Tron Arcade Machine
Tron Arcade Machine is a coin-operated arcade video game manufactured and distributed by Bally Midway in 1982. The game consists of four subgames inspired by the events of the Walt Disney Productions motion picture Tron released earlier in the summer. The lead programmer was Bill Adams.[2] The music programmer was Earl Vickers.
THE WORLD WE KNOW HAS SPAWNED ANOTHER WORLD. A PARALLEL WORLD OF ENERGY AND LIGHT, A WORLD WHERE VIDEO GAME BATTLES ARE REAL. ENTER THE WORLD OF TRON, THE VIDEO GAME FROM BALL/MIDWAY, BASED ON THE FUTURISTIC ADVENTURE MOTION PICTURE FROM WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS.
JOURNEY NOW INTO A STARTLING NEW DIMENSION, WHERE ENERGY LIVES AND BREATHES. A WORLD INSIDE THE COMPUTER WHERE MAN HAS NEVER BEEN BEFORE… NEVER BEFORE NOW.
Walt Disney Productions has created this futuristic world inside the computer in their extraordinary feature film, TRON. Now it is possible to physically enter this new dimension by playing Bally/Midway’s exciting new video game of the same name. The player becomes TRON, the mighty video warrior of the Electronic World, and must face all the challenges and dangers that await him in this world of electricity and light. The Electronic World is ruled by the tyrannical MCP and its strong armed warrior Sark, who pursues Tron and attempts to destroy him. Tron must face the challenge of racing deadly light cycles, battle Sark’s tanks, attempt to enter the I.O. tower for energy discs and ultimately try to defeat the powerful MCP.
All this and more awaits the player who enters the world of TRON.
OBJECTIVE:
- To score points and advance through the game’s twelve levels by completing each of the sub-games.
GAME PLAY:
- Consists of four sub-games based on events and characters in the movie.
- Player controls Tron, either in human form or piloting a vehicke, using an eight-way joystick for movement, a trigger button on the stick to fire -or slow down the player’s light cycle, and a rotary dial for aiming.
Game Start Entry Pack
- When starting play, Tron, the player, begins in the center of a maze consisting of four colored areas.
- Each area represents a “domain” of Tron’s Electronic World.
- By moving a bright green spot at the center of the maze, the player selects his domain and begins play.
- If he fails to select before the countdown timer expires, the machine will select for him.
- After completion or failure in each domain, he will appear in the center of the maze and be asked to select a domain again.
I.O. Tower (Input-Output Tower)
- In this challenge, Tron is armed with his “light disc” and must destroy the deadly grid bugs that emerge from the grid surrounding the I.O. Tower.
- As the grid bugs grow outward from tiny squares to mature adults, they multiply and populate the entire screen if not stopped.
- If they touch Tron, they can “derezz” him, so his objective is to enter the I.O. Tower to gain another disc, increasing his firepower before the timer expires.
Tank Maze
- Tron drives a red tank through the maze, watching for Sark’s blue enemy tanks.
- Tron’s tank has the unique ability to fire bouncing energy pellets, can fire around corners, and has a rotating turret.
- The enemy tanks can fire only in the direction of travel, and must be hit three times to be destroyed.
- The number of enemy tanks increases as a player earns higher racks.
- Tron has one other advantage: the pink diamond “random relocator” in the center of the maze can relocate him to a random location in the maze when entered.
M.C.P. (Master Control Program)
- In this domain, Tron’s objective is to blast a hole in the rotating colored column of the MCP as it descends toward him.
- If it touches him, he will be “derezzed.”
- If Tron reaches the Cone of Light above the MCP, he has accomplished his objective.
Light Cycle Grid
- Tron is the blue cycle and can control his speed by using the trigger control.
- His objective is to box in his opponents, forcing them to run out of territory.
- The cycles’ light traces are deadly if they are crossed, and the walls are just as dangerous if they are hit head on.
- With each rack completed, the amount of enemy cycles increases for an even greater challenge.
Additional Tron Features:
- Limited Buy-In: Enables the player to continue his game by inserting an additional coin before the timer runs out – this option is available only until player completes the third phase of the game.
- Bonus TRON: Awarded at 10,000 points.
- Four Games Per Phase: Player must win each game in a phase before s/he is allowed to enter a new phase. Completing a phase moves player to a higher, more difficult phase and a higher, more difficult form of computer language until player ultimately becomes a “user.”
- 22 Levels of Play and 9 Difficulty Settings.