- Millipede (arcade game)
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Millipede 
Millipede arcade flyerDeveloper(s) Atari, Inc. Publisher(s) Atari, Inc. Designer(s) Ed Logg Platform(s) Arcade Release date(s) Arcade
1982
Atari 2600- NA 1984
- EU 1984
Genre(s) Fixed shooters Mode(s) Up to 2 players, alternating turns Cabinet Upright Arcade system Main CPU: M6502 (@ 1.512 MHz) Display Raster resolution 240×256 (Vertical) Palette Colors 32 Millipede is a 1982 arcade game by Atari, Inc. and is the sequel to the arcade hit, Centipede. The objective of the game is to score as many points as possible by destroying all segments of the millipede as it moves toward the bottom of the screen, as well as destroying and avoiding other enemies. The game is played with a trackball and a single fire button, which can be held down for rapid-fire. The game is over when the player's last life is lost.
Contents
Gameplay
Screenshot of Millipede
The gameplay of Millipede is similar to Centipede but differs mostly in enemies:
- Earwig: same as the scorpion in Centipede, making mushrooms poisonous so that the millipede will charge straight to the bottom of the screen after touching them.
- Bee: same as the flea in Centipede, dropping mushrooms in a vertical line and requiring two shots to kill.
- Spider: same behavior as in Centipede, bouncing irregularly across the lower portion of the screen. Multiple spiders can appear at the same time on higher levels.
- Inchworm: when hit, slows all enemies for a short period of time.
- Beetle: crawls around the player area for a while, then climbs up and leaves the screen, turning any mushrooms it touches into indestructible flowers. When hit, everything on the screen scrolls down one row.
- Dragonfly: drops mushrooms while zigzagging down, and can be destroyed with a single shot.
- Mosquito: bounces off the sides of the screen as it descends. When hit, everything on the screen scrolls up one row.
- DDT bomb (stationary): can be blown up with one shot, destroying all enemies and mushrooms within the blast radius. Whenever the mushrooms scroll down, a new bomb is added at the top of the screen. Up to four bombs can be in play at one time.
All flowers and poisoned/partially destroyed mushrooms revert to normal, whole mushrooms when the player loses a life.
At regular intervals during the game, the player will face a swarm of enemies (bees, dragonflies, etc.) instead of the usual millipede. Each enemy destroyed awards increasing points, up to a maximum of 1,000 points per enemy; this attack ends when either the entire swarm has passed or the player loses a life. Also, at intervals new mushrooms will grow on the field while others die off, in a pattern similar to Conway's Game of Life.
Ports
Millipede was ported to Atari's 8-bit and ST computer line as well as the Atari 2600.[1] A version for the NES was also developed and published.
In 1995 it was released together with Centipede on the Gameboy under the title Arcade Classic No. 2: Centipede / Millipede.
It was released along with Centipede on the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade on May 2, 2007.
On March 24, 2010, the Atari 2600 port of Millipede was one of the launch titles for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows LIVE service, Game Room. The arcade version of Millipede was made available in Game Room on May 26, 2010.
Highest scores
Donald Hayes, of New Hampshire, USA, scored a world record 10,627,331 points playing Millipede on December 26, 2004.[2]
The highest Millipede score played under tournament settings is 6,995,962 points, also by Hayes.[3]
In the default high-scores table of the arcade, the initials "FXL" and "ED" can be read. They refer to "Ed Logg" (designing and programming)) and "Franz Lanzinger" (who helped a bit in designing and testing). They had to appear this way because in that time Atari didn't allow their programmers' full names to be in credits of the game[4]
References
- ^ "Millipede Review". http://gamefreaks365.com/review.php?artid=1629. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
- ^ "Twin Galaxies' Marathon Millipede High Score Rankings". Retrieved 27 December 2009. http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&pi=2&gi=3232&vi=1373.
- ^ "Twin Galaxies' Tournament Millipede High Score Rankings". Retrieved 27 December 2009. http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&pi=2&gi=3232&vi=6673.
- ^ Retro Gamer issue 76, page 27 (Q&A)
External links
Categories:- Arcade games
- Ed Logg games
- Fixed shooters
- Nintendo Entertainment System games
- 1982 video games
- Atari 8-bit family games
- Atari arcade games
- Atari 2600 games
- ZX Spectrum games
- Xbox 360 Live Arcade games
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