''Nürburgring 1'' is an

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

developed by Dr. Reiner Foerst and released in 1976. It was first demonstrated at the German IMA show in Spring 1976. It is recognized as the world's earliest first-person

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

and inspired the development of '' Night Driver''.

Gameplay

The game's arcade cabinet contained a steering wheel, shifter, pedals, and other controls in the form of buttons. The player drove along a twisting roadway bordered by white guardrails. The lower portion of the screen showed the speedometer, mileage and other indicators. The game counted crashes and punished them with a time penalty. The game ended after 90 seconds, or by driving across the finish line.

Development

The game was created by Dr. Foerst not out of a desire to develop a video game, but in order to make a working driving simulation. Unable to find a way to cheaply scale down the earliest driving simulators by

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

and BP, he decided to build one based on the technology he found inside a ''

Pong ''Pong'' is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcor ...

'' video game machine. The resulting arcade game had no CPU, and instead used 28 separate circuit boards. The game ''Night Driver'' was inspired when the lead programmer, Dave Shepperd, saw a picture of the arcade cabinet in a flyer that had a small portion of the screen visible. As

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

was much better at miniaturizing the game idea to a single board, they ultimately capitalized on most of the would-be success of ''Nürburgring 1'' and caused it to become obscure and largely unknown.

Sequels

Several other versions of the game were created. The second installment in the series had motorcycle handlebars, while the third was in full color with selectable backgrounds. Other versions of the third game in the series had cabinets that swiveled back and forth on a turntable, as well as banked back and forth.

References

{{Reflist 1976 video games Racing video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Video games developed in Germany Single-player video games