''Head On'' is an

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...

developed by Sega/Gremlin and released by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

in 1979. It's the first

maze game A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that le ...

where the goal is to run over dots. Designed by Lane Hauck at Sega/Gremlin in the United States, the game was a commercial success, becoming the fourth highest-grossing 1979 in both Japan and the US. Sega released a sequel, ''Head On Part II'', later the same year. The original inspired a number of clones, as well as

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

's ''

Rally-X is a maze chase arcade video game developed Namco and released in 1980. Players drive a blue Formula One race car through a multidirectional scrolling maze to collect yellow flags. Boulders block some paths and must be avoided. Red enemy cars ...

'' (1980).

Gameplay

Arcade screenshot Two cars continuously drive forward through rectangular channels in a simple maze. At the four cardinal directions are gaps where a car can change lanes. The player goal is to collect all dots in the maze while avoiding collisions with the computer-controlled car that is travelling in the opposite direction.

Development

The game was developed by Sega/Gremlin in the United States, where it was designed by Lane Hauck. He came up with the concept in 1978, roughly around the time that

purchased

Gremlin Industries Gremlin Industries was an American arcade game manufacturer active from 1971 to 1983, based in San Diego, California. Following its acquisition by Sega in 1978, the company was known as Sega/Gremlin or Gremlin/Sega. The company's name was subseq ...

. After the acquisition, a veteran Sega engineer in Japan had a look at a prototype of ''Head On'' and was interested. Hauck's original game design included a timer. At the time,

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...

's ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter and set ...

'' had introduced the concept of "going

round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...

after round" so the Sega engineer suggested to Hauck that he should get rid of the timer and replace it with a ''Space Invaders'' like round-after-round concept, which Hauck subsequently implemented and later said was "a key to making the game big." After the game was complete, Sega marketed the game in Japan, while Gremlin in turn marketed Sega games such as '' Monaco GP'' in North America.

Reception

''Head On'' was a commercial success in arcades. In Japan, it became Gremlin's most successful export. It was Japan's fourth highest-grossing arcade game of 1979, below ''

'', ''

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, wh ...

'' and Sega's '' Monaco GP''. ''Head On'' was also the fourth highest-earning arcade video game of 1979 in the United States, below ''Space Invaders'', ''

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

'' and ''

Sprint 2 ''Sprint 2'' is a two player overhead-view arcade racing video game released in 1976 by Kee Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atari, and distributed by Namco in Japan. While earlier driving games had computer-controlled cars that moved along a ...

''.

Legacy

Ports of ''Head On'' for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

and

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the ...

were released in 1982. There were numerous unofficial versions for home systems. ''Head On'' later appeared in the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

collection ''Sega Memorial Selection Vol.1'' and in the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

collection ''Sega Ages Vol. 23''. In Japan, the game was ported to the

PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the three major Japa ...

and

Sharp MZ The Sharp MZ is a series of personal computers sold in Japan and Europe (particularly Germany and Great Britain) by Sharp beginning in 1978. History Although commonly believed to stand for "Microcomputer Z80", the term MZ actually has it ...

computers. In 1991, Japanese magazine ''

Gamest was a Japanese video game magazine that specialized in covering arcade games. Published by Shinseisha, it first began in May 1986 and originally published bi-monthly, later changed to be a monthly-issued magazine in the late 1980s. The magazine al ...

'' considered

's ''

'' (1980) to be a spiritual successor to ''Head On''.

Sequels

A similar sequel was released the same year as the original: ''Head On Part II'', also known as ''Head On 2''. Licensed clones were developed based on the title. One of the licensees was

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

, who modified and released their version as .

's ''

'' was produced as a successor to ''Head On''. A spiritual successor, ''Pacar'', was released for the

SG-1000 The is a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. Developed in response to a downturn in arcades starting in 1982, the SG-1000 was created on the advice of Hayao Nak ...

. The version features updated graphics, a faux 3D environment, multiple enemy cars that chase the player in varying ways, tunnels that exit the maze, and power pellets that are produced by the player to eliminate enemy cars. These additions make it more like a '' Pac-Man'' clone. A mobile phone version of ''Head On'' titled ''Sonic's Head On'' was released exclusively in Japan in 2000.

Clones

Exidy Exidy was a developer and manufacturer of coin-operated amusements. The company was founded by H.R. "Pete" Kauffman and Samuel Hawes in 1973. The name "Exidy" was a portmanteau of the words "Excellence in Dynamics". Notable games released by Exid ...

's ''Crash'' was released in arcades the same year as ''Head On''. It was the seventh highest-grossing arcade game of 1979 in the United States.

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

's '' Fast Lane'' arcade game, released in 1987, is a ''Head On'' clone with improved graphics and some additional features. ''Head On'' proved a popular concept to clone for home systems. Clones include ''

Car Wars ''Car Wars'' is a vehicle combat simulation game developed by Steve Jackson Games. It was first published in 1980 in games, 1980. Players control armed vehicles in a post-apocalyptic future. Game play In ''Car Wars'', players assume control of o ...

'' for the

TI-99/4A The TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A are home computers released by Texas Instruments in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Based on the Texas Instruments TMS9900 microprocessor originally used in minicomputers, the TI-99/4 was the first 16-bit home computer. ...

, ''Killer Car'' for

Spectravideo Spectravideo International (SVI) was an American computer manufacturer and software house. It was originally called SpectraVision, a company founded by Harry Fox in 1981. The company produced video games and other software for the VIC-20 home c ...

, ''Car Chase'' for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

, '' Dodge 'Em'' for the

Atari 2600 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- ...

, ''Dodge Racer'' for the

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

, and ''Tunnels of Fahad'' for the

TRS-80 The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of '' ...

References

{{reflist 1979 video games Arcade video games Racing video games Maze games Sega arcade games Sega Games franchises Multiplayer and single-player video games Gremlin Industries games Commodore 64 games VIC-20 games Video games developed in the United States