, 1997, MS-DOS, by CHAMProgramming[49]
  • BuGS, 2021, Apple IIGS, by Rand-Emonium[50]

In other media

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In 1983, Milton Bradley released a two-player board game based on the video game.[51] Another board game based on Centipede was published by IDW Publishing in 2017.[52]

In 1989, a deadpan narration describing the original game appeared on side 2 of Negativland's third cassette release, The Weatherman (SSTC902), which consists of clips from the Over the Edge radio show sometime between 1982 and 1984. The narrator may be Ed Logg.[53]

American rock band The Strokes used promotional artwork for the game on their 2003 single "Reptilia".

Centipede appears in the film Pixels.[54]

In May 2016, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films closed with Atari to produce and finance both Centipede and Missile Command film adaptations.[55]

Dynamite Entertainment started a limited run comic book series based on Centipede in July 2017.[56]

Lego released a set based on the Atari 2600. Included is a cartridge for Centipede as well as a diorama showing the titular character.[57]

Competitive arena

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The game was chosen for the final round of the 1981 Atari World Championships run by Tournament Games International. The men's champion was Eric Ginner and the women's champion was Ok-Soo Han.[58]

The world record score on the arcade version of Centipede was 16,389,547 points by Jim Schneider of the USA on August 1, 1984.[59]

Donald Hayes of Windham, New Hampshire, scored a world record 7,111,111 points under tournament rules on the arcade version of Centipede on November 5, 2000.[60][61]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Video Game Flyers: Centipede, Atari, Inc. (Germany)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Games". Orlando Sentinel. June 28, 1991. p. 308. Retrieved March 22, 2024. "Centipede is supposed to be better than Missile Command," Kubicki said, adding that the real test will come when Centipede is released in four to six weeks.
  3. ^ a b "Sentipido". Media Arts Database. Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  4. ^ "Atari 2600 Video Game Release Dates for 1983".
  5. ^ a b "Year-End Index" (PDF). Computer Entertainer. Vol. 3, no. 10. January 1985. p. 156.
  6. ^ Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  7. ^ "TI-99/4A-Pedia: Centipede". Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  8. ^ RetroPete. "Game review: Atari Centipede for Atari 2600". 8-Bit Central. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Ortutay, Barbara (June 30, 2012). "Dona Bailey, a rare female programmer in Atari's early days, recalls birth of 'Centipede'". VancouverDesi.com. Associated Press / DesiWireFeed. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Rouse, Richard III (2010). "Chapter 6: Interview: Ed Logg". Game Design: Theory and Practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp. 93–94. ISBN 9781449633455.
  11. ^ Burnham, Van (2001). Supercade: a visual history of the videogame age 1971-1984. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 220. ISBN 0-262-02492-6. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  12. ^ Krueger, Anne (March 1983). "Welcome to the Club". Video Games. p. 51. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  13. ^ "The Unsung Female Programmer Behind Atari's Centipede". Vice. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  14. ^ "1982 Jukebox / Games Route Survey". Cash Box. Cash Box Pub. Co. November 20, 1982. p. 53.
  15. ^ Cartridge Sales Since 1980. Atari Corp. Via "The Agony & The Ecstasy". Once Upon Atari. Episode 4. Scott West Productions. August 10, 2003. 23 minutes in.
  16. ^ Kent, Steven (2001). From Pong to Pokémon and beyond: The Ultimate History of Video Games: the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. pp. 160–162. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4.
  17. ^ "Girl Power". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 103. Ziff Davis. February 1998. p. 86.
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  23. ^ "Top 100 Video Games". Flux (4). Harris Publications: 27. April 1995.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Games of All Time". Next Generation. No. 21. Imagine Media. September 1996. p. 43.
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  26. ^ "GAMES Magazine #34". December 1982.
  27. ^ [1][dead link‍]
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  31. ^ Willard (May 4, 2003). "Centipede 2000". AtariAge. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  32. ^ Reutter, Hans (November 19, 2000). "Unreleased Or Unfinished Jaguar Games - Centipede 2000 (working title)". cyberroach.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
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  34. ^ "Atari Centipede: Cash Blast by Game Taco, Inc".
  35. ^ "War Of The Bugs Videogame by Food and Fun Corp./Armenia Ltd. (1981) - The International Arcade Museum and the KLOV". Arcade-museum.com. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  36. ^ "Jackler Videogame by Konami (1982) - The International Arcade Museum and the KLOV". Arcade-museum.com. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
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  41. ^ "Megalegs". Atari Mania. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  42. ^ "VIC-20 Cartridge Software Reviews". Zimmers.net. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  43. ^ Bug Blaster at Lemon 64
  44. ^ "Centi-Bug". World of Spectrum. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  45. ^ "Megapede". Nitros9.lcurtisboyle.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  46. ^ Boyle, L. Curtis. "Wiggle Worm". The Tandy Color Computers Game List. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  47. ^ "COMPUTE!'s Gazette Index, page 1". Atarimagazines.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  48. ^ "CHAMP Centipede-em". The CHAMP Games Fan Page. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  49. ^ "BuGS version 1.0 released – Rand-Emonium Software".
  50. ^ "Centipede: The Board Game". SydLexia.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  51. ^ "IDW Games Announces Atari Partnership". IDW Publishing. March 8, 2017. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  52. ^ Negativland, The Weatherman. Cassette only, SST Records SSTC902. Negativland Discography Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine at The Skeptic Tank.
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  55. ^ "Dynamite® Centipede #1". www.dynamite.com. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  56. ^ Reed, Chris (August 1, 2022). "Atari 2600 LEGO Set Is Now Available". IGN. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  57. ^ "1981 Atari World Championships History". November 12, 2012. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  58. ^ "Twin Galaxies Centipede Rankings". Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
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  60. ^ "Welcome to Twin Galaxies". Twingalaxies.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
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