Centipede

Name:	Centipede
Company:	Atari
Model #:	CX-2676
Programmers:	Doug Macrae & Josh Littlefield (GCC)
Year:	1983
Released?	Yes
Notes:	Centipede was the first arcade game to be designed by a woman.

Centipede holds a special place in gaming history as the first arcade game to be designed by a woman.  Even though Atari touted this fact (a clever marketing ploy), Centipede was actually a collaboration between multiple people including Dona Bailey and Ed Logg.   It is said that Dona came up with the game concept, while Ed Logg did most of the programming.  The marketing ploy worked and Centipede was the first game to be more popular with women than men.  I guess all women really do have a deep hidden desire to kill every bug they run across.

Boasting one of the most impressive title screens ever to grace the 2600, Centipede is a fairly faithful port of the coin-op.  The graphics are a bit on the blocky side, but the gameplay remains true.  The first thing most people notice is that the mushrooms have been reduced to little square blocks, this is due to the graphical limitations of the 2600.  The mushrooms are actually made up of bits of playfield graphics (same as they are in Millipede), so they couldn't be very well defined.  The player is also a block, most likely made from a missile sprite.  The spider is a little blob with legs, the centipede is purple, the fleas are. so how about that snazzy title screen?  Pretty cool huh?  Huh?