Flynn's Arcade | |
Geographical information | |
Region | Real World |
Other information | |
Owners | Kevin Flynn Sam Flynn Jet Bradley (2.0 Canon) |
Inhabitants | Kevin Flynn (prior to 1983) Jet Bradley (2.0 Canon, unspecified) |
Behind the scenes | |
Appearances | TRON TRON 2.0 TRON: The Ghost in the Machine TRON: Betrayal TRON: Evolution TRON: Legacy TRON: Uprising TRON: Identity |
Gallery |
Flynn's Arcade is a video game arcade owned and operated by Kevin Flynn. It is a multi-story establishment, with numerous assembled arcade games on the ground floor and office space on the floor above. The arcade was originally located on Watseka St., which was later renamed Mead St. The arcade's neighborhood appeared to have been a bustling night time amusement and entertainment area at the time, and Flynn's was a popular hang-out for teens and had many video games, including Flynn's own games, Space Paranoids, Matrix Blaster, Vice Squad, Light Cycles, and later TRON. The area has become somewhat run down in the years following Flynn's stay there.
Rooms[]
Upper rooms[]
The upper rooms have been furnished to serve as both a work space and accommodation, in which Flynn lived prior to taking control of ENCOM.[1]
Basement[]
The basement level is accessed by way of a secret door hidden behind a TRON arcade game on the ground floor. The hidden basement room is a cluttered inner sanctum concealing an unlikely assortment of technology installed in 1983. ENCOM servers linked to a sophisticated touch screen desktop form the main workstation. These servers house Flynn's crowning achievement, the Tron system, which he worked on for many years in complete secrecy. They also connect to the laser that enabled Flynn to transport himself inside the Tron system. When entering the Tron system from Flynn's, the receiving end is a digital reconstruction of Flynn's Arcade in Tron City.[2]
History[]
Establishment[]
After losing his job at ENCOM, Kevin Flynn sought a way to profit and opened an arcade in his name on June 3rd, 1982.[3]
Popularity[]
Flynn's arcade eventually became a fairly popular place in which various people hanged out. Inside of the arcade, the Light Cycles game stood place, which was evidently connected to the ENCOM Mainframe. Alan and Lora Bradley came to Flynn's arcade after being denied access to their Programs at ENCOM in order to inform him Dillinger was aware of Flynn's current entries into the Mainframe. The three all plotted to try and defeat the Master Control Program up in a private room within the building.[1]
1983[]
After 1982, Flynn's Arcade remained a popular location and at an undisclosed time, a basement was installed underneath the Arcade. Flynn brought computer equipment to the basement and had worked on a personal system, that of which he named "The Grid."[4][2][5]
1985[]
On a late night, Flynn created a new program named Beta in the basement of his Arcade.[6]
2003[]
By 2003, the arcade became home to Jet Bradley, the son of Lora and Alan Bradley after Kevin Flynn's mysterious disappearance fifteen years earlier after he stepped down from his position as Senior Executive VP of ENCOM.[7]
Abandonment[]
Long after Flynn's disappearance in 1989, Flynn's Arcade closed down and became abandoned. By December of 2010, Flynn's son, Sam Flynn, explored the arcade and its basement in search for answers of his father's disappearance. In the basement, Sam discovered his father's digital world, the Grid, and later escaped from it accompanied with Quorra. Sam had found Alan inside of the arcade upon his return and informed him that he was taking over ENCOM, thereafter, he left with Quorra as Alan, outside of the arcade, watched.[2] By 2023, the basement in Flynn's arcade still remained dormant, no visible signs of aging were seen however.[8]
Trivia[]
- The neon "Flynn's" sign is one of the few surviving props used in TRON that is still at Disney Studios. It is currently located in the Properties Building and its restoration was chronicled in Episode 2 of the Disney+ series Prop Culture.
- The building used for Flynn's is located in Culver City, California and is known as "The Hull Building". Built in 1925 by Dr. Foster Hull, it became Culver City's first hospital and later became a Culver City Historic Site.
- As of 2018, the building now houses the Akasha restaurant.
- The address for the building is 9543 Culver Blvd, Culver City, Los Angeles, California 90232.
- For the Viral Marketing campaign, a Flynn's Arcade opened at San Diego Comic Con in both 2008 and 2009. The 2008 version contained actual arcade machines of the games that patrons could play for free. A secret room would open behind the TRON game where concept drawings and a life sized Light Cycle were on display. The 2009 version contained the games covered in plastic (to mirror the scene in the film) and the secret room behind the TRON game opened to reveal both a replica of Flynn's lab and the End of the Line Club.
- An arcade also opened in London with actual arcade machines of the games, previews of Legacy, TRON: Evolution on console being able to be played and a life sized light cycle on display.
- Another recreation of Flynn's Arcade was part of ElecTRONica.
- During the scene where Sam walks into the underground office a VAX 1170 disk array is shown just prior to him sitting down behind the console. Besides the laser there is an old Hewlett-Packard Computer possibly a model 35 or 9000 series.
- The first song to be played at the Arcade after it's reactivation by Sam Flynn is "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by Journey. This is a nod to the original TRON, in which the first song heard in the film (and also playing in the Arcade) is "Only Solutions," also by Journey.
- In the non-canon music video for "Derezzed", there is an arcade machine called "Derezzed" in place of the TRON arcade machine. The Derezzed machine is labelled as being made by ENCOM, just as the TRON machine is labelled as such in TRON: Legacy.
- As confirmed by the end credits of Legacy, the other games that were in the arcade were: Asteroids, Atari 2600, Battlezone, Centipede, Crystal Castle, Millipede, Missile Command, Space Duel. Stunt Cycle. Tempest, Warlords, Yar's Revenge, Galaga and Pole's Position. The music and sound effects from Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and Pac Man can also be heard.
- According to the TRON: Legacy Disney Second Screen app, Flynn's secret work space was originally going to be in the upper part of the arcade (as seen in the original film) rather than a hidden basement.
- In Epic Mickey 2, a 2012 video game, Mickey can visit an unnamed arcade owned by a Gremlin named Flynn, in a reference to the film. The arcade machine leading to the Grid can be seen at the back here.
External links[]
References[]
- ā 1.0 1.1 TRON
- ā 2.0 2.1 2.2 TRON: Legacy
- ā As stated on the Home of TRON website
- ā TRON: Uprising S01E01 Beck's Beginning
- ā TRON: Betrayal
- ā TRON: Evolution (PSP Port)
- ā TRON: The Ghost in the Machine (Issue 1)
- ā TRON: Identity (Menu Screen)