ABSTRACT
The Golden Age of the arcades (Figure 3.1) began with the popularity of Taito’s Space Invaders (1978) and lasted into 1983, when the market crashed in North America. Part of Space Invaders’ success may have been from the world’s craze over Star Wars, which designer Tomohiro Nishikado mentioned to be an influence for the game’s theme (Game Informer, 2008, p. 108). The arcade game was known for its four notes of looped music, which sped up as the aliens descended closer to the earth (and the player). It also advanced the concept of a high score, which encouraged gamers to survive for as long as possible. Atari responded with their hit shooter Asteroids (1979) by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg. Soon there would be an explosion of arcade venues such as Nolan Bushnell’s Chuck E. Cheese franchise, opening a window of creativity for numerous publishers.
