Night Driver
Encyclopedia
Night Driver is a 1976 arcade game
by Atari Inc
. It was one of the earliest first-person racing game
s, and is believed to be one of the first published games to display real-time first-person graphics.
The player controls a car which must be driven along a road at nighttime without crashing into the sides of the road as indicated by road side reflectors. The coin operated game had a choice of three tracks from which the player could choose at game start. The turns were sharper and more frequent on the more difficult tracks.
Due to limitation of arcade technology at the time, the car the player is driving is not actually drawn by the game. Instead, the car is a printed plastic insert that is laid under the screen. Also, the fact that the car is driving at night made it easier for the programmers to draw the environment with limited graphics at the time; as most things (street, buildings, ...) didn't need to be drawn because they were supposedly completely dark.
There were two versions of the cabinet manufactured, an upright and a cockpit. The upright version had a blacklight installed inside the cabinet which illuminated the bezel
.
ported the game over to Atari's home system at the time, the Atari 2600
, the Apple II
and the Commodore 64
.
The Atari version uses the paddles to control the vehicle. The player pushes the fire button to accelerate the car forward, and uses the paddle to steer the vehicle, although it was not possible to shift gears in this version. Every frame the program toggles drawing either the vehicle and road hazards or the road posts that defined the track. This causes the game graphics to flicker continually. The game offers eight different levels. Some of the levels are timed, and the player tries to score as much as they can in 90 seconds, and others are not timed. The consumer port also added features not present in the coin operated version such as additional vehicles the player must avoid as well as showing houses and trees along the sides of the road.
The Apple version uses the paddle to steer. The numeric buttons 1 to 4 change the gear and thus the speed.
The Commodore 64 version is called Night Drive.
In 2007 (30.12) Karoshi Corporation released a version of this game for MSX
platform, that included all original game modes plus a random track generator.
In 2008 Krzysztof "Xxl" Dudek, Michal "Miker" Szpilowski and Krzysztof "Kaz" Ziembik made version for 8-bit Atari computers.
In 2009 Krzysztof "Xxl" Dudek made extension for VBXE card, which extend graphics of Atari XL/XE.
The Atari 2600
version of Night Driver was made available on Microsoft's
Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Windows-based
PC
s in May 2010.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
by Atari Inc
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
. It was one of the earliest first-person racing game
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
s, and is believed to be one of the first published games to display real-time first-person graphics.
The player controls a car which must be driven along a road at nighttime without crashing into the sides of the road as indicated by road side reflectors. The coin operated game had a choice of three tracks from which the player could choose at game start. The turns were sharper and more frequent on the more difficult tracks.
Due to limitation of arcade technology at the time, the car the player is driving is not actually drawn by the game. Instead, the car is a printed plastic insert that is laid under the screen. Also, the fact that the car is driving at night made it easier for the programmers to draw the environment with limited graphics at the time; as most things (street, buildings, ...) didn't need to be drawn because they were supposedly completely dark.
There were two versions of the cabinet manufactured, an upright and a cockpit. The upright version had a blacklight installed inside the cabinet which illuminated the bezel
Bezel
Bezel may refer to:* Bezel setting, or bezel, the rim which encompasses and fastens a jewel, watch crystal, lens or other object* The sloping facets of the crown of a cut gem such as in diamond cutting...
.
Ports
After the success of the arcade, Rob FulopRob Fulop
Rob Fulop is a writer and game programmer who was chiefly responsible for some of the Atari 2600's biggest hits, such as 1982's enormously successful Demon Attack. He also worked on the Atari 2600 ports of Night Driver , Space Invaders , and Missile Command .Rob Fulop is the co-founder of Imagic...
ported the game over to Atari's home system at the time, the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
and the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
.
The Atari version uses the paddles to control the vehicle. The player pushes the fire button to accelerate the car forward, and uses the paddle to steer the vehicle, although it was not possible to shift gears in this version. Every frame the program toggles drawing either the vehicle and road hazards or the road posts that defined the track. This causes the game graphics to flicker continually. The game offers eight different levels. Some of the levels are timed, and the player tries to score as much as they can in 90 seconds, and others are not timed. The consumer port also added features not present in the coin operated version such as additional vehicles the player must avoid as well as showing houses and trees along the sides of the road.
The Apple version uses the paddle to steer. The numeric buttons 1 to 4 change the gear and thus the speed.
The Commodore 64 version is called Night Drive.
In 2007 (30.12) Karoshi Corporation released a version of this game for MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
platform, that included all original game modes plus a random track generator.
In 2008 Krzysztof "Xxl" Dudek, Michal "Miker" Szpilowski and Krzysztof "Kaz" Ziembik made version for 8-bit Atari computers.
In 2009 Krzysztof "Xxl" Dudek made extension for VBXE card, which extend graphics of Atari XL/XE.
The Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
version of Night Driver was made available on Microsoft's
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
service for its Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console and for Windows-based
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s in May 2010.
External links
- Night Driver at AtariGuide
- Night Driver at Arcade-History.com
- Night Driver at Atari Age
- Marketing flyer for Midway's Midnight Racer
- Karoshi Corporation
- Night Driver for Atari XL/XE with VBXE board
- Night Driver for standard Atari XL/XE
- Night Driver at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...