Nick Arcade

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Nick Arcade was a game show hosted by Phil Moore that aired on the Nickelodeon television network in America from 1992 to 1993 (in the first season, the shows were taped in 1991 and aired in early 1992), airing originally during weekend afternoons. The show was the first in America to regularly intermix live action with animation using a bluescreen (Knightmare was the first show worldwide). Two teams of contestants played two initial rounds, with the winner advancing to play against the video game wizard of the day.

Contents

[edit] Face-Off

Each round would start with one of the following video games:

  • Meteoroids: Space Shooter where players moved targets trying to zap the most flying targets, which included asteroids and ships.
  • Laser Surgeon: Same shooter Game as Meteoroids, but with an inside-the-body theme.
  • Post-Haste: A side-scroller race type game where players control a mailman trying to dodge obstacles; inspired by Paperboy. Winner is the player who gets the farthest.
  • Jet Jocks: Same as Post-Haste, but with players controlling jet skiers avoiding obstacles in a river; however, the action moved up the screen.
  • Crater Rangers: Same as Post-Haste, but with players controlling vehicles avoiding obstacles on the moon, also side-scrolling.
  • Brainstorm: Players dodge an impulse that bounces from side to side, comparable to a sped-up Pong. The team whose side gets hit the fewest times wins. This game took on an inside-the-human brain theme.
  • Battle Of The Bands: Same dodge-game as Brainstorm, but with an On-Stage Concert theme using speakers and a sound wave bouncing from side to side.
  • Star Defenders: Same dodge-game as Brainstorm, but with players protecting their spaceships from a comet.

These custom Face-Off games were developed by Saddleback Live Studios, as well as Psygnosis, creator of the Lemmings video game series. Psygnosis has since merged with Sony Computer Entertainment and is now a part of Sony's European branch.

The winner of the face-off wins points for his/her respective team. If the face-off ends in a tie, a toss-up question was asked for the points. The team would also get control of "Mikey, the Video Adventurer".

[edit] Main Rounds

Host Phil Moore introduces Mikey, the video adventurer.
Host Phil Moore introduces Mikey, the video adventurer.

After the face-off, a cartoon character called "Mikey" would be navigated over a thematic game-board by the teams. The game-board was divided into 18 squares, and Mikey was moved around the board towards a "Goal" space on the board. When new squares were landed on, various things would be uncovered, including trivia quizzes, video based puzzles, bonus instant-win prizes, automatic point adding squares, evil enemies, and "Video Challenge" squares. The latter involved one player of the team playing one of five video games in an attempt to beat a certain score within 30 seconds.

The following home systems were used in the Video Challenge:

The object was to get Mikey to the Goal, as discussed above. More often than not, the round would end prematurely due to time constraints. In such cases, a question was asked and the first team to buzz in received the goal points. Round 2 was played the same way, but with point values doubled.

[edit] Mikey's World

Mikey's World had 11 different areas of exploration. These areas included:

  • Pirate's Cove: An old-fashioned port area including a skull-shaped island.
  • Cape Cosmos: A space center that transports Mikey into outer space where his adventures begin for the players.
  • Camelittle: A medieval-themed area where knights, princesses and dragons roam and fantasy becomes alive.
  • Specific Ocean: An underwater exploration area where the denizens of the deep are abound.
  • Forgotten Desert: An Egyptian-style area that harbors mystery and intrigue.
  • Slurpy Gulch: A traditional lawless Wild West town with a southwestern feel.
  • Volcano Jungle: A rain forest jungle with a live volcano and a village nearby.
  • Creepyville: A haunted mansion near a spooky swamp.
  • Mikey's Neighborhood: A normal suburban neighborhood, home to Mikey as well as a bully nicknamed "Game Over".
  • WeGot'Em Mall: A shopping center near Mikey's neighborhood.
  • Time Portal: A vortex that Mikey travels through visiting his neighborhood both in the past and the future.

[edit] Moving Mikey

Mikey moves on a 3 x 6 grid of squares which contain several different spaces.
Mikey moves on a 3 x 6 grid of squares which contain several different spaces.

There were eight different types of spaces Mikey could land on:

  • The Four Ps ("Points, Puzzles, Pop Quizzes and Prizes"): Note that all point values listed below were doubled in the second round.
    • Points - The team that moved Mikey was automatically awarded 25 points and kept control.
    • Pop Quiz - A question based on the area Mikey is traveling in was asked. The teams could buzz in in the middle of reading of a question. If a team guessed correctly, they earned 25 points and control of the board.
    • Prize - The team that moved Mikey won a prize and kept control. Any prize the team lands on was theirs to keep, regardless of the outcome.
    • Video Puzzle - Different puzzles were played. The team that solved the puzzle received 25 points and control of Mikey. Examples of video puzzles:
      • "Video Repairman": Identify the artist in a music video with a scrambled picture.
      • "What Was That?": A video of an object being destroyed is rewound, and the object was to identify it.
      • "Credit Crawl": Credits appeared identifying a person, place or thing and the object was to identify it.
      • "Fast Forward": A sped-up video clip was shown, and the object was to predict the outcome beforehand. In the first season the teams were given three possible answers. Each team would use a Magna Doodle to write the answer that they thought was correct. In season two, this video puzzle was played in a manner similar to The Price is Right. Each team used their Magna Doodle to predict how much of a certain activity that the person in the video could do. The team that comes the closest without going over received the points and control of Mikey. If the teams were tied in prediction, they both scored the points, but the team that moved Mikey last would get control.
      • "Robot Vision": A thermographic video clip identifying an activity.
      • "Hyper Channels": A montage of original TV-style clips identifying an actor or musician.
      • "Video Text": A basic rebus puzzle, usually forming a phrase.
      • "Flash Frame": A montage of images is flashed rapidly, and the object is to guess 3 of the 5 themed objects.
      • "Hidden Camera": A miniature video camera is placed somewhere, like in a trash can or a grocery bag, and the object is to guess where the camera is.
      • "Split Screen": Images of an activity being performed, initially arranged in a "matrix" of very small images on the monitor, were shown to the players. The images would gradually become larger, and the first player to correctly identify the activity would get the points and control.
  • Video Challenge - One of the contestants from a team chose one of five video games on stage to play. The goal was to beat the "Wizard's Challenge" (renamed "Expert's Challenge" in season 2) which is to achieve a certain score in 30 seconds or less for the game chosen. The other team member used a Magna Doodle to wager an amount from their score on whether or not his/her partner would meet or beat the score. If the player met the challenge, the wager was added to their score and the team kept control of Mikey. If not, they lost the amount of their wager and the other team gained control. Teams could wager any amount from zero to their current score (or the value of one question in that round if the team had less).

For obvious reasons, only games with constantly visible on-screen score displays would be used. In a manner similar to Starcade, a telestrator box was placed around the score display, to make it "stand out" to the home audience.

  • Enemy - An animated enemy, which changed with the setting of the game board, "attacked" Mikey, and the team that moved Mikey lost control. The Enemies included:
    • Game Over, the town bully in "Mikey's Neighborhood" who hit Mikey in the face with cream pies. Game Over also appeared in the "WeGot'EmAll Mall", the "Time Portal" and on the beach in the "Specific Ocean".
    • Silly the Kid, a baby armed with baby-bottle pistols in "Slurpy Gulch"; a spoof of Billy the Kid.
    • A Witch Doctor in the "Volcano Jungle", who blew up a voodoo doll of Mikey and then let it fly off and deflate.
    • Two Giant Smooch Aliens, creatures with pigtail wigs and big lips, found in "Cape Cosmos", that surrounded Mikey, kissing him until he became dizzy and powerless.
    • A Fire-Breathing Dragon in the medieval realm "Camelittle", who burned Mikey.
    • A Ghost who would scare Mikey away in "Creepyville".
    • A Djinni (Genie) in the "Forgotten Desert" who cast a spell on Mikey, turning him into a chicken. He reappeared in the "Enchanted Flight" stage of the Video Zone, casting lightning bolts on the player.
    • A Hammerhead Shark, found in the "Specific Ocean", who flattened Mikey with his hammerhead, turning Mikey into a coin with his face on it. The Hammerhead Shark also appeared in the underwater areas of "Pirate's Cove".
    • Blackboard the Pirate, a pirate shaped like a chalkboard, found in "Pirate's Cove", who attacked Mikey with his ruler sword.
  • Time Bomb - In the rare occurrence that Mikey moved to a space that was already landed on, a Time Bomb would occur. The team controlling Mikey had to spell a word, alternating back and forth between team members (within a 10-second time limit). If they succeeded, they kept control. If they failed, the other team controlled Mikey. No points were awarded regardless. As previously stated, this was very rare. It was only used on a couple occasions (one episode had at least 2 uses of the time bomb). In order to prevent this from occurring more often, host Phil Moore would dissuade teams from choosing to move to a square that had already been occupied, or simply tell the team that they could not make that move.
  • Goal - The Goal worked in two ways. If the team that moved Mikey moved him to the Goal, they alone were asked a question based on a category chosen from a list by their opponents. If they were right, they earned 50 points (100 in the 2nd round) and the Goal for that round. If they answered wrong, the opponents got 1/2 price (25 points in round 1 or 50 points in round 2), and the Goal by default. If time ran out before Mikey reached the goal, a sudden death Pop Quiz question was asked for 50 points (100 points in the 2nd round). Usually, because of time constraints, the goal would not be reached, and the sudden death situation was usually seen at the end of a round.

The team with the most points at the end of two rounds won the game. If there was a tie at the end of both rounds, a tie-breaker question was asked worth 100 points. The winning team advanced to the Video Zone.

[edit] "The Video Zone"

A contestant playing a "virtual" flying carpet game.
A contestant playing a "virtual" flying carpet game.
The contestants would challenge one of the three wizards in the last round: Mongo, Merlock, or Scorchia
The contestants would challenge one of the three wizards in the last round: Mongo, Merlock, or Scorchia

The Video Zone was a live-action video game with three levels. Using a video monitor to see themselves, the contestants would be on a soundstage, climbing ladders in front of a blue screen attempting to achieve previously explained goals (which was always to get three of anything) for each level of the game.

As in a real video game, players could be "damaged" by enemy characters. If they lost all of their power (five units, as shown by an on-screen gauge) they would have to start the stage over, and repeat its objectives until successful. In addition, each level contained a 'power up' that appeared periodically, that, when touched, gave the player an added advantage to clearing the level -- destroying all enemies onscreen, freezing the enemies for 5 seconds, or refilling their power meter to maximum.

The team had a time limit of 60 seconds to clear all 3 levels. Each item they touched was worth $50, and each level cleared won a prize of increasing value. Successfully beating the wizard in the third and final level won the grand prize, which was usually a vacation. If time ran out before they could get through the entire game, a sort of "laugh" sound played, the screen faded to red, and the words "GAME OVER" appeared on the screen.

[edit] Level 1

  • Jungle Fever: A jungle setting where the player must climb palm trees to obtain three bunches of bananas sitting at the top while avoiding coconut-throwing monkeys, as well as toucans, piranhas, and snakes. Touching a golden idol made a rope appear which could then help the player get across the waterfall.
  • Alien Moonbase: An intergalactic mechanical building where the player was required to turn off three anti-matter reactors, all the while trying to avoid steam vents, insectoids, and laserbots. Pressing the main computer immobilized the aliens and activated a "light bridge", which made the reactors easier to reach.
  • Ancient Tomb: A Mayan temple where the player had to grab three coins while trying to avoid bats, a statue's hammer, arrows that shot up from the ground, fireballs, and a mummy. By touching a beam of sunlight, all the enemies were eradicated and all doors opened.

[edit] Season 2 only

  • Monsters on the Loose: A city under attack by alien UFOs, where the now-giant player had to rescue three humans from being abducted by the UFOs (but only while they were in the tractor beam) while avoiding other monsters such as laser-firing eyeballs, slimy earth creatures and monstrous cockroaches. Touching a power rod released cosmic radiation and cleared the screen.
  • Haunted Museum: A haunted mansion scene, where the player was required to collect three statue busts hidden inside moving bookcases while trying to avoid certain dangers such as gargoyles, tentacles, vampires and the "Hand of Doom". These dangers could be eliminated by pulling back a curtain and bathing them in sunlight.

[edit] Level 2

  • Runaway Rail Car: The player travelled through a Wild West town and some abandoned mines on a railway car; he or she had to obtain three coins while avoiding buzzards, hanging timbers, cacti, tumbleweeds and rats. If the player touched a green luck stone, he or she regained full power.
  • Nile River Raft: The player floating on a fast-moving Egyptian river with a wooden raft must grab three lost gems while avoiding flies, alligators, rats, buzzards, and a mummy. Touching the legendary Eye of the Pharaoh Diamond restored full power.
  • Mind Maze: A Mayan room gauntlet where the player had to collect three coins while dodging fireballs, spears, and electrified panels. If the player touched a special panel that appeared, he or she became immune to all damage.
  • Cliffhanger: Taking place on a cliff with a network of caves, the player had to clear the cave openings to find three coins while avoiding rock slides, hidden snakes, vultures and giant lizards. If the player could locate a TNT artifact, it blew open every cave opening, thus revealing all the coins.
  • Food Frenzy: A school lunch room setting where a food fight was taking place. The player had to grab three books that were thrown on the floor, while avoiding flying food and the hall monitor. Opening a locker with stinky gym shoes stopped the chaos for five seconds.

[edit] Season 2 only

  • Sub Search: An ocean scene with the player in a rowboat; the player had to collect three treasure chests while avoiding certain underwater dangers such as electric mines and sea creatures.
  • Enchanted Flight: A flying carpet scene, where the player had to grab three rings while avoiding swordsmen, gate traps, snakes, guards, baby dragons, guard dogs, and a genie that shot lightning bolts (the same Djinni from the Forgotten Desert in Mikey's World). Touching a magic lamp restored the player's health.
  • Snow Slingers: An arctic scene where the player had to hit three elves with snowballs while dodging those of the elves. The player also had to avoid touching skiing foxes and hitting an ice skating polar bear by mistake. Hitting a snowman made it play a song to make the elves dance in place for five seconds.

[edit] Level 3 (The Wizard Level)

Both players teamed up for the last level, which was a face-off with one of three villains that rotated throughout the show's run: "Merlock", a Gandalf-esque evil wizard that shot lightning bolts; "Scorchia," a fireball-throwing sorceress; and "Mongo", a spiked armor-wearing troll who tossed balls of energy. To defeat them, the players had to touch three orbs before time expired, while trying not to come in contact with the wizard/sorceress/troll, the creatures flying around the room, or the beams of lightning/fire/energy that erupted from the ground. If either player grabbed a spinning hourglass that randomly appeared, the wizard/sorceress/troll, enemies and dangers would become frozen for five seconds, and the player could not be damaged.

Upon their defeat (if the players were successful), Merlock fizzled into dust, Scorchia's body disintegrated into ash and blew away, and Mongo disappeared in a flash of light, leaving only his armor behind. Defeating the wizard also caused the message "You did it! You beat the game." to appear on-screen.

In Season 2, the appearances of the wizards' rooms were retooled, but the premise was the same as before.

[edit] Prizes

Typical grand prizes awarded in the bonus round included trips to U.S. Space Camp, a return trip to Universal Studios Florida, bicycles, video game systems and Macintosh Classic computers. Consolation prizes usually consisted of British Knights sneakers, supplies of candy, or video game cartridges.

[edit] Trivia

  • Three shows in the second season featured casts from other Nickelodeon shows playing for charity. Featured was the casts from Clarissa Explains It All, Welcome Freshmen and Salute Your Shorts.
  • An early alpha build of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 appeared in two episodes, one of which featured the cast of Clarissa Explains It All. A recent prototype (Sonic 2 Alpha) has been dumped which is similar, if not identical, to the build from the show.
  • Gravis Advanced joysticks were used as buzzers for both teams.
  • All of the custom games used on Nick Arcade were implemented on Amiga computers, and Commodore supplied the show with Amiga 500 systems for endgame prizes.
  • Moore would often create nonsense lyrics during the theme to the Video Challenge as he and the contestants moved into position and then back to their podiums, and would also do the same during the 'think music' for the wagering.
  • The show's studio announcer was Andrea Lively.
  • The Mikey walking cue was recycled for 43 The Block.
  • The Nick GaS tagline for Nick Arcade is The Place Where No Game Goes Unplayed.

[edit] References

Game Shows on the Nickelodeon Network
Premiered between 1986-1989:

Double Dare | Super Sloppy Double Dare | Family Double Dare | Finders Keepers | Make the Grade | Think Fast!
Premiered between 1990-1996:

Get the Picture | Nickelodeon GUTS | Global GUTS | Legends of the Hidden Temple | Nick Arcade | What Would You Do? | Wild and Crazy Kids | NickAmerica
Premiered between 1997-2003:

Figure It Out | Figure It Out: Family Style | Figure It Out: Wild Style | You're On! | Double Dare 2000 | Nickelodeon Robot Wars | Scaredy Camp
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