Space Invaders
Taito's 1978 arcade shooter where rows of aliens descend on the player.
Where Space Invaders comes up3 episodes and tests
GCreator of Game Maker's Toolkit, game designer and video essayist testThe History of Every Video Game Genre
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testThe 100 Games That Taught Me Game Design
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testWhat Pac-Man Brought to Game Design | Design IconsSpace Invaders began as a Breakout riff, grossed over $3 billion by 1982 and spawned six clones in 1979 alone. Shoot 'em ups led the charts for eight years, about 40 percent of 1981's top 200. Its speed-up as sprites vanish created a spiky difficulty curve. Lesson: pick a mechanic with room for variation, and shape difficulty with relief points, as Pac-Man later widened the audience by changing theme.
- Taito releases itBegan as a Breakout riff
- Six clones appearShoot 'em up becomes top genre
- About 40% of top 200Shoot 'em ups dominate the charts
- Over $3 billion grossedTotal takings by 1982
- Top-genre run endsEight years at the top from 1979
From Space Invaders page notes, citing Mark Brown
What was said about Space Invaders
Space Invaders started a genre because its mechanic invited variation. It began as a Breakout riff and grossed over $3 billion by 1982. Six clones appeared in 1979 alone, and it started the shoot 'em up, which was the top genre for eight years from 1979 to 1986.
Shoot 'em ups were about 40 percent of the top 200 games in 1981. Block breakers and snake games stayed fads, while the shoot 'em up branched into new scrolling, perspectives, rail shooting and bullet hell. Mark Brown: "the shoot 'em up was much more versatile."
Its speed-up as aliens die created a spiky difficulty curve. Aliens speed up as you kill them because the processor has fewer sprites to draw. Each new level also starts them lower on screen.
Together these make difficulty rise steadily and then ease at each new level, giving tension and a moment to breathe. Brown calls it arguably the first game with a modern difficulty curve: "This undulating staircase provides rising tension."
Its shooter formula shaped the arcade that Pac-Man pushed against. Rivals copied Space Invaders, while Iwatani built Pac-Man around eating. He saw arcades full of violent war and space shooter games that mostly attracted men, and aimed Pac-Man at women and couples with cute, non-violent design.
Space Invaders' invaders only side-step, and its UFO inspired Pac-Man's bonus fruit. A cited book puts Pac-Man's audience at 60 percent female.
The History of Every Video Game Genre
It began as a Breakout riff, grossed over $3 billion by 1982 and brought six clones in 1979 alone. It started the shoot 'em up, which was the top genre for eight years from 1979.
Space Invaders started a genre because its mechanic invited variation. It began as a Breakout riff and grossed over $3 billion by 1982. Six clones appeared in 1979 alone, and it started the shoot 'em up, which was the top genre for eight years from 1979 to 1986.
Shoot 'em ups were about 40 percent of the top 200 games in 1981. Block breakers and snake games stayed fads, while the shoot 'em up branched into new scrolling, perspectives, rail shooting and bullet hell. Mark Brown: "the shoot 'em up was much more versatile."
The 100 Games That Taught Me Game Design
Enemies speed up as you kill them because the processor has fewer sprites to draw, and each level starts them lower. This gives a spiky difficulty curve with relief at each new level.
Its speed-up as aliens die created a spiky difficulty curve. Aliens speed up as you kill them because the processor has fewer sprites to draw. Each new level also starts them lower on screen.
Together these make difficulty rise steadily and then ease at each new level, giving tension and a moment to breathe. Brown calls it arguably the first game with a modern difficulty curve: "This undulating staircase provides rising tension."
What Pac-Man Brought to Game Design | Design Icons
Rivals copied it while Iwatani built Pac-Man around eating instead. Its invaders only side-step, and its UFO inspired Pac-Man's bonus fruit.
Its shooter formula shaped the arcade that Pac-Man pushed against. Rivals copied Space Invaders, while Iwatani built Pac-Man around eating. He saw arcades full of violent war and space shooter games that mostly attracted men, and aimed Pac-Man at women and couples with cute, non-violent design.
Space Invaders' invaders only side-step, and its UFO inspired Pac-Man's bonus fruit. A cited book puts Pac-Man's audience at 60 percent female.
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