Rock Buster Screensaver
The Rock Buster screensaver is a self-playing, attract-mode tribute to the classic vector asteroid-shooter arcade genre. It is free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
Live preview
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How the Rock Buster screensaver works
A self-piloted ship drifts through open space, firing at tumbling rocks in its path.
Large rocks split into smaller fragments on impact, exactly like the arcade original's splitting mechanic.
The ship uses real inertia-based drifting movement, true to the genre's physics.
All art and names here are original, in the spirit of the genre rather than a copy of any one game.
The physics of Asteroids
Rock Buster is a tribute to Asteroids, which Atari released as an arcade game in November 1979. Lyle Rains conceived it and Ed Logg programmed it. It ran on a vector display, which draws glowing lines directly rather than filling pixels, and those crisp outlines became the signature look of an era of arcade machines.
The ship keeps drifting in its current direction until the player thrusts another way, so the pilot learns to drift and spin. The playfield wraps, so anything that leaves one edge re-enters from the opposite side. Shots split large rocks into smaller ones, and the field fills with fragments, which is where the challenge comes from.
The original added two kinds of flying saucer. The big one fires randomly and poorly, while the small one fires frequently at the ship and aims far more accurately as the score rises. It also had a hyperspace button that made the ship vanish and reappear at a random spot, with a risk of self-destruction. The self-piloting ship in this tribute follows the same spirit, with original art and names.
A worked example
A large tumbling rock is struck and splits into two smaller fragments, which drift apart before the ship clears them both.
Settings & tips
- Accent recolours the ship and vector lines.
- Runs in self-playing attract mode, like a classic arcade cabinet's demo screen.
- Original art and names — an homage, not a copy.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I play this myself?
- It runs in self-playing attract mode, like a classic arcade cabinet between games.
- Is this an official game?
- No — it is an original tribute inspired by the classic vector asteroid-shooter genre.
- Is a key needed?
- No — it runs entirely locally.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
- Why does the ship keep sliding after I stop thrusting?
- Because there is no friction in the simulated space. Velocity persists until you thrust against it, as in the original design.
- What was hyperspace in the original game?
- A panic button that made the ship vanish and reappear at a random place on screen, at the risk of destroying itself or landing on a rock.