It wasn't long before I was dodging and weaving between waves of oncoming alien formations, planning my movements to both avoid immediate threats and guide future attackers. I didn't take to Galaxian right away, but the more I played, the more I began to see the alien motions as something vital, perhaps even beautiful. And, to make things even more interesting, the aliens have artificial intelligence, so they will alter their attack patterns based on your movements. You can still fire at the aliens lined up at the top of the screen, but the point payoff is bigger when you knock out incoming formations. From then on, the gameplay becomes not just a matter of target practice, as in Space Invaders, but also managing the attack patterns of the diving aliens such that you don't collide with them or their bullets.

However, as soon as the game starts, in a development that probably blew the minds of kids in the late '70s, a handful of aliens immediately break formation and dive at the player, guns blazing. The initial setup is essentially the same as Space Invaders, with several rows of aliens attacking an avatar at the bottom of the screen.

In 1979, Namco developed an arcade game called Galaxian that would prove to be almost as revolutionary and influential as the game that inspired it. While many of the fixed shooters that followed in its footsteps in the late '70s were essentially clones, some designers were boldĮnough and clever enough to recognize the potential of the new genre. Successful game concepts always lead to imitators, and of course Space Invaders was no exception to that rule.

Galaxian arcade game marquee