History VideoGame / Robotron2084

-->-- [[NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] [[http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/24/interview-trent-reznor/ on his favorite video games.]]

->''A game like Robotron ... that separates the men from the boys.''

The inspiration for the dual-joystick control (left to move, right to fire) came from an injury Jarvis sustained to his right hand in a car accident. The game "{{Berzerk}}" also played a role, for Jarvis envisioned being able to move and shoot without having to stop (''Berzerk'' uses a single joystick, the player has to stop moving to aim and fire).

* [[EveryTenThousandPoints Every 25000 Points]]

* BodySnatcher: The Brain robotrons.
* BloodierAndGorier: ''Robotron X''.

* {{Dystopia}}
* EndlessGame

* FaceMonsterTurn: Progs.

* KnightTemplar: The robots.

* {{Mooks}}: Grunts, mostly

* ShootEmUp

* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters

* ZergRush
* ZerothLawRebellion

''Robotron: 2084'' (often called simply Robotron) is an arcade game created in 1982 by the company Vid Kidz (Creator/EugeneJarvis and [[Creator/LarryDeMar Larry DeMar]]) for Creator/WilliamsElectronics. It was unique at the time in that the controls were two 8-way joysticks (one for running, one for shooting) rather than the more typical single joystick and fire button. This setup was not always intuitive for early gamers, and with controller setups that all but required both hands on the controller in order to control your character, porting was not the easiest of tasks.

This has a SpiritualSuccessor in ''VideoGame/SmashTV'', not to mention being the precursor to the move/aim controls in {{First Person Shooter}}s.

''Robotron: 2084'' (often called simply Robotron) is an arcade game created in 1982 by the company Vid Kidz (Creator/EugeneJarvis and [[Creator/LarryDeMar Larry DeMar]]) for Creator/WilliamsElectronics. It was unique at the time in that the controls were two 8-way joysticks (one for running, one for shooting) rather than the more typical single joystick and fire button. This was not always intuitive for early gamers, and with controller setups that all but required both hands on the controller in order to control your character, porting was not the easiest of tasks.

-->[[NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] [[http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/24/interview-trent-reznor/ on his favorite video games.]]

''Robotron: 2084'' (often called simply Robotron) is an arcade game created in 1982 by the company Vid Kidz (Creator/EugeneJarvis and [[Creator/LarryDeMar Larry DeMar]]) for Creator/WilliamsElectronics. It was unique at the time in that the controls were two 8-way joysticks (one for running, one for shooting) rather than the more typical single joystick and fire button.

* NintendoHard: Continues the "kick the player's ass" standard set by ''{{Defender}}''. You're lucky if you get past level two on your first try.

-->''A game like Robotron ... that separates the men from the boys.''
---->[[NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] [[http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/24/interview-trent-reznor/ on his favorite video games.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/118124215734.png

''Robotron 2084'' has examples of:

''Robotron: 2084'' (often called simply Robotron) is an arcade game created in 1982 by the company Vid Kidz (EugeneJarvis and Larry [=DeMar=]) for Creator/WilliamsElectronics. It was unique at the time in that the controls were two 8-way joysticks (one for running, one for shooting) rather than the more typical single joystick and fire button.

* AIBreaker - the "Mikey bug" on level 5. There's one Mikey which the Brain robotrons all follow, and a bunch of Mommies which they all ignore, so you can [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwO0pXtBz2k shoot most of the Brains and then go save the Mommies pretty easily]].
* AscendedGlitch - the deadly Enforcer bots sometimes get stuck in corners. The development team admitted this was a glitch, but liked it so they kept it in.
* BodySnatcher - the Brain robotrons.
* BloodierAndGorier - ''Robotron X''.
* TheDeterminator - most enemies, especially the Grunts.
* DownerEnding - according to Blaster (the game's sequel), the last human family will inevitably be killed off.

* FaceMonsterTurn - Progs.
* KnightTemplar - The robots.
* InvincibleMinorMinion - the Hulks, who can only be shoved back with blasts.
* {{Mooks}} - Grunts, mostly
* NintendoHard - continues the "kick the player's ass" standard set by ''{{Defender}}''. You're lucky if you get past level two on your first try.

* TooDumbToLive - the humanoids the player has to save, who will happily run into crowds of enemies and get slain.

''Robotron: 2084'' (often called simply Robotron) is an arcade game created in 1982 by the company Vid Kidz (EugeneJarvis and Larry [=DeMar=]) for Williams Electronics. It was unique at the time in that the controls were two 8-way joysticks (one for running, one for shooting) rather than the more typical single joystick and fire button.

* BodySnatcher - the Brain robotrons

* InvincibleMinorMinion - the Hulks

* NintendoHard - continues the "kick the player's ass" standard set by ''{{Defender}}''.

* TooDumbToLive - the humanoids the player has to save.

Scattered around the playfield are slow-moving "humanoids" to rescue, clones of the last human family consisting of Mommy, Daddy and Mikey. Touching each of these clones before they are killed by Hulks or Brains earns the player 1000 to 5000 points, progressively in steps of 1000, which resets to 1000 points if the player dies or the "wave" changes. [[KobayashiMario The game is not winnable]] so death is an eventual certainty, but an extra life is earned every 25000 points, making rescuing humanoids an important objective. This is especially true in levels featuring a certain enemy, which can grab onto the humanoids and mutate them into super-fast death machines.

* MostWonderfulSound - the good old bleeps and blips!

* GoodBadBugs - In addition to the enforcer bug and the Mikey bug, there's also a tank bug. On tank levels, if the number of bouncing cannonballs reaches 20 at the same time, the tanks will stop shooting. If you can avoid the existing cannonballs until they disappear, the level becomes easy.

Each level, or "wave", of ''Robotron'' consists of a small humanoid mutant ("the last hope of mankind"), representing the player, in the center of a swarm of enemy robots. The player uses the two joysticks to simultaneously move away from the enemies and dodge their shots with one, while firing back at them in the direction of the other. Once all the destructible enemies are eliminated, the player progresses to the next wave, facing increasingly faster and more numerous enemies. Like ''{{Tempest}}'', it mixes brutal, high-speed gameplay and psychedelic graphics.

This has a SpiritualSuccessor in ''SmashTV'', not to mention being the precursor to the move/aim controls in {{First Person Shooter}}s.

* DownerEnding: according to Blaster (the game's sequel), the last human family will inevitably be killed off.

--> [[AC:Inspired by his never ending quest for progress, in 2084 man perfects the Robotrons: a robot species so advanced that man is inferior to his own creation.]]

--> [[AC:'''The human race is inefficient, and therefore must be destroyed.''']]