''Smash TV'' is a 1990

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

created by

Eugene Jarvis Eugene Peyton Jarvis is an American game designer and video game programmer, known for producing pinball machines for Williams Electronics and video games for Atari. Most notable among his works are the seminal arcade video games '' Defender'' ...

and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a

twin-stick shooter Twin-stick shooter is a subgenre of shoot 'em up video games. It defines a multidirectional shooter in which the player character is controlled using two joysticks: the first for movement on a flat plane and the second to shoot in the direction th ...

in the same vein as 1982's '' Robotron: 2084'', which was co-created by Jarvis. The

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

, Genesis,

Master System The is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series ...

, and

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...

versions are titled ''Super Smash TV''. The game takes place in a dystopian television

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

in the then-future year of 1999. One or two contestants shoot waves of attackers while collecting money, prizes, and temporary

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a Game mechanics, game mechanic. This is in contrast to an Item (game), item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that ca ...

s. After an arena has been cleared of adversaries, the contestants choose an exit, each leading to another room. One room contains an end-of-level boss. With two players, the game is cooperative, but at the end of the level the player who collected the most cash and prizes receives an extra reward. The arcade game has a high difficulty and leans on being able to pay to continue. A bonus feature was added after release allowing players to collect keys throughout the levels to reach the "pleasure dome".

Plot

The themes were borrowed from the dystopian films ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...

'' and '' The Running Man'', both from 1987. The player competes on what the

attract mode Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

calls "the most violent

of all time", in the not-too-distant future of 1999. The goal is to survive while earning both cash and prizes such as VCRs and toasters. A sadistic host oversees the show and also takes part as the final boss. Verbal interjections from the host punctuate gameplay: including "Total carnage! I love it!", "Big money! Big prizes!", and "I'd buy that for a dollar!". The first of these became the title of the 1992 follow-up, '' Total Carnage''. The last phrase is from a fictional TV show within the film ''RoboCop''.

Gameplay

left, A room in the first level. The blue player character is right of center (arcade). The core gameplay is similar to that of Eugene Jarvis' earlier '' Robotron: 2084'', with twin-joystick controls and series of single-screen arenas. While most of the enemies in ''Robotron'' are visible at the start of a fight, in ''Smash TV'' they enter the arena in waves. In each arena, players shoot hordes of enemies which enter via passages on the four edges while collecting temporary power-ups and weapons, piles of money, and gift-wrapped prizes. When all enemies have been killed, one or more exits appear, leading to additional arenas. After completing the first arena in a level, a map shows the overall arrangement of the level and the location of the end-of-level boss. Players cannot backtrack to previously completed areas. Among the game's items are keys. If enough are collected, players can access a bonus level called the Pleasure Dome where players can "collect" hundreds of blue

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...

-clad blonde and buxom "babes" akin to other prizes in the game.

Development

Mark Turmell recounted: "When

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

pulled the plug on an interactive movie project I was working on, I went to Williams to design coin-op games. I moved to Chicago, hired

John Tobias John Tobias is an American Comic book creator, comic book artist, graphic designer, video game designer and writer. Tobias is best known for co-creating the ''Mortal Kombat'' series along with Ed Boon, to whom he pitched the game concept. Tobia ...

, and together we did our first coin-op, ''Smash T.V.''" The

announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience on a broadcast media programme or live event either on radio or television. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaki ...

in the game is voiced by sound designer Paul Heitsch. The script was created by the game's composer and sound designer Jon Hey. Originally the arcade game shipped without the Pleasure Dome bonus level implemented, although there was text mentioning it in the game. The design team had not been sure that players would actually get to the end of the game. However, players did finish the game and after arcade operators informed Williams of player complaints of being unable to finish it, the company sent out a new revision that included the Pleasure Dome level.

Ports

''Smash TV'' was ported to the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...

, and Genesis consoles.

Ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

published ports for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

, and

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

, all released in early 1992. On some home systems such as the NES, players have the option to use the directional pad on the second controller to control the direction the character will shoot on-screen. Using this option for both players requires a multitap. The dual control aspect of the game works particularly well on the SNES, as its four main buttons, A, B, X and Y, are laid out like a D-pad, enabling the player to shoot in one direction while running in another.

Reception

The arcade game was generally well-received. The Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) gave it the "most innovative game" award in 1990. The home conversions of ''Smash TV'' received positive to mixed reviews. The Amiga version scored 895 out of a possible 1,000 in a UK magazine review, and the Spectrum magazine '' CRASH'' awarded the ZX version 97%, making it a Crash Smash.

Accolades

In 1997 ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...

'' listed ''Smash TV'' as the 6th best arcade game of all time. In 2004, ''Smash TV'' was inducted into

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

's list of the greatest games of all time. In 1995,

Total! ''Total!'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future plc. It was published monthly for 58 issues, beginning in December 1991 (cover-dated January 1992), with the last issue bearing the cover-date October 1996. A "1993 ...

rated ''Super Smash TV'' 51st on its "Top 100 SNES Games" list. In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 84th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time" list.

Legacy

The 1992 Williams arcade game '' Total Carnage'' shares many elements with ''Smash TV'' and was also programmed by Turmell, but is not a sequel.

Re-releases

''Smash TV'' is part of '' Arcade Party Pak'' released for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

in 1999. It is included in the '' Midway Arcade Treasures'' collection, which is available for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

Nintendo GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the su ...

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

and

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

and was released in 2003. These versions give the player the option to save high scores. ''Smash TV'' is also part of the 2012 compilation '' Midway Arcade Origins''. ''Smash TV'' was made available for download through

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (or XBLA) was a video game Digital distribution in video games, digital distribution service that was available for the Xbox (console), Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. It focused on smaller downloadable games from both major publisher ...

service on the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

and was the first version of the game to officially allow two players to play the game online. It was delisted from the service in February 2010 after the dissolution of

Midway Games Midway Games Inc. (formerly Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known simply as Midway) was an American video game company that existed from 1958 to 2010. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (franchise), Ra ...

References

External links

Racketboy.com's ''Smash TV'' Podcast featuring interviews with Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell

''Smash TV''
at Arcade History * *
Smash TV
at Coinop.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Smash Tv 1990 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari ST games Beam Software games Commodore 64 games Cooperative video games Game Gear games Twin-stick shooters Nintendo Entertainment System games Sega Genesis games Master System games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games developed in the United States Williams video games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games ZX Spectrum games Original Xbox Live Arcade games Video games about death games Video games scored by Jonathan Hey Video games set in 1999 Ocean Software games Multiplayer and single-player video games Crash Smash! award winners