Space Invaders Extreme
Released: August 2, 2009
Tags: GML, Game Maker 5
Game Maker 5 came with a lot of built-in examples, from basic point and click games to a more complicated isometric 2.5D sample. These samples were always nice when you were picking up game development for the first time because it provides a lot of template functionality for you, so you can focus more on just expanding what's built in. However, eventually you need to leave your bird's nest and learn to fly... One of the projects I decided to undertake to finally graduate to a proper game developer was to make a Space Invaders clone from scratch. It wasn't going to be a mere Space Invaders clone, it was going to be epic. It was gonna be so awesome, that it'd need to be reflected in the title. And so, I whipped up Space Invaders Extreme in a few weeks. Unlike regular, boring, un-extreme Space Invaders, this version has power-ups, music, cheat codes, and a two player mode. Eat your heart out Atari!
I published this on YoYoGame's Sandbox in 2009, making me 10 years old at the time. Honestly, despite the obvious crudeness of the game's graphics, I do find the powerups to be a nice addition to an otherwise not very complicated game. From what I remember, the feedback from the game was generally positive.
Apparently Atari beat me to the punch with all of these features, and they even released a SPACE INVADERS EXTREME for the Nintendo DS and PSP back in 2008. I only know about that because I researched it before putting up this article. Well darn, perhaps if I started my Game Maker 5 journey a little earlier, I could be asking Atari for some residuals.
