Everyone who saw Tron--and many people did, don't let them lie to you--in 1982 couldn't wait to have a go at the Master Control Program, if only through the medium of an arcade game. The first game released included challenges seen in the movie, like a Light Cycles race and the MCP cone but Bally Midway released a follow-up game featuring just the Discs of Tron.

In the movie, the Discs were the platform for a high-tech gladiatorial game, where each players stood on a stage made up of five concentric circles that gradually fell away when the opposing player scored a hit on a target between the two players using an energy pellet. The game used several platforms and the player squared off against supervillain Sark, with three discs that returned after being thrown. Sark had his own discs, but also chasers and super-chasers that came after the player. The battle took place against the backdrop of cityscapes (computerscapes?) from the movie, creating a 3-D effect.

Play advanced if the player scored two hits on Sark, introducing more platforms to be utilized by Sark and the player. The different configurations got progressively harder, especially when barriers popped up and the platform rings themselves started moving up and down. It took real skill to judge Sark's position and throw the discs accurately. The game's controls included a spinning knob that would generally show you the path of your discs but on higher levels the knob could be pushed up or down depending on the height of the platforms.

Discs of Tron was easy to learn but nigh impossible to complete due to the level of difficulty. All machines were single player but the game was available in a "Total Environment Cabinet" that accorded you the full experience of sight, sound and imagination. The Tron games increased the movie's appeal, which had been very low and drew more fans into the wonderful world of the MCP.