Space Invaders

About Space Invaders

Space Invaders (スペースインベーダー, Supēsu Inbēdā?) is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado in 1978. It was originally manufactured by Taito and licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders was one of the earliest shooting games and featured two-dimensional graphics. The aim is to defeat waves of aliens with a laser cannon. In designing the game, Nishikado drew inspiration from popular media: Breakout, The War of the Worlds, and Star Wars. To complete it, he had to design custom hardware and development tools.

Though simplistic by today's standards, it was one of the forerunners of modern video gaming and helped expand the video game industry from a novelty to a global industry. Space Invaders has earned Taito US$ 500 million in revenue and caused a temporary shortage of yen in Japan. The game has inspired several games, been re-released on numerous platforms, and led to several sequels. The 1980 Atari VCS version quadrupled the system's sales and became the first "killer app". Space Invaders has been referenced and parodied in multiple television shows, and been a part of several video game and cultural exhibitions.

Space Invaders is a two-dimensional shooter game in which the player controls a laser cannon by moving it horizontally across the bottom of the screen and firing at aliens. The aim is to defeat five rows of eleven aliens—some versions featured different amounts—that move horizontally back and forth across the screen as they descend towards the bottom of the screen. The player defeats an alien by shooting it with the laser cannon—also earning points. As more aliens are defeated, the aliens' movement and the game's music speed up. Defeating all the aliens brings another wave that is more difficult. The aliens attempt to destroy the cannon by firing at it while approaching the bottom of the screen. If they reach the bottom, the alien invasion is successful and the game ends. A special "mystery ship" will sometimes move across the top of the screen and will award bonus points if destroyed. The laser cannon is partially protected by several stationary defense bunkers—the number varies by version—that are gradually destroyed by alien fire.