Halloween Inspiration via an Arcade Game
December 1st, 2008 by John Wolfe
It’s safe to say I spent more than my fair share of time in video arcades during my youth. That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise though, I was a child of the 80’s. However, I wasn’t your typical gamer. I had very discriminating taste. I was there for one reason and one reason only – Dragon’s Lair. DL (for those that don’t remember it) featured a bumbling cartoon knight (Dirk) fighting his way through a dark castle.
Aside from the revolutionary idea of featuring cartoon images in a video game, the main reason I was hooked was because of the dark castle. It housed creepy bats, skeletons, ghouls and spooky nooks and crannies; everything a Halloween obsessed eight year old craves! I even remember taking my sketchpad to the arcade so I could draw the characters while people played.
Dragon’s Lair was so wildly popular, arcade owners used to attach additional video monitors to the game. They would then place the monitors on top of the machines as a means to entertain the growing crowds and market the sights and sounds to the rest of the gaming patrons.
Halloween and Dragon’s Lair – did anything else even exist in the 80’s? 
I’d like to thank Dragon’sLairProject.com for the above images.
