Worms

Worms was the first in the series of artillery games developed by Team17 and released in 1995. Whilst initially only available for the Amiga, it was later ported to many other systems.

The game was originally created by Andy Davidson as an entry for a Blitz BASIC programming competition run by the Amiga Format magazine, a cut-down version of the programming language having been cover-mounted previously. The game at this stage was called Total Wormage (possibly in reference to Total Carnage) and it did not win the competition. Davidson sent the game to several publishers with no success. He then took the game to the European Computer Trade Show, where Team17 had a stand. Team17 made an offer on-the-spot to develop and publish the game.

It subsequently evolved into a full commercial game, renamed Worms, available initially only for the Commodore Amiga computer. As the game was extremely popular, it was regularly released for other platforms including Windows- and Mac OS-based computers, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Nokia N-Gage, SNES, Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2, Sega Saturn, Microsoft PocketPC, and Xbox.

During the development of Worms 2, Andy Davidson wrote Worms - The Director's Cut, a special edition produced exclusively for the Amiga. This was, to his eyes, the pinnacle of the series. Featuring weapons not seen in any Worms game before or since, it looks like an enhanced version of the original game. Only 5000 copies were ever sold. It was also the last version released for the Commodore Amiga platform from which the game originated.

The references to the developers' home county, West Yorkshire, is visible, with a soundbank named "Tykes", which is a Yorkshire accent, and in the "Hell" level found in the single player mission mode, a sign with "Welcome to Ossett! Ha! ha! ha!" written on it.

Gameplay and content
Similar to other early artillery games such as Scorched Earth the game is set on a two-dimensional field. The players control a team of worms, each consisting of four members. The objective is to kill every member of the opposing team(s) within a set time limit per round. Each turn, which lasts from 45 to 100 seconds, a player may move a selected worm and use one or more of the available weapons and tools.

The weapons include simple firearms like the shotgun and uzi, alongside a variety of heavy weapons such as the bazooka (the default selection), cluster grenades and airstrikes. The game also includes a number of 'secret' weapons (available through cheat codes on options screens or 'weapon drops' during the game) such as the Banana Bomb and exploding sheep, for which the series has become famous.

Also available are various tools such as the 'drill', 'blowtorch' and 'girders' - often used to add protection, adding additional strategy elements. The 'ninja rope', 'bungee' and 'teleport' are also available for greater movement across the playing field.

Character, level and sound design
The game's graphics and sound design is primarily 'cartoon-like' (though less so than the later games in the series). Levels designs are randomly generated by the use of alpha-numeric strings. The object and landscape sets used to generate the field are arranged into 'themes' including forests, Martian landscapes, beaches and 'hell'.

Expansion Packs

 * Worms Reinforcements (1996), which was later amalgamated with the original game to create Worms and Reinforcements United (a.k.a Worms United) the same year. Released only for the PC, it added a single player campaign and the ability to add custom levels and soundpacks (which was already available for the Amiga version). It also included an introductory FMV.
 * Worms: The Director's Cut (1997) is the Amiga-only sequel (not an expansion). It is largely built upon the original Amiga game engine with various enhancements, additions and tweaks.

Weapons

 * Bazooka: This is the first weapon a worm has when the turn starts. Able to be fired in a straight line only, affected by the wind speed and direction. Explodes on impact. Max damage, 50 points.
 * Grenade: A timed grenade that can be tossed in any direction. Player is able to set the timer from 1-5 seconds. Max damage, 50 points.
 * Cluster bomb: A bomb shaped like a grenade but explodes into little clusters which scatter over the terrain. Max damage, 55 points.
 * Mine: Proximity mine that can be dropped anywhere. When a worm nears it, it explodes. (in Worms Reinforcements, a 3 second timer begins a countdown to explosion.) Max damage, 45 points.
 * Banana Bomb: Same characteristics of the cluster bomb only with bananas that are much more powerful and with better range on bouncing. Max damage, 150 points.
 * Shotgun: The only weapon that can be fired twice in each round. A worm will lose its second shot if it hurts itself on the first. Max damage, 25 points per shot.
 * Uzi: Creates an erratic spray of bullets when aimed at a worm. Great for clearing off terrain underneath a worm, but not very useful for killing. Max damage, 40 points.
 * Dynamite: Limited supply of dynamite in most games but it packs an explosive punch. Can only be dropped next to a player, not thrown. Max damage, 75 points.
 * Sheep: An animal which looks harmless but explodes with great force when the player presses the button. Max damage, 70 points.
 * Homing Missile: Same weapon as the bazooka, but a cursor is used to identify the target. Missile is launched from the worm and then uses tracking to navigate to its target. Inaccurate if launched incorrectly. Max damage, 50 points.
 * Airstrike: Can be launched from anywhere in the level. Cursor is used to paint a specific location which is then bombarded with 5 missiles that fall from the sky. Max damage, 50 points.
 * Girder: An engineering weapon. Allows the worm to place a horizontal or vertical platform anywhere above the terrain.
 * Blowtorch: An engineering weapon. It can be used to burn other worms or burn a tunnel into the terrain. Max damage, 5 points.
 * Fire Punch: A vertical melee attack that cuts through terrain. Damage, 30 points (exact).
 * Dragon Ball: A horizontal, short-ranged attack. Damage, 30 points (exact).
 * Kamikaze: The worm sacrifices its own life but if aimed correctly, can take out another player. In later games the worm would shout "For king and country!" before doing so.
 * White Flag: Causes your worm to surrender and self-destruct. Max damage, 15 points.
 * Rope: Allows a worm to climb and rappel around the terrain. While on the rope, a worm can drop dynamite or other weapons.  Using the rope does not end your turn until you use a weapon.
 * Transporter: Allows worms to move instantly to any desired place on the terrain. The turn ends immediately after the transport.