Flex Arcade

8000 video games, 1 retro game: “Space Invaders” (1978)

Le légendaire "Space Invaders", ou la résistance inutile de l'Humanité

Type “Space Invaders” into a search bar and wander around the web for five minutes. Count the number of “Most influential”, de “plus célèbre”… Répertoriez aussi le nombre d’œuvres et de design que les Invaders ont engendré. Voilà, rendons-nous à l’évidence : un possesseur-de-borne-d’arcade/amateur-de-jeux-vidéo-rétro ne peut pas snober bien longtemps l’expérience space invaders (Japanese creation from 1978). Even if it essentially consists of being atomized by pixelated octopuses and submitting to all kinds of sonic attacks.

SUMMARY

  1. space invaders, endless story from every point of view
  2. L’espace est tout noir, les envahisseurs disciplinés, suicidaires et bruyants
  3. What can Humanity oppose to the space-marine horde? So little
  4. Sounds that drive you crazy: a masterpiece of the genre
  5. Additional resources at space invaders

The inexorable is part of the authentic arcade game, a fortiori when it comes to retro video games. It's the same thing that brings together good and bad players: within half an hour of each other, everyone will pass, there is no saving possible. But in terms of making the player aware of his insignificance, space invaders is perhaps the greatest of video games. It brings together Fort Alamo and Chtulu's Call. What’s that about? An infernal crescendo, anxiety-inducing sounds, defenses that are constantly cracking, an army of well-ordered octopuses that never back down when it comes time to go to the front. And the fatal, inexorable explosion. space invaders is fantastic, but it's not uplifting. 

The end is near

1. space invaders, endless story from every point of view

Nightmare + Shoot 'em up + octopuses + arcade machine + Atari = interstellar cardboard    

THE first article of this blog already mentioned space invaders and reported that its creator, Tomohiro Nishikado, had dreamed of schoolchildren attacked by aliens while waiting for Santa Claus. So it's called a nightmare, and its representation is perfectly successful. 

Among other legacies to posterity, Tomohiro founded a separate and fertile genre in video games: the Shoot'em Up, either “kill them all”; “if you are capable of it”, I would add for my part. 

This would also be the first endless game, car le but du joueur n’est pas de finir le jeu : les Aliens reviennent toujours. Si le joueur les détruit tous, on revient simplement au départ, pour un deuxième tableau, un troisième, et ainsi de suite jusqu’à ce que mort s’en suive. On peut toujours imaginer, théoriquement, une résistance sans fin, ce que l’on n’imagine même pas.

According to Guinness World Records, un héros canadien de 12 ans, Eric Furrer, aurait cependant tenu les envahisseurs à l’écart durant 38 heures entre le 29 août et le 2 septembre 1980. On retrouve sur le Web bien des versions différentes sur les circonstances de ce record et j’avais commencé à les recenser. Un travail long et obscur… En définitive, je pense qu’il faudrait mieux enquêter par vous-même et choisir la vôtre, si cela vous intéresse. Chose certaine, malgré tout, d’après le site Antstream.com and a few others, he used a trick, since called “the Furrer Trick”. We will come back to this.

Le thème de l’espace viendrait de l’inévitable Star Wars (sorti en 1977) et l’idée des pieuvres, poulpes et crabes pixelisés des machines extraterrestres de War of the Worlds by HG Wells (1898). The subject of the game is therefore the following: Humanity, represented by a mobile shooting tower, fragile shields and three small lives, defends the planet against countless crabs and octopuses, organized and determined to descend to the bottom of the planet. screen to the point of sacrificing their own lives. Simple, refined. The matrix of a myth.

Tomohiro Nishikado worked for the no less legendary Taito company, still very much alive today, which notably published, in addition to Space Invaders, Arkanoid and Bubble Bobble. En 1978, le jeu triomphe dans les salles d’arcade au Japon, et pas qu’un peu. En parallèle, il est exploité sur borne d’arcade aux Etats-Unis par la Midway Manufacturing Company, avec tout autant de succès. Lorsque l’on regarde cette première borne américaine sur le précieux site Arcade-Museum.com, one detail jumps out at the eye: the design of the terminal does not highlight the characters of the game but some sort of… radioactive sasquatch? They are quite successful, moreover, but obviously do not appear in Space Invaders. In hindsight, This seems strange, but remember that the Midway Company did not know a priori that the Invaders were destined to enter the category of the most famous graphic objects in the world. 

space invaders devient en 1980 le premier jeu de borne d’arcade adapté sur console, en l’occurrence la console Atari 2600. A partir de là, pour les poulpes de l’espace comme pour la console Atari, on ne parle plus de succès mais de carton planétaire. Il pleut de l’argent, beaucoup, beaucoup d’argent. Non, je ne donnerai pas de chiffres (personne ne donnant les mêmes, autant ne pas ajouter de la confusion…).

Aside from urban legend: the shortage of 100 yen coins in Japan in 1978

When doing superficial research on space invaders, un fait pour le moins atypique est abondamment cité, parfois au conditionnel, parfois non : l’incroyable triomphe du jeu dans les salles d’arcade japonaises aurait provoqué une pénurie de pièces de 100 yens. Une panique monétaire ? Diable.

To this is often added the assertion that the number of 100 yen coins put into circulation tripled in the following years. However, if the fact is abundantly cited, the precise explanations are generally thin, which is often doubtful (especially since the language barrier prevents searching for sources in Japan...). Furthermore, only specialists and video game enthusiasts seem to be interested in the phenomenon: Western economists don't care, which is downright strange. Ultimately, it seems that this shortage would be classified in the “urban legend” category.

Two interesting and well-documented articles seek to demonstrate this in any case: the first was written in 2012 by a numismatics specialist, Mark Fox; the second, written in 2013 and explicitly titled Video Game Myth Busters – The Space Invaders Yen Shortage, tente de remonter aux sources de la légende et c’est très agréable à suivre. Pour résumer : le nombre de pièces de 100 yens émises en 1978 a été un peu moins élevé que lors des années précédents et suivantes, mais rien d’alarmant ; la presse japonaise se serait fait l’écho en 1978 de cas sporadiques de pénurie de pièces dans certains quartiers autour de salles d’arcade, d’où plus tard l’exagération du phénomène par certains auteurs. Bref, situations atypiques provoquées par le phénomène space invaders, probably ; general shortage, no.

We can compare this legend to that which surrounds the radio adaptation of War of the Worlds (definitely, these octopuses...) by Orson Welles in 1938, to which we attribute phenomena of collective panic which in fact never existed. The fact remains that this folkloric belief attests to the gigantic and immediate success of the terminal space invaders in Japan and the incredible aura that the game still enjoys.

Invaders everywhere, well beyond video games

Countless versions. We cannot mention here all the sequels, adaptations on consoles and ersatz generated by space invaders, car… la vie est trop courte. Pour les suites, en vrac : Space Invaders, Space Invaders Part II, Space Invaders II, Return Of The Invaders, Super Space Invaders ’91, Space Invaders DX, Space Invaders ’95. For the list of consoles and ersatz, let's forget, shall we? Life is really too short. 

This still poses a practical problem: which version to play on the FLEX-arcade terminal ? Personnellement, j’ai pris la version Space Invaders DX “color”, which I believe corresponds to Space Invaders Part II, released in 1980 on an arcade machine and which then included a great novelty: color. This version is the most beautiful, in my opinion.

On the street, in museums, on t-shirts, etc. space invaders has since the 1990s crossed the limits of the screen to irrigate global popular culture, and in particular the streets of big cities. Two links among a thousand to confirm what you already know: the site of the aptly named artist Invade and that of the photographer Lionel Belluteau. 

En outre, quels objets les Envahisseurs n’ont-ils pas encore envahis ? Ils sont sur T-shirts, mugs, faïence de jardin, magnets, montres, fonds d’écran… Sur bornes d’arcade aussi, bien sûr (essayez ce 3D configurator si cela vous donne des idées).  Des milliers d’artistes et de non-artistes offrent régulièrement au monde leur version from Space Invaders. By the way, here is mine:

Fantasy of astro-marinière soup
for angry gamer

Brief, space invaders is a business that runs, a durable cardboard, a never-ending story. THE Invaders are trendy, trendy, nice… While they are not nice at all, if we look (finally!) at video games.

2. Space is all black, the invaders disciplined, suicidal and noisy

The representation of space is not that of Hubble or of Star Wars. No stars, no comets or galaxies, space is black, like this:

Hopeless

Les envahisseurs sont de trois types : “poulpes”, “calamars”, “crabes”. Ils sont organisés en 5 lignes de 11 et avancent précisément en crabe pour passer à la ligne suivante, comme une machine à écrire de l’Enfer. Les premiers sont gros et “facilement” décimables. Ceux de derrière sont petits et pénibles à viser. Tuer les poulpes des deux premières lignes rapportent 10 points, les crabes de la troisième ligne 20 points, les calamars des derniers rangs 30 points.

Effrayants, n’est-ce pas ?

The Invaders do not seek to protect themselves, they know that thousands of their kind will replace them. And they fire missiles, “normal” missiles and “filaments”. The filaments do more damage, as you might expect.

The imperturbable march of the Invaders

Above all, the Astro-Marine Aliens accelerate their walking regularly as the game progresses. The closer they approach the bottom of the screen, the faster they go. The fewer there are, the faster they go. And finally, the more the player shoots, the faster they go. The acceleration of the Invaders' march is one of the most fascinating aspects of the game, especially as it is highlighted, not to say stabylobossed, by a terrifying sound design (see 4.).

Finally, a “mystery saucer” regularly crosses the screen from left to right. We might not notice it if it didn't emit a shrill siren that ends up putting the player's nerves on edge. However, destroying it earns a lot of points (the number of points is kept secret at the start of the game), so it is the player's holy grail. space invaders.

Je ne l’ai jamais bien vue, en réalité

3. What can Humanity oppose to the Space Horde? So little

A mobile defense tower (still happy)

It always fires missiles strictly vertically (so the barrel is not removable, thanks guys). Sadistic rule: there cannot be two human missiles on the same screen. You must therefore wait until a missile has completed its course on an Invader or at the top of the screen to fire a second one. Thanks guys. Suffice to say that it is better not to miss your shot. That said, human missiles annihilate enemy missiles, that's something.

A line of four shields

The player can take refuge behind it. These shields crack on both sides when an enemy or human missile hits it. It's sad to watch.

Classic 1-4 organization. Have you heard of the Maginot Line?

The player has three little lives, but you can get more if you accumulate enough points. Cool.

And... there you go, that's all Humanity had to offer us in terms of galactic defense in 1978. Thanks, guys. For an average player, playing correctly at space invaders is therefore a time-consuming experience beyond imaginable. That said, there are Tricks, like in all video games.

Tips?

There is already the famous “Furrer Trick” mentioned above, which concerns the mystery saucer. It's about counting your shots at the start of each level. You count 22 shots. Then you wait to shoot the 23rd until the saucer arrives and… I already have a headache. Refer to this wonderful page instead Strategywiki which explains very well the “Saucer Scoring Trick”.

Je ne vais pas faire mon malin, je n’ai pas réussi à maîtriser le “Furrer Trick” ni l’autre grande astuce de maître, baptisée “Wall of Death”. En fait,  je n’ai commencé à ne ressentir une faible amélioration de mon niveau de jeu qu’après la lecture de deux pages Web dont j’ai placé les liens à la fin de cet article (vous y trouverez aussi une explication du “Furrer Trick” et du “Wall of Death“). Je synthétise si vous êtes trop fatigués pour vous jeter dessus : bien jouer à space invaders requires mastering the “heartbeat” of the game (corresponding to the regular movement of the Invaders) and knowing how to protect yourself behind shields. Thanks guys.

In addition, it is better to take your time when shooting because the real danger is missing your shots. Don't rush, stay cool and chill like Clint. If at least the sound effects of space invaders give you the opportunity.

4. Sounds that drive you crazy: a masterpiece of the genre

The visual design of space invaders is still enjoying incredible success, but what struck me personally when rediscovering the game was its sound design. Even now, as I write, it still haunts me to such an extent that I tremble. I know a mysterious saucer is going to enter the room, I can already hear it... 

Les tambours de l’apocalypse

Cela tient surtout à la musique, si on peut appeler ça comme ça : une ligne de basse de quatre notes qui accompagnent les mouvements ennemis, comme des battements de cœur (encore l’aspect cardiaque du jeu). Les leurs ou les vôtres ? Les deux, sans doute. Car, idée géniale et visiblement novatrice, le tempo de ces quatre notes s’accélèrent en même temps que la vitesse d’avancement des Invaders. Si bien qu’au moment de l’agonie du joueur, le pouls de ce dernier bat au même rythme que la musique, celui d’un tambour de galère – comme dans Ben-Hur (1959), vous voyez ? -, tandis qu’il doit faire face à une horde d’Invaders de plus en plus véloces qui fondent sur ses défenses tous en même temps. Enfin, c’est du moins l’effet que ça produit sur moi.

Sound effects in tune

The sound effects of missiles and other explosions seem more banal in comparison after forty-five years of Star Wars. But it's always a pleasure and they blend wonderfully well with the inexorable mechanics of the music.

The Devil's Mermaid

Finally, there is the siren emitted by the mysterious flying saucer when it appears on screen. Maybe I'm too sensitive in the treble? I know she'll come back regularly, but she always surprises me with her metal rattles. I could play thirty hours straight and it would still surprise me and inevitably cause a stray shot into infinite space. For this reason and many others, I have never yet gone beyond table 2 to space invaders (I rarely go beyond table 1, that said). 

C’était ça !

In short, the game's soundtrack is, in my opinion, a necessary and sufficient reason to get started, even if you have to get up at night. You endured well Alien (1979, so), right?

5. Additional resources on space invaders

As expected, two advice links to play better space invaders, one of Classicgaming.cc, the other of Primetimeamusements.com. The two overlap, but two lessons are better than one. 

There is also this concrete example on YouTube of a player who “shoots the mystery Ship every time”

What about a little French ad for the Atari version of space invaders, on the Youtube channel VideoGameAds ?

And an American version advertising for the road?

I haven't found any really good documentation of the game's soundscape, but I think there's no substitute for your own experience, right?

Yannick Campe

Web editor, editorial secretary and even Swiss army knife on occasion. Interested in a lot of areas, including video games. Although it still tends to confuse buttons and fall off platforms.

Exit mobile version