Tron: Deadly Discs

Tron: Deadly Discs
Tron: Deadly Discs Cover Art.
Developer(s)	Mattel
Publisher(s)	Mattel
Designer(s)	Don Daglow
Platform(s)	Mattel Intellivision, Atari 2600, Mattel Aquarius
Release	1981
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player or 2 players alternating

Tron: Deadly Discs is a video game for Mattel's Intellivision console, and was published by Mattel in 1981. The initial game design was done by Don Daglow, with further design and programming by Steven Sents. It is the first of three Intellivision games based on the Disney motion picture Tron. Adaptations of this game have been developed and released for the Atari 2600, under the M Network banner, and the Mattel Aquarius.

In Tron: Deadly Discs, the player takes the role of Tron, fighting successive waves of enemy Disc-throwers and Recognizers in a never-ending quest to achieve the highest score.

As Tron, the player controls a red man with a yellow Disc. He is pitted in a square arena with black walls. Enemies will appear through doorways and throw their Discs at him. The player has to eliminate all the enemies with his own Disc, as well as surviving bonus rounds against the Recognizer.

The player can throw the Disc in eight directions. When thrown, the Disc first appears as a thin horizontal line and can only move in a straight line. While in this mode, Tron's Disc (and any other Disc thrown in the game) can inflict damage, and can also "lock" doors (see below). When it reaches the wall (or when the player calls the Disc back by hitting any directional throw button), it automatically floats back to the player and appears as a square. It is harmless in this mode.

Unlike enemy Disc-throwers, Tron can block enemy Discs with his own. When an enemy Disc is blocked, it is destroyed and the enemy is temporarily disarmed until a replacement Disc floats in ten seconds later.

The doorways enemies appear in can be jammed so that they remain open between waves. Doorways appear blue when they first open, but will turn green if Tron either hits them with his Disc or runs into them. Blue doors close at the end of the current wave of enemies, but green ones remain open. If two doors directly across from each other are jammed open, Tron can run into one and immediately reappear at the other, allowing for easier dodging and Disc retrieval. Enemies cannot use the doors in this manner.