Museum of the Game ®

International Arcade Museum® — Killer List of Videogames®

Centipede

Description

The player controls a gun that can only move in the bottom fifth of the screen. The object is to shoot a centipede that works its way down to the player area through a field of mushrooms. Other attacking enemies are fleas, spiders, and scorpions.

Centipede was produced by Atari in 1980.

Atari released 137 machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1972. Atari was based in United States.

Other machines made by Atari during the time period Centipede was produced include: Atari Soccer, Hercules, Superman, Atari Baseball, Asteroids, Monte Carlo, Missile Command, Red Baron, Asteroids Deluxe, and Battlezone

Specs

Name	Centipede
Developer	Atari (United States)
Year	1980
Type	Videogame
KLOV/MOG #	7299
Class	Wide Release
Genre	Shooter
Development Team	Dona Bailey, Co-Developer and Programmer George Edwards 'Ed' Logg, Co-Developer
Monitor	Orientation: Vertical Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Color: Color
Conversion Class	unique
Game Specific	Centipede Pinout
Dipswitch Settings	Centipede Dipswitch Settings (user contributed)
# Simultaneous Players	1
# Maximum Players	2
Game Play	Alternating
Control Panel Layout	Single Player
Controls	Buttons: 1 - Fire Trackball: Optical
Sound	Unamplified Mono (requires one-channel amp)
Cabinet Styles	Upright/Standard Cocktail - 181 lbs Cabaret/Mini Candy/Japanese (Video Games)
Instructions	Centipede Instructions Image
Bezel	Centipede Bezel Image
Control Panel	Centipede Control Panel Image
Side Art	Centipede Side Art Image
PCB	Centipede PCB Image

Video Clips

Centipede Cabaret Arcade Game Review with MULTIPEDE - Centipede/Millipede Multig

Centipede shortplay by Ivan Paduano

Game Play

The object of the game is to destroy as many enemies as possible. During every level, you must destroy all the segments of a centipede. Once the centipede enters the bottom area of the screen where the gun moves, the player is in danger of colliding with the centipede. The centipede will break into pieces as its segments are shot. Once it makes it to the bottom of the screen, it heads back up until it reaches the top of the player zone. It then repeats the process. Once the centipede has hit the bottom of the screen, new segments are created that move within the player zone. When a centipede segment hits a mushroom or another segment, it reverses direction.

Every level, the centipede configuration is different. On the first level, all segments are attached. On the next level, one segment is independent. On the next, two are independent, and so on until all segments are independent.

The spider is another enemy that threatens the player. It bounces around within the player zone, but when it hits a mushroom, the mushroom disappears.

The flea will drop from the top of the screen and fall all of the way to the bottom when there are less than a certain number of mushrooms in the player zone. It leaves mushrooms behind.

The scorpion streaks across the screen periodically, changing any mushrooms it hits into poisonous mushrooms. When a centipede segment hits one of these, the centipede plummets to the bottom of the screen and then heads back up.

Extra lives are awarded every 12000 points by default.

Centipede KLOV/IAM 5 Point User Score: 4.13 (33 votes)

Fun Factor: 4.20

Overall Like	4.41
Fun (Social)	3.63
Fun (Solo)	4.31
Collector Desire	3.88

Technical Rating: 4.15

Gameplay	4.39
Graphics	4.16
Originality	4.50
Sound/Music	3.78

Personal Impressions and Technical Impressions each account for half of the total score. Within the Personal Impressions category, Like carries a little more weight than the other factors.

Cheats, Tricks, Bugs, and Easter Eggs

On levels that have complete Centipedes, fleas will never appear.PTo trap the centipede, allow the centipede to come near the bottom of the screen. When it is close to the left or right side, shoot the centipede once, causing a mushroom to appear and the centipede to come back under and near the mushroom. Now, shoot and make another mushroom. Repeat this process until you have a row of mushrooms almost vertically lined up near the bottom of the screen. Then, by either dying or just allowing the centipede to work his way back up, the centipede will be trapped between the edge of the screen and the mushrooms allowing you to shoot everything else.

Hacks

Galipede Uses Centipede graphics in a Galaga game. Pacipede Changes the graphics to make them look more like those from PacMan.

Images

Trivia

This was the first arcade game to be designed by a woman Dona Bailey.PThe side artwork features a grasshopper, while it is not present during gameplay, it can be seen in test mode.

Cabinet Information

The cabinet has detailed, colorful graphics of a large, viscious centipede. The artwork covers the entirety of both sides of the game. Cabaret mini cabinets and cocktail units were released with 19inch monitors and there were also a limited number cocktails built with only 13inch monitors. A minor note is the color of the outline around the side art design which can be in yellow, purple or blue.

Conversion

It is possible, with some light work, to convert this to IMillipedeI.

Problems/Repairs

There were two different versions of side art made for this game, one with a yellow glow around the centipede and one with a pink glow. Compare the cabinet image with the side art image to see the difference.

Miscellaneous

VAPS Arcade/Coin-Op Centipede Census

There are 15,211 members of the Video Arcade Preservation Society / Vintage Arcade Preservation Society, 9,644 whom participate in our arcade census project of games owned, wanted, or for sale. Census data currently includes 166,563 machines (6,981 unique titles).

Very Common - There are 1,623 known instances of this machine owned by Centipede collectors who are active members. Of these, 1,467 of them are original dedicated machines. 17 of them are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet. 129 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

For Sale - There are 65 active VAPS members with a Centipede machines for sale. There are 10 active VAPS members with a Centipede circuit boards for sale.

Wanted - Very Popular - There are 38 active VAPS members currently looking for Centipede.

This game ranks a 99 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.

This game ranks a 55 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census want list records.

Rarity and Popularity independently are not necessarily indications of value. [More Information]

Flyers

Technical

The game uses a 6502 microprocessor and one Atari Pokey sound chip.

Fixes

The rollers and bearings in the track ball wear out and after a while the movement of the guncannon becomes difficult. Replacement parts for trackballs are available from a number of parts retailers.

Legacy

Centipede
Millipede

Manuals

Centipede Cabaret ST-189 1st Printing Backdoor Sheet - Centipede Manual — **Centipede Cabaret ST-189 1st Printing Backdoor Sheet**
(1 page, 801 kB File)

Operation, Maintenance and Service Manual with illustrated parts catalog - Centipede Manual — **Operation, Maintenance and Service Manual with illustrated parts catalog**
(63 pages, 6.3 MB File)

Operation, Maintenance and Service Manual with illustrated parts catalog (2) - Centipede Manual — **Operation, Maintenance and Service Manual with illustrated parts catalog (2)**
(51 pages, 5.2 MB File)

Drawing Package Supplement - Centipede Manual — **Drawing Package Supplement**
(8 pages, 512 kB File)

Diagnostics Test - Centipede Manual — **Diagnostics Test**
(8 pages, 586 kB File)

Schematics - Centipede Manual — **Schematics**
(8 pages, 610 kB File)

Schematics (2) - Centipede Manual — **Schematics (2)**
(8 pages, 584 kB File)

Power Supple Schematic - Centipede Manual — **Power Supple Schematic**
(8 pages, 2.2 MB File)

Signature Analysis Guide - Centipede Manual — **Signature Analysis Guide**
(5 pages, 365 kB File)

Signature Analysis (2) - Centipede Manual — **Signature Analysis (2)**
(4 pages, 238 kB File)

Foto-Finder® (Books)

Arcade Treasures Kurtz (ISBN 088740619X) Page: 109; Color photo
The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256) Page: 105; Color photo Price guide: No
Arcade Fever Sellers (ISBN 0762409371) Page: 64; Color photo
Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256) Page: 105; Color photo
Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256) Page: 135; Color photo

Additional References (logged in members often see more)

3D Model (External): Upright (Irish Version) (4d2c39f9-980a-4cc9-8379-1a3bc0d24abb)
3D Model (External): Dedicated (72ad8c0cc54e60ff56802c1861509c88)

Arcade Map - Play This Game

Our members have reported that Centipede is playable at 4 locations:

Name	Location	State	Country	Details	Check-ins
Bartari	101 Adams Ave, Scranton	Pennsylvania	United States	Bar	0
Level One Bar + Arcade	130 Hutchinson Ave, Columbus	Ohio	United States	Unknown	0
The Very Best Arcade (The Very Best Weiner Shop)	252 E High St, Pottstown	Pennsylvania	United States	Arcade	1
Upstate Pinball & Arcade Museum	109A West Trade St, Simpsonville	South Carolina	United States	Arcade	2

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