GAMES

Centipede

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A 1981 fixed shooter arcade game by Atari where players blast a multi-segment centipede descending through a field of mushrooms.

Origin

Co-designed by Dona Bailey, one of the first women to design a major arcade game, Centipede used a trackball controller for precise aiming. Shooting a centipede segment splits the chain, while a field of mushrooms shapes the centipede’s descent path.

Gameplay

Spiders, fleas, and scorpions add hazards and alter the mushroom field. The use of color and trackball control made Centipede approachable, and its design drew a more diverse arcade audience.

Legacy

Centipede became one of the most commercially successful arcade games of the early 1980s. It has been ported many times and remains a celebrated early example of accessible, fast-paced action design.

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Centipede starts with C and ends with E. Browse other games along the same letter.

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