Dev Space Invaders

Defend your codebase from waves of bugs, viruses and syntax errors in this developer-themed Space Invaders. Shoot them before they reach production.

📅

Enemies: shoot them!

  • 👾
    Memory Leak

    Mystery ship across the top. 500 pts. Rare.

  • 🦠
    Virus

    Top row. 30 pts each.

  • 🐛
    Bug

    Middle row. 20 pts each.

  • ❌
    SyntaxError

    Bottom row. 10 pts each.

Powerups: collect them!

  • ☕
    Coffee Break

    Rapid fire for 5s. Ship goes brrr.

  • 🔧
    Hotfix

    Clears all enemy bullets instantly.

  • ❤️
    Extra Life

    +1 life, up to 5 max.

🛸

Dev Space Invaders

Defend your codebase.
Shoot the bugs before they reach production.

A / D · Arrows to move · Space to fire · Touch supported

Your best score0

What is Dev Space Invaders?

Dev Space Invaders is a developer-themed take on the classic arcade game, built entirely with the HTML5 Canvas API and zero dependencies. Instead of aliens, you're facing down three rows of coding horrors: 🦠 Virus (30 pts), 🐛 Bug (20 pts), and ❌ SyntaxError (10 pts). Your mission: shoot them all before they march down to production.

Game features

  • Wave system: clear a wave and the next deploys faster. Invaders speed up as their numbers thin.
  • Mystery Memory Leak: a rare 👾 ship flies across the top, shoot it for 500 bonus points.
  • Powerups: Coffee Break (rapid fire), Hotfix (clears enemy bullets), and Extra Life drop from defeated enemies.
  • 3 lives: survive enemy fire and don't let the grid reach the bottom.
  • Touch support: drag to move your ship, auto-fires while touching.

How to play

  1. Click Deploy to launch the game.
  2. Move your ship with A/D, arrow keys, or by dragging on touch screens.
  3. Hold Space to fire. On mobile the ship auto-fires while you touch the screen.
  4. Collect falling powerups by moving into them.
  5. Clear all invaders to advance to the next wave.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I play Dev Space Invaders?

Click Deploy, move the ship with A and D or the arrow keys and hold Space to fire, up to 4 shots on screen at once. On a phone drag to move and the ship fires automatically while you touch the screen.

How does the scoring work?

Syntax errors on the bottom row are worth 10 points, bugs 20 and viruses on the top row 30. The mystery Memory Leak ship crosses the top roughly every 30 seconds and is worth 500 points. Each cleared wave starts 15 percent faster and the invaders speed up as their numbers thin.

What do the powerups do?

Roughly one in five destroyed invaders drops one. Coffee Break gives rapid fire for 5 seconds, Hotfix deletes every enemy bullet on screen and Extra Life adds a life, up to 5.

When is the game over?

You start with 3 lives and lose one for each enemy bullet that hits the ship, with 2 seconds of invulnerability after a hit. The run also ends if the invader grid reaches your ship. The best score is stored in your browser.