Dragon's Lair (1983 video game)

Dragon's Lair
Promotional poster
Developer(s)Advanced Microcomputer Systems
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Don Bluth
Producer(s)
Designer(s)Don Bluth
Programmer(s)
  • Michael Knauer
  • Vince Lee
Writer(s)Rick Dyer
Composer(s)Chris Stone
SeriesDragon's Lair
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Interactive film
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer[b]
Arcade systemZ80 processor on a proprietary motherboard[11]

Dragon's Lair is an interactive film LaserDisc video game developed by Advanced Microcomputer Systems and published by Cinematronics in 1983, as the first game in the Dragon's Lair series.[12] In the game, the protagonist Dirk the Daring is a knight attempting to rescue Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe who has locked the princess in the foul wizard Mordroc's castle. It featured animation by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth.

Most other games of the era represented the character as a sprite, which consisted of a series of pixels displayed in succession. Due to hardware limitations of the era, artists were greatly restricted in the detail they could achieve using that technique; the resolution, framerate and number of frames were severely constrained. Dragon's Lair overcame those limitations by tapping into the vast storage potential of the LaserDisc but imposed other limitations on the actual gameplay.

The success of the game sparked numerous home ports, sequels and related games. In the 21st century it has been repackaged in a number of formats as a retro or historic game.

  1. ^ "Arcade Action: Laser Games". Computer and Video Games. No. 26 (December 1983). 16 November 1983. pp. 86–7.
  2. ^ Bluth, Don; Goldman, Gary (2017-06-19). "Today is the 34th Anniversary of Dragon's Lair!". Dragon's Lair Club. Traditional Animation. Archived from the original on 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2018-09-02. ... after its debut on the 19th of June 1983.
  3. ^ "Dragon's Lair". Steam. Valve. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  4. ^ "Dragon's Lair Trilogy". GOG.com. CD Projekt. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  5. ^ "The Big Video Game Anniversaries of 2018". Den of Geek!. New York City: Dennis Publishing. 2018-03-05. Archived from the original on 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  6. ^ Dragon's Lair (arcade flyer). The Arcade Flyer Archive. Starcom. 1983. p. 1. Retrieved 2018-09-02.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Arnold, Jay (1983-08-19). "Industry Has High Hopes For New Video Games". The Titusville Herald. NewspaperARCHIVE. Retrieved 2014-10-07. ... when it was introduced last month.
  8. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (1983-08-02). "Hollywood Playing Harder at the Video Game". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-10-07. "Dragon's Lair," a coin- operated laser-disk video game with stereophonic sound and real animation, reached arcades two weeks ago...
  9. ^ a b Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). "アルゼ(ユニバーサル) Universal". アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 15. ISBN 978-4990251215. 84/07 ドラゴンズレア (Cinematronics) LD
  10. ^ Dragon's Lair / Space Ace (arcade flyer). The Arcade Flyer Archive. Universal. 1984. p. 2. Retrieved 2018-09-02.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ "Dragon's Lair - The International Arcade Museum". International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  12. ^ "Dragon's Lair". The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 5 Oct 2013.


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