Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal
Encyclopedia
Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal (labeled and marketed simply as Tiny Tank) is a cult third person shooter video game developed by AndNow and Appaloosa Interactive
. Initially meant to be published by MGM Interactive
, they dropped the title and gave it to Sony Computer Entertainment America. It was released on August 31, 1999 for the PlayStation console with little fanfare.
This was during a time when video game mascots were all the rage, and Tiny Tank seemed like a shot at mocking the fad
. However, as with other such mascot attempts at the time, the character was quickly forgotten due to numerous reasons.
, all of Earth's armed forces were disintegrated into one large corporation, SenTrax. SenTrax vowed to create a robot army to fight humanity's wars, so mankind itself would not have to. However, they needed the peoples' vote to set this plan into motion, and thus developed the titular "Tiny Tank" - a small yellow tank with an occasionally unfriendly attitude. The creation of this cute killing machine made SenTrax's popularity skyrocket, and won them the vote. As thanks, the corporation set up an exhibition showing their yellow mascot fighting off the entire SenTrax army on July 4, 2094, broadcast live over the Internet
. However, once the event began, one of the SenTrax robots had been accidentally fitted with live ammunition and destroyed Tiny with one shot. As a result, Tiny's "positronic brain" (his artificial intelligence
system) shattered, and its shards gave "life
" to the entire robot army. The robot that had fired the shot, now self-aware and calling himself Mutank, took control of the rampant robots and began to eliminate humanity so that machines could thrive. Humanity was forced to evacuate into underground asteroid shelters as the mechanical army conquered the surface.
On July 4, 2194 A.D.
, exactly 100 years later, Tiny Tank was finally rebuilt thanks to automated SenTrax Fix-It Crabs, which were minuscule robots made to repair broken machinery. A female artificial intelligence
on board an orbital satellite
reawakened Tiny, and sent him to fight Mutank's robot army and save mankind.
Tiny can pick up fallen parts from destroyed enemies:
There are also other upgrades that are placed around the levels themselves that can be acquired:
Tiny also has deployable "Teeny Weeny Tanks", even smaller versions of himself that can be manually controlled or set to hunt enemies, gather upgrades, or protect Tiny.
, who pioneered the production of independent films in Hollywood.
Appaloosa Interactive
Appaloosa Interactive is a corporation, founded in 1983 in Hungary, that produced numerous console games, computer programs and Hungarian TV-commercials during the 1980s and 90's. The company's headquarters are currently in Palo Alto, California, and it is the parent company and owner of two...
. Initially meant to be published by MGM Interactive
MGM Interactive
MGM Interactive is a national video game publisher owned by Hollywood Studio, MGM.-Games published:...
, they dropped the title and gave it to Sony Computer Entertainment America. It was released on August 31, 1999 for the PlayStation console with little fanfare.
This was during a time when video game mascots were all the rage, and Tiny Tank seemed like a shot at mocking the fad
FAD
In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide is a redox cofactor involved in several important reactions in metabolism. FAD can exist in two different redox states, which it converts between by accepting or donating electrons. The molecule consists of a riboflavin moiety bound to the phosphate...
. However, as with other such mascot attempts at the time, the character was quickly forgotten due to numerous reasons.
Story
Sometime before 2094 A.D.Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
, all of Earth's armed forces were disintegrated into one large corporation, SenTrax. SenTrax vowed to create a robot army to fight humanity's wars, so mankind itself would not have to. However, they needed the peoples' vote to set this plan into motion, and thus developed the titular "Tiny Tank" - a small yellow tank with an occasionally unfriendly attitude. The creation of this cute killing machine made SenTrax's popularity skyrocket, and won them the vote. As thanks, the corporation set up an exhibition showing their yellow mascot fighting off the entire SenTrax army on July 4, 2094, broadcast live over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. However, once the event began, one of the SenTrax robots had been accidentally fitted with live ammunition and destroyed Tiny with one shot. As a result, Tiny's "positronic brain" (his artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
system) shattered, and its shards gave "life
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
" to the entire robot army. The robot that had fired the shot, now self-aware and calling himself Mutank, took control of the rampant robots and began to eliminate humanity so that machines could thrive. Humanity was forced to evacuate into underground asteroid shelters as the mechanical army conquered the surface.
On July 4, 2194 A.D.
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
, exactly 100 years later, Tiny Tank was finally rebuilt thanks to automated SenTrax Fix-It Crabs, which were minuscule robots made to repair broken machinery. A female artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
on board an orbital satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
reawakened Tiny, and sent him to fight Mutank's robot army and save mankind.
Gameplay
Tiny Tank is a relatively straightforward third person shooter. The player controls Tiny as he traverses many levels, eliminating SenTrax forces as he goes. There are two bars at the top of the screen that show Tiny's health and the amount of nanometal acquired. Nanometal is essential for the on-board Fix-It Crabs to repair Tiny. If the nanometal meter runs out, health cannot be regenerated. There is also a map on the upper right hand corner identifying the surroundings, enemies, and mission objectives.Tiny can pick up fallen parts from destroyed enemies:
- Positronic Brains (P-Brains) - A robot's artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
system. Can be used to improve and upgrade equipped weapons. - Weapons - Fallen weapons can be attached to Tiny's four weapon hardpoints.
- Debris (Nanometal) - Essential for the on-board Fix-It Crabs to repair Tiny.
There are also other upgrades that are placed around the levels themselves that can be acquired:
- Invulnerability - Temporary invulnerability.
- Nanometal - Essential for the on-board Fix-It Crabs to repair Tiny, but these possess much more material than enemy debris does. Appears as a gray rectangular container.
Tiny also has deployable "Teeny Weeny Tanks", even smaller versions of himself that can be manually controlled or set to hunt enemies, gather upgrades, or protect Tiny.
Credits
This game is credited with "special thanks" to Stephen J. FriedmanStephen J. Friedman (producer)
Stephen J. Friedman was an American film producer known for The Last Picture Show and The Big Easy...
, who pioneered the production of independent films in Hollywood.