Space Invaders, Futurama, Prince of Persia, and the Game Over screen as Story-Space

"Rise of the Video Game" introduced Space Invaders as a successor of "Pong" in the video game market, and the very first experimentation with a fantasy setting: invading aliens and the defense against. While the premise of Pong was relatively simple (two people playing a highly simplified, symbolic, pixelated table tennis), a "story" and "discourse" space still existed, but wasn't at all elaborate and dependent almost entirely on the player/viewer's imagination. Space Invaders is similarly minimalistic, although out of necessity, given that game technology had not yet evolved to become a diverse storytelling toolset. Props were limited to simple, often monochrome, pixels and a game play established upon basic, simple premises.

Therefore, Pong and Space Invaders are both analogous with abstract, minimalist art, in that they suggest nothing more of their stories than the barest necessities visible on screen. The screen becomes a discourse space for a story as complex or as simple as the observer's interpretation. "Space Invaders" could be a simple game of hand-eye coordination, or a fantasy immersion into the role of the last line of defense against an endless wave of malicious invaders as per the imagination of the player.

Part of Space Invader's popularity (and subsequent acceptance into pop culture as a "retro gaming" icon) is a consequence of its simplicity. The phrase "space invaders" itself invokes an almost universally recognizable image: pixelated aliens arranged in rows and columns, descending in cascades. Futurama's parodic episode "Tales of Interest" plays on the nostalgia associated with Space Invaders as a pop-culture icon.

Fry vs. The Space Invaders (Futurama)

Futurama embeds an obvious story into a medium largely dependent upon abstract interpretation for the sake of humor. The role of the player as a defender is much more detailed and elaborate, but the "mechanics" of the game augment the story itself. "Increase speed and reverse direction" becomes the 'master strategy' of the aliens, rather than a limitation of the game's code.

When elements of the game (visual, musical, story-space, etc.) become more elaborate, the evocation of particular feelings transcends from the covert to the overt. This is not to say that minimalist games with little elaboration are incapable of evoking powerful feelings. "Passage" is a clear case against such a claim. However, the more abstract the art form, the more subjective the participant's response, and in some ways, the more intuitive.

For example, one of the most common discoursive elements of a video game is the nearly ubiquitous "Game Over" screen. Similar to a "Fin" or "The End" or even the physical existence of a final word of a final page of a novel, the Game Over screen flags the end of one session of immersion. The Game Over screen, in other words, exists at the very edge of story space. It is meta-story, or even meta-game, as its purpose is to remind the player or viewer that the game--the fantasy and act of play--is now concluded.

Futurama plays this concept humorously ("War Over"), but some games try to weave the Game Over screen back into the story grid. For example, "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time", a remake of the classic game, projects the player into the mind of the 'Prince'. Most of the game is, in fact, a story told in reverse. The Prince is reminiscing of his memories, explaining his story chapter by chapter to an implied and direct audience (both the player and, revealed later, Farah, a character within the game itself). The details of the story are explored visually through the player's actions.

But, in keeping with the elements most common to games, the player can lose. However, a fatal mistake on the player's part destroys the continuity of storytelling. How can the Prince tell a story of his own death? The Game Over screen, therefore, includes a "Continue" option (also common to games). If the player chooses the Continue, the Prince, in embarassment, admits a mistake in his storytelling, backpedals, and starts over. ("Wait wait. No, that's not what happened...").