Game Story


Robotron is a great game. I was never a Defender player, but I did like Joust and Robotron. I acquired this cabinet with high hopes and sold it for the Arizona move.

TypeUprightSerialunknownStatusSOLD
RestorationN/APhotosGalleryOther 

Technical Information


Title


Robotron: 2084 was released in 1982 by Wiliams. It was developed by Vid Kidz for Williams. It features a color raster display with a horizontal orientation at Standard resolution (320×256). The title allows up to 2 players with alternating play.

Architecture


This game is built on the Vid Kidz hardware platform. A Motorola 6809 central processing unit handles the graphics and gameplay, while a Motorola 6800 microprocessor handles the audio.

Video CPU6809Motorola
Video GPUBlock Image TransferCustom
Audio CPU6808Motorola
Audio DACHC55516Motorola
DisplayK4600Wells Gardner
PowerLinearWilliams

Controls


ActionControlUprightCocktailNotes
MoveJoystick128 way
FireJoystick128 way
PlayerButton22 

Production Notes


The Vid Kidz titles were pushing the capabilities of the Motorola chipset. The audio processor prioritized sounds and only made some of the sounds the gameplay would trigger. Many players note the issuing sounds during play. A blitter chip was employed to animate all the sprites.