Racing game
For the most part, arcade-style racers simply remove the precision and rigor required from the simulation experience and focus strictly on the racing element itself.
Races take place on highways, windy roads, or in cities; they can be multiple-lap circuits or point-to-point sprints, with one or multiple paths sometimes with checkpoints, or other types of competition, like demolition derby, jumping, or testing driving skills.
Some arcade-style racing games increase the competition between racers by adding weapons that can be used against opponents to slow them down or otherwise impede their progress so they can be passed.
Although these racing simulators are specifically built for people with a high grade of driving skill, it is not uncommon to find aids that can be enabled from the game menu.
Tire sounds modulate loop samples or pitch based on slip angle and deformation to let the player know the limit of grip.
Some of these racing simulators consist of Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo, GTR2, Assetto Corsa, iRacing, Project CARS, Automobilista 2 and many more.
[6] Kart racing games have simplified driving mechanics while adding obstacles, unusual track designs and various action elements.
[22] It had a circular racetrack with rival cars painted on individual rotating discs illuminated by a lamp,[18] which produced colorful graphics[18] projected using mirrors to give a pseudo-3D first-person perspective on a screen,[20][23][24] resembling a windscreen view.
[25] The gameplay involved players driving down a circular road while dodging cars to avoid crashing,[20] and it resembled a prototypical arcade racing video game, with an upright cabinet, yellow marquee, three-digit scoring, coin box, steering wheel and accelerator pedal.
It included a game called Wipeout, where the player moves a dot around a race track that is outlined by an overlay placed on the television screen.
It required the use of physical items to play, including a race game board, screen overlay, car tokens and pit stop cards.
[37] The following year, Atari released the first driving video game in the arcades, Gran Trak 10, which presents an overhead single-screen view of the track in low resolution white-on-black graphics.
[40] In late 1974, Taito released Speed Race designed by Tomohiro Nishikado (of Space Invaders fame), in which the player drives down a straight track dodging other cars.
[54] The game featured a three-dimensional perspective view,[55] as well as haptic feedback, which caused the motorcycle handlebars to vibrate during a collision with another vehicle.
[58] Considered the first "scandalous" arcade game,[59] Exidy's Death Race (1976) was widely criticized in the media for its violent content, which only served to substantially increase its popularity.
[61][62] 1979 saw the release of Vectorbeam's Speed Freak, a three-dimensional vector racing game, which Killer List of Videogames calls "very impressive and ahead of their time".
"[65] It was an evolution of Namco's earlier racing electro-mechanical games, notably F-1 (1976), whose designer Sho Osugi worked on Pole Position.
While not the first third-person racing video game (it was predated by Sega's Turbo), Pole Position established the conventions of the genre and its success inspired numerous imitators.
[74] Geoff Crammond, who later developed the Grandprix series (Known collectively as GPX to its fanbase), produced what is considered the first attempt at a racing simulator on a home system, REVS, released for the BBC Microcomputer.
The hardware capabilities limited the depth of the simulation and restricted it (initially) to one track, but it offered a semi-realistic driving experience with more detail than most other racing games at the time.
[93] It improved on earlier 3D racing games with more complex 3D models and backdrops, higher frame rate, and switchable camera angles including chase-cam and first-person views.
Accurately replicating the 1989 Indianapolis 500 grid, it offered advanced 3D graphics for its time, setup options, car failures and handling.
However, the U.S. version (known as World Circuit) was not granted an official license by the FIA, so teams and drivers were renamed (though all could be changed back to their real names using the Driver/Team selection menu): Ayrton Senna became "Carlos Sanchez", for example.
[96] Sega Rally was also the first to feature driving on different surfaces (including asphalt, gravel, and mud) with different friction properties and the car's handling changing accordingly, making it an important milestone in the genre.
In 1996, a number of competitors attempted to challenge their dominance in the field, including Atari Games with San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing, Gaelco with Speed Up, Jaleco with Super GT 24h, and Konami with Winding Heat.
[99] It was considered the most realistic racing simulation game in its time,[100] combined with playability, enabling players of all skill levels to play.
[100] The Gran Turismo series has since become the second-most successful racing game franchise of all time, selling over 80 million units worldwide as of April 2018.
[101] By 1997, the typical PC was capable of matching an arcade machine in terms of graphical quality, mainly due to the introduction of first generation 3D accelerators such as 3DFX Voodoo.
In the same year, Sega releases Daytona USA 2 (Battle On The Edge and Power Edition), which is one of the first racing games to feature realistic crashes and graphics.
Midtown Madness for the PC allows the player to explore a simplified version of the city of Chicago using a variety of vehicles and any path that they desire.
