T-Mek
Encyclopedia
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
fighting
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
arcade game
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...
manufactured by Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
Games in 1994. Each player can choose their MEK (a hovering tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
with special weapons and abilities). One player can play against 6 AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
players and the occasional Boss, or two players can play against each other and 4 AI players. There is a special Tournament mode where two players can go one on one. Up to three T-Mek cabinets can be linked for six-player competitions. T-Mek was later ported to DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and the Sega 32X
Sega 32X
The Sega 32X, codenamed Project Mars, is an add-on for the Mega Drive/Genesis video game console by Sega. Its aim was to increase the lifespan of the aging Mega Drive/Genesis system, which was facing stiff competition from the SNES...
; rather than linking multiple systems together, the home versions featured split-screen multiplayer for two players. The 32X version was poorly reviewed, while the DOS version was met with fair reviews.
Atari could not compete with the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese game manufacturers in hardware development, so T-Mek did not offer a great leap in graphics or computing capability. As a result, T-Mek was one of the first arcade games to offer an effective surround sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
solution, which Atari euphemistically named "CAGE Audio". Each player's station had four fairly high quality speakers; two in front and two behind the player, and a subwoofer mounted directly below the seat, which was quite effective in rattling a player in battle. T-Mek has no background music soundtrack, which was a departure for "deluxe" arcade games in the coming-of-age era of digitally sampled audio, and instead relied upon the sound to help aid the player in finding enemies.
Hardware
- Hardware: Atari GT-system (also used in Primal RagePrimal RagePrimal Rage is a versus fighting game developed and published by Atari Games in 1994 as an arcade video game. Toys, comics, a novel and other merchandise tie-ins were also produced.-Storyline:...
) - CPU: Motorola 68000 series.
- Joysticks: Robust construct analog, one trigger and one thumb button per stick, two sticks per seat.
- Monitors: Dual 25" Wells-Gardner K7000 standard-resolution.
- Power supply: Standard PC AT.
- Code: Written in C.