How Need for Speed looked 30 years ago

This is how Need For Speed looked 30 years ago. Simple and fun.

This was one of the first driving games, it has even a gear system. The goal of the game is to drive as fast as you can to obtain the maximum score as you can. The track is just a bunch of white boxes. If you hit a white box, you will colide and stop. If you get out of the track, you have to wait 5 seconds to get back to the track. Of course, each second you waste means a lower score.

The cabinet had a wheel, a shifter and a pedal.

GAME HISTORY
==============

Night Driver (c) 10/1976 Atari.

Night Driver is a simple two-dimensional driving game. Your perspective is from behind the wheel of the car as you drive down the highway. The object is to score points by getting as much distance as possible in the least amount of time. Those who are good enough can get bonus time for a specific amount of points. Beware, though, it will not be as easy as it seems.

- TECHNICAL -

Game ID : 006321

Main CPU : M6502 (@ 1.008 Mhz)
Sound Chips : Discrete

Screen orientation : Horizontal
Video resolution : 256 x 256 pixels
Aspect ratio : 4/3
Screen refresh : 57.00 Hz
Palette colors : 2

Players : 1
Control : Steering wheel, gas pedal, gear shift (1-4)

- TRIVIA -

This game was first released by a small company named Micronetics and later picked up by Atari. Night Driver was the first 'first-person' driving game (only Atari's second sitdown, 'Hi-Way' was the first). 2100 units were produced.

After a nearly 50-year run, the mid-1970s video games like Night Driver spelled the end of the electro-mechanical arcade games (such as "Killer Shark" seen in the movie Jaws). Video games would spawn a nation-wide phenomenon which has gone on to this day.

Night Driver was one of many mid-1970's Atari games such as "Starship 1", "Sprint 2" and "Drag Race" which were often found at carnivals and bowling alleys. Kids would flock to these establishments just to get an opportunity to play the games rather than the primary source of entertainment they offered. When the 80's arrived, video games could be found everywhere including grocery stores and kids didn't have to go very far to play their favorite game.

A Night Driver unit appears in the 1978 movie 'Dawn of the Dead'.

- SCORING -

Scoring in this game is really simple. Your score is tied to distance traveled so obviously you want to cover the most amount of distance in the shortest period of time.

The game will start you off with either 100 or 125 seconds to get the required 350 points for extra time.

- TIPS AND TRICKS -

* When you start the game, you will have a choice of which track you want to drive on. Your choices are : Novice, Expert, and Pro. The track selected directly effects your points/distance ratio. Obviously, the harder the track the faster the points go up. Of course, the harder the track, the more twists, turns, and narrow sections you must deal with.

* Try to stay in the middle of the road as much as possible. Especially around curves since it is very easy to run into the fence posts.

* Learn how to use the gears and gas pedal with proficiency. This is better to let up on the gas or downshift on curves then trying to barrel through them at top speed. It takes a lot more time to get off a fence post then if you had just taken the curve slower.

* Your goal is to get the points necessary to get bonus time. Once you get proficient at one track, go to the next track. After a while, you will find that the Expert and Pro tracks are actually easier then the Novice track.

* Steering on this game is pretty easy although you need to watch out since the car does have a tendency to drift. Small corrections in the steering should keep that problem in check.

- STAFF -

Designed and programmed by : Ted Michon, Dave Shepperd

- PORTS -

* Consoles :
Atari 2600 (1978)

* Computers :
Apple II
Commodore C64 (1982)

- SOURCES -

F.A.Q. by Kevin Butler A.K.A. War Doc

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• Night
• Driver
• how
• need
• for
• speed
• looked
• 30
• years
• ago
• first
• driving
• game
• very
• old

[jetfoxproductions]

i had no idea this was the first need for speed, got that game on our atari, was never any good at it.

[epicpwner0]

This is better than a lot of games today.

[Redliner500]

i kicked ass in this game and sprint back in 79

[hibstillidie]

laziest game ever lol



[hibstillidie]

looks expensive 

[psychonaut25]

night driver for atari from 1976

[rascrichard]

so frustrating

[stunningxan2]

This will go viral.