''Crazee Rider'' is a

motorbike racing Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Ot ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

created by Kevin Edwards and published by

Superior Software Superior Software Ltd (also known as Superior Interactive) is a video game publisher. It was one of the main publishers for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in the 1980s and early 1990s. It currently releases games for Microsoft Windows ...

in 1987. It was released for the

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/ home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a ...

and

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

with an enhanced version for the

BBC Master The BBC Master is a home computer released by Acorn Computers in early 1986. It was designed and built for the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and was the successor to the BBC Micro, BBC Micro Model B. The Master 128 remained in produ ...

. The game was particularly well received for the Electron as it was the first 3D racing game with corners for that machine.

Gameplay

The player competes as one of sixty riders in a series of motorbike races held on the real life race circuits

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

Anderstorp Anderstorp () is a locality situated in Gislaved Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 4,965 inhabitants in 2010. Scandinavian Raceway, which hosted the Swedish Grand Prix Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is ...

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

, Misano,

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

and the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

. The player must finish in the top six in order to qualify for the next race. As the race begins, the player's bike is slow to accelerate so the rest of the field speed past. The player must attempt to catch and pass the other racers. The player may also gain bonus points by knocking the other racers off their bikes by side swiping them when the player is slightly in front. If the computer controlled racer is slightly in front when the bikes clash, it will cause the player to slow down. If the player hits the back of another bike, their bike is disabled for a short time.

Development

The game was originally conceived as an Acorn Electron car racing game as a follow-up to the hugely successful ''

Overdrive Overdrive may refer to: Organizations * OverDrive, Inc., a digital distributor of entertainment media ** OverDrive Media Console, a media player developed by OverDrive, Inc. * Overdrive PC, a subsidiary of Velocity Micro Technology * Overdrive ...

''. That game was the only 3D racing game available for the Electron so despite only having straight tracks, became Superior Software's biggest selling game.
-> In late 1986, Superior reissued

Acornsoft Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and util ...

's BBC Micro only racing simulation '' Revs'' and were also working on the '' Grand Prix Construction Set'', set for release in 1987. Neither of these games were able to be converted for the Electron. After completing the

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...

'' Galaforce'', Superior asked Kevin Edwards if he would be interested in writing an Electron racing game. During development, it was decided to change the game to a motorbike racer and to also release it on the BBC Micro. The Electron version runs in a four colour mode with the player able to change the three main colours (the fourth always remaining black). The standard BBC Micro version is virtually identical but runs in an eight colour mode. An enhanced version was included for the BBC Master which included more circuits, extra in-game graphics (including extra animation and different coloured opponents) and music by

Martin Galway Martin Galway (born 3 January 1966, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is one of the best known composers of chiptune video game music for the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum. His works include ''Rambo (1985 video game), Rambo: First Blood Part II' ...

.''Crazee Rider''
at Computer and Video Game Music

Release

''Crazee Rider'' was published in 1987 on

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

and 5.25" DFS

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...

as well as ADFS 3.5" disk for the Acorn Electron Plus 3 and Master Compact. The original release included a competition prize of a £500

moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typic ...

."Interview: The Superior Software Years and The Future"
Crispin Boylan, The BBC Games Archive, 1998 The game was included on the ''Play It Again Sam 2'' compilation in 1988 and also re-released in 1989 as part of the Superior/

Blue Ribbon The blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Cordon Bleu, which referred to the blue ribbon ...

budget range.

Reception

Electron User ''Electron User'' was a magazine targeted at owners of the Acorn Electron microcomputer. It was published by Database Publications of Stockport, starting in October 1983 and ending after 82 issues in July 1990. Initially it was included as a 1 ...

'' called the game "superb", giving an overall score of 9/10 (with 10/10 for both playability and value for money) with reviewer Joanne Hutcheson concluding "''Crazee Rider'' is an exciting game - it's fast, challenging and there's plenty to keep you entertained"."On Yer Bike!"
Electron User #4.12, September 1987 A&B Computing, who concentrated on the BBC Micro, were less impressed, awarding only 7/10. Reviewer Dave Reeder claimed: "There is nothing here that marks bold new steps into unknown programming areas - the game is solidly put together but is not up to the usual high standard of Superior releases for the

Beeb ''BEEB'' was a weekly, children's magazine centred on the BBC's most popular programmes at the time of its publication. It was published by Polystyle Publications and was created as a competitor to ITV's Look-in magazine. It lasted 20 issues ...

". He did however concede that "The Electron version is what counts and here, I'm told, it does things at great speed to amaze Electron owners".''Crazee Rider'' review
, A&B Computing, vol 4 no 10, October 1987

References

{{Superior Software 1987 video games Acornsoft games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron-only games Europe-exclusive video games Motorcycle video games Racing video games Single-player video games Superior Software games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Martin Galway Blue Ribbon (software house) games