Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Pop Culture»Toys & Games
    Toys & Games 3 Mins Read

    Tron

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    It came as no surprise that Tron hit the arcades at the same time as its 1982 film counterpart. This was the first fusion of game and movie, an arcade hit based on a film that was based on the video game phenomenon, and although Disney’s Tron was initially a box-office disappointment, Bally Midway’s Tron arcade game more than picked up the slack.

    Actually four games in one, Tron allowed players to choose which stage to tackle first.

    The Tank stage pitted your red tank against one or more blue ones, hunting each other around a maze a la Atari’s Tank. In the Grid Bug stage, players guided Tron toward the safety of the I/O tower. The way was blocked by spider-like Grid Bugs, which doubled their number by splitting in two every so often.

    The MCP stage recreated the movie’s final battle in a Breakout-style game. Tron started at the bottom of the Master Control Program’s tube, knocking out blocks with his deadly discs to clear a path to the top.

    Perhaps the game’s most popular stage was inspired by the movie’s signature scene: the Lightcycle competition.

    With Tron mounted inside a blue Lightcycle, players raced one or more yellow Lightcycles around a grid-like field. Each cycle left a coloured trail behind it, and contact with a trail of any colour was fatal.

    Crafty players boxed their opponents into inescapable traps, trying to remain the last bike standing. Once all stages were complete, the game moved to a higher skill level, each designated by a computer programming language: RPG, BASIC, COBOL, PASCAL, etc.

    All four stages were derived from scenes in the film, although the Grid Bugs appeared only briefly in the film’s “Solar Sailer” sequence. The musical score was also adapted for the game’s sonic background, and even the film’s glowing blue color scheme was carried over to the arcade version, as blacklights gave the game cabinet art a futuristic look. The game’s translucent blue joystick was used in combination with a rotary paddle to give players total control of Tron’s destiny.

    As a video game, Tron was everything Disney had hoped the movie would be. Bally Midway’s version actually out-grossed its film counterpart, and the company decided a sequel was in order.

    A fifth stage had been planned for the original game, but time and memory restrictions kept it from appearing in the final version. With the stellar success of Tron in arcades, however, Bally Midway decided to release a souped-up version of the fifth stage as Discs of Tron in 1983.

    Both games, as well as the original film, have become classics of the cyber era.

    Related Posts

    • Popeye
      Popeye
      By the early 1980s, thanks to hits like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, video arcade games were starting to take on…
    • Q*bert
      Q*bert
      One of the most famous faces of the golden age of arcade games was also one of the most bizarre.…
    • Bazaar
      Bazaar
      One of the most frustrating things about almost every pinball game is the gap between the two flippers. No matter…
    • Canyon Bomber
      Canyon Bomber
      Part of the beauty of early arcade games was the preponderance of "truth in advertising". What you read was what…
    • Computer Space
      Computer Space
      The history of coin-operated video arcade games began not with a whimper, but with several explosive bangs, rendered in simple…
    • Tank
      Tank
      Into a world of Pong clones rolled a pair of tanks, firing artillery shells that rocked the arcade game world.…
    • VS. Series Arcade Games
      VS. Series Arcade Games
      Stuck in the mire of the 1984 video game market crash, Nintendo knew it needed a hook to draw gamers…
    • Galaxian
      Galaxian
      Back in 1978, arcade games had one undisputed king. Its name was Space Invaders, and at the time, it seemed…

    Arcade games
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleToobin’
    Next Article Vanguard

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • La Bamba (1987)
      Very traditional Hollywood biopic covering the rise to fame of […]
    • Blakes 7
      1 9 7 8 – 1 9 8 1 (UK) 52 x 50 minute episodes Yes the […]
    • Cinderella 2000 (1977)
      It is the year 2047 (despite the title of the film!), sex is […]
    • Blossom
      1 9 9 1 – 1 9 9 5 (USA) 114 x 30 minute episodes […]
    • Redskins, The
      The Redskins were a skinhead punk band with a brass-driven soul […]
    • Journey of a Lifetime
      1 9 6 1 – 1 9 6 2 (UK) 39 x 15 minute episodes This rather […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.