Tron by Kimberly Keyes Stark
Tron is known as the first videogame that's based on a movie. Nowadays it's pretty common to see videogames tie-ins that are released several weeks ahead of the actual movie. But when Tron was first released back in 1982, it was a revolutionary idea to have an official videogame tie-in that was released as a way of promoting the movie.
Of all the movies released in 1982 that could've been turned into a videogame, Tron was a very appropriate choice. The film deals with a programmer who is sucked digitally into a computer and he must fight his way back to the other side. The special effects and 3-D computer graphics still hold up today. Even the name of the giant corporation that the programmer worked for, ENCOM, sounds similar to Enron, the giant corporation whose 2001 bankruptcy filing was the largest in U.S. history and led to charges of corruption and fraud. (In that sense, one could say that Tron the movie even predicted the future.)
As a movie Tron was a departure for Disney, which had spent the last several years coasting along by re-releasing old animated classics like Pinnocchio and releasing forgettable kiddie comedies like The Apple Dumpling Gang. Tron was a futuristic science fiction movi e that dealt with a computer age that was still in its infancy back in 1982.
At the time it seemed like a good idea to have Bally Midway produce a videogame tie-in. The theory was that Tron the videogame would hit the arcades first, which would then insp ire people to go see Tron the movie, which would then inspire people to go back to the arcades to play Tron the videogame, and so on.
The reality turned out to be far different. Tron the movie was a major box office flop for Disney. Tron the videogame wa s such a major arcade success for Bally Midway that it inspired the company to release a sequel called Discs of Tron (which was originally slated to be another level for the original Tron videogame but was left off at the last minute due to time and me mor y constraints so that unusued level was turned into a separate game).
I never saw Tron the movie when it was first released mainly because I was a full-time undergraduate student at the University of Maryland at the time and I rarely had time to go t o th e movies. (This was also back in the days when cable and VCR's were just starting to make inroads into American households and they were too pricey for a broke college student like myself.) But I do remember playing Tron the videogame in the local ar cades. It didn't really matter that I didn't watch the movie, the game was enjoyable on its own, which is a testament to the talents of the game's programmers and designers.
What made Tron unique was that it had four games in one, with each game being based o n a sequence from the film. You could play any of the four games in any sequence you wanted, which was pretty cool. Each game had its own music (which was directly taken from the movie soundtrack).
In Light Cycles the player controls a Light Cycle that leaves a blue trail. The joystick controls the direction of travel and the trigger controls the speed of the bike. The object is force the enemy Light Cycles (yellow) to run into each other or the trails while avoiding crashing.
In Grid Bugs you had to destroy the Grid Bugs and escape into the I/O Tower before the timer runs out. The stick controls the movement of your character and the whirlygig controls the direction of fire.
In Tanks you had to destroy all enemy tankers or Recognizers to clear the level. The stick controls the movement of your tank and the whirlygig controls the direction of fire.
MCP Cone is a Breakout-like game where you had to destroy the blocks and move your character into the cone to clear the level.
Once you mastered a ll four games the game starts again with the same four games but the gameplay is harder. When you first start playing Tron, you were playing a level marked "RPG" instead of the usual Player 1. When you master all four games, you advance to the "Pascal" level. The more you play and survive the game, you get to advance to other levels (with names like "Basic" and "Assembler") until you reach the ultimate level--known as "User."
In all the time that I played Tron, I was never able to advance past the "RPG" level. The four games were very tricky to master and there were times when I barely passed a game. Yet I still found it very addictive.
When I was visiting Ocean City, Maryland this past summer, I was fortunate enough to come across a vintage Tron machi ne at Mar ty's Playland (located on the Boardwalk). I relived my happy college memories as I kept on playing the game's challenging levels while listening to the music (which came from the movie's soundtrack).
As for the Discs of Tron sequel, I never knew it existed until I read about it in a book a year ago. None of the arcades in my area even got that game for whatever reason.
I didn't see the Tron movie until a few years ago and I found it quite enjoyable. I think the reason why the movie flopped was that it was a film that was ahead of its time. Had that movie been released in the 1990's (with the advent of the home computer and the Internet), it probably would've achieved Star Wars-like success. Tron has since achieved cult movie status, which isn't bad.
Sadly Tron the videogame has disappeared from most arcades. Even though Midway has re-released many of its classic arcade games for the home console systems, Tron has yet to appear on any of them. Disney has recently released Tron 2.0 for the PC. Even though Tron 2.0 has a Light Cycles game, that game is not the original arcade game. The plot of Tron 2.0 picks up 20 years after the events in the original Tron movie.
In recent years Sega released a game called Rez for the Playstation 2. It's a shooter game that's a cross between Tron and a music rhythm game. In Rez you have to repair a large computer network system called Eden that has suffered a complete breakdown. The only way that you can reach the center of Eden is by turning yourself into a digital figure (a la Tron) and uploading yourself into the computer. The real fun begins when Eden's defense system thinks that you are a computer virus and it goes out to destroy you so you have to defend yourself by shooting the various weapons that are sent out after you. The music pulses based on your shooting skills. Rez is also just as colorful as Tron the movie and it's full of graphic effects.
Right now playing either Tron 2.0 or Rez is about as close as you'll ever get to reliving the origina l Tron arcade game in the privacy of your own home.
DISCLAIMER: This blog is based on one person's biased opinions of which videogames should be considered to be classics and why. It is not meant to provide a complete history of the videogame industry, the latest videogame news, technical support, or hints on how to play a certain videogame. None of the videogame manufacturers or programmers mentioned here have endorsed or supported this blog in any way, shape, or form.
NOTE: If there are any errors or updates to what I have written about Tron, please send an e-mail to [link=mailto:kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erols.com]kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erols.com[/link] (remember to remove the capital letters from my mailing address before sending or else it will get rejected) and I'll edit this piece when time permits.
VIDEOGAMES FOR SALE
Tron 2.0 for Windows--This game is not the original arcade game. The game's plot picks up ab out 20 years after the events in the Tron movie where Jet Bradley, the son of Tron creator Alan Bradley, gets sucked into a computer and you have to get him out.
Rez for Playstation 2--This shooter game has a similar plot to Tron where you are digitized into a computer. In this game you have to repair a large computer network system called Eden that has suffered a c omplete breakdown. The catch is that E den was built to keep out intruders at all costs so you have to fight off the computer's defenses while repair the system at the same time. What's cool is that the music is created and mixed based on your shooting skills. It's a unique combination of a sh ooting and music game. The graphics are also very stunning and colorful.
RELATED PURCHASES
Tron (20th Anniversary Collection) on VHS and DVD. This is the movie that inspired the videogame. The plot involves Kevin Flynn, a programmer who attempts to hack into his former employer's system (in order to obtain evidence that the company had stolen his ideas for a videogame that the company released) only to come up against the powerful Master Control Program, who retaliates by using an attached laser system to digitize the programmer and suck him into the system. From then on it's a fight for survival against the Master Control Program as Flynn hooks up with three helpful digital programs named Tron, Ram, and Yori. The special effects are awesome and they still hold up today. Overall it's a pretty interest ing film. The DVD version has an extra disc that's full of goodies, including a deleted scene of a romantic scene between Tron and his lady love Yori that's pretty erotic without displaying any kind of nudity.
TRON LINKS
Armagetron: A Tron Clone in 3-D--Don't let the first page scare you off this site. It was put up there to raise awareness of a potential change in the European Union's patent laws tha t could affect the distribution of freewa re games in the future. Scroll down to the bottom of the page in order to download a freeware Tron game called Armagetron (which is available in Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux versions). The game itself is patterned after the lightcycles sequence in the ori ginal Tron movie.
The GLtron Homepage--You can download a free game (available in Windows, Unix and Mac versions) that's patternd after the lightcycles sequence in the original Tron movie.
The Internet Movie Database's Information on Tron the Movie
The Internet Movie Database's Information on Tron 2.0 Videogame
The Killer List of Videogames' Tron Exhibit
Tron--It's the offici al site of the Tron movie.
Tron 2.0--It's the official site of the Tron 2.0 game.
Tron--Download a shareware Tron game for your Palm OS.
Tron Arcade Game--A fan site that's devoted to the Tron arcade game. It includes game hints as well as music and F/X samples from the game.
Tron: The SciFlicks Guide--Provides information as well as a discussion board about Tron.
Tron Sector--It's a fan site that's devoted to Tron. It includes a forum area, fan art, the latest Tron-related news, and much more..
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