Hey Arcaders!
By 1991- arcades were years away from the laser craze of the early 80s.
Then- all the sudden, we had Dragon’s Lair II.
But that wasn’t the only laserdisc game out there.
American Lasergames brought back the momentary shooter games- like Wild Gunman in the 1970s. The machine had a gun as a controller- and you had to shoot the cowboy- before they shot you!
But- they were different. Dragon’s Lair II was a return to form- all the action and adventure was back! But Dirk’s adventure wasn’t the only game in town. Rick Dyer had another game up his sleeve- and his game was about time too… So let’s tale a look at The Time Traveler!
The game’s action sequences were filmed in San Diego, California, with forty actors and a small production crew of about five people. The game takes place across many iconic settings from different time periods. All the game’s footage was shot as if it were a live action movie. Few props were used during filming as the actors had to imagine fantastical locations while being filmed in front of a green screen stage. Some actors performed multiple roles, for example, the same actor played the obese “amazon queen” in the bonus DVD features and a chainsaw-wielding character in the game. The game’s special effects, music and character voices were later added at a special effects studio in Carlsbad, California.
Time Traveler has a non-standard shape for an upright arcade cabinet. Though the game is played standing up, the cabinet is larger and shorter resembling an oversized cocktail design (50″H x 43″W x 45″D) weighing a whopping 370 pounds! It uses a flat, dark stage called the “Micro-theater”, which was invented by engineers Steve Zuloff and Barry Benjamin. The Micro-theater is composed of a big concave mirror that lies underneath the stage. This holographic mirror-like optical device was invented by the Japanese firm Dentsu. Along with it, a 20-inch Sony Trinitron TV sits in front of the mirror. The player controls are located on top of the TV equipment. Several neon colored geometric blocks placed at the back of the stage serves as the only background for the game. It is decorated with white formica all around and with a tall “SEGA Hologram Time Traveler” sign on its back. The cabinet is a looker! I had this cabinet for several years in my collection- and I can tell you- I played the heck out of this game! Speaking of which- let’s talk about the game!
American old west cowboy Marshal Gram is required to save the universe from scientist turned evil time lord Vulcor, who’s found a way to manipulate and distort time itself; and to also rescue Princess Kyi-La of the Galactic Federation, whom Vulcor is holding prisoner in his quest to disrupt the flow of time. The player must pursue the villain across time through the ages overcoming various obstacles along the way while undoing all the damage done by Vulcor.
The gameplay of Time Traveler is similar to that of other laserdisc games such as Dragon’s Lair. The player moves a joystick in a specific direction or presses a button at certain points in the game. By entering the correct command, a movie clip plays showing the player’s character progression through the game, while the wrong move results in a unique death scene for each segment. The game offers a short tutorial and hints on gameplay.
The game starts with three lives and one time-reversal cube, lasting potentially ten minutes of perfect gameplay. Sometimes the game sequences have intentional latency, and “time malfunction” is displayed. It has a total of seven levels called “time periods”. Every level consists of randomized FMV sequences within a time era theme such as pre-historic, Middle Ages, the future, and the Age of Magic.
As the game progresses players randomly encounter a slot machine mini-game called “Hellgate” where the player can bet a life to win or lose extra lives or a free credit, or lose the whole game.
The player controls consist of a 4-way joystick, an action button and a time reversal button. The latter is a feature that allows the player to rewind and repeat the last few seconds of a failed segment. This gives the player a second chance to try and escape his death without having to repeat the complete Full-motion video (FMV) sequence all over again. Between levels, players can buy more time-reversal cubes by inserting more coins into the arcade machine.
The arcade version has two easter eggs: Pressing both game buttons while pressing down on the joystick with a credit on the machine shows Rick Dyer dancing around with his son on his back. Doing the same procedure while pressing up on the joystick shows the game’s development team. There are video clips of production footage and interviews on the disc.
When it arrived on the scene in 1991- it looked like it was going to revolutionize the face of arcades. A curved mirror, CRT TV, and stereographic Laserdisc made the action appear like it was floating in front of you in 3D space! It should have been a winner. But another game that year changed arcades forever and sent Time Traveler into the realm of what should have been… Street fighter II released a month later.
And as the profits started to fall- Sega countered… with the worst fighter ever. As a conversion kit for Time Traveler- Holosseum.
…But that’s not the end of the story.
In 2001 Digital Leisure released Time Traveler on DVD- with 3D glasses. It played about as well as most DVD laserdisc releases. It even included behind the scenes footage!
It’s even been ported to Daphne and MAME via Singe emulator!
Did you play Time Traveler? Personally, I think if this game had been released in the 80s- it would have done much better. If you haven’t played it- check it out however you can. It’s cheesy- but a lot of fun that uses the time travel mechanic very well.
Let me know in the comments!
And with that- we have reached the end of the Lair. It was quite a quest- through a enchanted castle, to space, and even though time! And, if it wasn’t for these games- I don’t think I would have started collecting arcade games in High School. In the end, I had five laserdisc games in my collection- and I enjoyed playing them all.
Keep Playin’ Like It’s 1981!
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