Computergame Museum Berlin

News

3. Jul, 2008

Space Invaders: the Anniversary Show

30 Years of Space Invaders, GC-Art, Leipzig 2008

Space Invaders is one of the biggest video game legends. When the game landed in arcades world-wide in 1978, it initiated a previously unknown boom. Shortly after the appearance of the blockbuster pictures “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, thanks to Space Invaders, millions of mostly young players could step in to save the world from the alien invaders with their joystick in hand.

Space Invaders became a legend and a global icon. It is a frequently quoted art motif and remains omnipresent in our daily life. It is still as fresh as ever. The exhibition “Space Invaders: Die Jubiläumsshow!” (Space Invaders: the Anniversary Show) would like to pay homage to this evergreen and create an experience from its historical and current facets.

In addition to a comprehensive documentation, an original Space Invaders machine naturally forms the centre of attraction. Everything is overshadowed by the interactive large installation “Invaders!” by the French-American artist Douglas Edric Stanley. With his work he shows how Space Invaders can be seen as “a social tale that can be related to historical tales without losing its poetic power” (D.E. Stanley).

Historical Context

Space Invaders was designed by Toshiro Nishikado for Taito and marked Japan's entry into the global video games business. It was the first game that incorporated a kind of dramatic action into its game play. Only protected by four bunkers that are slowly buy inevitably destroyed, the end of the player stands alone against a superior enemy power that relentlessly draws closer. Space Invaders can be regarded as a metaphor of the universal mythical motif of being at someone's mercy. On the other hand, the game provides the possibility of resistance. Even though every battle would eventually be lost, Space Invaders introduced the capability of becoming a part of (game) history: for the first time, the player could save his high score and thereby immortalise himself. This might appear a simple feature to a modern audience, but had a revolutionary effect. From now on, one didn't only play against the machine, but also against human opponents.

Concept: Computerspiele Museum Berlin / Curator: Andreas Lange