''Dragster'', released in 1980 for the

Atari Video Computer System The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...

, is one of the first video games developed by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

. It was programmed by David Crane, who later wrote ''

Pitfall! ''Pitfall!'' is a platform video game designed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released by Activision in 1982. The player controls Pitfall Harry and is tasked with collecting all the treasures in a jungle within 20 minutes. The world con ...

''. The objective of the game is to either beat the player's opponent across the screen or to race against the clock for best time, depending on the settings used. ''Dragster'' is an unauthorized adaptation of the 1977

Kee Games Kee Games was an American arcade game manufacturer that released arcade and video games from 1973 to 1978. History Kee was formed by Joe Keenan, a friend and neighbor of Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, in September 1973. In reality, Bushnell h ...

coin-op ''Drag Race''.

Gameplay

The game can be played single or with two players. The goal is to reach the finish line in the shortest time possible. A countdown of few seconds introduces a round, during which the player may not shift gears or get disqualified for the round. At start, the player needs to accelerate and shift up to four gears.

Reception

''Dragster'' was reviewed by ''

Video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

'' magazine in its "Arcade Alley" column where it was described as having "an interesting premise" and as being "undeniably clever and, with a lot of patience, ... probably fun" but the reviewers also called it the "least" of Activision's early Atari 2600 releases. Specific criticism was given to the "clumsy" and "annoying" gameplay mechanics, and the game design was characterized as "ill-suited to the Atari control system". The game sold over 500,000 copies.

World record and controversy

In 1982,

Todd Rogers Todd Jonathan Rogers (born September 30, 1973) is an American professional beach volleyball player who is an Olympic and FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship gold medalist. He and his former partner, Phil Dalhausser, were the 2007, 2008, 200 ...

claimed the world record with a time of 5.51 seconds. Until January 29, 2018, this was accepted by

Twin Galaxies Twin Galaxies is an organization and social media platform for people involved in the culture and activity of playing video games. It facilitates their interaction as well as their competition and recognizes their achievements. Twin Galaxie ...

and

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

, which later recognized it as the longest-standing video game record. Rogers said he achieved his time by shifting into second gear as the countdown timer reached zero. Eric Koziel, a speedrunner and creator of

tool-assisted speedrun A tool-assisted speedrun, or tool-assisted superplay (TAS ), is generally defined as speedrunning an emulated game. During development of the speedrun, the framerate is slowed down to allow precise inputs to be done with ease. Splicing, the action ...

s, analyzed the

source code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...

of the game, and it was discovered that 5.51 seconds was impossible. He did not find it possible to shift during the countdown and determined the best possible time to be 5.57. On January 29, 2018, Twin Galaxies removed Todd Rogers' records and banned him from participating in their competitive leaderboards. Guinness World Records also removed him from its database. The world record stands at 5.57 seconds, which has been achieved by multiple players.

References

External links

''Dragster''
at Atari Mania

at Atari Age
''Dragster'' manual
{{Portal bar, Video games, 1980s 1980 video games Activision games Atari 2600 games Atari 2600-only games North America-exclusive video games Racing video games Unauthorized video games Video game clones Video games developed in the United States

Gameplay

Reception

World record and controversy

See also

References

External links