Space Panic

Controls: Press 5 to insert coins, 1 or 2 to start a 1/2 player game. Move the man with the arrow keys, us CTRL repeatedly to dig a hole, and ALT repeatedly to cover a hole (that has a creature in it). Please note: These controls are difficult to learn, initially. Space Panic is a 1980 arcade game designed by Universal, which Chris Crawford calls the first ever platform game, as it pre-dates Nintendo's Donkey Kong (from 1981) which is often cited as the original platform game. Space Panic lacks Donkey Kong's jump mechanic and the main character instead digs holes in the platforms into which he must lure the aliens. He must then hit them to knock them out of the hole and off the screen. In later levels, two or more holes must be lined up vertically in order to dispose of the aliens. There is also a limited supply of oxygen. The trap-em-up premise of the game (digging holes to trap aliens) is likely to have been inspired by the then contemporary Heiankyo Alien (a 1979 game first released in arcades in 1980), but while that game is set in a maze viewed from above, Space Panic used platforms and ladders viewed from the side. Lode Runner (1983), had a similar look, and used the basic premise of digging holes to trap enemies. Universal revisited the genre again with Mr. Do's Castle (1983) which incorporated and expanded upon many of the play styles explored in this seminal game.