''Asteroids'' is a space-themed multidirectional shooter

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 vi ...

Lyle Rains Lyle Rains was a senior executive at the arcade game company Atari and is sometimes, with Ed Logg, listed as a co- developer of the video game ''Asteroids''. In fact, Rains called Logg into his office and said "Well, why don’t we have a game wh ...

and

Ed Logg George Edward "Ed" Logg (born 1948 in Seattle) is a retired American arcade video game designer, first employed at Atari, Inc. and later at Atari Games. He currently resides in Los Altos, California. Career Logg was impressed with the Atari 26 ...

released in November 1979 by Atari, Inc. The player controls a single spaceship in an asteroid field which is periodically traversed by

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has ...

s. The object of the game is to shoot and destroy the asteroids and saucers, while not colliding with either, or being hit by the saucers' counter-fire. The game becomes harder as the number of asteroids increases. ''Asteroids'' was conceived during a meeting between Logg and Rains, who decided to use hardware developed by Howard Delman previously used for ''

Lunar Lander A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2021, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 19 ...

''. Asteroids was based on an unfinished game titled ''Cosmos''; its physics model, control scheme, and gameplay elements were derived from ''

Spacewar! ''Spacewar!'' is a Space combat game, space combat video game developed in 1962 by Steve Russell (computer scientist), Steve Russell in collaboration with Martin Graetz, Wayne Wiitanen, Robert Alan Saunders, Bob Saunders, Steve Piner, and others. ...

'', ''

Computer Space ''Computer Space'' is a space combat simulation, space combat arcade game developed in 1971. Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in partnership as Syzygy Engineering, it was the first arcade video game as well as the first commercially avail ...

'', and ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter an ...

'' and refined through trial and error. The game is rendered on a vector display in a two-dimensional view that wraps around both screen axes. ''Asteroids'' was one of the first major hits of the golden age of arcade games; the game sold over 70,000 arcade cabinets and proved both popular with players and influential with developers. In the 1980s it was ported to Atari's home systems, and the Atari VCS version sold over three million copies. The game was widely imitated, and it directly influenced '' Defender'', '' Gravitar'', and many other video games.

Gameplay

The objective of ''Asteroids'' is to destroy asteroids and saucers. The player controls a triangular

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

that can rotate left and right, fire shots straight forward, and thrust forward. Once the ship begins moving in a direction, it will continue in that direction for a time without player intervention unless the player applies thrust in a different direction. The ship eventually comes to a stop when not thrusting. The player can also send the ship into hyperspace, causing it to disappear and reappear in a random location on the screen, at the risk of self-destructing or appearing on top of an asteroid. Each level starts with a few large asteroids drifting in various directions on the screen. Objects wrap around screen edges – for instance, an asteroid that drifts off the top edge of the screen reappears at the bottom and continues moving in the same direction. As the player shoots asteroids, they break into smaller asteroids that move faster and are more difficult to hit. Smaller asteroids are also worth more points. Two flying saucers appear periodically on the screen; the "big saucer" shoots randomly and poorly, while the "small saucer" fires frequently at the ship. After reaching a score of 40,000, only the small saucer appears. As the player's score increases, the angle range of the shots from the small saucer diminishes until the saucer fires extremely accurately. Once the screen has been cleared of all asteroids and flying saucers, a new set of large asteroids appears, thus starting the next level. The game gets harder as the number of asteroids increases until after the score reaches a range between 40,000 and 60,000. The player starts with 3–5 lives upon game start and gains an extra life per 10,000 points. Play continues to the last ship lost, which ends the game. The machine "turns over" at 99,990 points, which is the maximum high score that can be achieved.

Lurking exploit

In the original game design, saucers were supposed to begin shooting as soon as they appeared, but this was changed. Additionally, saucers can only aim at the player's ship on-screen; they are not capable of aiming across a screen boundary. These behaviors allow a "lurking" strategy, in which the player stays near the edge of the screen opposite the saucer. By keeping just one or two rocks in play, a player can shoot across the boundary and destroy saucers to accumulate points indefinitely with little risk of being destroyed. Arcade operators began to complain about losing revenue due to this exploit. In response, Atari issued a patched

EPROM An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored data after a power s ...

and, due to the impact of this exploit, Atari (and other companies) changed their development and testing policies to try to prevent future games from having such exploits.

Development

Concept

''Asteroids'' was conceived by Lyle Rains and programmed by Ed Logg with collaborations from other Atari staff. Logg was impressed with the Atari Video Computer System (later called the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

), and he joined Atari's coin-op division to work on ''Dirt Bike'', which was never released due to an unsuccessful field test. Paul Mancuso joined the development team as ''Asteroids'' technician and engineer Howard Delman contributed to the hardware. During a meeting in April 1979, Rains discussed ''Planet Grab'', a multiplayer arcade game later renamed to ''Cosmos''. Logg did not know the name of the game, thinking ''

'' as "the inspiration for the two-dimensional approach". Rains conceived of ''Asteroids'' as a mixture of ''

'' and ''

'', combining the two-dimensional approach of ''Computer Space'' with ''Space Invaders'' addictive gameplay of "completion" and "eliminate all threats". The unfinished game featured a giant, indestructible asteroid, so Rains asked Logg: "Well, why don’t we have a game where you shoot the rocks and blow them up?" In response, Logg described a similar concept where the player selectively shoots at rocks that break into smaller pieces. Both agreed on the concept.

Hardware

''Asteroids'' was implemented on hardware developed by Delman and is a

vector game A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...

, in which the graphics are composed of lines drawn on a vector monitor. Rains initially wanted the game done in

raster graphics upright=1, The Smiley, smiley face in the top left corner is a raster image. When enlarged, individual pixels appear as squares. Enlarging further, each pixel can be analyzed, with their colors constructed through combination of the values for ...

, but Logg, experienced in

vector graphics Vector graphics is a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector display ...

, suggested an XY monitor because the high image quality would permit precise aiming. The hardware is chiefly a MOS 6502 executing the game program, and

QuadraScan A vector monitor, vector display, or calligraphic display is a display device used for computer graphics up through the 1970s. It is a type of CRT, similar to that of an early oscilloscope. In a vector display, the image is composed of drawn ...

, a high-resolution vector graphics processor developed by Atari and referred to as an "XY display system" and the "Digital Vector Generator (DVG)".Asteroids Flyer, 1979, Atari, Inc. The original design concepts for QuadraScan came out of Cyan Engineering, Atari's off-campus research lab in

Grass Valley, California Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. Situated at roughly in elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this northern Gold Country city is by car from Sacramento, from Sacramento ...

, in 1978. Cyan gave it to Delman, who finished the design and first used it for ''Lunar Lander''. Logg received Delman's modified board with five buttons, 13 sound effects, and additional RAM, and he used it to develop ''Asteroids''. The size of the board was 4 by 4 inches, and it was "linked up" to a monitor.

Implementation

Logg modeled the player's ship, the five-button control scheme, and the game physics after ''Spacewar!'', which he had played as a student at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

, but made several changes to improve playability. The ship was programmed into the hardware and rendered by the monitor, and it was configured to move with thrust and inertia. The hyperspace button was not placed near Logg's right thumb, which he was dissatisfied with, as he had a problem "tak nghis hand off the thrust button". Drawings of asteroids in various shapes were incorporated into the game. Logg copied the idea of a high score table with initials from Exidy's ''

Star Fire ''Star Fire'' is a first-person arcade coin-operated space combat video game created by Technical Magic for Midway-Bally and licensed for manufacture to Exidy in December 1978. It was distributed in Japan by Taito and Esco Trading in 1979. Desi ...

''. The two saucers were formulated to be different from each other. A steadily decreasing timer shortens intervals between saucer attacks to keep the player from not shooting asteroids and saucers. A "heartbeat" soundtrack quickens as the game progresses. The game does not have a sound chip. Delman created a hardware circuit for 13 sound effects by hand which was wired onto the board. A prototype of ''Asteroids'' was well received by several Atari staff and engineers, who "wander dbetween labs, passing comment and stopping to play as they went". Logg was often asked when he would be leaving by employees eager to play the prototype, so he created a second prototype for staff to play. Atari tested the game in arcades in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, and also observed players during focus group sessions at Atari. Players used to ''Spacewar!'' struggled to maintain grip on the thrust button and requested a joystick; players accustomed to ''

'' noted they get no break in the game. Logg and other engineers observed proceedings and documented comments in four pages. ''Asteroids'' slows down as the player gains 50–100 lives, because there is no limit to the number of lives displayed. The player can "lose" the game after more than 250 lives are collected.

Ports

''Asteroids'' was released for the Atari VCS (later renamed the

) and

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, ...

in 1981, then the Atari 7800 in 1986. A port for the

Atari 5200 The Atari 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to the Atari 2600 at the time of the 520 ...

, identical to the Atari 8-bit computer version, was in development in 1982, but was not published. The Atari 7800 version was a launch title and includes cooperative play; the asteroids have colorful textures and the "heartbeat" sound effect remains intact. Programmers Brad Stewart and Bob Smith were unable to fit the Atari VCS port into a 4 KB cartridge. It became the first game for the console to use

bank switching Bank switching is a technique used in computer design to increase the amount of usable memory beyond the amount directly addressable by the processor instructions. It can be used to configure a system differently at different times; for example ...

, a technique that increases ROM size from 4 KB to 8 KB.

Reception

''Asteroids'' was immediately successful upon release. It displaced ''

'' by popularity in the United States and became Atari's best selling arcade game of all time, with over 70,000 units sold. Atari earned an estimated $150 million in sales from the game, and arcade operators earned a further $500 million from coin drops. Atari had been in the process of manufacturing another vector game, ''Lunar Lander'', but demand for ''Asteroids'' was so high "that several hundred ''Asteroids'' games were shipped in ''Lunar Lander'' cabinets". ''Asteroids'' was so popular that some

video arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such a ...

operators had to install large boxes to hold the number of coins spent by players. It replaced ''Space Invaders'' at the top of the US ''RePlay''

amusement arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as ...

charts in April 1980, though ''Space Invaders'' remained the top game at street locations. ''Asteroids'' went on to become the highest-grossing arcade video game of 1980 in the United States, dethroning ''Space Invaders''. It shipped 70,000 arcade units worldwide in 1980, including over 60,000 sold in the United States that year, and grossed about worldwide ( adjusted for inflation) by 1980. The game remained at the top of the US ''RePlay'' charts through March 1981. However, the game did not perform as well overseas in Europe and Asia. It sold 30,000 arcade units overseas, for a total of 100,000 arcade units sold worldwide. Atari manufactured 76,312 units from its US and Ireland plants, including 21,394 ''Asteroids Deluxe'' units. It was a commercial failure in Japan when it released there in 1980, partly due to its complex controls and partly due to the Japanese market beginning to lose interest in space shoot 'em ups at the time. ''Asteroids'' received positive reviews from video game critics and has been regarded as Logg's magnum opus. Richard A. Edwards reviewed the 1981 ''Asteroids'' home cartridge in ''

The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the ...

'' No. 46. Edwards commented that "this home cartridge is a virtual duplicate of the ever-popular Atari arcade game. ..If blasting asteroids is the thing you want to do then this is the game, but at this price I can't wholeheartedly recommend it". ''Video Games Player'' magazine reviewed the Atari VCS version, rating the graphics and sound a B, while giving the game an overall B+ rating. '' Electronic Fun with Computers & Games'' magazine gave the Atari VCS version an A rating. William Cassidy, writing for

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the Ga ...

's "Classic Gaming", noticed its innovations, including being one of the first video games to track initials and allow players to enter their initials for appearing in the top 10 high scores, and commented, "the vector graphics fit the futuristic outer space theme very well". In 1995,

Flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ...

magazine ranked the arcade version 11th on their "Top 100 Video Games." In 1996, '' Next Generation'' listed it as number 39 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", particularly lauding the control dynamics which require "the constant juggling of speed, positioning, and direction". In 1999, '' Next Generation'' listed ''Asteroids'' as number 29 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that "''Asteroid'' was a classic the day it was released, and it has never lost any of its appeal". ''Asteroids'' was ranked fourth on ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

''s list of "Top 25 Arcade Games"; the ''Retro Gamer'' staff cited its simplicity and the lack of a proper ending as allowances of revisiting the game. In 2012, ''Asteroids'' was listed on ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' All-Time 100 greatest video games list. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' named ''Asteroids'' one of the top ten games for the Atari 2600 in 2013. It was added to the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

's collection of video games. In 2021, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' listed ''Asteroids'' as the second greatest video game of the 1970s, just below ''

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, wh ...

'' (1979). By contrast, in March 1983 the Atari 8-bit port of ''Asteroids'' won sixth place in '' Softline''s Dog of the Year awards "for badness in computer games", Atari division, based on reader submissions. Usage of the names of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' characters "Mr. Bill" and "Sluggo" to refer to the saucers in an ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' article about the game led to Logg receiving a

cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not disc ...

letter from a lawyer with the "Mr. Bill Trademark".

Legacy

Arcade sequels

Released in 1981, '' Asteroids Deluxe'' was the first sequel to ''Asteroids''. Dave Shepperd edited the code and made enhancements to the game without Logg's involvement. The onscreen objects are tinted blue, and hyperspace is replaced by a shield that depletes when used. The asteroids rotate, and new "killer satellite" enemies break into smaller ships that home in on the player's position. The arcade machine's monitor displays vector graphics overlaying a holographic backdrop. The game is more difficult than the original and enables saucers to shoot across the screen boundary, eliminating the lurking strategy for high scores in the original. ''

Space Duel ''Space Duel'' is an arcade game released in 1982 by Atari, Inc. It is a direct descendant of the original ''Asteroids'', with asteroids replaced by colorful geometric shapes like cubes, diamonds, and spinning pinwheels. ''Space Duel'' is the first ...

'', released in arcades in 1982, replaces the rocks with colorful geometric shapes and adds cooperative two-player gameplay. 1987's '' Blasteroids'' includes "power-ups, ship morphing, branching levels, bosses, and the ability to dock your ships in multiplayer for added firepower". ''Blasteroids'' uses raster graphics instead of vectors.

Re-releases

The game is half of the Atari Lynx pairing '' Super Asteroids & Missile Command'', and included in the 1993 '' Microsoft Arcade'' compilation.

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

published an enhanced version of ''Asteroids'' for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...

(1998),

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

(1999),

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

(1998),

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

(1999), and

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

(2000). The

Atari Flashback The Atari Flashback series are a line of dedicated video game consoles designed, produced, published and marketed by AtGames under license from Atari SA. The Flashback consoles are "plug-and-play" versions of the Atari 2600 console. They contain ...

series of dedicated video game consoles have included both the 2600 and the arcade versions of ''Asteroids''. Published by Crave Entertainment on December 14, 1999, ''Asteroids Hyper 64'' made the ship and asteroids 3D and added new weapons and a multiplayer mode. A technical demo of ''Asteroids'' was developed by iThink for the

Atari Jaguar The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and th ...

but was never released. Unofficially referred to as ''Asteroids 2000'', it was demonstrated at E-JagFest 2000. In 2001, Infogrames released '' Atari Anniversary Edition'' for the Dreamcast, PlayStation, and Microsoft Windows. Developed by

Digital Eclipse Digital Eclipse is an American video game developer based in Emeryville, California. Founded by Andrew Ayre in 1992, the company found success developing commercial emulations of arcade games for Game Boy Color. In 2003, the company merged w ...

, it includes emulated versions of ''Asteroids'' and other games. The arcade and Atari 2600 versions of ''Asteroids'' were included in '' Atari Anthology'' for both

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

and

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...

. Released on November 28, 2007, the Xbox Live Arcade port of ''Asteroids'' has revamped HD graphics along with an added intense "throttle monkey" mode. The arcade and 2600 versions were made available through

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

s '' Game Room'' service in 2010.

Glu Mobile Glu Mobile LLC is an American developer and publisher of video games for mobile phones and tablet computers. Founded in San Francisco, California, in 2004, Glu offers products to multiple platforms including Java ME-based devices, Android, Wind ...

released an enhanced mobile phone port. ''Asteroids'' is included on '' Atari Greatest Hits Volume 1'' for the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in t ...

. An updated version of the game was announced in 2018 for the Intellivision Amico. Both the Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 versions of the game was included on Atari Collection 1 and 2 in 2020 for the

Evercade The Evercade is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by UK company Blaze Entertainment. It focuses on retrogaming with ROM cartridges that each contain a number of emulated games. Development began in 2018, and the console was relea ...

Clones

Quality Software Quality Software is a defunct American software developer and publisher which created games, business software, and development tools for the Exidy Sorcerer, Apple II, and Atari 8-bit family in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ''Asteroids in Space' ...

's ''Asteroids in Space'' (1980) was one of the best selling games for the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

and voted one of the most popular software titles of 1978-80 by ''

Softalk ''Softalk'' () was an American magazine of the early 1980s that focused on the Apple II computer. Published from September 1980 through August 1984, it featured articles about hardware and software associated with the Apple II platform and the pe ...

'' magazine. In December 1981, ''

Byte The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable uni ...

'' reviewed eight ''Asteroids'' clones for home computers. Three clones for the Apple II were reviewed together in the 1982 ''Creative Computing Software Buyers Guide'': ''The Asteroid Field'', ''Asteron'', and '' Apple-Oids''. In the last of these, the asteroids are in the shape of apples. Two independent clones, ''Asteroid'' for the Apple II and ''Fasteroids'' for TRS-80, were renamed to '' Planetoids'' and sold by Adventure International. Others clones include

Acornsoft Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and u ...

's ''Meteors'', ''Moons of Jupiter'' for the

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the ...

, '' MineStorm'' for the

Vectrex The Vectrex is a vector display-based home video game console–the only one ever designed and released for the home market, developed by Smith Engineering. It was first released for the North America market in November 1982 and then Europe an ...

, and Quicksilva's ''Meteor Storm'' for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum which uses speech synthesis. A poorly implemented ''Asteroids'' clone for the VIC-20, published by Bug-Byte, motivated Jeff Minter to found Llamasoft. The

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in mor ...

Intellivision The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. In 198 ...

game ''Meteor!'' was cancelled to avoid a lawsuit for being too similar to ''Asteroids'' and was reworked as ''

Astrosmash ''Astrosmash'' is a fixed shooter video game for the Intellivision console, designed by John Sohl, and released by Mattel Electronics in 1981. The player uses a laser cannon to destroy falling meteors, bombs, and other targets.''Astrosmash'', Mat ...

''. The game borrows elements from ''Asteroids'' and ''Space Invaders''.

World records

On February 6, 1982, Leo Daniels of Carolina Beach, North Carolina, set a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

score of 40,101,910 points. On November 13 of the same year, 15-year-old Scott Safran of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, set a new record at 41,336,440 points. In 1998, to congratulate Safran on his accomplishment, the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard searched for him for four years until 2002, when it was discovered that he had died in an accident in 1989. In a ceremony in Philadelphia on April 27, 2002, Walter Day of Twin Galaxies presented an award to the surviving members of Safran's family, commemorating his achievement. On April 5, 2010, John McAllister broke Safran's record with a high score of 41,838,740 in a 58-hour Internet livestream.

References

External links

* at

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, Ca ...

* * * * * {{Authority control 1979 video games Arcade video games Atari 2600 games Atari 7800 games Atari 8-bit family games Atari arcade games Atari Lynx games Cancelled Atari 5200 games Cancelled Atari Jaguar games Ed Logg games Fiction about asteroids Game Boy games Game Boy Color games Multidirectional shooters Multiplayer and single-player video games Science fiction video games Sega arcade games Taito arcade games Xbox 360 games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Vector arcade video games Video games developed in the United States