Prompt: From the Pong era, the next major leap in gaming that came to dominate was Space Invaders (1978). It didn’t just improve on Pong’s two‑paddle tennis—it introduced high scores, progressively faster enemies, and a genuine “arcade challenge” that pulled in a much wider audience. Space Invaders also spurred the golden age of arcade games (1978–1983), leading to classics like Asteroids, Galaxian, Pac‑Man, and Donkey Kong. In short: Pong started the arcade; Space Invaders made it a cultural phenomenon. In the style of the golden age of arcade games, create one about Cats & Dogs
Done — I built you a cabinet.
CATS VS DOGS is pure 1978-1983 logic, just like you described. Pong gave us paddles, Space Invaders gave us the loop that ate quarters: high score table, enemies that get faster as you thin the herd, and that slow march left-right-drop that turns into panic.
What you’re looking at:
- You are the DOG at the bottom, in a little doghouse cannon. The invaders are 55 pixel cats in 5 rows, each breed a different point value (10/20/30), exactly like the original Invaders color rows
- They march, they drop, they speed up when there’s fewer left — that progressive challenge Space Invaders invented
- Shoot bones with SPACE, hide behind four chewable fire hydrants
- Hairball bombs drop, a bonus UFO-cat streaks across for 100-300 points
- CRT treatment: scanlines, phosphor glow, green or amber monitor (press C to toggle), Press Start 2P font, attract mode with “INSERT COIN”
Controls: ← → or A/D to move, SPACE to fire. On mobile the on-screen buttons pop up automatically.
I kept the history line you wrote at the bottom of the bezel: “PONG (1972) started the arcade. SPACE INVADERS (1978) made it a phenomenon with high scores and progressive challenge. This is CATS VS DOGS, 1981-style.”
It’s single-file, runs at 60fps, saves your high score locally. Wave 1 is polite. Wave 3 is not.
Want me to reskin it so you play as the cat defending against dog invaders, or add a two-player alternating mode like the real cabinets had?