Map of Space Invader Mosaics in Paris | Hacker News Reader

Map of Space Invader Mosaics in Paris

pnote.eu

276 pointsprzem8k60 comments

Because it's not super obvious from the map link: there is an app distributed by the artist, with which you can "collect" each of the pieces by taking a picture of them

https://space-invaders.com/flashinvaders/

It's fun :p

The mosaics look really nice!

Avid player here, I can only recommand :), especially if you leave in Europe you find them everywhere in big cities once you look around

Did you mean "live" in Europe? There doesn't seem to be instances of them too far fom Europe.

I'm pretty sure I've seen some in the US but they may be copycats.

My mistake, they're farther than I thought. These are a few very bold ones in Cancun, Mexico: https://space-invaders.com/world/cancun/

Neato

I've seen quite a few of these in Milan but they're not listed in the website so maybe there are copycats around too

iOS app seems to be dead, at least for “new account” :(

Just installed it, asks for username and email, no password. Ready to start, now I just need to go to Europe.

The posts's map is very outdated, according to this site's map. Maybe it's a local map for Paris.

https://space-invaders.com/world/

Interesting. There's only one shown in London. I've certainly seen another near Borough Market - and according to this article from 2007, there were 75 in London back then. https://londonist.com/2007/01/random_graffiti_17

If you click on the icon over London, it shows there are 150 there. The global map is 1 invader icon per city tagged, and clicking into a city shows a lot more (and images too!).

Duh. Thank you!

I personally think such maps remove the fun part of the game, esp in cities like Paris. I’ve walked countless hours with my kids searching for them, it was great. They re not randomly placed so you eventually get a feel for where they are going to be. Now, I also understand that I don’t have to use it.

It’s worth noting that in some cities ( Montpellier in particular) the space invaders draw a space invader on the map itself ! The map therefore becomes part of the art.

> not randomly placed

What sort of patterns have you discovered?

For one they tend to be located at certain places: intersections, tourist attractions, entrances to the metro, and bridges, among others.

Ring road entrances ! We went around the city in the tram, getting off at each stop

the paradox of the internet era

I did a Space Invader hunt in Paris about 7 year ago and used Invader's map (an early paper version). It was still fun! It was nice to have an idea which neighborhood to go to then take my time and look. It wouldn't be fun if it were too specific though, like an AR app guiding you to the exact spot.

The most fun for me is seeing them as a surprise. Most recent example was in Bilbão, a beautiful site on the river near the gorgeous old train station. Enjoying all the scenery and then bam, there's an Invader, placed just perfectly to be visible but unobtrusive.

> placed just perfectly to be visible but unobtrusive.

I love how true this is, they're visible if you're looking for them, otherwise they gracefully blend with the random graffiti all over the city.

PA 143 in Chatelet was particularly remarkable for blending in. One of his earlier ones not using the usual plasticy tile. And a very bold placement. https://murmuresdemurs.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/1-143-pla...

Kinda stunned by this one, thanks for sharing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invader_(artist)

The game of chasing/flashing space invaders is a whole incredible world.

There are persons called "re-activateur" who rebuild the mosaïcs if they are damaged !

With friends we made an online escape game to praise the game: https://grooptown-tech.gitlab.io/escape-game-space-invaders/ Hope you enjoy :-)

And for those interested, there is a whole community on discord: https://discord.gg/UNpGhQED

I was excited to join the discord, but it looks like everything is in French!

It's also a map of links to Instagram. Such a pity!

I'm guessing this is to avoid running into licensing issues with the photos? Or just trying to make it easier for people to not have to use a different app to upload their shots? Or maybe just to make the associated bandwidth someone else's problem? I don't know, but I agree, "real" images would be a lot nicer.

I've seen quite a few in Ljubljana. I drive by one in particular almost every day, and it really fits the environment and the style of the building:

https://space-invaders.com/media/invaders/ljubljana/LJU_28-d...

I really appreciate that they're locally themed. Many of them feature Ljubljana's iconic dragons.

I always figured it was some local artist placing them, never figured it was an international thing.

I have mixed feelings about this.

The "Flash Invaders" app fosters a (friendly) competition among Invaders fans (often, families), so publishing a map is a way of distorting the competition (i.e. "cheating") and so, a bit unfortunate, IMHO.

OTOH, I can appreciate that some people could prefer to enjoy Invader's art in a more systematic way (i.e. planning a stroll with this as an explicit goal).

But for me, discovery and serendipity are part of the game.

Author here, I agree with this sentiment! Just wanted to note that it's not the first map: there is an unofficial iOS app with a full Paris map and another web map easily findable on Google. I just didn't like any of the existing maps:). More context and making-of of this map -> https://newsletter.pnote.eu/p/mapping-space-invader-mosaics-...

Also: "To accompany his citywide installations, or "Invasions", Invader publishes books and maps as guides to the locations of his mosaics."

AFAIK, they’re extremely difficult to find ( and expensive).

Agreed. My son and I have settled on a hybrid version : prepare the hunt, but don’t use ready made maps.

We use Flickr,Google, Invader spotter, and slowly build a map of a specific area. Some of them we will then find from said map, others we will find while walking around randomly. Preparing properly can take several hours, so it feels like playing.

This, and if I’m honest, my son loves the anticipation that comes with the prep (‘that one’s beautiful, I want to see it for real’), and so do I.

We were there over the summer and this was such a fantastic activity for my kids. It got them looking up at the buildings and really helped draw their attention to architecture and build a better mental map in their heads of the city. Not going to comment on if having a map is good or not, but the project is amazing.

I finally know!

I've seek these guys around for years randomly and thought they were part of something big, thanks for posting!

Good time as any to remind folks of the good old rtx space invaders [0]

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/ive-been-invaded-by-ali...

Pixelated space invaders imagined as generative fractal:

http://www.complexification.net/gallery/machines/invaderfrac...

I love them so much. Seen some in Ljubljana also. As cool as Banksy if not more.

There were similar, but Mario themed, mosaic art pieces in Lyon streets this summer.

I remember being introduced to Invader through the Exit Through the Gift Shop film, but I didn't realize that "collecting" space invaders was a thing. Interesting stuff.

Is there a particular reason behind Space Invaders being the theme of choice here? I read the "About" page and it suggests the mosaics are also some kind of little ARG, it seems.

They're all (or mostly?) from a single (graffiti?) artist: https://www.space-invaders.com/about/

Having put space invaders in space is quite a feat! https://www.space-invaders.com/post/Space2ISS/

Ah, interesting, he mentions it started with him trying to represent pixels through ceramic tiles. That's a neat concept and he's apparently been at it for 25+ years now, that is dedication.

Site is performing a GET request every 2 seconds to get the most up-to-date stats, each time downloading the full list of 126kB. That hurts.

Can you tell me more, which GET requests, which URLs? I only see requests for the map tiles as the page is scrolling. (Try in incognito window with extensions disabled to make sure you don't have an extension interfering with the page.)

Oh, this explains it. I saw these all over the place in Paris many years ago and wasn't sure what they were there for.

I remember noticing them all over Paris and some in Italy about a year ago when I visited. I was very amused!

I used to have a pair of vintage Space Invaders sneakers that I ordered from the artist's web site that left footprints of Space Invaders with "01 POINT" for each footstep.

Damn, they're now going for €950,00 a pair in their original box, but I scored enough points by invading Amsterdam and Paris, sneaking around hunting for Space Invaders mosaics with them, that it was totally worth it!

https://www.vinted.nl/items/939392288-space-invader-sneakers

https://web.archive.org/web/20070224133121/http://coolhuntin...

>It's hard to find anyone who hasn't ever played and appreciated the game Space Invaders before. Some kooky French guy loved the game so much he started spreading his fascination by finding ways to invade the world, city by city, with the little aliens. He has already invaded Paris, and has frighteningly good maps for all the other invasions he plans. He travels around putting up small mosaics of the old-school space alien logo. He's already tagged six of the nine letters of the infamous Hollywood sign in LA, although he wouldn't consider what he does graffiti. He designed this shoe as a small part of his invasion. On the sole of each shoe are an alien and the words "01 point" in relief so that every time you walk on wet cement, sand, or whatever you leave your invasion mark! Each shoebox is signed, and only 1500 were produced. --Josh Spear

The first time I invaded Paris (before I got the sneakers), I walked from the train station and almost immediately saw my first Space Invader on the side of a building!

Then I walked around some more, and checked into the first cheap hotel I could find near the train station, dumped my luggage, and went out for an exploratory walk looking for more, without bothering to remember which hotel I'd checked into, or write down the address...

It turned into a VERY LONG epic meandering wander all around the city, discovering many Space Invaders and other interesting sights along the way, and I finally went back to the train station and attempted to retrace my steps to the first cheap hotel I could find again.

Many hours and kilometers and much exercise and lots of space invaders later, I was relieved to finally find my cheap hotel again. But it was a wonderful experience, that kept me looking up at the architecture, trying to find my cheap hotel again while taking photos of all the Space Invaders I encountered, instead looking at my feet or my phone like a tourist.

At first, PA_1234 seems really out there, east of Paris. Until you zoom out further, and notice the two in Northern France...

The 2 in Northern France were a mistake, fixed. Thanks!

Awesome, I believe I found some (might be a different artist) in Morocco as well. I loved that discovery :-)

ha!

there are a few of these in Perth WA... They've been there for years.. I've always wondered what they are.

I wonder if this was the inspiration for the Monkey Mosaics[0] in GTA V?

[0]

0. https://gta.fandom.com/wiki/Monkey_Mosaics

Oops. Forgot the link, thanks.

Look's like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines.

Also see: https://www.space-invaders.com/world/

(There are a pleasing number to spot in Basel, Switzerland - which surprised me a little when I was there, but I guess why not?)

Interestingly the one here in Utrecht isn't on the list, it's been up for as long as streetview has images available, since 2009, and gets repaired ocasionally. Now I wonder if it's legit

I don't think the list for each location is complete, perhaps to not spoil the fun.

Perth has 26 invaders but there are only 3 pictures on the map, https://www.space-invaders.com/world/perth/, I've personally seen some that are not in those pictures.

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