Am I the only one that doesn't like Space Invaders?

[RotateMe]

I remember having a game and watch like version of space invaders. One of those pocket computers where everything that can appear has a set position. I found even this version of Space invaders better than the original but I can understand well why so many people loved it.

BTW is Space Invaders endless? if hot, how many levels are there? (I hope I don't emberess myself by having not played to a super easy game? )

[zed]

No, we were talking about Spacewar, which is from 1961, programmed at MIT by Steve Russel and others.

is i metioned there videogames before space invaders but practically noone knew about them
space invaders was the very first arcade game that lanched videogames into the view of the general public,
WRT gamers year dates should be BSI + ASI, now we're in the year ASI 28

in saying that ive never liked the game (even back when it came out)

[Pixel_Outlaw]

I think alot of people (in this thread) arent looking at this right. Space Invaders, and MOST games of old werent about fast action, blazing TRIX, and tons of fire on the screen. It was about scores, and high scores, and getting the best score, and staying alive longer than your homie/friend.

Tetris
Pac-Man
Space Invaders
Xevious
Dig Dug
etc etc

All slow paced games, that focused on scoring.

And I still can play Space Invaders, even till this day btw.

I actually like all of those just not space invaders. I might have like it more without the shield things.

[Ceph]

I think alot of people (in this thread) arent looking at this right. Space Invaders, and MOST games of old werent about fast action, blazing TRIX, and tons of fire on the screen. It was about scores, and high scores, and getting the best score, and staying alive longer than your homie/friend.

Tetris
Pac-Man
Space Invaders
Xevious
Dig Dug
etc etc

All slow paced games, that focused on scoring.

And I still can play Space Invaders, even till this day btw.

I actually like all of those just not space invaders. I might have like it more without the shield things.

Me too. I like all but Space Invaders. Centipede is great, too.

[Ceph]

WRT gamers year dates should be BSI + ASI, now we're in the year ASI 28

What do you mean by WRT?

is i metioned there videogames before space invaders but practically noone knew about them

A whole lot of people knew about Pong, and Pong started the videogame craze. So I'd rather say BP and AP
We are now in the year 34 After Pong.

[Pirate1019]

Just replayed Space Invaders. Can't say I enjoyed it. The hit detection seemed a little funky, even.

[sffan]

Sputnik was a crappy satellite. It didn't even take pictures. The Hubble Space Telescope is so much better.

[Neon]

Sputnik was a crappy satellite. It didn't even take pictures. The Hubble Space Telescope is so much better.

Quite true

Had to have canoes before ironclads

[The Coop]

On a side note, I finally beat the 5,000 high score on Space Invaders part II. That game gets nasty by stage 4.

[Ceph]

Sputnik was a crappy satellite. It didn't even take pictures. The Hubble Space Telescope is so much better.

True, but Spacewar came before Space Invaders, and under the name Computer Space it became Nolan Bushnell's first arcade machine in 1971, long before Space Invaders and even before Pong; so Space Invaders wasn't Sputnik, Computer Space was.

The point is that good games continue to play well.

Spacewar and Asteroids still play well. So do Dig Dug, Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Centipede, Galaga and many other classics from the dawn of videogames which feature good play mechanics.
There are several forerunners that helped influence the evolution of videogames, games that introduced new concepts and new mechanics. Space Invaders is one of them. But that doesn't automatically make it a good game; it simply doesn't play as well today.

[zed]

WRT == with regards to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age_of_arcade_games

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Taito's Space Invaders arcade upright was first released in Japan back in 1978 -- which caused a Japanese yen shortage (why? -- because all the 100 yen coins at that period in time were trapped inside those damn SI cabinets!)

The SI arcade PCB + the programming OS all had to be created from scratch...it was very hard work according to the SI creator himself.

Yep, both Space Invaders and Space Invaders Deluxe arcade cabinets make a yearly appearance at the "California Extreme" classic arcade game & pinball show every year in San Jose, California... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Blade]

If I want to play something that's Space-Invader-esque I break out Galaga or Phoenix.

Alot more fun to play IMO...

And although it's not very retro...Gridrunner++ always has good laughs.

[elvis]

No I value old games, I just can't bring myself to Like Space Invaders. I love Galaga and Defender.

Space Invaders: 1978
Defender: 1980
Galaga: 1981

Putting it in perspective, 3 years is a long time in technology and gaming. Think of modern games released today compared to what was possible 3 years ago.

From a purely personal point of view, I've never liked Space Invaders either, and I'm also a big Galaga fan. But as mentioned, Space Invaders was a huge deal back in the day - probably not for any other reason other than it's uniqueness. In '78 there wasn't much on offer in terms of arcade gaming, and Space Invaders was probably the best of the era.

Looking at MAWS and other sorts of game databases, 2 years later in 1980 there were twice as many games released during that year, and the stats climb exponentially from there.

Much of the love for Space Invaders today is probably nostalgic. There's plenty of early 80's games that I play for the memories, rather than the game itself.