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Ladybug (Arcade Game) | align=center colspan=2|LadyBug | | lign="center" colspan=2| | | a href="/encyclopedia/Video-game-developer" title="Video game developer">Developer: | Universal Games | | a href="/encyclopedia/Video-game-publisher" title="Video game publisher">Publisher: | Universal Games. Home versions liscensed via Taito. | | elease date: | 1981 | | a href="/encyclopedia/Computer-and-video-game-genres" title="Computer and video game genres">Genre: | Retro/Puzzle | | ame modes: | Up to 2 players, alternating turns | | abinet: | Standard | | ontrols: | joystick | | lign="center" colspan=2|System hardware/Arcade system | | olspan=2| {| width="100%" | | width="1%" |CPU: | width="99%" |Z80 4 Mhz | } | | lign="center" colspan=2|Monitor | | rientation: | Vertical | | ype: | Raster, standard resolution (192 X 240) 16 Colors | | lign="center" colspan=2|Notes | | olspan=2|Similar to Pac-man and also to Mr. Do!, also made by Universal | Ladybug is an arcade game made by Universal Games and released in 1981. Description Ladybug was, like most of the games made during the same time period, relatively simple. The players' goal was to eat all of the dots on the screen before being eaten by the bad guys. In this case, the dots were actually small "x"s and the bad guys were insects. As in most other games made during this era, it is not clear what the bad guys have against the main character, but they are trying to kill her. This sounds like the premise of Pac-Man, which it is to a degree. There are significant differences, however. For one thing, the insects only come out one at a time. There are (at least in the early levels) 4 insects that can be out at once. Instead of the insects being killed by Ladybug herself, a la Pac-Man, there are white skulls that kill the insects if they run into them. When this happens, the insect returns to the center, ready to come out at a later time. A new insect comes out every so often. Obviously, as you get further along in the game this time period gets shorter and shorter. The border around the game (and a sound effect) is how you know how close it is until the next insect comes out. Once all 4 insects are out and about, they reveal a vegetable. If Ladybug is able to eat the vegetable, you get a certain number of bonus points and the insects freeze for a short length of time. The other thing that makes Ladybug different from Pac-Man is the revolving doors. In Ladybug, if you run into any of the walls that are green, the walls move 90 degrees. Because of this, there is a bit more strategy in Ladybug than there in Pac-Man. Knowing when to turn the doors is a very important skill in Ladybug because the insects outrun the Ladybug by a significant margin. It is actually possible to box yourself in and stay in one place forever if you so choose and the insects cannot get to you. Of course, you cannot score points this way, but you can use it as a rest just like you can the so-called "T" trick in Pac-Man. Just like its stablemate Mr. Do!, free men and extra credits are not awarded based on points. In Ladybug's case, each level has 6 circles around the board. Each one either has a heart symbol or a letter. The colors of the circles change. They stay red the shortest length of time (about 1 second) and then they turn yellow for 5 seconds or so and then blue for 15 seconds or so. If the hearts are eaten when the circles are blue, a multiplier will be activated. This multiplier multiplies the score by 1 if no blue hearts have been eaten; 2 if one has been eaten; 3 if two have been eaten; and 5 if all 3 hearts are eaten when they are blue. In addition, each level has 2 letters in the word E-X-T-R-A and one in the word S-P-E-C-I-A-L. If the letters in the word extra are eaten while the circles are yellow, then that letter is filled in at the top of the screen. If the letter is in the word special and the circle is red, then the letter in special is filled. If 'extra' is filled up, you get a free Ladybug and the screen shown in the lower right hand part of this screen. If you fill the word 'special', you receive a free credit. Because the circles stay red for such a short time, this is nearly impossible. Spelling either word also warps you to the next level. Scoring A dot = 10 points A blue circle = 100 points A yellow circle = 300 points A red circle = 800 points (of course, these are all multiplied by the multiplier, which ranges from 1 to 5) Ports Ladybug was produced by a small company that stopped making games when the Video game crash of 1983 hit, so it does not feature in any of the compilations that have been released on consoles in the last several years. However, at the time it was released, it was ported to the Intellivision and the Colecovision. External Links
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