Space Invaders

Space Invaders is Taito’s 1978 Arcade fixed shooter, designed by Tomohiro Nishikado. The original game puts a laser base at the foot of a single static playfield, facing an orderly alien assault from above. It established a compact arcade challenge in which pressure comes from a formation that will not stop advancing.

The player moves the laser base left and right along the bottom edge, using a fire button to shoot upward. Above it, five rows of invaders travel together from side to side. Whenever the group reaches a screen edge, it reverses direction and drops one step closer to the base, steadily reducing the room available to survive.

Four defensive bunkers stand between the base and the invaders. They provide temporary cover from incoming fire, but both sides can erode them: the player’s shots chip away from below, alien shots eat into them from above, and the descending formation can eventually reach them. Choosing when to shelter, fire through a gap, or leave cover is part of the immediate risk of each wave.

The invaders fire downward while the player works through the formation. The ordinary aliens are worth 10, 20, or 30 points according to their type, so the higher rows offer the larger rewards. An occasional mystery ship crossing the top of the screen can also be destroyed for a bonus, creating a fleeting scoring opportunity outside the main formation.

The action accelerates as more invaders are eliminated, and the accompanying four-note pulse quickens with their movement. Clearing the formation begins another wave from a lower starting position. A hit on the laser base costs a life, but an invasion that reaches the bottom ends the game immediately; the cycle can otherwise continue as long as the player lasts.

The arcade cabinet supports one or two players, with two-player games taking turns. Taito released Space Invaders in Japan in 1978 and partnered with Midway Manufacturing for overseas distribution later that year. Its direct controls, marching formation, destructible cover, and escalating pace made the game a defining early model for fixed shooters.