Welcome to the first edition of Memory Lane. A place here at GamerDad where we take a look at the past and reminisce about the games, the toys, the movies, the books, that transformed us from kids to teens to adults to dads and finally, to GamerDads.

Memory Lane – Space Invaders

I remember the first time I saw it. There’s a small cross-country ski resort atop Palm Springs California, just after an exhilarating (and harrowing to a small lad of seven years like myself) cable-tram ride to the top, there was a machine. A wildly, garishly, decorated upright arcade game with sinister furry creatures on the sides, outer space scenes on the front, and simple graphics within. It was Space Invaders – the five alien rows, the four bunker-shields, the small space cannon, all glowing weirdly white-green.

The furry hulks on the side of the cabinet looked nothing like the aliens within, but they carried spears and they played to my young imagination.

I heard the music. Bum-dump-dump-dump-dump (as relentless as Jaws) and saw the small gun at the bottom stuggling vainly against the digital onslaught. I took it all in.

“Mom! Can I have a quarter?”

She told me to put on my skiis.

After the annoying outdoor play we returned for Hot Chocolate and the machine called to me again. My mom gave me some quarters, and a GamerLad was born.

History

Space Invaders was invented by a small outfit in Japan called Taito. Rumors circulated that the game actually caused a shortage of Yen. The license was bought by Midway (always a prescient company) and the Invaders hit the states like a Tsunnami. Arcade games before this consisted of Pong, Tank, and a few others, but none had the impact, the addictiveness, and the sheer stress-induciveness of Space Invaders.

The gameplay was simple. Five rows of alien beings, four different kinds, marched lockstep across the screen. Bumping down again like a typewriter. They shot lasers down at you (hulking furry creatures dropping spears?) while you furtively hid behind disintegrating shields and returned fire. As you eliminated Invaders, they sped up. And so did the relentless bass of the “music.” Meanwhile flying saucers flew across the top of the screen occasionally, taunting you to shoot them down for extra points. When you finally destroyed the whole mass of aliens, the final survivor would race across the screen shooting madly. Daring you to pick him off. Then “pop” you did.

And the music would slow down again, the whole mass would reappear, but they’d begin one step lower than before!

Terrifying.

The kind of game you could use your imagination with and the first game to really hook gamers with the concept of netting the High Score (though you couldn’t put in your initials). Space Invaders was the first real gaming Blockbuster (Pong might deserve that title but Pong’s success was nothing compared to the madness of Space Invaders. It proved a top seller for the Atari 2600 and can be found in shareware versions all over the place. Space Invader’s simple yet compelling gameplay led to Galaxian, Gorf, Galaga, and games that don’t start with ‘g’ like Satan’s Hollow.

It’s also the first video game to spark protest. The game proved so popular in Mesquite, Texas, that citizens pressured Police to invoke a town ordinance to shut down Alladin’s Castle, in their local mall. (They argued arcades attracted a criminal element they wanted to protect kids from.) The case was brought before the Supreme Court in 1982 and dismissed by the court. By then, of course, Space Invaders had a lot of competition and had invaded restaurants, bowling alleys, and home consoles.

The invasion began in 1978 and was a smashing success. Space Invaders influenced gaming, and at least one GamerDad. -Andrew S. Bub

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