Bug War

Specifications: Runs on Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 10. May crash on Windows 8.

Originally published around 2016.

Atari 2600 styled version supports mouse control via the trackball controller setting.

Includes 2600 and 7800 styled versions.

The 3rd game in my Atari console series after Buzzy Bees (Atari 5200), this is something of a port of War of the Bugs by Armenia (which is pretty much a rip-off of Atari’s Centipede even though they wouldn’t admit it) on the Atari 7800. Unlike the last game which was meant as a joke originally, this was meant to show off the capabilities of an NES-like console that had the sounds of pretty much an Atari 2600. As arguably the most advanced system of the 3 Atari home consoles, this shows off special effects, backgrounds, and better graphics than most of the retro games I’ve made. Introduced are also some new features, such as convenient controls and the music stopping when paused.

The Atari 2600 version was later thrown in as a bonus after the Atari 7800 version was completed (in its pre-release stage), originally intended to be called an “Atari 2600 edition”. It shows off the backwards-compatibility of the Atari 7800 system, as well as some limitations (the irony) of the system, such as the inability to play too many sounds at the same time, flickering graphics, etc. It also has trademark Atari flashes on the poisoned mushrooms and the score after the player dies. There are 2 major (if you’ll call it that) differences between this at the 7800 version: 2 spiders are introduced at the beginning of a level only from level 15 on, and the bullet is larger (and also slightly faster) in the 2600 version. Otherwise the 2 are pretty much the same game. Other features include the spider sprite flipping when it’s moving downwards, a sound playing if you hit a flea once, and the inclusion of the experimental trackball-style control based on the controls in the Atari 2600 version of Centipede and the Atari 2600 Pro-line Trak-ball controller.

There are a number of improvements over the original arcade version, including but not limited to:

•     Improved collision detection
•     The spider’s hit value is shown after it is hit
•     No mushrooms can be on the bottom 2 rows so that you may not be trapped
•     Your score does not flash
•     There will not be 7 spiders at the beginning of the level
•     The way the spider moves is more predictable

Highlights of the game:

•     The “mushroom count” after death
•     The humour in the console screen
•     The comparatively advanced graphics and compatibility (though still using Atari 2600 sounds, albeit with more overlapping)

New features include:

•     Pause stops the game sounds from playing
•     Fast controls, allowing you to go back to the “title screen” or restart the game with just one button.
•     One button for pausing and resuming, within the reach of your hand when it is on the arrow keys
•     A starry background and 16-bit type graphics drawn without reference from other 16-bit graphics