''Street Racer'' is a

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 ...

developed for the Atari Video Computer System, later known as 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- ...

. It was programmed by

Larry Kaplan Larry Kaplan is an American game designer who was the co-founder of Activision. Kaplan studied at the University of California, Berkeley from 1968 through 1974 and graduated with a degree in Computer Science. He started at Atari, Inc. in Augus ...

and released by

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

in September 1977 as one of the nine Atari VCS launch titles. The game was also published by

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

for their Tele-Games product line as ''Speedway II''.

Gameplay

''Street Racer'' was one of the two launch titles programmed by Kaplan; ''

Air-Sea Battle ''Air-Sea Battle'' is a game developed by Atari, Inc. for the Atari VCS (renamed to the Atari 2600 in 1982), and was one of the nine original launch titles for that system when it was released in September 1977. It was published by Sears as ...

'' was the other. ''Street Racer'' offered 27 game variations, grouped into the following sub-games: * 1–6: Street racer * 7–12: Slalom * 13–16: Dodgem * 17–20: Jet shooter * 21–24: Number cruncher * 25–27: Scoop ball Each of the sub-games has roughly the same gameplay: the player controls a vehicle that must avoid or collect certain objects as they scroll down the screen. Between one and four players can compete simultaneously by using the paddle controllers,https://atariage.com/manual_page.php?SystemID=2600&ItemTypeID=&SoftwareLabelID=513¤tPage=0&maxPages=12¤tPage=1 which allow the vehicle to move left and right along the bottom of the screen. If a one-player game is selected, the player competes with a static computer opponent that allows objects to collide with it or pass by.

Development

As one of the earliest games written for the platform, ''Street Racer'' suffered from unattractive, blocky graphics. According to Kaplan himself, later racing games released for the Atari, such as

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 ...

's 1982 games ''

Barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

'' and ''

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

'', were able to offer improved graphics and gameplay. In a 2007 interview with ''Digital Press'', Kaplan was asked what he would change about any of the games he had written: Kaplan went on to become one of the founders of Activision where he developed '' Kaboom!'', one of the 10 top-selling games for the Atari 2600.

Reception

''Street Racer'' was reviewed in ''

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 as part of a general review of the

Atari VCS 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- ...

where it was given a review score of 5.5 out of 10. The game did not age well and modern critics have given it poor reviews as well.

Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...

have described the "Number cruncher" sub-game as a highlight of the game.

References

External links

* {{Atari 2600 1977 video games Atari 2600 games Atari games North America-exclusive video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Top-down racing video games Video games developed in the United States