Galaxian

Galaxian is a fixed position shooter game much like Space Invaders, but with various differences. Similarly to Space Invaders, Galaxian pits the player against waves of hostile alien ships that move back and forth across the top half of the screen. The main difference between the two games is that Galaxian added a feature that made game play more intense. Every so often, one or more alien ships dive in a kamakazi-like manner in the direction of the player's ship, attempting to destroy the player. The only plot given for the game is displayed on the title screen. "We are the Galaxians / Mission: Destroy Aliens."

Also:

- Published by: Midway
- Developed by: Namco
- Designers: Kazunori Sawano, Koichi Tashiro, Shigekazu Ishimura
- Platform: Arcade Game
- Year Released: 1979

Significant Contributors to Game Development:
- Genre: Fixed Shooter Arcade Game

History

The game originated in Japan and was published there by Namco in October 1979. It was released in North America by Midway in December 1979.

Game Design Elements

Gameplay

The gameplay for Galaxian was not much different from that of Space Invaders. The player would move left and right at the bottom of the screen firing at the enemy ships in an attempt to eliminate every ship in the wave. As soon as every enemy ship was destroyed, a new, more difficult wave would appear. Unlike Space Invaders, however, the player is not given any protective barriers and not only has to dodge enemy fire, but also enemy ships that dive toward the player in an attempt to destroy him/her. The player is given three lives at the start of the first wave and must complete a wave to gain a new life.

Controls

The controls for this Galaxian were very basic. There was a single joystick for moving the player's ship left and right and one "fire" button.

Plot

"We are the Galaxians / Mission: Destroy Aliens." This is the only plot given in the game. Essentially, the player is a Galaxian and is given the job of destroying every alien ship in the vacinity.

Characters

- Player's Ship: Galaxip
- Varying Enemy Ships

Art

Visual

Namco introduced a few new visual elements in Galaxian that had not been seen in any other game. They introduced multi-colored sprites and multi-colored explosions. A star filled background that scrolled continuously during the game was also featured. This background gave the illusion the the player's ship and the enemy ships were hutling through space throughout the game.

Sound

Galaxian featured a theme song that played constantly throughout the game. Various sounds were also linked to firing shots and exploding ships.