👾 VSCode Invaders
A Space Invaders–inspired arcade game playable right inside VS Code. 100%
procedural — every sprite, sound, and effect is generated in code. No assets,
no network, no telemetry. Just a brain reload between compiles.
Play
- Click the 👾 rocket in the status bar, or
- Run
VSCode Invaders: Play from the Command Palette (⇧⌘P / Ctrl+Shift+P).
While the game panel is open, the status bar item becomes a mute/unmute
button and always reflects the real sound state.
Controls
| Key |
Action |
← / → or A / D |
Move |
Space |
Fire (also starts a game) |
P / Esc |
Pause |
M |
Mute / unmute |
Keys are only captured while the game panel is focused — your editor
keybindings are never touched. The game auto-pauses when you switch tabs.
The game
The classic fixed-shooter loop, with modern tweaks:
- The march — the formation speeds up as invaders die, and the audio
heartbeat accelerates in lockstep.
- Destructible bunkers that erode shot by shot, per pixel.
- Mystery UFO for bonus points; every 5th wave is a UFO bonus round.
- Power-ups dropped by glowing invaders:
RAPID fire, SPREAD triple
shot, SHIELD, and FREEZE (the heartbeat stops too — eerie).
- Divers that kamikaze out of formation and armored invaders that take
two hits, from wave 3.
- Streak scoring — consecutive hits build a ×1→×4 multiplier; a miss
resets it.
- Arcade-style high scores — enter your 3 initials, top 10 persisted and
synced via Settings Sync.
- CRT effects — scanlines, phosphor glow, vignette. All synthesized audio
via Web Audio; all sprites procedural pixel bitmaps.
Extra life every 10,000 points. Invaders reaching the bottom is game over.
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
vsCodeInvaders.sound |
true |
Master audio on/off |
vsCodeInvaders.crtEffect |
"full" |
CRT post-processing: full, scanlines, or off |
vsCodeInvaders.palette |
"classic" |
classic (phosphor + cellophane zone tint) or neon |
vsCodeInvaders.statusBarLauncher |
true |
Show the 👾 status bar item |
vsCodeInvaders.openBeside |
false |
Open the game panel in a split editor column |
All settings apply live — no reload needed.
Commands
| Command |
|
VSCode Invaders: Play |
Open (or reveal) the game panel |
VSCode Invaders: Show High Scores |
Top 10 leaderboard |
VSCode Invaders: Reset High Scores |
Wipe the leaderboard (asks first) |
Privacy
High scores live in VS Code globalState on your machine (synced only by your
own Settings Sync). The webview loads no remote content and makes no network
requests.
Development
npm install
npm run compile # dev build (extension + webview bundles)
npm test # logic tests (vitest)
npm run typecheck # tsc project references
Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host.
Inspired by classic fixed-shooter arcade games. All art and audio are
original and generated procedurally.
