Editing Make Trax

{{Short description|1981 video game}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2010}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Make Trax
| image = Make_Trax_flyer.png
| caption = North American flyer
| developer = [[ADK (company)|Alpha Denshi]]
| publisher = {{vgrelease|JP|Kural Samno Electric|EU|[[Exidy]]|NA|[[Williams Electronics]]}}
| designer = 
| platforms = [[Arcade video game|Arcade]]
| released = {{vgrelease|NA/JP|October 1981<ref>{{cite book |last1=Akagi |first1=Masumi |title=アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) |trans-title=Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005) |date=October 13, 2006 |publisher=Amusement News Agency |language=ja |location=Japan |isbn=978-4990251215 |page=17 |url=https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n17}}</ref> <ref name="cashbox">{{cite magazine |title=Manufacturers Equipment |magazine=[[Cash Box]] |date=5 February 1983 |page=35 |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox44unse_33/page/n34  |location=United States}}</ref>|EU|1981<ref name="EU"/>}}
| genre = [[List of maze video games|Maze]]
| modes = 1-2 players alternating turns
| arcade system = 
}}

'''''Make Trax''''', originally released in Japan as {{nihongo|'''''Crush Roller'''''|クラッシュローラー|Kurasshu Rōrā}}, is a 1981 [[maze game]]<ref name="RG">{{cite news |last1=Thorpe |first1=Nick |title=Make Trax |url=https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games80/make-trax/ |access-date=26 May 2021 |work=[[Retro Gamer]] |publisher=[[Future Publishing Limited]] |date=24 February 2017}}</ref> developed by [[Alpha Denshi]] and published as an [[arcade video game]] by Kural Samno Electric in Japan.<ref name="GM176">{{cite magazine|title=Overseas Readers Column - Mfg. and Licensing System for Video "Crush Roller" Unveiled|magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]]|issue=176|publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]]|date=1 November 1981|page=34|lang=ja}}</ref> It was licensed in Europe to [[Exidy]], which released it under its original title ''Crush Roller'',<ref name="EU">{{cite web |title=Video Game Flyers: Crush Roller, Exidy, Inc. (EU) |url=https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=258&image=1 |website=The Arcade Flyer Archive |access-date=26 May 2021}}</ref> and in North America to [[Williams Electronics]], who released it as ''Make Trax''.

==Gameplay==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2019}}
[[File:maketrax.png|thumb|left|The goal is to paint the entire maze green.]]

The player controls a paintbrush, reddish-orange in color, and must paint the entire maze in order to advance to the next stage. Two fish &mdash; one yellow, the other light blue &mdash; emerge from separate aquariums to pursue the paintbrush around the board, and if either of the fish succeeds in making contact with the paintbrush, the player loses one of three lives.

The player may use two "rollers" to attack the fish. They are located on overpasses, one vertical in its orientation, the other horizontal. To use them, the player positions the paintbrush on its forward end, waits for either or both of the fish to approach, then pushes the paintbrush along the roller, attacking the fish. The fish is removed from the maze for a few seconds, then returns to one of the aquariums and resumes its pursuit of the paintbrush. Killing fish in this manner scores bonus points.

The fish initially are dumb, but as time goes on they get "smarter" learning to avoid the roller when the paintbrush nears it, and develop strategies to trap the player between them.

A third character, appearing to be an animal, rolling tire, or invisible man depending on the level, may enter the maze and leave tracks that must be painted over in order for the board to be completed. The player can limit the damage by running over the figure, which not only stops further tracks from being left but also awards the player a score, which progressively increases as more boards are cleared.

==Reception==
In Japan, ''Crush Roller'' was the ninth highest-grossing [[1981 in video games|arcade game of 1981]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title="Donkey Kong" No.1 Of '81 — ''Game Machine's Survey Of "The Year's Best Three AM Machines"'' —|magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]]|issue=182|publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]]|date=15 February 1982|page=30|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19820215p.pdf#page=16}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[ADK (company)|ADK]] [[Video game remake|remade]] the game for the [[Neo Geo Pocket Color]] which was released worldwide by [[SNK Playmore|SNK]] under its original name ''Crush Roller'' in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/neo-geo-pocket-color/crush-roller|title=Crush Roller for Neo Geo Pocket Color|publisher=Mobygames.com|accessdate=16 June 2021}}</ref> The game mechanics are largely the same as its arcade counterpart, though the level design was adapted to fit the smaller screen size. Graphics and sound were also improved thanks to the more powerful hardware. This version was later re-released as part of the Windows port of ''[[Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection]] Vol. 1'' in 2021.

A clone called ''Brush Roller'' for the [[NES|Famicom/NES]] was programmed in 1990 by [[Hwang Shinwei]] and published by RCM Group.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} This game was later hacked by [[NTDEC]] to make ''Bookyman'', which was released on the [[Caltron 6-in-1]] and the Asder 20-in-1. {{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} It replaced the title screen, some of the graphics, and revamped the sound and music. It also fixed the bugs that cause music temporary stops when the roller died or crush enemy and eliminated corrupted sprites at left maze scoreboard when completed stage which are replaced by some hollow squares. The original NTDEC release and Asder version retained the original sounds from Brush Roller, despite the Asder version released a year later.

A "speed-up" modification named ''Make Trax Turbo'' allows the paintbrush to move faster (but not the fish).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arcadecollecting.com/hacks/maketrax/|title=Make Trax Turbo|publisher=Arcadecollecting.com|accessdate=2012-03-16}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{KLOV game|8609}}

[[Category:1981 video games]]
[[Category:ADK (company) games]]
[[Category:Arcade video games]]
[[Category:Exidy games]]
[[Category:Maze games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer hotseat games]]
[[Category:Neo Geo Pocket Color games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Entertainment System games]]
[[Category:SNK games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Japan]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Hiroaki Shimizu]]
[[Category:Williams video games]]