Space Invaders is a classic arcade video game created by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was first released in 1978 by Taito. The game is a fixed shooter where the player controls a ship that moves horizontally across the bottom of the screen. The objective is to defeat waves of descending alien invaders by shooting them with the ship's projectiles. The alien invaders move left and right as they approach the bottom of the screen, and they periodically move downward, getting closer to the player. The player must avoid being hit by the invaders' shots and by direct contact with the invaders themselves. The game becomes progressively challenging as the invaders move faster and descend more quickly. Space Invaders played a significant role in the early history of video games, becoming one of the most influential and iconic titles of its time. It contributed to the popularization of video gaming and has remained a symbol of the arcade gaming era.