About

About Dragon's Lair

Don Bluth Sketch - Singe, the Dragon

Dragon's Lair, the world's first full-animation laser disc video game - debuted in 1983. The game features Dirk the Daring, a rather clumsy knight that must make his way through the castle of an evil wizard to save the beautiful Princess Daphne. The game's visionary team of creators (Don Bluth, Rick Dyer, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy and Chris Stone) was astounded by the public's overwhelming enthusiasm when the game was released. People of all ages waited in huge lines (in some cases, several city blocks) in order to play the game. A quote from a Newsweek article (August 8,1983) best captures the incredible level of excitement displayed during that time:

"Dragon's Lair is this summer's hottest new toy: the first arcade game in the United States with a movie-quality image to go along with the action... The game has been devouring kids' coins at top speed since it appeared early in July," said Robert Romano, 10, who waited all day in the crush at Castle Park without getting to play, "It's the most awesome game I've ever seen in my life."

Dirk Climbs Out of Trouble

Over 320 million plays have been logged for this legendary arcade adventure and numerous 2D versions have been released on various platforms over the ensuing years. Currently, Dragon's Lair is one of only three games on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution (the other two are Pac Man and Pong).