''Super Bug'' is an

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

developed, manufactured, and released by

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

in 1977. The player steers a yellow

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

(or "Bug") along a multidirectionally

scrolling In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout of the text ...

track, avoiding the boundaries and occasional obstacle. The game ends when fuel runs out. ''Super Bug'' is in black and white, and the colored car comes from a yellow overlay in the center of the monitor. The 1978 Atari arcade game ''

Fire Truck A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an i ...

'' is based on ''Super Bug''. Both games were programmed by Howard Delman.

Development

Originally titled ''City Driver'', the video game ''Super Bug'' was the first to be designed and programmed by Howard Delman. Delman stated in an interview that he had to learn a lot of the game development process during the nine months it took to create ''Super Bug''.

Joe Decuir Joseph C. Decuir is an American fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) who was nominated in 2015 for contributions to computer graphics and video games. Early computer games Decuir was nominated to Fellowship in th ...

of Atari was writing an

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

version of the game, but it was never finished.

Reception

In the United States, it was among the top 35 highest-grossing arcade games of 1977, according to ''RePlay''. It went on to become the fourth highest-grossing arcade game of 1978 according to ''

Play Meter ''Play Meter'' (initially ''Coin Industry Play Meter'') was an American trade magazine focusing on the coin-op amusement arcade industry, including jukebox and arcade game machines. It was founded in December 1974 by publisher and editor Ralph C. ...

'', or the year's fifth highest according to ''RePlay''. It was later the 19th highest-grossing arcade video game of 1979, according to ''Play Meter''.

References

1977 video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Atari arcade games Cancelled Atari 8-bit family games Top-down racing video games Video games developed in the United States {{atari-stub