the playfield. Pulsars periodically electrify the lane that they occupy - if the blaster is in that lane at that moment, it is destroyed. Fuseballs jump forward and back unpredictably along the edges of each lane, moving slowly between them to give the player a brief opportunity to shoot them. Spikers roll toward the player and extend spikes into a lane, which the player can wear down by shooting it. After the first few levels, each level starts with short spikes at the far end of the field. Later levels also feature Fuseball and Pulsar Tankers, which split into two Fuseballs or two Pulsars when hit, respectively. Most enemies can shoot bullets at the blaster, destroying it upon impact. When all enemies on the field have been destroyed, the player "warps" to the next level by traveling down the field and into the space beyond it. The player must avoid or destroy any spikes that are in the way - hitting one will destroy the blaster and force them to try the warp again. The player loses a life when their blaster is destroyed or captured, and the game ends when all lives are lost. Bonus blasters (up to six at a time) are awarded at certain score intervals. Development The game was initially meant to be a first person remake of Space Invaders, but early versions had many problems, so a new design was used. Theurer says the design came from a nightmare where monsters crawled out of a hole in the ground. This led to him coming up with the design concept, stating he "basically just took Space Invaders and wrapped the surface into a circle," while monsters "come down the tunnel at you, out of the hole, and you [try] to kill them before they [get] out." During the prototype stages the game was called Aliens, then Vortex, and finally Tempest. Three different cabinet designs exist for Tempest. The most common is an upright cabinet that, viewed from the side, is in the shape of a right triangle sitting on a rectangle. This cabinet sported colorful side art. A shorter, less flashy cabaret-style cabinet was also released with optional side art. A cocktail-style table cabinet allowed two players to play at opposite ends of the table; the screen automatically flipped for each player. In the first games Atari shipped there were glitches in one or more of