I've just spent more time than you would reasonably expect worthwhile building a virtual replica of a real replica of a virtual thing, thanks to Geek on Stun mentioning ".S." ".S" (presumably pronounced "dots" but also spelled "dot-s" and "dot's") are kinda like a Lite Brite that doesn't light up, with classic video game designs. While it's kinda neat to have a 3D object representing a 2D pixel map, half the fun you would get from a more inventive device like the classic light toy (also available virtually and in cube form) or a real 3D media like Pixelblocks is delivered here by a nostalgia kick. That's also indicated by the designs available: three classic arcade hits and Super Mario Bros.
So while it's kinda neat, you might just play with the Flash version and save $15 per set. I might like a Space Invaders set though. They're the most attractive ones, probably for the same reasons you see sprites from the classic game everywhere: the simple designs lend themselves to lots of media, like those ever-present wall stickers ("blik INVADER wall graphics") and the skyscraper promo they did for the anniversary of the game.
It's all pretty cool and between games there's this way hip techno 3d flash like Space Invaders mix thing going on.
Other than that simplicity, and perhaps the notes it struck in Cold War psyches (or my own childhood--my dentist had a table-top Space Invaders machine in the kids' playroom), I'm not sure why Space Invaders has inspired so much art. The range is wide, from wall-stickie near-kitsch to a "reality game" artist who uses it as his primary motif to this strange musical toy built for Warp Records, very reminiscent of Lumines.
Warp invaders appropriates the classic arcade metaphors, game play and iconography of Space Invaders, incorporating them into a song sequencer -- an interactive piano roll with space invaders for note triggers.
Of course, once you see the space invaders, you'll see them everywhere. For instance, don't Mario's coveralls in isolation look remarkably like a space invader? Perhaps Taito was really on to something.
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