Space Invaders - shoot aliens in a clone of the popular classical game!

Space Invaders - Instructions

Shoot as many aliens as possible and avoid getting shot. Navigate your spaceship with the "left" and "right" arrow keys, and shoot them with the "space" key.

Space Invaders Gameplay

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 descending aliens. The aim is to defeat five rows of eleven aliens—some versions feature different numbers—that move horizontally back and forth across the screen as they advance toward the bottom of the screen. The player defeats an alien, and earns points, by shooting it with the laser cannon. As more aliens are defeated, the aliens' movement and the game's music both speed up. Defeating the aliens brings another wave that is more difficult, a loop which can continue without end.

The aliens attempt to destroy the cannon by firing at it while they approach the bottom of the screen. If they reach the bottom, the alien invasion is successful and the game ends. A special "mystery ship" will occasionally move across the top of the screen and 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 numerous blasts from the aliens or player. A game will also end if the player's last laser base is destroyed.

Game History

Space Invaders (Japanese: スペースインベーダー Hepburn: Supēsu Inbēdā) is an arcade game created by Tomohiro Nishikado and released in 1978. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games; the aim is to defeat waves of aliens with a laser to earn as many points as possible.

Designer Nishikado drew inspiration from games such as Breakout and Gun Fight and science fiction stories such as The War of the Worlds, Space Battleship Yamato, and Star Wars. To complete it, he designed custom hardware and development tools. Space Invaders was one of the forerunners of modern video games, and helped expand the video game industry from a novelty to a global industry (see Golden age of arcade video games).

Space Invaders was an immediate commercial success. By 1982, it had grossed $2 billion (equivalent to $7.5 billion in 2018), with a net profit of $450 million ($1.69 billion in 2018), making it the best-selling video game and highest-grossing entertainment product of its time.

The game has been the inspiration for other video games, re-released on numerous platforms, and led to several sequels. The 1980 Atari 2600 version quadrupled the system's sales and became the first "killer app" for video game consoles. Space Invaders has been referenced and parodied in multiple television shows, and been a part of several video game and cultural exhibitions. The pixelated enemy alien has become a pop culture icon, often representing video games as a whole.