This thread will be used for general conversation for the Arcade game Asteroids.
You can brag about your score, talk about the game in general, give feedback, etc.

I've never really cared for asteroids much, and I've never been to good at it either, and yet I somehow manage to get the top score

few people would know that asteriods was the first game ever created.... even though its true....

Really? What about space invaders.. hey We should get that

I dont think asteroids was first game, i think your crazy...

wow, easy ass game. I got the highest score in one try?

Originally posted by neojazex

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few people would know that asteriods was the first game ever created.... even though its true....

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I thought for sure it was Pong because of how they came up with the noises.

The first video game was Spacewar!, created in 1961 on a computer at the University of Utah. It was ported to arcades and consoles in the 1970's under the name Computer Space.

Pong, created by Atari engineer Al Alcorn, has the distinction of being the first arcade video game ever created.

In other news: I love Asteroids. This rendition of it is by far the most similar to its original incarnation. I know this for a fact, because I attended an exhibit on the history of video games up at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and they had an authentic, playable Asteroids arcade cabinet there (among others, like Pong, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Space Invaders, Galaxian, Centipede, Dig Dug, Missile Command, Tempest, Pac-Man, and yes, even Computer Space). I'm still trying to figure out which key controls the Hyperspace function in this flash game version, however...


Some tips:

--Rapid-fire is your friend. Pound that spacebar like there's no tomorrow.

--Try to completely destroy each asteroid before moving on to the next one, so you don't have 40 squillion small asteroids flying at you all at once.

--Rapidly firing while turning in a circle is a good way to get a nice, even spread of bullets, which helps if you're trying to hit a small target and have trouble aiming at it.

--Remember, if your shots travel off-screen, they will re-appear on its opposite side. Use this to your advantage.

--Those tiny UFOs are much better at aiming their shots than their bigger cousins. They have a tendency to miss you if you remain still and don't move, however.

--The high accuracy rate of the tiny UFOs also makes them extremely dangerous. If they appear, I usually try to devote my full attention to getting rid of them first before re-focusing on the asteroids.

--Beware the "Auto-Kill": that's when your ship regenerates in the center of the screen a split-second before getting smashed by an asteroid, giving you literally no time to react. I've lost several lives at the higher levels this way.

--Staying in one spot (such as the center of the screen) is helpful when there are numerous asteroids flying about and you aren't sure which way is safest to go in. But don't be afraid to move a little bit to get out of the line of fire if you're being bombarded from several directions at once.

--Triage the asteroids; get rid of the ones aimed directly at you first, before continuing on to the other ones.


Hey, look! High score, yayness!

Originally posted by Stoney

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The first video game was Spacewar!, created in 1961 on a computer at the University of Utah. It was ported to arcades and consoles in the 1970's under the name Computer Space.

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Have you seen it? because it is essentially the same game... exept there may not be UFOs

Like I said, a fully-playable Computer Space arcade cabinet was available at the exhibit, so yes, I played it there (for free, I might add -- all the games were set on 'Freeplay', so I didn't have to spend any quarters). It is NOT the same game as Asteroids. For one thing, Computer Space and Spacewar! were both two-player only, like Pong -- there was no single-player version like there is for Asteroids. For another thing, the objective of Computer Spaceis to pilot one of two spaceships around a moon, firing at the other ship (controlled by your opponent) until either they or you are blown into atoms. The game was actually pretty advanced for its time; it included real gravity effects (getting too close to the moon caused you to careen out of control and crash into it), and like Asteroids, it had a 'Hyperspace' function that caused you to appear at a random spot on-screen with the press of a button. Trouble is, it was possible for you to re-appear too close to the moon (and thus crash), so there was always a risk involved with using it.

Interesting little fact: one of the ships in Computer Space was shaped like a wedge, and served as the inspiration for the S.S.Triangle in Asteroids. Bet'cha didn't know that, didja?

Originally posted by Stoney

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and like Asteroids, it had a 'Hyperspace' function that caused you to appear at a random spot on-screen with the press of a button.

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What 'hyperspace' function? is it in this one?

No, the one on my calculator did have it. I call it my OHMYGODIMGOINGTODIE button

I should see if i can make a Computer Space game

Originally posted by BigBob85

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I should see if i can make a Computer Space game

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LOL, that would be pretty difficult to do -- you'd have to create an A.I. to control the other ship, since most of us play these flash games alone and not with other people.

2nd!!!!! woohooo! i almost got higher but i got shot by the little ship... after i shot it... 50 points and i would of kept goin'...

Hey, congrats! I'll assume you were following my tips from earlier when you got that score.

You would assume that wouldnt you

Yeah dudes, I went to the Chicago Museum of Arts and sciences too. THey charge you to get in, charge you for crappy food, and then charge you to get into exhibits.

When my friend said we should go into the VIdeogame history exibit... I decided to keep my five dollars. Besides, I know everything there is to know about videogames.... summed up by this.

Good = Creativity, Multiplayer, Challenging, thought Invoking, Pretty, competitive, COOL

Bad = Trendy a**h*** ness, Playstation, next generation consoles with only 2 controller ports, Games that everyone loves and I don't because the battles take like 13 seconds to load and the spells take like 25 seconds to "Show" thier animation. And it sucks. Like that one summoning spelll. YOU KNOW WHAT I"M TALKING ABOUT!!! Grandia = Better.

God, Zylo, you missed out. Five bucks is a small price to pay in order to play over 100 games for as long as you want, especially for someone like me who can't be bothered to buy all the current-generation and previous-generation systems. It was also the only chance you'll ever get to play the actual arcade versions of all the old hits from 1970 to 1989. And some of the games were really fun to play with other people -- in particular, Dance Dance Revolution and the Eyetoy. Heck, playing around with just the latter was more than worth the price of admission. And then a couple of my friends and I teamed up to play Donkey Konga with a single controller (one person controlled the right bongo, another controlled the left one, and I clapped above the microphone).The only thing that could've made the exhibit better would be if they'd had Katamari Damacy available...but oh well, dem's the breaks.

Sadly, anyone wanting to visit Game On shall now be unable to, since the exhibit closed on Sept. 5th. Good news, though! The exhibit was such a humongous hit with visitors that the museum will be bringing it back in January 2006. Look forward to it!

Oh, and when I went to the exhibit, I just took my own food and drink with me from home. I also bought my tickets online beforehand so I didn't have to wait an unholy amount of time in a line when I got there. It was the smart thing to do.




LOL, BigBob. We're all rooting for ya, man. Godspeed.

*saloots*
Thank you captain..