Lode Runner - Space Invaders Custom Level

Another retro-gaming Lode Runner custom level by yours truly. This time in the style of the classic arcade game that pretty much started the modern video game craze - Space Invaders. Be sure to watch the 45 second video through to the end. ;-)

I vividly remember when Space Invaders hit the scene in 1978. I was just a kid then and found this video game very intriguing. Pong had been out for a few years already and home video game systems, like the Atari VCS, were just starting to appear. It wasn't until the arrival of Space Invaders in the arcades that the whole video game craze really took off.

Space Invaders was huge - it was everywhere and everyone wanted to play it. It was so big that the media did several stories about it at the time. The only other arcade games to repeat this media frenzy (that I recall) were 1980's release of Pac Man and 1983's release of Dragon's Lair. These days, it is not uncommon to find video games in the news or on TV. Back in the heyday of arcade gaming, it took something pretty big to make it on TV.

This Lode Runner custom level tribute to Space Invaders was a lot of fun to make and play. As cool as Lode Runner was with the ability to design and edit levels, it didn't allow for any additional animation like the movement of the "invaders" as seen following the clearing of the level in this video. I had fun adding some simple animation and breathing a little life in to the brick-made invaders. After making the custom Space Invaders level and playing in it, I wanted to see them invade, so invade they did!

Were you a fan of Lode Runner or Space Invaders back in the day? Perhaps you discovered them in more recent years if you weren't around yet at the time. Either way - I'd love to hear your thoughts/memories of them.