Ever play holographic Time Traveller??

[puxley]

Last night at Bookman's, I found a port of an odd arcade game you may remember, Time Traveller.
The game is playable on a DVD player, and is advertised as "PS2 compatible". I had heard about these games, but I had never actually seen one before. It was supposed to include 3D glasses, but they were missing. For $5, I guess I can't complain, though.

I remember first trying this bizzaro game at the Gold Mine arcade as a kid. It's strange 3D graphics reminded me of the chessboard scene from Star Wars, and I'm sure I spent more tokens on it than I probably should have. The odd white "Buck Rogers" design and the unique imaging system really drew me in.

Does anybody else have recollections of seeing this game for the first time?

The DVD game is made by Digital Leisure, and I found the company's website. In addition to Time Traveller they also manufacture many versions of Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, Kingdom. Mad Dog McCree, and other FMV-type games. You can also see "screenshots" of the actors in their cheesy Time Traveller costumes.
http://www.digitalleisure.com/

Wow, I hadn't thought about this game in years....

[atari_overlord]

A friend of mine purchased one of these machines from a guy in Pittsburgh last year. He brought it back in a pickup and it was broken from too much movement in transport. I wanted to play it again so bad.What awesome machine design. Did they make any other similar hologram games? I will get my hands on one some day.

[petewhitley]

When I was at Bud Gardens probably ten years ago they had a Time Traveler machine set-up downstairs in the museum part of the tour. Not sure if it was a special "Budweiser" themed machine or not, it didn't seem to be at the time (but otherwise why the hell would it be there?). At any rate, it kept me from appreciating the rich history of Budweiser beer.

[puxley]

Yeah, it'd be really interesting to see if anybody has one of these in their home arcades.

Here's a link to a review of the DVD version, which includes a bunch of valuable info about the game. I remember trying to touch the holograms, too!

http://www.gamenationtv.com/reviews/timetraveler.shtml

[doubledownon11]

I remember playing that in an arcade set up at our local yearly fair years and years ago. Weren't you a cowboy or at least fight a cowboy at one point in the game?

[Mayhem]

Yes, I got to play it once as well. The Trocadero arcade centre in London (most people in the UK should know this place, it is also home to one of the few surviving G-Loc 360 full rotating cabinets) had one for a short time. I believe they sent it back because it was notorious for breaking down. Or maybe the patrons were just not gentle enough for it :P

Can't really remember anything about playing it on sadly, only that I did.

[The-Bavis]

It took me a minute to realize what you were talking about. I think I mainly remember it being turned up way too loud. Too loud for an arcade, even.

[captain nintendo]

I remember this game , it had some really bad acting in it. But it was kind of a neat game at the time.

"Much like Rick Dyer's other games (Dragon's Lair and Space Ace), Time Traveler repeatedly drops its hero into dangerous situations and you must, with lightning fast anticipation, chose the right response to get him out of the bind. That could mean turning to face an enemy, shooting them, ducking an obstacle, leaping out of the way, or simply choosing which of two potions to drink.

Sometimes there's a telltale blue flash to help you guess the right move, but not always. Some situations are harder than others with the difficult ones asking you to complete a succession of moves all at once. It's a high stakes game, one where if you make the wrong move, you lose a life. "


And yes your were like a cowboy.

[Tony Montana]

Yeah I remember this game, mainly cuz it drove us nuts trying to beat it. Wasnt there some kind of Old west Gunfight in it and some Indians you had to kill?

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

I loved playing the game at the arcade at the Disneyland Hotel. I was too young to realize that it wasn't a button-mashing action fest...

[Arcade Antics]

I always hated that game. LOL

I wanted to like it. I think everyone involved with it wanted to like it too, which might account for the only reason it actually went into production. The gameplay is atrocious - there's no way it could have gone on test and received good feedback. I sort of look at it as the "Waterworld" of the arcade. Something that had so much time and money invested in it that by the end, they were determined to release it no matter how bad it was.

I like the idea behind it, and it was cool to see someone try out the whole hologram thing, but it's such a disaster on every level. Makes Mad Dog McCree look like Tempest. :D

There was one other game, Holosseum. It wasn't much better. 8-)

[rbudrick]

Why does everyone rag on Waterworld? I never saw what was so bad about it.

Anyway. The main arcade at Canobie Lake Park in NH has had this machine since it came out. I remember it always being more expensive than other games...probably to recoup the cost of the unit...I think these babies were about 5 grand when they came out.

I remember the game basically being like Dragons Lairt, only shitty. A gimmick, really. I have always wondered what the ending is like. ANyone ever beaten it?

-Rob

[The Brown Eye]

They had (I don't know if they still do) a Time Traveller at FunWorld in Brookfield for a long time. I might have to go back and see if it's still there.

[unbroken]

wow thats weird, i didnt know there were other gold mine arcades? we had one here too, but it closed down awhile ago. anyway, i remember they had a weird holographic fighting game there, it sucked really bad, but it was fun to look at, i actually wish i had one, it would be pretty neat to show friends, i think it might have even been made by sega too? im not sure.

[scooterb23]

I liked Time Traveller. I even bought it on DVD when it was released. The DVD is kind of tough to play because the reaction times are off, and the DVD will access when you try to hit a button...but it is kind of a dippy fun look back at an odd piece of VG history.

[Raccoon Lad]

I've played both Time Traveller and Holoseum in the arcades back in the day.

Games were'n anyhting special, but the holo-effect was cool.

[petewhitley]

I liked Time Traveller. I even bought it on DVD when it was released. The DVD is kind of tough to play because the reaction times are off, and the DVD will access when you try to hit a button...but it is kind of a dippy fun look back at an odd piece of VG history.

I've heard that there are particular DVD players that have that timing issue, and particular DVD players that don't. Some website has a list of them.

[Arcade Antics]

Why does everyone rag on Waterworld? I never saw what was so bad about it.
Because it's the biggest money pit of all time. Whether one likes or dislikes the movie has nothing to do with the fact that it was a financial disaster. That's why. ;)

Also, the movie is a complete piece of shit. LOL

[allsport11]

Why does everyone rag on Waterworld? I never saw what was so bad about it.
Because it's the biggest money pit of all time. Whether one likes or dislikes the movie has nothing to do with the fact that it was a financial disaster. That's why. ;)

Also, the movie is a complete piece of shit. LOL

Although the movie was a borefest, it did actually end up making money believe it or not. As for Time Traveller, I did have the pleasure (or displeasure) of playing it way back in the the day. Not something I would want to revisit. :)

[kirin jensen]

Was Time Traveler actually a holographic game? I was under the impression they simply used a reflected video image, much like the system used in Midway's Pinball 2000.

[Graham Mitchell]

Was Time Traveler actually a holographic game? I was under the impression they simply used a reflected video image, much like the system used in Midway's Pinball 2000.

I distinctly remember the images popping out of the screen. I think it really was holographic.

Oh, and unbroken: I remember "Sega" being somewhere on the cabinet, too.

[FurinkanianFrood]

wanted to like it. I think everyone involved with it wanted to like it too.


I know I did, but watching people waste money on it was somehow sufficient (not because I wanted them to be broke, but because I got to see the thing without the awful "game", my cousin wasted way too much money on it for some reason.). Actually I may have tried it once. I think it was a little hard to see to full effect as a spectator.



I distinctly remember the images popping out of the screen. I think it really was holographic.


I remember that also.....



Oh, and unbroken: I remember "Sega" being somewhere on the cabinet, too.


Yep, they were the distributor or some such. I dstinctly remember that also. I thought it was so strange considering how much I loved most arcade machines that said Sega on them.

The acting was funny as hell if I remember correctly, though obviously not worth any money to see.



I will get my hands on one some day.


It would admittedly be a hell of a conversation piece. A neat thing to have around if it doesn't cost too much.

[yok-dfa]

...it is also home to one of the few surviving G-Loc 360 full rotating cabinets) had one for a short time..

Those are awesome! i remember playing it once when i was younger. Well playing is maybe a big word. I didn't care much about the gameplay (which was timed, so it didn't really matter if you were good or not). I just tried to make the most crazy flight manoeuvres or to hold still hanging up-side-down...

Those were the days...

[Cryomancer]

Oh yeah, i remember that bastard. Honestly, instead of doing what they did, they should have just made some pretty platformer, maybe a sonic game? could you imagine playing a game like that where every little peice is another hologram, even the background? Dunno if the machine could handle that though.

I always thought Time Traveller was cool because it's like watching a PLAY. Most movies nowadays try to be movies, and this one probably was too, but the fact that it's total darkness broken occasionally by a brightly-lit object or actor, you come out of it like you just tried to direct a play or something.

I'd also guess this game is a contender for that "arcade game that makes people forget it" story or whatever. This game was BURIED in my mind until fairly recently. I've only encountered it once, and wasted a bunch of change on a game I couldn't play very well (just like Dragon's Lair, heh).

[Kilik Kurosawa]

Why does everyone rag on Waterworld? I never saw what was so bad about it.

-Rob


first off where did they ever find gasoline? second if they have gas and the ability to mine it from land, wouldn't there be a wealth of sludge that could then be dried out to make dirt(money)? and if they have power boats why didn't they find the land that the old guy in the ballon found in less than a day? and what was so special about that girl? sorry about the jack

[Wavelflack]

Was Time Traveler actually a holographic game? I was under the impression they simply used a reflected video image, much like the system used in Midway's Pinball 2000.

I distinctly remember the images popping out of the screen. I think it really was holographic.

Oh, and unbroken: I remember "Sega" being somewhere on the cabinet, too.

It's not really holographic. It simply uses a parabolic mirror to reflect the screen images. Have you ever seen those "floating penny" 'hologram' devices (usually seen in museum gift stores and such)? Same concept.

[kirin jensen]

Was Time Traveler actually a holographic game? I was under the impression they simply used a reflected video image, much like the system used in Midway's Pinball 2000.

I distinctly remember the images popping out of the screen. I think it really was holographic.

Oh, and unbroken: I remember "Sega" being somewhere on the cabinet, too.

It's not really holographic. It simply uses a parabolic mirror to reflect the screen images. Have you ever seen those "floating penny" 'hologram' devices (usually seen in museum gift stores and such)? Same concept.

Like my earlier post said, I had trouble believing this was a true holographic image. Among other things, I've never seen a full-color hologram, let alone one one with full-motion and full color(yes, I know holographic motion pictures have been around since nearly the inception of holography). Does this mean that the only true holographic game system is Cosmos or does even that one qualify?

[NeoZeedeater]

Time Traveller sucked as a game but the effect was cool. What I really wanted to play was Sega's huge holographic multiplayer gun game. I don't know if it actually came out but I remember seeing pictures of it in an arcade section of a PC Engine mag.

[RCM]

I remember Videogame Connections had this cab and hooked a Jaguar running Tempest up to it. It was pretty fucking cool.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM