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Asteroids

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Arcade

Your space craft is dangerously situated among fast moving asteroids in an asteroid belt that can destroy your ship on contact. Armed with a front mounted weapon and the ability to hyperspace, you fly through the debris, destroying each rock one piece at a time. Alien saucers visit the playfield ...

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Developer
Atari

Released on
1979

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Your space craft is dangerously situated among fast moving asteroids in an asteroid belt that can destroy your ship on contact. Armed with a front mounted weapon and the ability to hyperspace, you fly through the debris, destroying each rock one piece at a time. Alien saucers visit the playfield from time to time with an eye towards destroying your ship!

The objective of Asteroids is to score as many points as possible by destroying asteroids and flying saucers. The player controls a triangular-shaped ship that can rotate left and right, fire shots straight forward, and thrust forward. As the ship moves, momentum is not conserved — the ship eventually comes to a stop again when not thrusting. The player can also send their ship into hyperspace, causing it to disappear and reappear in a random location on the screen (with the risk of self-destructing or appearing on top of an asteroid).

Asteroids

Overview & History

Released by Atari, Inc. in November 1979 and designed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg, *Asteroids* stands as a monumental pillar of the golden age of arcade video games. Set in the uncharted depths of deep space, the game features no formal storyline or characters; instead, it places the player in the pilot seat of a lone, highly vulnerable wedge-shaped spaceship stranded in a treacherous asteroid field. Using revolutionary vector graphics technology, the game rendered crisp, glowing white line-drawings against the void of the black CRT screen. It became an instant cultural phenomenon and Atari's best-selling arcade cabinet of all time, eventually shifting over 70,000 units and pioneering the concept of persistent high-score initials.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay loop of *Asteroids* challenges players to survive by obliterating a persistent field of floating space rocks while evading unpredictable, aggressive UFOs. The physics engine employs momentum and inertia; firing your thrusters accelerates the ship forward, but it will continue drifting indefinitely in zero gravity unless counter-thrust is applied. Firing your laser cannon at a large asteroid causes it to split into two medium-sized rocks, which subsequently break apart into two smaller, faster-moving fragments when shot again. Every wave becomes exponentially more frantic. Adding to the tension, a flying saucer periodically warps onto the screen to rain destructive fire down on your position. While large saucers shoot randomly, the smaller, deadlier saucer actively tracks and targets your ship's exact coordinates. To escape imminent destruction, the player can trigger hyperspace, instantly teleporting the ship to a random location on the playing field—though this carries a fatal gamble, as you might materialize directly inside an asteroid or off-screen hazard.

Keyboard Controls

Arrow Keys / D-Pad: Rotate left/right to aim, press Up to apply thrusters
Action Keys: Spacebar to fire lasers, Down Arrow (or Shift) to trigger Hyperspace
Enter: Start / Pause