Pixel Arcade
About this game
Bug Blaster is a gallery shooter set in a garden instead of space. A long segmented bug enters at the top and winds left and right down a field of mushrooms toward the strip of ground you can move in. Every mushroom it bumps into sends it down a row, so the layout of the field decides how quickly it reaches you.
You move freely inside the bottom few rows using the arrow keys or the mouse, and fire with space or a click. Shooting a segment in the middle of the bug splits it into two halves that both keep moving, and it also leaves a new mushroom where the segment died — meaning your own shots reshape the field against you.
Points: body segments are 10, the head is 100, mushrooms are 1, and the spider that bounces diagonally through your garden is worth 300 to 900 depending on how close it is when you hit it. Fleas drop straight down and plant extra mushrooms; scorpions poison mushrooms so the bug charges straight down when it touches one.
The habit that keeps runs alive is to prioritise the spider over the bug, always. The bug is predictable; the spider is not, and it is what actually kills you. Field-shooters with reshapeable terrain were one of the most original ideas of the early 1980s arcade.
FAQ
Should I shoot the mushrooms?
Selectively. A clear column lets the bug drop straight to you; a wall of mushrooms slows it but crowds your firing lane. Keep the middle open and the edges dense.
Why does the bug reach me so fast?
Each mushroom it touches makes it drop a row. A dense field turns a slow descent into a fast zigzag.
Mouse or keyboard?
Both work. The mouse is faster for tracking the spider.
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