There was also a version that you could buy and play at home. Although it was on laserdisc so you would have to have had one of those expensive laserdisc players.

DT - it was an amazingly-popular "coin-op" (upright cabinet-style) arcade game which took off like wildfire in the mid 1980s. When it was released, it featured what was then ground-breaking turn-based game play featuring animation-quality graphics (instead of the usual 8 or 16-bit graphics common at the time in arcade games). I fell in love with the game after it came out, and played it almost addictively every chance I got.

The game concept was based, presumably, upon the medieval fantasy role-playing adventure game "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons", which was a very big hit in the late 70s through the 1980s...and somewhat beyond that. And the game play features Dirk the Daring, the main character, plying through an evil castle, and down into a dungeon and series of caverns, in search of a princess to rescue (Princess Daphne), and a dragon to kill (and his vast horde of treasure to win).

As the player moved the joystick and pressed a control button, the computer would access certain pre-recorded animation sequences from a laser disk inside the cabinet (usually resulting in a half-second delay while the computer sought out the right sequence, which was the only down-side). These animation sequences were, of course, the kind produced by Don Bluth's excellent production house, and his own drawing style. The princess was the only character who actually spoke (begging Dirk, the hero whom the player controls, to "save me!", and also giving him instructions when he reaches the dragon's treasure room). Dirk only ever grunts, squeals and harumphs, though it makes him all the more amusing in that approach (see the play-through video URL below).

This game was amazingly addictive and popular, and rather difficult...requiring the player to make split-second decisions with the joystick and button, even though the game would provide split-second recommendations for the player to follow (flashes of light directing the player to go a certain way)...which you'd think would make it easy. But it wasn't! And if you moved a split second too late, or in the wrong direction, you'd be killed off! I played this game in the arcades every chance I got, and I can tell you that, in the first year or so that it was out in the arcades, there were lines and crowds of kids and teens around it, waiting their turn to play (and it was a one-player game only, so...). It spawned a sequel game and even an animated TV series. And a related game called "Space Ace" (see the URL below).

In the television series, Dirk gains a voice actor. The series wasn't as good a concept as the video games though. It lasted one season (one year) of thirteen episodes, and Don Bluth was only involved in the production of one of them.

You'll have to copy & paste these URLs into a new window, unfortunately. I don't know why I can't get hyperlinking to work in comments...


Play-through video from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6em4GRiRY0


Video showing the promo trailer for the game and what happened when you made a wrong move: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l464ZF5jK3Y


Play-through of the sequel, Dragon's Lair 2, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWXtBTTpcHk


Play-through of Space Ace game on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iplXu8jXc0


About the video game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon's_Lair


The Dragon's Lair TV Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh2e0TxP0YnA_UrKEXXKMzYA2SvLUoR VC


Info about the TV series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon's_Lair_%28TV_series%29

I haven't heard of Dragon's Lair, but it sounds interesting as a movie.

Don Bluth is an amazing director and artist (who, admittedly, has had nearly as many misses as he has had hits in the animation industry). But while I know the history of this man's work shows that he and his cohorts largely funded the creation of "The Secret of NIMH" themselves, on a skeleton budget, he is also an industry professional. If he is so eager to see this animated movie come to fruition, then he ought to keep plying the industry to seek some corporate or film industry element or powerhouse to invest in it. And I wish Don the best of luck in his endeavors. I really hope he pulls it off, and creates a fantastic piece of animation...more along the lines of his amazing successes, and not like those which were rather less than successful.

(And, actually, I think you misinterpreted what they need, by what was already pledged on their Kickstarter page. They don't need $53,687"...they need [at the most recent check] $491,401.00. They're not even close to their goal, with but 29 days left on the Kickstarter campaign.)

Personally, I am not going to start contributing my hard-earned funds for his benefit...even if I enjoyed playing the original video game as a kid, and loved it intensely. And I would probably love the movie if it came out. But that is not going to compel or persuade me to put my money into its creation and then, later, pay again to see it or maybe own a copy of it. Nope.