Defender is an
arcade video game developed and released by
Williams Electronics in February 1981. A
shooting game featuring
two-dimensional (2D) graphics, the game is set on a fictional planet where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts. Development was led by
Eugene Jarvis, a pinball programmer at Williams;
Defender was Jarvis' first video game project and drew inspiration from
Space Invaders and
Asteroids. Williams planned to display the game at the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) trade show, though development delays resulted in the team working on the game up until the show started.