Space Invaders

An OpenGL-powered C++ remake of the 1978 arcade classic Space Invaders.

Overview

This repository contains a desktop game built with:

• C++20
• OpenGL for rendering
• GLFW + GLAD for windowing/context/input
• GLM for math
• stb_image and spdlog as supporting libraries
• A custom lightweight game/audio architecture in Space_Invaders/src

The project is currently configured for Windows + Visual Studio 2022 via Premake and ships with Visual Studio solution/project files already generated.

Features

• Classic Space Invaders gameplay loop (waves, score, lives, shields, game over/reset)
• Player movement and shooting with cooldown
• Alien swarm movement, projectiles, and collision handling
• Bonus alien ship events
• Procedural retro-style synthesized audio for gameplay effects and background notes
• On-screen HUD text (score, high-score, lives, credits)

Repository Structure

.
├── premake5.lua                    # Build configuration (workspace/projects/configs)
├── Space_Invaders.sln              # Visual Studio solution (generated)
├── scripts/
│   └── GenerateProjects.bat        # Regenerate VS project files with Premake
└── Space_Invaders/
    ├── src/
    │   ├── Engine/                 # Rendering, shaders, buffers, sprite systems, timing
    │   ├── Game/                   # Game objects, state management, logic, audio handler
    │   ├── Application.*           # App lifecycle + main entry point
    │   └── Log.* / pch.*
    ├── res/
    │   └── shaders/Basic.shader
    └── vendor/
        ├── GLFW/
        ├── glad/
        ├── glm/
        ├── spdlog/
        └── stb_image/

Prerequisites (Development)

To build from source on Windows:

1. Visual Studio 2022 with C++ desktop workload
2. Windows 10/11 SDK
3. (If regenerating projects) bundled Premake binary at:
   • vendor/bin/premake/premake5.exe

The project uses PlatformToolset v143, x64, and OpenGL via opengl32.lib.

Build and Run

Option A: Use existing solution

1. Open Space_Invaders.sln in Visual Studio 2022.
2. Select configuration:
   • Debug | x64
   • Release | x64
   • Dist | x64
3. Build the solution.
4. Run Space_Invaders as startup project.

Option B: Regenerate solution with Premake

From repository root:

cd scripts
GenerateProjects.bat

Then open the regenerated Space_Invaders.sln and build as above.

Build Output

Executables are emitted to:

bin/<Configuration>-windows-x86_64/Space_Invaders/Space_Invaders.exe

Examples:

• bin/Debug-windows-x86_64/Space_Invaders/Space_Invaders.exe
• bin/Release-windows-x86_64/Space_Invaders/Space_Invaders.exe

Controls

Action	Keys
Move left	A or Left Arrow
Move right	D or Right Arrow
Shoot	Space or Up Arrow
Decrease volume	-
Increase volume	=
Quit	Esc

Gameplay Notes

• You start with multiple lives and defensive shields.
• Destroying aliens increases score.
• High score is tracked during runtime.
• The game ends if aliens reach the ground or the player loses all lives.
• After game over, a new round is automatically initialized.

Release Usage (No Build)

If you only want to play:

1. Download the latest release from the Releases page.
2. Extract the archive.
3. Run Space_Invaders.exe.

Technical Notes

• Window/input loop is driven by GLFW in Application.
• Projection uses a fixed 2D orthographic game space.
• Game logic is coordinated by Game and GameStateManager.
• Audio clips are synthesized procedurally in AudioHandler (no external sound assets required).

Troubleshooting

• Project won’t open/build: verify Visual Studio 2022 C++ toolchain + Windows SDK are installed.
• Project files out of sync: rerun scripts/GenerateProjects.bat.
• Black screen or GL init issues: ensure your graphics driver supports OpenGL and that required DLLs from build output are present.
• No audio output: confirm a valid output audio device is available/enabled on the system.

License

This project is licensed under the terms of the GNU GPLv3 license.