Demon Star

Published in COMPUTE!'s Gazette 1983/09 (Issue #3).

Your universe is being invaded by Demon Stars, which appear at unpredictable intervals and can destroy all life forms in their vicinity. A defense shield protects your home area, but vast amounts of energy are needed to maintain it. Your mission: to penetrate lifeless areas already devastated by Demon Stars and to transmit energy units back to your home planet.

Your starship moves horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, controlled by a joystick. The joystick fire button shoots matter conversion torpedoes. When you are not busy defending yourself from Demon Stars or chasing dangerous Quasars, you convert celestial objects into valuable energy units by scoring direct hits with your torpedoes. Nebulae net you five energy units, single-spiral galaxies ten units, stars 15, and double-spiral galaxies 20. Quasars appear frequently, accompanied by a deep-pitched warning sound. If you do not destroy a Quasar before it disappears, you lose 500 energy units. An energy drop below zero destroys your ship, as does a

collision with any celestial object. Demon Stars show up less frequently than Quasars, but they are far more dangerous. Their negative energy field restricts the

range of your torpedoes, and failing to hit a Demon Star within the allotted time costs you your ship.