Today, it's all about Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, but back in the early 1980s, many gaming studios were emerging, and many were open to experimenting with new ways to provide exciting gaming experiences. One of those companies was Cinematronics. In 1983, the team there created Dragon's Lair for arcades.
It was a departure from the norm of pixels and sprites and instead embraced Western hand-drawn animation. Basically, this thing looked like a movie. It was hard to play and challenging to master. Nevertheless, it was an exciting step-up for games. So, what are some of the craziest facts about this pioneering arcade title? Check out our list below.
10 It Was Animated By A Disney Rival
Don Bluth was co-creator of Dragon's Lair. During the early 90s, this guy created classic films like An American Tail, The Secret of Nimh, The Land Before Time, and All Dogs Go To Heaven.
In many ways, he was the only other guy able to challenge Disney during their 90s renaissance. He created the animations for Dragon's Lair, and if you are a fan of this guy's films, you can definitely see the influence.
9 It Experimented With The Laserdisc
Those sharp animations of Dirk the Daring passing through obstacles to save the princess were a result of the game being distributed on laserdisc.
While this did make the game look more polished, it did contribute to glitches during the game as the disc had to pick events based on the player's choices quickly. It wasn't perfect, but their creativity likely set the stage for other companies to come along and also experiment with disc technologies.
8 Dragon's Lair Was An Early User Of The Quick-Time Event
If you have played games like Uncharted, any game from the God of War franchise, or any Telltale game, you likely have Dragon's Lair to thank—or show frustration to. Dragon's Lair was basically a game full of short quick-time events.
This development probably led to the game's tension-filled experience and difficulty. Don Bluth and the team that worked on this game were ahead of their time.
7 Co-Creator Rick Dyer Was Seen As The "Giant-Slayer"
Rick Dyer was co-creator of the game with Don Bluth. While Bluth was on the animation side, Dyer was more of the technical force behind the title. He had designed games and also tried his hand with creating inventions.
Bluth's work on The Secret of Nimh caught his eye, and the two teamed up. Network news called Dyer a "modern-day David" as he was seen as the little guy going up against large game publishers like Atari.
6 A Tight Budget
Dyer and Bluth didn't have a lot to work with for this game. The pair only had one million dollars to develop this game.
So, to cut costs, most of the voice work was done in-house, and 13 people were responsible for handling 50,000 drawings for character animations. This team was spread incredibly thin. It makes what they created all the more special knowing they did it on a shoestring budget.
5 A Hollywood Legend Inspired the Creation of Princess Daphne
Don Bluth took a lot of inspiration for Princess Daphne. In fact, some of the places where he "borrowed" this inspiration were not very PG.
However, one that would make it past the censors is that he did base some of Daphne's design on the legendary Marilyn Monroe. No wonder Dirk the Daring was intent on getting past those enemies to save her.
4 A Top Performer
Even though this game was far from perfect when it came to not breaking or glitching out, gamers enjoyed the creativity.
As a result, Dragon's Lair became the top video game of 1983. It generated $48 million in revenue and helped to redefine what an arcade game could look like in the early 1980s.
3 The Warning To Hackers
The game was ported to the Amiga, a collection of Commodore computers. Bluth and Dyer were concerned about the game potentially being hacked, and to combat this situation, they set a message to release when gamers attempted a hack.
The message basically asked hackers to think about how this action could have a future negative impact on the franchise and prevent further games from coming out. Sometimes a polite request can do a long way.
2 Dragon's Lair Led To An Intergalactic Clone
Not too long after Dragon's Lair's initial success, Bluth and the team at Cinematronics were at it again to capitalize on the popularity. What came of this was a game called Space Ace.
It had many of the similar mechanics of Dragon's Lair, but instead followed, Dexter, a man who is trying to stop an earthbound attack. While some did like the game, it did have many of the same technical issues as Dragon's Lair.
1 A Movie Is In The Works
This game has been turned into an animated series, but Bluth has wanted to make this game into a movie for a long time. Fortunately, it looks like Dirk's story is finally going to make it to the big screen.
In March 2020, Netflix approved a film adaptation of the movie, with Ryan Reynolds in talks to play the lead role. It seems like Dragon's Lair will continue to get the shine it is due.