Är historien du letar efter kanske " Space Demons "?
Det verkar som att träffa rätt tidsperiod, inkluderar att suga in i spelet, att behöva rädda människor och undvika spelets monster att överleva. Se nedan för sammanfattning från Wikipedia:
The main four characters in the book are Andrew Hayford, Ben Challis, Elaine Taylor and Mario Ferrone. The plot starts when Andrew's dad brings him an exciting prototype video game from Japan. Andrew, who is a video game enthusiast, shows it to his best friend Ben Challis, who agrees to play the game with him. Later, two other players are introduced to the game: Mario Ferrone and Elaine Taylor. It is later revealed that it is possible to get transported into the game by means of a special gun, which only works when a strong beam of hate is directed at someone. Later on, the four get trapped inside the game and gradually work out the only way to escape and thus win the game is if they conquer their hate.
Omslaget har också blocky-ish black alien dudes på omslaget. Även om de inte är exceptionellt framstående.