''Space Paranoids'' is a

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

appearing and featured in the 1982 movie ''

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer a ...

''. According to the plot, it was created by Kevin Flynn but the code was stolen and released by ENCOM and the villain Ed Dillinger. In the movie Flynn is seen playing the game in his arcade. An actual playable game based on what appears in the movie was designed and released by

42 Entertainment 42 Entertainment is an American company based in Burbank which specializes in creating and producing alternate reality games (ARGs). The company was founded in 2003 as an independently owned, creative content and interactive agency under the nam ...

, a company that specializes in

alternate reality game An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by inten ...

s, for the 2009

San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

. Instead of being credited to its real developer, it is credited to "Encom" (the fictional company in the Tron films) with a release date of 1982; the high score record holder is supposedly "Flynn" (the main character in Tron).

Overview

The object of the game is to go through the levels and score as many points as possible by destroying Recognizers, tanks and stationary gun turrets. The game is designed to look and feel like its movie appearance: for this, the controls of the arcade version are a

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

and a

trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the on-s ...

Technical details

The game is based on the

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

game engine which allows it to run from the browser, provided that the appropriate

browser extension A browser extension is a small software module for customizing a web browser. Browsers typically allow a variety of extensions, including user interface modifications, cookie management, ad blocking, and the custom scripting and styling of web p ...

is installed. The default controls for the online version are a keyboard and mouse, but if it is downloaded to play offline, it will be possible to configure it for joystick support, full screen and custom resolutions. ''Space Paranoids'' opened online on May 6, 2010.Encom International - Space Paranoids Online Countdown
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References

External links

Description of "Flynn Lives" viral campaign
{{Tron 2009 video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Fictional video games First-person shooters Retro-style video games Trackball video games Tron video games Video games developed in the United States Multiplayer and single-player video games