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Nick Arcade was a game show hosted by Phil Moore that aired on the Nickelodeon television network in America from 1992 to 1993 (in the first season, the shows were taped in 1991 and aired in early 1992), airing originally during weekend afternoons. The show was the first to regularly intermix live action with animation using a bluescreen. Two teams of contestants played two initial rounds, with the winner advancing to play "inside a video game." The show can currently be seen on Nick GAS. However, it is usually broadcast in the very early morning.

Main Game

Face-Off

Each round would start with one of the following video games:
  • Meteoroids: Space shooter where players move targets trying to zap the most flying targets from asteroids to ships, etc.
  • Laser Surgeon: Same as Meteoroids, but with an inside-the-body theme.
  • Post-Haste: A side-scroller race type game where players control a mailman trying to dodge obstacles, inspired by Paperboy. Winner is the player who gets the farthest.
  • Jet Jocks: Same as Post-Haste, with players controlling jetskiers avoiding obstacles in a river, however the action moved up the screen.
  • Crater Rangers: Same as Post-Haste, with players controlling vehicles avoiding obstacles on the moon, also side-scrolling.
  • Brainstorm: Players dodge an impulse that bounces from side to side, comparable to Pong. The team whose side gets hit the fewest times wins. This game took on an inside-the-human brain theme.
  • Battle of the Bands: Same dodge-game as Brainstorm, with an onstage theme using speakers.
  • Star Defenders: Same dodge-game as Brainstorm, with a spaceship theme.

All of these games were developed by Psygnosis, creator of the "Lemmings" video game series.

The winner of the face-off wins points for his/her respective team. If the face-off ends in a tie, a toss-up question was asked for the points. The team would also get control of "Mikey, the Video Adventurer".

Main Rounds

After the face-off, a cartoon character called "Mikey" would be navigated over a thematic game-board by the teams. The game-board was divided into 18 squares, and Mikey was moved around the board towards a "Goal" space on the board. When new squares were landed on, various things would be uncovered, including trivia quizzes, video based puzzles, bonus instant-win prizes, and "Video Challenge" squares. The latter involved one player of the team playing one of five video games in an attempt beat a high score within 30 seconds.

The following home systems were used in the Video Challenge:

The object was to get Mikey to the Goal, as discussed below. Sometimes, the round might end prematurely due to time constraints. In such cases, a question is asked and the first team to buzz in received 50 points. Round 2 was played the same way, but with point values doubled.

Mikey's World

Mikey's World has 11 different areas of exploration. These areas include:

  • PIRATE'S COVE: An old-fashioned port area including a skull-shaped island.
  • CAPE COSMOS: A space center that transports Mikey into outer space where his adventures begin for the players.
  • CAMELITTLE: A medieval-themed area where knights, princesses and dragons roam and fantasy becomes alive.
  • SPECIFIC OCEAN: An underwater exploration area where the denizens of the deep are abound.
  • FORGOTTEN DESERT: An Egyptian-style area that harbors mystery and intrigue.
  • SLURPY GULCH: A traditional lawless Wild West town with a southwestern feel.
  • VOLCANO JUNGLE: A rainforest jungle with a live volcano and a village nearby.
  • CREEPYVILLE: A haunted mansion that's near a spooky swamp.
  • MIKEY'S NEIGHBORHOOD: A normal suburban neighborhood that's home to Mikey as well as Game Over the bully.
  • WEGOTEM MALL: A shopping center near Mikey's neighborhood.
  • TIME PORTAL: A vortex that Mikey travels through visiting his neighborhood both in the past and the future.

Moving Mikey
There are seven different types of spaces Mikey could land on:
  • Pop Quiz - A question based on the area Mikey is travelling in was asked. The teams can buzz-in in the middle of reading of a question. If a team guesses correctly, they earned 25 points (50 in the 2nd round) and control of the board.

  • Prize - The team that moved Mikey won a prize and kept control. Any prize the team lands on is theirs to keep regardless of the outcome.

  • Bonus Points - The team that moved Mikey was automatically awarded 25 points (50 in the 2nd round) and kept control.

  • Video Puzzle - Different puzzles were played. The team that identified the object received 25 points (50 in the 2nd round) and control. Examples of video puzzles:
    • "Video Repairman": Identify the artist in a scrambled up music video.
    • "What Was That?": A video of an object being destroyed is rewound and the object is to identify the object.
    • "Credit Crawl": Credits appear identifying a person, place or thing and the object is to identify it.
    • "Fast Forward": A sped-up video clip is shown and the object is to predict the outcome.
    • "Robot Vision": A thermographic video clip identifying an activity.
    • "Hyper Channels": A montage of original TV-style clips identifying an actor or musician.
    • "Video Text": A basic rebus puzzle, usually forming a phrase.
    • "Flash Frame": A montage of images are flashed rapidly and the object is to guess 3 of the 5 themed objects.
    • "Hidden Camera": A mini camera is placed somewhere, like in a trash can or a grocery bag and the object is to guess where the camera is.

  • Video Challenge - One of the contestants from a team chose one of five video games on stage to play. The goal was to beat the "Wizard's Challenge" ("Expert Challenge" in season 2) which is to achieve a certain score in 30 seconds or less for the game chosen. The other team member used a Magna-Doodle to wager an amount from their score on whether or not his/her partner would meet or beat the score. If they do, the wager is added to there score and the team kept control of Mikey. If not, they lost the wager and the other team gained control. Any amount above five points could be used, though most teams went with wagers that were multiples of five and ten.

  • Enemy - An animated enemy, which changed with the setting of the game board, "attacked" Mikey, and the team that moved Mikey lost control. The Enemies included:
    • Game Over, the town bully in "Mikey's Neighborhood" who hits Mikey in the face with cream pies. Game Over also appears in the "WeGotEm Mall", the "Time Portal" and on the beach in the "Specific Ocean".
    • Silly the Kid, a baby armed with baby-bottle pistols in "Slurpy Gulch".
    • A Witch Doctor in the "Volcano Jungle", who blew up a voodoo doll of Mikey and then let it fly off and deflate.
    • Two Giant Smooch Aliens, creatures with pigtail wigs and big lips that surround Mikey and kissing him until Mikey becomes dizzy and powerless.
    • A Fire-Breathing Dragon in the medieval realm "Camelittle", who burned Mikey.
    • A Ghost who would scare Mikey away in "Creepyville".
    • A Djinni in the "Forgotten Desert" who cast a spell on Mikey, turning him into a chicken. He reappears in Level 2's "Enchanted Flight" casting lightning bolts on the player.
    • A Hammerhead Shark, found in the "Specific Ocean", who would flatten Mikey with his hammerhead, turning Mikey into a coin with his face on it.
    • Blackboard the Pirate, a pirate shaped like a blackboard, found in "Pirate's Cove" attacks Mikey with his ruler sword.

  • Goal - The Goal works in two ways. If the team that moved Mikey moved him to the Goal, they alone were asked a question based on a category chosen from a list by their opponents. If they were right, they earned 50 points (100 in the 2nd round). If they answered wrong, the opponents got half the amount. If time ran out before Mikey reached the goal, a sudden death Pop Quiz question was asked for 50 points (100 points in the 2nd round). Usually because of time constraints the goal would not be reached, and the sudden death situation was usually seen at the end of a round.

Time Bomb
In the rare occourance that Mikey moved to a space that was already landed on, a Time Bomb would occur. The team controlling Mikey had to spell a word, alternating back and forth between team members (within a 10-second time limit). If they succeeded, they kept control. If they failed, the other team controlled Mikey. No points were awarded regardless. As previously stated, this was very rare. It was only used on a couple occasions (one episode had at least 2 uses of the time bomb).

The team with the most points at the end of two rounds won the game. If there is a tie at the end of both rounds, a tie-breaker question was asked worth 100 points. The winning team would advance to the Video Zone.

Trivia

  • All of the custom games used on Nick Arcade were implemented on Amiga computers, and Commodore supplied the show with A500 systems for endgame prizes.

  • Moore would often create nonsense lyrics during the theme to the Video Challenge as he and the contestants moved into position and then back to their podiums, and would also do the same during the 'think music' for the wagering.

"The Video Zone"

The Video Zone was a live-action video game with three levels. Using a video monitor to see themselves, the contestants would be in front of a blue screen attempting to achieve previously explained goals (which is always to get three of anything) for each level of the game.

Level 1

  • JUNGLE FEVER: A jungle setting where the player must climb palm trees to obtain three bunches of bananas sitting at the top avoiding monkeys throwing coconuts, toucans and cobras.
  • ALIEN MOONBASE: A mechanical building with robots patrolling the area where the player must turn off three circuit breakers.
  • ANCIENT TOMB: A Mayan temple where the player needs to grab three coins while trying to avoid bats, a statue's hammer, arrows that shoot up from the ground, fireballs, and a mummy. By touching a beam of sunlight that appears at some point, all the enemies will be eradicated.
  • MONSTERS ON THE LOOSE: A city under attack by alien UFOs, and the player needs to rescue three humans from being abducted by the UFOs while avoiding other monsters. (introduced in Season 2)
  • HAUNTED MUSEUM: A haunted mansion where the player needs to collect three statue busts hidden inside moving bookcases while trying to avoid certain dangers such as gargoyles, tentacles, vampires and the "Hand of Doom". (introduced in Season 2)

Level 2

  • RUNAWAY RAILCAR: The player traveling through a Wild West town and some abandoned mines on a railcar, where he or she must obtain 3 coins while avoiding buzzards, hanging timbers, cacti, tumbleweeds and rats. If the player can touch the green luckstone that passes them by, they will regain full power.
  • NILE RIVER RAFT: The player floating on a fast-moving Egyptian river with a wooden raft, where he or she must grab 3 gems.
  • MIND MAZE: A Mayan room gauntlet where the player has to collect 3 coins, all the while dodging fireballs, spears, and electrified panels. If the player can touch a special panel that appears, they will be immune to all damage.
  • SUB SEARCH: An ocean scene with the player in a rowboat; the player needs to collect 3 treasure chests while avoiding certain underwater dangers such as sea mines and sea creatures. (introduced in Season 2)
  • CLIFFHANGER: Taking place on a cliff with a network of caves, the player must clear the cave openings to find three coins while avoiding gila monsters, snakes and buzzards. (introduced in Season 2)
  • ENCHANTED FLIGHT: A flying carpet scene through an old Arabian town where the player must snatch 3 golden rings while avoiding different hazards such as snakes, guards, and the same Djinni from the "Forgotten Desert", who shoots out lightning bolts. (introduced in Season 2)
  • SNOWSLINGERS: An arctic scene where the player must hit three elves with snowballs while dodging the elves' snowballs and avoiding hitting skiing foxes and an ice skating polar bear by mistake. (introduced in Season 2)
  • FOOD FRENZY: A school lunch room setting where food flies everywhere. The player must collect three books while avoiding flying food and the hall monitor. (introduced in Season 2)

Level 3 (The Wizard Level)

The last level of each video game included a face-off with one of three villains that recurred throughout the game's run, with both contestants taking part. ("Merlock", a Gandalf-esque evil wizard shooting lightning; "Scorchia," a fireball-throwing sorceress; and "Mongo", a spiked-armor wearing troll tossing balls of energy). To defeat them the players need to snatch three orbs before the time expires, while trying to avoid the creatures that fly around their lair, as well as blasts of electrical energy that erupt from the ground. If either player can grab a spinning hourglass that randomly appears, the enemies and dangers will be frozen for 5 seconds. Upon their defeat, Merlock will fizzle into dust, Scorchia's body will disintegrate into ash and blow away, and Mongo will disappear in a flash of light, leaving only his armor behind. Upon defeating the boss, the message "You did it! You beat the game." will appear on-screen.

In all these scenarios, the player was on a soundstage climbing ladders in front of a blue-screen.

Like a real video game, players could be "damaged" by enemy characters. If they lost all of their power (5 units, as shown by an on-screen gauge), they would have to start the stage over, and repeat its objectives until successful. Also, each level has a 'power up' that appears periodically, that, when touched, gives the player an added advantage to clearing the level, such as destroying all enemies onscreen, or refilling their health to maximum.

The team had a total of 60 seconds to clear all three levels. Each item they touched was worth $50, and each level cleared won a prize of increasing value. Successfully beating the wizard boss in the third and final level won the grand prize, usually a vacation.

In Season 2, the rooms for these wizards changed, though the premise was the same as before.

Prizes

Typical grand prizes awarded in the bonus round included trips to U.S. Space Camp, a return trip to Universal Studios Florida, bicycles, video game systems and Mac computers. Commodore Amiga computers were a mainstay in the show. Consolation prizes usually consisted of British Knights sneakers, candy, or video game cartridges.

References

Nickelodeon Arcade page at Travis' Game Show Jackpot site. Retrieved on January 2, 2005.

Nick Arcade Review Page

American television series | 1990s TV shows in the United States | Nickelodeon game shows | Game shows

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Nick Arcade".

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