Astron Belt

Infobox VG
title = Astron Belt


developer = Sega
publisher = Bally Midway
designer =
release = 1983
genre = Action Interactive Movie
modes = Single Player
cabinet = Upright and Cockpit
arcade system =
display = Horizontal orientation, Raster, standard resolution
input = Joystick, 1 button
platforms = Arcade, MSX

"Astron Belt" is an early laserdisc video game, released in 1983 by Sega in Japan and licensed to Bally Midway for production in the United States. It is commonly cited as the first laserdisc game (a prototype debuted at the 1982 AMOA show, although "Dragon's Lair" ultimately beat it to public release), but "Quarter Horse" by Electro-Sport, designed in 1981 and released in 1982, predates it in both design and release.

Overview

"Astron Belt" is basically an enhanced version of the simple space-shooters that were popular at the time. The player controls a lone spacecraft on a mission to singlehandedly take down the entire enemy armada. Enemy fighters and ships shoot at the player, and there are mines and other objects that must be shot or avoided.

The game is divided into waves. At the end of each wave is a command ship that must be destroyed. In later waves the enemy fighters move and shoot more aggressively, and their shots are more accurate. Some waves take place in open space, while others require the player to battle enemies while flying through narrow trenches and tunnels.

The player is on a timer at the beginning of the game, with an unlimited number of lives available. The length of the timer can be adjusted by the machine operator, but is normally 60 seconds. After the timer expires, the player is given a limited number of additional lives. When all of those lives are lost, the game ends.

"Astron Belt" came in both upright and cockpit cabinets. The cockpit version featured illuminated buttons on the control panel, a larger 25" monitor (the upright used a standard 19"), and a vibrating seat.

The background videos used in the game are a mixture of original artwork and borrowed material. In addition to the scenes created specifically for the game, the designers also incorporated footage from three science fiction movies: "", "Battle Beyond the Stars", and a Japanese movie called "Message from Space" that was released by Toei in 1978.

A common complaint about laserdisc games is their linearity. Many, like "Dragon's Lair", are glorified "rail" games where the player's path is predetermined by the program; to beat the game, the player only has to memorize the proper sequence of joystick and button movements for any given scene. In "Astron Belt", however, the laserdisc only generates the images of the backgrounds and the enemy fighters. The hazards, including the enemy laser blasts and the space mines, are randomly generated by the game's main program in response to the player's actions. This makes "Astron Belt" much more player-driven than scene-driven, unlike the majority of laserdisc titles.

Technical

"Astron Belt" used one of two laserdisc players, either a Pioneer LD-V1000 or a Hitachi VIP-9500SG. Two different versions of the laser disc itself were also pressed, a single-sided version by Pioneer and a double-sided version by Sega. However, both discs have the same information and may be used in either of the two players.

Legacy

"Astron Belt" performed modestly well in the arcades, but not nearly as well as "Dragon's Lair" or "Space Ace", which set the gold standards for successful laserdisc games.

Sega and Bally Midway released a sequel called "Galaxy Ranger" (also known as "Star Blazer") in 1984. It had the same controls and very similar gameplay to "Astron Belt", and one machine could be converted to the other by simply changing the disc and a few ROM chips.

To date, "Astron Belt" has only been ported to the MSX Computer System.

External links

*KLOV game|id=6951
* [http://coinop.org/g.aspx/100009/Astron_Belt.html "Astron Belt" at Coinop.org]
*allgame|id=9550
* [http://www.dragons-lair-project.com/games/pages/ab.asp "Astron Belt" information from The Dragon's Lair Project]
* [http://www.thedoteaters.com/p2_stage6.php "Laser Daze," from The Dot Eaters - Classic Video Game History]
* [http://www.daphne-emu.com Daphne Emulator] - A Multiple Arcade Laserdisc Emulator