Dragon's Lair
1983 · Laserdisc / Action · Arcade
Overview
Dragon's Lair is a 1983 laserdisc arcade game featuring hand-drawn animation by Don Bluth, former Disney animator, that was unlike anything ever seen in an arcade. Players guide the knight Dirk the Daring through a castle filled with monsters and hazards by pressing directional buttons at precisely the right moments, triggering pre-animated sequences of success or death. The animation quality was astonishing for the era — far beyond the pixel graphics of contemporary games — and lines of players formed around the block to play it for a dollar a quarter. Dragon's Lair was so popular it was credited with revitalizing the declining arcade industry in 1983.
Deep Dive
Dragon's Lair was the brainchild of game designer Rick Dyer, who licensed the animation work to Don Bluth Studios following Disney. The game stored its 45 minutes of animation on a laserdisc player housed inside the cabinet, with the game engine triggering specific scenes based on player input. The result was cinematic quality that no other game could approach at the time. The game cost 50 cents per play — double the standard — yet had lines around the block. It was simultaneously a commercial triumph and a critical controversy, with many arguing it was more a movie than a game since player interaction was limited to timing button presses. Two sequels followed — Dragon's Lair II and Space Ace — and the game was selected for preservation by the U.S. Library of Congress in 2015 for its cultural significance.