Asteroids

In Asteroids, the objective is to destroy asteroids and flying saucers while avoiding obstacles and enemy fire. The player controls a triangular spaceship that can rotate left and right, fire shots straight ahead, and apply thrust to move forward. Once the ship starts moving in a direction, it continues in that direction until the player applies thrust in the opposite direction. The ship eventually comes to a stop when thrust is not applied. Players can also use hyperspace to teleport the ship to a random location on the screen, but this comes with the risk of self-destructing or materializing on top of an asteroid. Each level begins with a few large asteroids drifting across the screen. Objects that move off one edge of the screen reappear on the opposite side, continuing in the same direction. Shooting an asteroid causes it to break into smaller, faster-moving pieces, which are more difficult to hit and worth more points. Periodically, two flying saucers appear: the "big saucer" fires erratically and infrequently, while the "small saucer" shoots frequently and more accurately. Once the player''s score reaches 40,000, only the small saucer appears, and its shots become increasingly precise as the score rises. When all asteroids and saucers are cleared from the screen, a new set of large asteroids spawns, and the next level begins. As the player''s score increases, the game becomes progressively more challenging, with more asteroids appearing at higher speeds. Players start with 3 to 5 lives and earn an extra life every 10,000 points. The game continues until all lives are lost, at which point the game ends. The maximum score is 99,990, at which point the machine "turns over."