Gridiron Fight
Encyclopedia
Tehkan Gridiron Fight is a one or two-player American football
arcade
video game released in 1985 by Tehkan, Ltd., the former name of Tecmo, Inc. It was released in a cocktail cabinet form factor.
game in which the player(s) control the virtual player on their team who is closest to the ball, with the trackball
determining the speed and direction at which the player runs. A single push-button labeled "Kick" causes the virtual player in possession to release the ball with the same force and direction in which he is currently running. (This button is duplicated on either side of the trackball for left or right-handed players.) The Player 1 (red trackball) side contained two additional push-buttons for choosing between Single or Two-Player games. Before each play, players are invited to select from a variety of formations, e.g. "Sweep" or "Draw". The formation selected is displayed on a seven-segment LED on the player's control panel.
.
8-bit CPUs at 4.608 MHz for processing. For sound, it employed one Z80C at 4.6 MHz, two AY-3-8910
s at 1.536 MHz and one M5205 at 384 kHz for FM and samples. Although this produced three-channel music plus sound effects, all sound was fed through a mono amplifier in the cabinet housing. As machines aged the amplifier was known to fail, resulting in silent gameplay.
s. These were made of semi-transparent plastic, illuminated from below such that they shined fairly brightly blue or red, depending on the color of the ball.
was a soccer video game released in the same year as Tehkan Gridiron Fight featuring almost identical hardware. It employed the same twin trackballs with an action button duplicated on either side and a similar cocktail cabinet design with horizontal screen. The primary hardware difference was the absence of the seven segment LED adjacent to the action buttons. The software of the two games exhibited a similar top-down two-dimensional window-on-the-field graphical design.
emulator by downloading the necessary ROM set.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
video game released in 1985 by Tehkan, Ltd., the former name of Tecmo, Inc. It was released in a cocktail cabinet form factor.
Overview and control system
Tehkan Gridiron Fight is a two-dimensional top-down scrolling American footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game in which the player(s) control the virtual player on their team who is closest to the ball, with the trackball
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 mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor...
determining the speed and direction at which the player runs. A single push-button labeled "Kick" causes the virtual player in possession to release the ball with the same force and direction in which he is currently running. (This button is duplicated on either side of the trackball for left or right-handed players.) The Player 1 (red trackball) side contained two additional push-buttons for choosing between Single or Two-Player games. Before each play, players are invited to select from a variety of formations, e.g. "Sweep" or "Draw". The formation selected is displayed on a seven-segment LED on the player's control panel.
Use of the third dimension
Although the graphics are two-dimensional, the height of the ball can be determined by its growing larger while its shadow appears on the ground. Also on the side of the screen is the score and a clock which counts down to zero, the point where the current game ends.Hardware
Two slightly different cabinet shapes were released - one with straighter edges and vertices in profile and one with more rounded edges akin to its stablemate, Tehkan World CupTehkan World Cup
Tehkan World Cup, aka. Tecmo Cup, is the first multi-player soccer game featuring a trackball controller. Programmed by Michishito Ishizuka it was released to arcades in 1985 by Tehkan, Ltd., the former name of Tecmo, Inc. Its arrival coincided with the buildup to the 1986 FIFA World Cup...
.
Processors and sound
Tehkan Gridiron Fight used two Z80CZilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
8-bit CPUs at 4.608 MHz for processing. For sound, it employed one Z80C at 4.6 MHz, two AY-3-8910
General Instrument AY-3-8910
The AY-3-8910 is a 3-voice Programmable Sound Generator designed by General Instrument, initially for use with their 16-bit CP1610 or one of the PIC1650 series of 8-bit microcomputers...
s at 1.536 MHz and one M5205 at 384 kHz for FM and samples. Although this produced three-channel music plus sound effects, all sound was fed through a mono amplifier in the cabinet housing. As machines aged the amplifier was known to fail, resulting in silent gameplay.
Screen and resolution
The screen was a horizontally mounted 20" color raster CRT monitor fed at 256 x 224 pixels by 768 colors by 60 Hertz.Trackballs
The game unit consisted of two 3" optical trackballTrackball
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 mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor...
s. These were made of semi-transparent plastic, illuminated from below such that they shined fairly brightly blue or red, depending on the color of the ball.
Relationship to Tehkan World Cup
Tehkan World CupTehkan World Cup
Tehkan World Cup, aka. Tecmo Cup, is the first multi-player soccer game featuring a trackball controller. Programmed by Michishito Ishizuka it was released to arcades in 1985 by Tehkan, Ltd., the former name of Tecmo, Inc. Its arrival coincided with the buildup to the 1986 FIFA World Cup...
was a soccer video game released in the same year as Tehkan Gridiron Fight featuring almost identical hardware. It employed the same twin trackballs with an action button duplicated on either side and a similar cocktail cabinet design with horizontal screen. The primary hardware difference was the absence of the seven segment LED adjacent to the action buttons. The software of the two games exhibited a similar top-down two-dimensional window-on-the-field graphical design.
Emulation
Tehkan Gridiron Fight can be played on a personal computer through the MAMEMAME
MAME is an emulator application designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. The intention is to preserve gaming history by preventing vintage games from being lost or forgotten...
emulator by downloading the necessary ROM set.