Hungry Spider (Akihito Kobayashi)

Title – ハングリー・スパイダー (Hungry Spider)
System – MSX
Author – 小林　昭仁 (Akihito Kobayashi)
Publication – Micom BASIC (マイコンBASIC) October 1984
Page Scans – 1 2
Preserved By – TWE
Recommended Emulator – openMSX

Download ROM

Loading the Game –

Two versions of the game are included:
– hspider.wav, a cassette-tape recording of the game;
– hspider.dsk, a floppy disk image of the game.

For hspider.wav:
– After booting the machine, insert the tape image;
– Type ‘CLOAD’ and press Enter;
– After the game loads, type ‘RUN’ and press Enter to star the game.
For hspider.dsk:
– Insert the disk image in the first slot, then boot the machine;
– The game should load and start automatically.

Game Instructions –

Move the spider left and right, then lower it with the cursor keys.
Drop a fruit onto the butterfly at the bottom while not letting the praying mantis catch you or your thread.

Article Translation –

Hungry Spider
Akihito Kobayashi

Introduction

One day, a spider that was always hungry went out in search of food. There was a tree with fruits, but the spider could not eat them.
And so, trying to make the most out of the situation, the spider decided to use the fruits by aiming them towards a juicy butterfly, flying at the bottom.

How to Play

Control the spider with the left, right and down arrow keys; you can only move and right if the spider’s at the very top.
When you touch a fruit, it’ll fall down; your objective is to hit the butterfly with one. If you manage to hit it, the butterfly will die and fall into the spider’s web, which the spider will catch and score you points.
If you waste all the fruits or let the praying mantis catch the spider, the spider dies; this will also happen if the praying mantis cuts off the spider’s thread.
If the spider dies twice, it’s game over.

[ CHECKER FLAG ]

Dr. D: Those are some beautiful graphics. I wonder what’s the most interesting part about this program…
Editor: For me, I think the routine starting at line 990 is the most interesting.
Dr. D: Right, line 1010 has a formula any high-schooler should be able to comprehend. But since this is just a game, a little seasoning is always OK.