History
Centipede was released by Atari in 1981 and became one of the defining arcade games of the early 1980s. It was designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg — Bailey being one of very few women working in arcade game development at the time.
The game was notable for its use of a trackball controller, which allowed for precise, fluid movement that set it apart from joystick-based shooters. Its fast-paced gameplay, colourful visuals, and escalating difficulty made it a massive hit in arcades worldwide.
Centipede was one of the first arcade games to attract a significant female player base, partly due to Bailey's influence on the design. It was ported to the Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, and numerous home computers, selling millions of copies. The game spawned a sequel, Millipede (1982), and remains one of Atari's most recognisable titles.
How to Play
Shoot the centipede as it winds down through the mushroom field. Each segment you hit turns into a mushroom. Destroy all segments to clear the wave and advance to the next level with a new colour palette.
Controls
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Arrow Keys or WASD | Move |
| Space | Fire |
| P or Escape | Pause |
Enemies
| Enemy | Behaviour | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Centipede (head) | Leads the chain, descends through mushrooms | 100 |
| Centipede (body) | Follows the head; splits into independent head when hit | 10 |
| Spider | Bounces erratically through the player zone | 300 / 600 / 900 |
| Flea | Drops vertically, planting mushrooms as it falls | 200 |
| Scorpion | Crosses horizontally, poisoning mushrooms it touches | 1,000 |
Spider scoring is based on proximity: 900 points when close, 600 at medium range, 300 when far.
Poisoned mushrooms (touched by scorpions) cause centipede segments to plunge straight to the bottom of the field instead of winding back and forth.
Mushrooms
- Take 4 hits to destroy (1 point each)
- Damaged mushrooms are restored between lives (5 points each)
- The centipede reverses direction when it hits a mushroom or the screen edge
- Fleas drop new mushrooms into the player zone when too few remain
Mechanics
- Extra life awarded every 12,000 points
- 14 colour palette themes that cycle as you progress through waves
- High scores (top 10) saved to localStorage with name entry
- Centipede starts as a 12-segment chain; each hit splits the chain and the trailing portion gets a new head