How Do Laserdisc Arcade Machines Work?
Laserdisc games were a brief fad in arcades, appearing in the mid-1980s and attracting players with their advanced graphics. Although they looked like traditional arcade games on the outside, they were little more than a laserdisc player hooked up to a TV and a controller.
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Function
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Laserdisc games take advantage of the chapter technology of the laserdisc format. When playing a laserdisc game like "Space Ace" or "Dragon's Lair," the player must choose which direction to push the joystick. If the player pushes the joystick in the right direction, the laserdisc advances to the next chapter, if he pushes the wrong direction, the laserdisc advances to a death screen. Basically, the controller is a giant remote, choosing which chapter to go to next based on what the player does.
Hardware
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Early laserdisc arcade game cabinets held the Pioneer PR-7820, one of the first laserdisc players released to the public in 1979. Later they were replaced by the LD-V1000 player, which was slightly more reliable than the PR-7820, a player that had a reputation for breaking under the stress of constant use in the arcade cabinets.
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Benefits and Limitations
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Since laserdisc games were not limited by game hardware of the time, they could display graphics that were vastly superior to other games of the time period. Many used animation, either created for the game or taken from Japanese cartoons, to create games that looked like cartoons. Others even used live-action video. But since laserdisc games could play only pre-rendered clips and animations, the control the player had over the action was rather limited.
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Comments
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Absolutely loved these things! I have both Dragon's Lair and Space Ace arcade cabinets with their laserdiscs in my living room. I also demand a quarter for each play which makes the wife and I some extra money.
