5. Tron: Betrayal (Marvel graphic novel)
VV: As far as the graphic novel goes, this is something being published by Marvel, and it's called Tron: Betrayal. It tells the story leading up to [the next-gen] Evolution, which then leads up to the new film. It's a great presentation. I've seen the first few pages of it -- it's fantastic. If you look at it, take the original film, and the DS, the Wii...you get this really great image of what the utopian Tron was like. You get the experience.
Technically, you'd watch the original movie, play the DS, the Wii, the PSP -- but you'd read the graphic novel while you're playing the PSP version -- then play the next-gen game, then watch the film. And that's the whole canon. So it's Betrayal, [next-gen] Evolution, and then Legacy.
6. Tron: Evolution (Xbox 360, PS3, PC...aka "next-gen")
VV: So the 360 [and PS3 and PC] is the granddaddy of them all as far as our product offering. We like to say it's our Empire Strikes Back. It's not starting in the utopian or dystopian view but focuses on the journey and the world and how it falls into this dystopian universe, ruled by this dictator.
Basically, you jump into the game as a system monitor. System monitors are programmed by Kevin Flynn, who's the most powerful system monitor in the world. You're sent in to investigate, then destroy the Abraxas virus. The Abraxas virus is like any virus -- all it cares about is destruction, infection, going up to these programs, corrupting them, then spreading that destruction all over the world.
Your main job, as designed by Kevin Flynn, is to jump in and eliminate that virus. As you can see in our single-player stuff, you don't just fight against the virus. You also fight against these guys called the Black Guards who are an elite force that you fight in tandem with the Abraxas infection -- Clu's Black Guards are fighting the infection as well.
Along the way you find a lot of things in the game that are referenced to in the film and vice versa. That's a result of the filmmakers and game developers being in lockstep with each other. [This game ends where the movie begins, basically.]
7. Tron: Legacy (2010 film)
[No comment from Vanasin on the new movie -- he'd probably be fired if he blabbed too much about it. Disney wants you to see it for yourself starting on December 17.]
Tron 2.0
VV: Yeah, so Tron 2.0...while it's a great game, that is not canon, according to the filmmakers. We get a lot of questions about Tron 2.0 because it was a really fun game, and I can promise that the developers played that, took what was best from that, and incorporated what they could into Tron: Evolution.
The original Tron arcade games
VV: Where does the original Tron fit in the canon? That is a really good question. I don't know if I have an answer for you on that [laughs]. The original Tron arcade games were just that -- they're arcade games, right? They basically said, "You are Tron." You are simply throwing these discs around...in Discs of Tron, for example. You didn't really see this involved story.
I don't want to hazard a guess and get anybody in trouble -- or get myself in trouble, more specifically [laughs]. If anything, just associate that fun spirit and memories of the Tron arcade games with the upcoming movie and the games...especially on the Wii and DS.
Special thanks to Jasmine Rea, for transcribing this interview.
