Worms(series)

This article is about the video game series. For other uses, seeWorms (disambiguation).

Worms
The originalWormslogo
Genre(s)	Artillery,tactics
Developer(s)	Team17
Publisher(s)	Ocean Software MicroProse Ubisoft Sega Codemasters THQ EA
Creator(s)	Andy Davidson
First release	Worms 17 November 1995
Latest release	Worms Rumble 1 December 2020

Wormsis a series ofartillerytacticalvideo gamesdeveloped byBritishcompanyTeam17.In these games, small platoons ofanthropomorphicwormsbattle each other across a destructible landscape with the objective being to become the sole surviving team. The games are noted for their cartoony animation and extensive use ofsurrealismandslapstick humour.

The game, whose concept was devised by Andy Davidson, was described by the Amigagaming pressas a cross betweenCannon FodderandLemmings.It is part of a wider genre ofturn-basedartillery gamesinvolvingprojectileweapons; similar games includeScorched Earth(1991),Gorillas(1991) andArtillery Duel(1983).

Games

Release timeline

1995	Worms
1996
1997	Worms: The Director's Cut
	Worms 2
1998	Worms Pinball
1999	Worms Armageddon
2000
2001	Worms World Party
2002	Worms Blast
2003	Worms 3D
2004	Worms Golf
	Worms Forts: Under Siege
2005	Worms 4: Mayhem
2006	Worms: Open Warfare
2007	Worms
	Worms: Open Warfare 2
2008	Worms: A Space Oddity
2009	Worms 2: Armageddon
2010	Worms Reloaded
	Worms: Battle Islands
2011	Worms: Ultimate Mayhem
	Worms Crazy Golf
2012	Worms Revolution
2013	Worms 3
	Worms Clan Wars
2014	Worms Battlegrounds
2015	Worms 4
2016	Worms W.M.D
2017
2018
2019
2020	Worms Rumble

Main series

• Worms(1995)
• Worms: The Director's Cut(1997)
• Worms 2(1997)
• Worms Armageddon(1999)
• Worms World Party(2001)
• Worms 3D(2003)
• Worms Forts: Under Siege(2004)
• Worms 4: Mayhem(2005)
• Worms: Open Warfare(2006)
• Worms(2007)
• Worms: Open Warfare 2(2007)
• Worms: A Space Oddity(2008)
• Worms 2: Armageddon(2009)
• Worms Reloaded(2010)
• Worms: Battle Islands(2010)
• Worms: Ultimate Mayhem(2011)
• Worms Revolution(2012)
• Worms 3(2013)
• Worms Clan Wars(2013)
• Worms Battlegrounds(2014)
• Worms 4(2015)
• Worms W.M.D(2016)

Spin-offs

• Worms Pinball(1998)
• Worms Blast(2002)
• Worms Golf(2004)
• Worms Crazy Golf(2011)
• Worms Rumble(2020)

Collections

• Worms United(1996; includedWormsandWorms Reinforcements)
• The Full Wormage(1998; includedWorms United,Worms 2andWorms Pinball)
• Worms Triple Pack(2002; includedWorms 2,Worms Armageddon,Worms World PartyandWorms Blast Demo)
• Worms Collection(2012; includedWorms (2007),Worms 2: ArmageddonandWorms Ultimate Mayhem)

Gameplay

The fully deformable landscape can be radically altered by the use of weapons, often requiring players to scrap their plans and adopt new strategies to cope with the changes.

Wormsgames areturn-basedartillery games presented in 2D or 3D environment. Each player controls a team of several worms. During the course of the game, players take turns selecting one of their worms. They use whatever tools and weapons are available to attack and kill the opponents' worms, thereby winning the game. Worms may move around the terrain in a variety of ways, normally by walking and jumping but also by using particular tools such as the "Bungee" and "Ninja Rope", to move to otherwise inaccessible areas. Each turn is time-limited to ensure that players do not hold up the game with excessive thinking or moving. The time limit can be modified in some of the games.

Over fifty weapons and tools may be available each time a game is played, and differing selections of weapons and tools can be saved into a "scheme" for easy selection in future games. Other scheme settings allow options such as deployment of reinforcement crates, from which additional weapons can be obtained, andsudden deathwhere the game is rushed to a conclusion after a time limit expires. Some settings provide for the inclusion of objects such as land mines and explosive barrels.

When most weapons are used, they cause explosions that deform the terrain, creating circular cavities. The types of playable terrains include "island" (terrain floating on a body of water), or "cave" (cave with water at the bottom and terrain at both top and bottom of the screen that certain weapons such as "Air Strike" cannot go through; this type is not available in 3D versions due to camera restrictions). If a worm is hit with a weapon, the amount of damage dealt to the worm will be removed from the worm's initial amount of health. The damage dealt to the attacked worm or worms after any player's turn is shown when all movement on the battlefield has ceased.

Worms die when one of the following situations occurs:

• When a worm enters water (either by falling off the island, through a hole in the bottom of it, or by the waterline being raised above the worm during sudden death)
• When a worm is thrown off either side of the arena
• When a worm's health is reduced to zero

Weapons and tools

TheWormsseries is notable for its extensive variety of weapons. With each new game that is released, weapons are added, though many were removed in the 3D versions for gameplay reasons. As a result, the 2D series has accumulated 60 weapons, and the 3D series 40 weapons.

The weapons available in the game range from a standard timed grenade and homing missiles to exploding sheep and the highly destructive Banana Bomb, both of which have appeared in everyWormsgame so far. TheWormsseries has seen weapons such as the iconicHoly Hand Grenade,the PricelessMing Vaseand the Inflatable Scouser.

Some of the bizarre weapons in a particular game are based on topical subjects at the time of the game's release.The Mail Strike, for example, which consists of a flying postbox dropping explosive envelopes, is a reference to the postal strikes of the time, while the Mad Cow refers to theBSEepidemic of the 1990s. The French Nuclear Test, introduced inWorms 2,was updated to the Indian Nuclear Test inWorms Armageddonto keep with the times.

Other weapons are inside jokes. The MB Bomb, for example, which floats down from the sky and explodes on impact, is a cartoon caricature of Martyn Brown, Team17's studio director. Other such weapons include the "Concrete Donkey", one of the most powerful weapons in the game, which is based on a garden ornament in Andy Davidson's home garden, and an airstrike known in the game as Mike's Carpet Bomb was actually inspired by a store near the Team17 headquarters called "Mike's Carpets".

SinceWorms Armageddon,weapons that were intended to aid as utilities rather than damage-dealers were classified as tools. This classification mainly differs in the fact that they do not fall in ordinary weapon crates, and instead appear in toolboxes. Many tools were left in the wrong class for the sake of keyboard-shortcut conveniences. This was resolved inWorms 3D.

Some weapons were inspired from popular films and TV programs, including theHoly Hand Grenade(fromMonty Python and the Holy Grail) and Ninja Rope (named the Bat Rope in early demos of the original game).

History

A screenshot ofTotal Wormage,before it was renamedWorms.It featured darker tones than laterWormsgames, with more realistic effects and the ambient sound of a battlefield.

Creator

Andy Davidson is the creator of the originalWormsvideo game byTeam17.The game "Worms" is based on the 2D classic "Artillery",and originally did not feature worms, but theLemmingsfrom the popular game of the same name.

Background

Davidson was working on a program called "Jack the Ripper" for theAmigapersonal computer, which allowed him to trawl the residual contents ofRAMafter applications had been run and quit. In this way, he "ripped" the graphics from Lemmings, and used them while developing his version of "Artillery". The original name of the game wasLemartillery,and it was created purely as a bit of fun for him and his school friends in 1993. The positive reaction he witnessed encouraged him to develop it further. Knowing he could never commercially release the "Lemmings" characters, he changed them to worms and changed the name of the game toTotal Wormage.

Development

Created as an entry for aBlitz BASICprogramming competition run by theAmiga Formatmagazine, a cut-down version of the programming language having beencovermountedpreviously. The game at this stage was calledTotal Wormage(possibly in reference toTotal Carnage) and it did not win the competition. Davidson sent the game to several publishers with no success.He took the game to theEuropean Computer Trade Showin London in September 1994, 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, renamedWorms,available initially for theAmiga.As the game was popular, it was regularly released for other platforms.

During the development ofWorms 2,Davidson wroteWorms: The Director's Cut,a special edition produced for the Amiga.The Director's Cutwould be the lastWormsgame released for the Amiga.

ForWorms 2,the engine was redesigned usingMicrosoft'sDirectX.The game would overhaul the series' visuals, dropping the darker tones of its predecessor and adopting a more cartoonish look.Worms 2would be the first game in the series to introduce internet play.The following release,Worms Armageddon,featured the series' first campaign mode and was initially intended to be released as an expansion pack forWorms 2.Armageddonmarked the introduction of "WormNET", an online services which required registration and provided leagues and ranks.A variety of "schemes" have been developed by the WormNET community that are often played instead of the official schemes created by Team17. Some schemes have "rules" agreed to by the players but not enforced by the game itself.

Worms 3D,released in 2003, was the first installment of the series with three-dimensional gameplay. The game features a 'poxel' engine, described as a hybrid ofpolygonsandvoxels(the 3D analogues of pixels), which allows for pseudo-realisticterrain deformationsimilar in style to the 2D games, in which the terrain was represented by abitmap.The game was followed in 2004 by a spin-off,Worms Forts: Under Siege,and the fourth-numbered sequel,Worms 4: Mayhem,in 2005. In the same year asWorms 3's release, Team17 would announce the cancellation ofWorms Battle Rally,akartinggame that would allow players to frag their opponents.

Worms: Open Warfare,a handheld game was released in March 2006, returned to the original 2D gameplay. In addition toa sequel,a console portofOpen Warfarewould be first released onXbox Live Arcadein 2007. In turn, the port would be followed by 2009'sWorms 2: Armageddon,which was directly inspired byWorms Armageddonand tries to mimic the game's physics and several other aspects.Worms 2: Armageddonwould itself be ported to home computers asWorms Reloadedin 2010.

In an attempt to revamp the series' gameplay,Worms Revolutionwas released in 2012.Revolutionwas a2.5Dgame that features a class-based mechanic, with each class having their own advantages and disadvantages.Worms W.M.D,released in 2016, introduced vehicles to the series.

Aboard gamewas announced in June 2023 to be released in 2024.

Reception

While initial installments were generally praised, later games in the series have been criticized for the lack of meaningful additions.In 2001,MetacriticquotedWorms World Partyreviews with comments such as "it's virtually nothing more than an expansion pack forWorms Armageddon"and, as ActionTrip's Dejan Grbavcic put it:" And I thought that only Eidos was impertinent enough to keep selling the same game with a slightly different name... ".In 2007,IGNincluded theWormsseries in its list of game franchises that havejumped the shark.

Sales

TheWormsseries is commercially successful. Its combined sales by January 2002 had reached 6 million copies.By May 2014, 60 million copies of the games in theWormsfranchise had been sold since launching in 1995.By December 2015, the 25th anniversary of Team17, the franchise has sold over 70 million game units.By March 2020, the 25th anniversary of Worms series, the franchise has sold over 75 million game units.

Awards

Titles in the franchise have received a variety of awards.

• "Most original game" - EMAP Awards
• "Best game" - BBC's Live & Kicking
• "Most original game" - ECTS Awards
• "Best game" -Micromania Awards
• "Best strategy title" - PSX Developers
• "Strategy game of the year" - EGM
• "Best strategy game" - Trophee d'or
• "Multiplayer game of the year" - GMBH

External links

• Official website
• WormsseriesatMobyGames