Blasteroids
Encyclopedia
Blasteroids is one of the sequel
s to the original 1979 shoot 'em up
video game Asteroids. It was developed by Atari Games
(which later became Midway Games West) and published in 1987 by Image Works
for: arcade cabinet
, in 1989 for: Amiga
, Amstrad CPC
, Atari ST
, C64
/128
, MSX
, MS-DOS
PC
, ZX Spectrum
.
The gameplay
for the game is basically the same as for the original; the player
(or players in case of a 2-player game) controls a spaceship
viewed from "above" in a 2D
representation of space
, by rotating the ship, and using thrust
to give the ship momentum
. To slow down or completely stop moving, the player has to rotate the ship to face the direction it came from, and generate the right amount of thrust to nullify its momentum. The ship has a limited amount of fuel
to generate thrust with. This fuel comes in the form of "Energy" that is also used for the ship's Shields which protect it against collision
s and enemy fire. Once all Energy is gone, the player's ship is destroyed. The ship can shoot to destroy asteroid
s and enemy ships. The ship can also be transformed at will into 3 different versions, namely the "Speeder", the fastest version, the "Fighter", which has the most firepower, and the "Warrior", which has extra armour
.
" indicating the game's difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. Flying through any of the Warps starts the game with that difficulty. Each Warp has several "Galaxies
", each with 9 or 16 "Sectors" (levels
), depending on difficulty. Once a Sector is completed by destroying all the asteroids, an "Exit Portal" (another Warp) appears to lead the player to the "Galactic Map" screen. Similarly to the difficulty screen, the player can here choose which Sector to visit next. Completed and empty Sectors can be revisited, but since this costs Energy, this is pointless. Sectors that are currently out of range are marked with a "?
".
Each level (called "Sector" in the game) consists of only the visible screen. The top and bottom of the screen are connected, as are the left and right side of the screen, meaning if anything leaves the screen, it will appear again on the opposite side. (A Sector can be thought of as the surface of a torus
laid out flat.)
s in the form of Power Crystals that are released by completely destroying asteroids. Crystals decay
over time. Popcorn
Asteroids require several hits, which expands their size, and eventually makes them stop spinning. They can't be destroyed, but stopping them is enough to finish each Sector. Egg asteroids contain leech
es which home in onto the user's ship and suck out its energy. They can be shot and destroyed. Finally there are Seeker asteroids which home in on the player's ship.
Besides asteroids, there are different enemy ships trying to shoot the player, that leave equipment in the form of power-ups when destroyed.
There are different kinds of equipment:
boss
after all sectors are cleared of asteroids. He will try to ram the player and will send miniature enemy ships to aid him. Mukor has multiple tentacle
s which all must be shot multiple times to be destroyed. Once all tentacles are gone, Mukor is defeated and he will leave some special equipment. He will reappear in the next Galaxy with a larger number of tentacles, making him harder to defeat. Mukor must be defeated in all Galaxies to be fully conquered and for the player to win the game.
and turning Blasteroids into a multiplayer game. Both players can cooperate by covering each other, as well as by dock
ing their ships. Docking is possible if one ship is a Speeder, and the other is a Warrior; flying over each other will turn the Speeder into a stationary turret
with more firepower on top of the Warrior, which turns into a Starlet, with less firepower but full control. The ships undock when either player transforms their ship into something else again. The first player to exit through the Exit Portal gets a large bonus and control of the Galactic Map.
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
s to the original 1979 shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
video game Asteroids. It was developed by Atari Games
Atari Games
Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari, Inc..-History:When, in 1984, Warner Communications sold the Atari Consumer division of Atari Inc...
(which later became Midway Games West) and published in 1987 by Image Works
Image Works
Image Works was a publishing label of video games publisher Mirrorsoft created in 1988. The first two games published under the Image Works label were Fernandez Must Die and Foxx Fights Back...
for: arcade cabinet
Arcade cabinet
A video game arcade cabinet, also known as a video arcade machine or video coin-op, is the housing within which a video arcade game's hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the JAMMA wiring standard...
, in 1989 for: Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, C64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
/128
Commodore 128
The Commodore 128 home/personal computer was the last 8-bit machine commercially released by Commodore Business Machines...
, MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
, MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
.
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
for the game is basically the same as for the original; the player
Player (game)
A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....
(or players in case of a 2-player game) controls a spaceship
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
viewed from "above" in a 2D
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
representation of space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
, by rotating the ship, and using thrust
Thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's second and third laws. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction on that system....
to give the ship momentum
Momentum
In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
. To slow down or completely stop moving, the player has to rotate the ship to face the direction it came from, and generate the right amount of thrust to nullify its momentum. The ship has a limited amount of fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
to generate thrust with. This fuel comes in the form of "Energy" that is also used for the ship's Shields which protect it against collision
Collision
A collision is an isolated event which two or more moving bodies exert forces on each other for a relatively short time.Although the most common colloquial use of the word "collision" refers to accidents in which two or more objects collide, the scientific use of the word "collision" implies...
s and enemy fire. Once all Energy is gone, the player's ship is destroyed. The ship can shoot to destroy asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
s and enemy ships. The ship can also be transformed at will into 3 different versions, namely the "Speeder", the fastest version, the "Fighter", which has the most firepower, and the "Warrior", which has extra armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
.
Levels
At the start of the game, the player is in a screen with 4 "WarpsWarp zone
A warp zone is usually an area in a video game where players can go from one place or level to another. They are sometimes used as cheats and sometimes as ways to avoid too much walking...
" indicating the game's difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. Flying through any of the Warps starts the game with that difficulty. Each Warp has several "Galaxies
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
", each with 9 or 16 "Sectors" (levels
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
), depending on difficulty. Once a Sector is completed by destroying all the asteroids, an "Exit Portal" (another Warp) appears to lead the player to the "Galactic Map" screen. Similarly to the difficulty screen, the player can here choose which Sector to visit next. Completed and empty Sectors can be revisited, but since this costs Energy, this is pointless. Sectors that are currently out of range are marked with a "?
Question mark
The question mark , is a punctuation mark that replaces the full stop at the end of an interrogative sentence in English and many other languages. The question mark is not used for indirect questions...
".
Each level (called "Sector" in the game) consists of only the visible screen. The top and bottom of the screen are connected, as are the left and right side of the screen, meaning if anything leaves the screen, it will appear again on the opposite side. (A Sector can be thought of as the surface of a torus
Torus
In geometry, a torus is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle...
laid out flat.)
Objective
The object of the game is to destroy all the asteroids which have a set speed at which they fly through the Sector. Asteroids come in varying sizes, and when shot, larger asteroids break into multiple smaller ones. Only shooting the smallest ones will actually remove them from the Sector. Asteroids also come in different types. Normal asteroids don't contain anything, but red asteroids can contain power-upPower-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
s in the form of Power Crystals that are released by completely destroying asteroids. Crystals decay
Decomposition
Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...
over time. Popcorn
Popcorn
Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
Asteroids require several hits, which expands their size, and eventually makes them stop spinning. They can't be destroyed, but stopping them is enough to finish each Sector. Egg asteroids contain leech
Leech
Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...
es which home in onto the user's ship and suck out its energy. They can be shot and destroyed. Finally there are Seeker asteroids which home in on the player's ship.
Besides asteroids, there are different enemy ships trying to shoot the player, that leave equipment in the form of power-ups when destroyed.
There are different kinds of equipment:
- Shields - give limited amount of protection, indicated in HUD.
- Blasters - gives the ship double shots.
- Extra Shot Power - Allows shots to penetrate everything.
- Ripstar - Causes the ship to spin furiously, firing in all directions.
- Extra Fuel Capacity - increases fuel capacity, indicated by the HUDHUD (computer gaming)In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
. Depleting fuel reserves to critical with this increased capacity will revert the ship to normal fuel capacity. - Booster - increases movement speed for all ship forms.
- Crystal Magnet - attracts loose Power Crystals to the ship.
- Cloak - ship turns invisible to enemies, preventing them from detecting the ship.
Boss
Mukor is the alienExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
after all sectors are cleared of asteroids. He will try to ram the player and will send miniature enemy ships to aid him. Mukor has multiple tentacle
Tentacle
A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
s which all must be shot multiple times to be destroyed. Once all tentacles are gone, Mukor is defeated and he will leave some special equipment. He will reappear in the next Galaxy with a larger number of tentacles, making him harder to defeat. Mukor must be defeated in all Galaxies to be fully conquered and for the player to win the game.
Multiplayer
A second player can join the game at any time by pressing his Fire button, using up 1 creditCredit (finance)
Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately , but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided may be financial Credit is the trust...
and turning Blasteroids into a multiplayer game. Both players can cooperate by covering each other, as well as by dock
Space rendezvous
A space rendezvous is an orbital maneuver during which two spacecraft, one of which is often a space station, arrive at the same orbit and approach to a very close distance . Rendezvous requires a precise match of the orbital velocities of the two spacecraft, allowing them to remain at a constant...
ing their ships. Docking is possible if one ship is a Speeder, and the other is a Warrior; flying over each other will turn the Speeder into a stationary turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
with more firepower on top of the Warrior, which turns into a Starlet, with less firepower but full control. The ships undock when either player transforms their ship into something else again. The first player to exit through the Exit Portal gets a large bonus and control of the Galactic Map.