Proof of Destruction is a computer game for the Commodore 64

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

, developed by Mr. Chip Software and published by Mastertronic

Mastertronic

Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was the dominant software publisher in the UK, a position achieved by selling cassette-based software at the £1.99...

. It is a shooter

Shooter game

Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...

, Centipede

Centipede (video game)

Centipede is a vertically-oriented shoot 'em up arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. in 1980. The game was designed by Ed Logg along with Dona Bailey, one of the few female game programmers in the industry at this time. It was also the first arcade coin-operated game to have a significant female...

-like game released in 1987, featuring up to two player spaceships moving about on a grid

Grid view

A grid view or a datagrid is a graphical user interface element that presents a tabular view of data. A typical grid view also supports some or all of the following:* Clicking a column header to change the sort order of the grid...

, trying to kill enemy spaceships to go to the next level.

Game mechanics

Proof of Destruction has a unique way of player movement and strategy, but has simple enemy AI. It consists of various levels where in each level the objective is to kill a fixed number of spaceships that come into the grid. Points are gained for every enemy kill. There is an overall time limit to the game and the objective is to obtain as much points as possible within that time limit, with the user trying to finish of each level as quickly as possible.

Movement

The player spaceship(s) can move freely horizontally and vertically on a fixed grid that fills the whole screen, using the keyboard or a joystick. The grid however gets damaged by enemy bullets which prevent the player from moving over them during a short period of time.

Several types of enemies exist and each one moves in a distinct way. In the basic levels enemies usually enter from the top of the grid and move horizontally, lowering one line at a time when they reach the side of the grid and reversing their direction, slowly closing in on to the player spaceship. Further on, other types of enemies are introduced that choose the shortest past towards the player, although moving much slower, and other enemies that enter the grid rapidly from the left and the right and disappear back of the grid as quickly.

Attack

A player spaceship can fire off bullets in only one direction, namely upwards, trying to destroy its enemies. Those Enemies fire of bullets in all directions, usually aimed at either one of the players.

Enemy bullets depend on the type of enemy and can range from simple downward bullets to bullets that cross the grid in any direction.

Level completion

Each level had the same sized grid with player spaceships starting at the bottom of the grid and a number of enemy spaceships entering from different sides of the grid, depending on the level and on enemy type. Completion of a level is reached when a timer has finished counting down. After the completion of a level, the player receives an extra life, up to a maximum of five.

Multiplayer

At the start of the game it is possible to choose between one or two players. Both players move independently on the grid and cannot hit nor block each other. If one player loses all his lives, the other one can continue.

Cheats

Prior to starting the game with Run, enter the following POKES: POKE 26364,173 : SYS 26112