In November 1979, Atari, Inc released a monochromatic vector game to the arcades with the name Asteroids. The game, programmed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg, is a multi-directional shooter in which the player controls a vessel that appears in the middle of an asteroid f ield with the goal of destroying all of the asteroids without being hit by any of them. But you are not alone in the asteroid field, flying saucers also are in the field and these will try to destroy you as well. It is either destroy or be destroyed!
The ship controlled by the player is triangular shaped and rotates right and left. It is capable of shooting a laser forward as well as thrust forward. To emulate real space physics, the ship will continue moving in any given direction unless the player thrusts again in a different direction or stops the ship’s motion. The ship also has the ability to do a hyperspace jump; however, the player does not control where the ship reappears and runs the risk of appearing on top of an asteroid, leading to immediate destruction. I should note that the player controls the ship with buttons to make the ship turn, fire, or thrust.
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Eugenio has been an avid video gamer since he was introduced to the Atari 2600 back in the early 80's. Since then, he has amassed a collection of 23 systems and handhelds with over 2000 games. He actively participates in various retro gaming forums, where he shares his love for video games, and where he is known as “the legendary” TrekMD. He has contributed retro game and system articles to Retro Video Gamer forum, The Retro Gaming Times, Vectorbolt Magazine, and Homebrew Heroes Magazine. Oh, and he’s also an avid Star Trek fan.
