Space Invaders HistorySpace Invaders goes way way back to the Atari days. Japanese game designer, Tomohiro Nishikado, designed Space Invaders back in 1978 where the game was released in Japan. In 1980, Space Invaders made its way to the Atari system and became a legend. It was one of the first shooter games to be developed and many more games have found their inspiration through Space Invaders. It turns out the simplistic graphics and even simpler interface for Space Invaders were actually considered quite complex for its time. Keep in mind that most games used shapes like lines and bars and nothing more (Think of Pong). To actually draw space aliens, Nishikado had to design special hardware to run the game. While working, Nishikado found it very difficult to get the hardware to perform to the games demanding standards. In the end, the game used rasterization for its graphics (something still used today) along with monaural sound for its sound effects. It was an instant hit in Japan. The success of Space Invaders led to many sequels and re-releases (see screenshot on far right). The game today features sharper graphics, music, and better sound effects but the concept and main game play remain the same proving that Nishikado's original formula was indeed perfection. |
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original space invaders
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space invaders on Atari 2600
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a remake of space invaders
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 The original Atari 2600 cartridge Return To Space Invaders |
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| The Space Invaders flash game is a © of its respective owner | ||
