Space Invaders: A Wave of Gaming Inspiration From the 70s

What started as a basic yet thrilling arcade game in the late 70s became one of today’s most iconic shooting games of all time. The Japanese gaming company, TAITO, released Tomohiro Nishikado’s Space Invaders in 1978, launching the game’s Eastern fandom. The series of events that followed the shoot ‘em up game’s release, paved the way for the golden age of arcade and console games. 

Space Invaders may seem extremely basic to modern gamers, but this 8-Bit retro masterpiece is one of the most influential video games of all time. It is so deeply ingrained into the gaming world’s DNA that developers and other artists still derive inspiration from the alien-killing cannon game. 

Let’s look at what inspired Tomohiro Nishikado to create Space Invaders and how it shaped gaming as we know it today. 

 History in the Making 

The moment Tomohiro Nishikado put into action what he dreamed up in his imagination, the gaming world could never be the same. Little did he know that his shooting game would shape and inspire video games into the 21st century. 

Nishikado, 34 years old at the time, took on the creation of Space Invaders in 1977 as a solo project. Equipped with an 8-Bit 8080 microprocessor computer, his skillset in game development, and inspiration from the release of Star Wars, he started on a game of a different kind. His initial idea was to use planes and battle tanks for the theme, but TAITO banned the use of human targets and so the designer had to adapt his direction. 

According to Nishikado, because of the popularity of brick-breaking games at the time, he incorporated a similar style into his shooting game and the year of creating it involved a lot of trial and error. He ended up building a custom microcomputer to run his creation and Space Invaders launched in Japan in 1978. Following its Japanese success, the American company, Midway, invested in cabinets to launch across the USA. 

Americans loved shooting the ‘invaders’ and advancing in levels with the cannon, which spurred gaming company, Atari, to licence the game for home consoles. This breathed some life into a withering console world filled with ping-pong themes. Although the home console boom took off in 1985 with Nintendo, Space Invaders and its influence set the stage for home and arcade innovation. 

 Inspiration Derived from Pixel Aliens 

Nishikado’s legendary shooter game introduced concepts like giving the player limited lives, recording high scores, and a more interactive style of playing. The cannon’s movement, although fixed on the horizontal axis, and the player’s ability to use the destructible barriers to their advantage, opened a whole new gaming world for all. Mario Brothers and Donkey Kong designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, ascribes his interest spark in gaming to the success of Space Invaders. 

Rumours about the game’s popularity include that Japan ran out of arcade coins because so many people played the game. Some tell about arcades with long queues as players had lined up for their turn on the Space Invader Cabinets. These are probably just rumours, but what is certain is the game’s influence on today’s gaming culture and the flow from arcade spectators to e-sports and streamers in this century. 

The ripples from this video game led to the prolific shooter gaming genre and four decades on, its impact is visible beyond the gaming world. New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) recognised the game as a form of art and included it in an exhibition. Game design colleges include Space Invaders in their curriculum and scholars view it as the birth of a new art form. 

Space Invaders remain prominent in pop culture long after arcades went near extinction. Many see it as a symbol of overcoming your fears by keeping a steady focus on goals and soldiering on with determination. A French street artist with the alias ‘Invader’ pastes Space Invader mosaics on city walls around the world. Hollywood films like Men in Black and Wreck-it Ralph include images and references to the game. 

Space Invaders is synonymous with video games and many in the gaming industry use pixelated aliens as a brand icon. TAITO has exclusive rights to the intellectual property of the video game hit and its characters are the company’s mascots to this day. 

 Space Invaders: From Arcades to Mobile Slots and More 

The original 1978 arcade game puts players in a fixed shooter position to destroy the aliens before they reach the bottom of the screen. Limited horizontal movement gives the game a certain level of complexity, as does the fact that the enemy aliens move toward the player. Aliens return fire on the cannon, which has limited cover from bunkers that the enemy and its own laser gun can destroy. 

As mentioned, compared to today’s games this is a very basic game but in the 70s this was so revolutionary that it still holds the Guinness World Record of Top Arcade Game, a Times nomination as the Most Influential Video Game Ever, and by 1982 its gross earnings reached $2 billion (equivalent to almost $8 billion in 2020). 

 Space Invaders Branded Games by Inspired 

Online and mobile games company Inspired Entertainment Inc. recently launched two Space Invaders branded games, expanding their games library for slot players and roulette lovers. Bringing the iconic TAITO licensed brand to patrons of land-based and remote gambling platforms and continuing the legacy started in 1987. 

✓ Space Invaders Video Slot 

The video slot launched on 13 December 2021 and this medium variance game will take punters on a nostalgic trip with each reel spin. Inspired’s developers stayed in keeping with the original design work, from pixelated imagery to the four-key background music. Fans of the arcade brand will appreciate the stationary backdrop while the 5 x 3-reel configuration rolls on for wins of up to €250,000. 

Grab some stale popcorn, place your bet between €0.20 and €200, and click spin for the invasion to begin. Four pixel aliens represent the lowest paying symbols and reward in combinations of two or more if they land on any of the 20 pay lines. Although the game is full of nostalgic sights, higher-paying symbols are unique UFO and rocket cartoons, including a joystick image and a titled premium symbol. The lowest paying symbol rewards 2.5x your stake and the highest pays 15x your stake for 5 of a kind. 

The slot version includes the original four-note loop from Nishikado’s design and the sound effects from the laser guns. Arcade-like music creates a more unique and quintessential Space Invaders gameplay while modern mechanics give punters exciting bonus features. The Wild symbol is a monster from the game’s cover and arcade machine designs, and the bonus-triggering Scatter is a gold arcade coin. 

 An Invasion of Bonus Features 

Inspired spoils spinners with a league of bonus features available during the base and bonus section of the online slot. During the base game, a UFO and cannon appear randomly and if the cannon hits the UFO, one of five reel-modifiers activates. Wild Cannon, Monster Wild, 5 of A Kind, Mega Reel, or Bonus Boost increases the pace for lucrative wins. These modifiers include stacked Wilds, random Wilds, guaranteed wins, and more. 

When a retro arcade hero like this one appears in 2022 with a list of brilliant game features, it can only be a hit. Inspired’s team left nothing to spare with bonus features and the base game can be as exciting as the bonus section. The UFO and cannon can show up individually during normal play and cause super-size symbols and cascading reels following non-winning spins. A random Lock n Spin trigger causes all instances of one symbol to stay in place and respins add potential for payouts. 

Three arcade coin Scatters trigger the bonus section. Punters spin the wheel with six sections named according to the different bonus features. Once the wheel reveals the winning feature, the screen adapts according to the game. Shoot Out and UFO Climber are arcade-type games with multipliers. Mega Reel, Monster Wild, and Wild Cannon are like the modifiers in the base game. The Space Invaders Bonus feature is the same as the original that inspired this slot. Three coins could appear at the end of your bonus feature for added fun. 

 Space Invaders Roulette 

Earlier this month, Inspired announced the launch of their Space Invaders branded Roulette video game. By incorporating the arcade infusion into the popular table game, the developer brings a thrilling, lively choice to gamblers looking for something new. Space Invaders Roulette incorporates fun animated features to bring the game to life. 

Punters place their bets on a roulette betting table that hovers in outer space with a foreign planet’s landscape in the backdrop. A minimum stake of €1 and a maximum of €10,000 makes this game for modest players and high-rollers alike.  

Once you click ‘bet’ and the computer dealer says “No more bets” the familiar Space Invaders four-tone music plays and enemy aliens appear randomly in bet positions on the table. The cannon rolls in on the bottom of the screen, eliminates the threat, and reveals multipliers for the respective bet positions. 

Developers describe the gameplay of this branded Roulette game as simplistic, and the standard rules mean all gamblers can enjoy it. With the cannon obliterating enemies and leaving a trail of up to five multipliers, punters can win returns equal to 500 times their bet. This is possible by an additional feature where, once the cannon exposes all multipliers, a UFO appears above the betting table. If the cannon hits the UFO, multipliers double for the round.