Space Invaders is a 1980 video game developed and published by Atari. It is based on Taito's 1978 arcade video game of the same name. It was developed initially for the Atari 400 and 800 line of home computers, with design and development handled by Rob Fulop. Similar to the arcade game, the player operates a laser cannon to shoot incoming enemies from outer space. Fulop had just created a video game port of Night Driver for the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) and wanted to make a more unique game, which led to various gameplay and graphic changes to this version of Space Invaders.
The game received a positive review in the Electronic Games 1983 Software Encyclopedia, complimenting its gameplay. Fulop received critiques from within Atari for deviating from the arcade game too much, which led him to make his next port, an Atari VCS version of Missile Command closer to the original arcade game.
Gameplay
The game is set on the moon, where the player must protect themselves from the alien invaders and prevent them from landing on the moon's surface. The goal of the game is to score as many points as possible by moving left and right across the planet's surface while shooting beams from the laser cannon. Each round features 48 aliens who must be shot. Once shot, their rocket ship lowers, allowing the aliens to get closer to the moon's surface.