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Giant Space Invaders Turns a Building Into an Arcade Game

Just days ago, GeekTech looked in awe at a group from MIT that turned a campus building into a giant game of Tetris. While this is clearly the best way to play Tetris, it's not the only retro game to get the supersize treatment. Over in the UK, Space Invaders, well, invaded the side of a building for the amusement of passers-by.

The 17 meter-high game of Space Invaders in Manchester occupies one wall of the city's Town Hall as part of a four-week art exhibition, and it's the brainchild of Luke Egan (or "Filthy Luker"). To play, you just hit one button and the game begins. The aliens will light up against the black backdrop, and all you have to do is keep hitting the button to shoot them down.

The best part of the project is that all the materials used to make the installation come from Luke's fascination with street furniture and road signs. The aliens are made from road blocks, the shooter is made out of a traffic cone, and the lasers are from discarded lane dividers. LEDs line each part used, and the whole thing is hooked up to a central hardware controller.

Space Invaders is a great classic game, but so is Tetris. The question is, which of these giant gaming mods do you prefer?

Check out the video below to find out more about why Luke chose Space Invaders, and how it looks in action:

[YouTube via Cool Things and Hack A Day]

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