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| Speed Freak | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Vectorbeam |
| Publisher(s) | Vectorbeam |
| Designer(s) | Larry Rosenthal |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release | March 1979 |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Arcade system | Vectorbeam hardware |
Speed Freak is a monochrome vector arcade game created by Vectorbeam in 1979. Along with Atari, Inc.'s Night Driver and Bally Midway's Datsun 280 ZZZAP–both from 1976–it is one of the earliest first-person driving games and the first such game known to use vector graphics.
Gameplay
The game is a behind-the-wheel driving simulation where the driver speeds down a winding computer-generated road past other cars, hitchhikers, trees, cows and cacti. Occasionally a plane will fly overhead towards the screen. One must avoid crashing into these objects and complete the race in the allotted time. The player can crash as many times as he wants before the time runs out and players were treated to two different crash animations. The first was a simple cracked windshield effect, the second was a crash where the car explodes into car parts that fly through the air.
References
- (Gaming History 2009)
- (Yu 2002)
- "1". Speed Freak Operating Manual. 1979. p. 2.
- "2". Speed Freak Operating Manual. 1979. p. 3.
- Sources
- "Speed Freak: The [Coin-Op] Arcade Video Game". Gaming History. 2009-08-28. Retrieved 2014-12-27.
- Speed Freak: Operation and Maintenance Manual (PDF). Union City, CA: Vectorbeam. 1979.
- Wolf, Mark J. P. (2008). The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to Playstation and Beyond. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-33868-7.
- Yu, Andrea (2002-01-24). "Pedal To The Metal: From arcade classics' sparse graphics to today's lifelike games, racing titles have come a long way". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2014-12-27.
External links
- Speed Freak at the Killer List of Videogames
- Speed Freak at the Arcade Flyer Archive