Centipede — Dona Bailey’s Arcade Bug Shooter
Category: Arcade / Shooter | Developer: Atari | Year: 1980 | Play: Browser (Arcade Emulator) | Price: Free
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About This Classic
Co-designed by Dona Bailey (a rarity for early arcade developers), Centipede (Atari, 1980) combines shooting with a segmented enemy winding through mushroom fields. Every hit segment turns into a mushroom, and the remaining pieces split into independent centipedes.
Spiders hop erratically, fleas drop from above, and scorpions poison mushrooms — sending centipedes into wild fast descents. It became hugely popular with women players, unusual for arcade games of its era.
The original trackball controls provided fast, precise movement perfect for dodging the chaotic bug field.
Tips & Tricks
- Clear Bottom Zone: Keep the bottom area mushroom-free for dodging spiders and centipede segments.
- Centipede Splitting: Hit the head to kill without splitting. Hit the middle and you create TWO centipedes — sometimes this is worse.
- Spider Priority: The spider is your biggest threat — erratic, unpredictable. Shoot on sight.
- Scorpion Zones: Poisoned mushrooms make centipedes dive straight down. Line up easy shots.
Cultural Impact
Centipede proved arcade games needn’t be militaristic to succeed. A 3D remake appeared on PlayStation/Dreamcast, but purists prefer the original 1980 version. Play it right here.
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