Bug Off!

Bug Off! is a single screen fixed shooter written by Sparky Starks[1] and published by Adventure International for the Atari 8-bit family.[2]

Bug Off!
Atari 8-bit front cover
Publisher(s)Adventure International
Designer(s)Sparky Starks
Platform(s)Atari 8-bit
Release1982
Genre(s)Fixed shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

The object of the Bug Off! is to control a variety of bugs that swarm out of a Florida sinkhole and endanger the player's garden.

In-game screenshot (Atari 8-bit)

The player controls a chemical sprayer, which can be moved on all four outer edges of the gameplay window. The sprayer will always point towards the center of the screen, where the garden resides. Only the wasps and spiders are dangerous to the player. They eat all the player's DDT supplies and thus end the game. The player tries to hold out until nightfall, when the butterflies appear, which reward the player bonus points for every corner that has remained free and also the army will drop in a new supply of the DDT.

When the player is hit, he will lose his current can of DDT from his sprayer, and a second can will be thrown to the center of the garden, destroying all bugs on the map. When all lives are lost, it's game over.

Reception

The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984 concluded: "The sound and graphics are poor in Bug Off!; then again, it isn't the type of game that needed better graphics. Game play is instinctively reflex rather than strategy oriented. It is a lightening fast repetitive game, but that doesn't mean it leaves you with a feeling of accomplishment". Overall Bug Off! received a D+ review.[3]

References
  1. Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. "Atari 400 800 XL XE Bug Off! : scans, dump, download, screenshots, ads, videos, catalog, instructions, roms". Atari Mania. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  3. Wells, Robert P.; Rochowansky, Sandra; Mellin, Michael F.; Stanton, Jeffrey, eds. (1984). "Shoot 'Em-Up Arcade Games". Addison Wesley Book Of Atari Software 1984. Addison-Wesley. p. 112. ISBN 0-201-16465-X.CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
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