67-653: Yager is a combat flight simulation video game developed by Yager Development and published by THQ , Kemco , and DreamCatcher Interactive . It was first released as an Xbox exclusive before later being ported to Microsoft Windows , both in 2003. The Xbox version was released in North America in later 2004, while the PC version was released in North America as Aerial Strike: Low Altitude - High Stakes: The Yager Missions in February 2005. In this game, gamers take on
134-520: A strategy . Western Gun was his next game licensed to Midway for release in the United States, with the title changed to Gun Fight for its American release. Midway's Gun Fight adaptation was itself notable for being the first video game to use a microprocessor . Nishikado's Western Gun allowed the two players to move around anywhere on the screen, whereas Midway's version Gun Fight restricts each player to their respective portions of
201-457: A "God's eye view." Many simulators also include "mission builders" which allow the player to create their own missions. Combat flight simulators are among the most computer and graphics demanding applications at any given time, as they are real-time applications with multiple processes happening at once. This leads many simulation fans to constantly upgrade their hardware, including the most advanced graphics cards. These sims have also given rise to
268-539: A deal initially made with Atari. However, the game instead ended up being licensed to Midway Manufacturing , who released the game in North America as TV Basketball in June 1974. It sold 1,400 arcade cabinets in the United States, a video game production record for Midway, up until the release of Wheels . TV Basketball was the first basketball video game released by Midway, which later followed with Arch Rivals (1989) and NBA Jam (1993). Nishikado's Speed Race
335-521: A moving sky-blue background from a film canister on a rotating drum. The game was a hit, but too large for most locations, so it was followed by a scaled-down version, Sky Fighter II , which sold 3,000 arcade cabinets . His first original arcade video games were the Pong -style sports video games Soccer and Davis Cup , with Soccer developed first but both released in November 1973. Davis Cup
402-556: A physically impossible amount of weapons compared to real-life aircraft loadouts. Examples of console or PC games include Ace Combat , H.A.W.X. , and Project Wingman . Many arcade combat flight simulators in amusement arcades are housed in cockpit arcade cabinets that use motion simulator technology, often incorporating hydraulics . Popular examples include the original arcade versions of After Burner , Thunder Blade and Air Combat . Sega's R360 motion simulator cabinet notably features full 360-degree rotation, used by
469-427: A playfield, allowed each player to control both a forward and a goalkeeper , and let them adjust the size of the players who were represented as paddles on screen. It also had a goal on each side. Nishikado considers Soccer to be Japan's first original domestically produced video game, in comparison to Japanese Pong clones released earlier, including Sega 's Pong Tron and Taito's Elepong . TV Basketball
536-511: A significant role in the arcade industry, so they tasked Nishikado with investigating TTL technology as he was the company's only employee who knew how to work with integrated circuit (IC) technology, and one of the few engineers at any Japanese coin-op company with significant expertise in solid-state electronics . He began working on video game development in 1972. He was interested in creating arcade video games , so he spent six months dissecting Atari 's Pong arcade unit and learning how
603-479: A study sim or a survey sim, Lock On: Modern Air Combat is an example of a game that attempts to bridge the study/survey gap with highly detailed models of several US and Russian aircraft. Before multiplayer games became popular, many simulators could only be played by a single player. This continued to be the standard until the late 1990s when most titles included some sort of multi-player/network capability. In single-player combat simulators, every entity other than
670-490: A variety of hardware add-ons such as " HOTAS " (hands on throttle and stick) controllers that allow full control of most functions without touching the keyboard. Voice control and head-tracking view control systems are also available for home flight sim enthusiasts. The tables below define rough guidelines of what might classify as combat flight simulation games. Tomohiro Nishikado#Interceptor Tomohiro Nishikado ( 西角 友宏 , Nishikado Tomohiro , born March 31, 1944)
737-535: Is a Japanese video game developer and engineer . He is the creator of the arcade shoot 'em up game Space Invaders , released to the public in 1978 by the Taito Corporation of Japan , often credited as the first shoot 'em up and for beginning the golden age of arcade video games . Prior to Space Invaders , he also designed other earlier Taito arcade games, including the shooting electro-mechanical games Sky Fighter (1971) and Sky Fighter II ,
SECTION 10
#1732790102120804-408: Is a genre of simulation games that focuses on modelling an aircraft's systems as accurately as possible. Advancing computer technology made this possible, with the development of highly detailed models that improved upon the fidelity of avionics, weapons systems, physics, flight models, graphics, etc. and allowed for fully interactive cockpits where virtually every control was mapped and functional. This
871-644: Is also credited for Chase HQ: Secret Police published by Metro3D for the Game Boy Color in 1999, the 3D eroge visual novel Dancing Cats published by Illusion for the PC in 2000, Super Bust-A-Move ( Super Puzzle Bobble ) published by Taito for the PlayStation 2 in 2000, Rainbow Islands ( Bubble Bobble 2 ) and Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder for the Game Boy Color in 2001, and
938-487: Is frequently cited as the "first" or "original" in the shoot 'em up genre. Space Invaders pitted the player against multiple enemies descending from the top of the screen at a constantly increasing speed. The game used alien creatures inspired by The War of the Worlds because the developers were unable to render the movement of aircraft; in turn, the aliens replaced human enemies because of moral concerns (regarding
1005-682: The Atari 2600 that simulated flight combat, two examples being Mattel's Air Raiders (1982) and Milton Bradley's Spitfire Attack (1983). Later in the 1980s, it became a trend for arcade flight combat simulators to use hydraulic motion simulator arcade cabinets . The trend was sparked by Sega 's "taikan" games, with "taikan" meaning "body sensation" in Japanese. Yu Suzuki 's team at Sega (later known as Sega AM2 ) developed hydraulic motion simulator cockpit cabinets for flight combat games such as Space Harrier (1985), After Burner (1987) and
1072-465: The R360 games. In the early 1990s, arcade flight combat simulators began adopting 3D polygon graphics. Taito's Air Inferno (1990) was a 3D flight simulator utilizing a motion simulator cockpit cabinet. Atari Games followed with the 3D flight combat simulator the following year, Steel Talons (1991). Namco then followed with the 3D arcade combat flight simulator Air Combat (1993). During
1139-525: The SNES role-playing video game Lufia & the Fortress of Doom in 1993, the beat 'em up Sonic Blast Man II in 1994, and the puzzle game Bust-A-Move 2 ( Puzzle Bobble 2 ) in 1995. He left Taito in 1996 to found his own company, Dreams . Under Dreams when it was owned by Nishikado, his credited games include Bust-A-Move Millennium , published by Acclaim Entertainment in 2000. Dreams
1206-530: The massively multiplayer Fighter Ace , WarBirds , Aces High , World War II Online , Ace Online , War Thunder , Fighter Wing 2 and others). Many players of both video games and simulators seek games for their replay value . Simulators enhance the replay value by offering a variety of single missions consisting of short, randomly generated missions as well as longer campaigns consisting of several smaller mission or objectives. Most campaigns are "dynamic flowing," which means they change according to
1273-647: The sports video game TV Basketball in 1974, the vertical scrolling racing video game Speed Race (also known as Wheels ) in 1974, the multi-directional shooter Western Gun (also known as Gun Fight ) in 1975, and the first-person combat flight simulator Interceptor (1975). Tomohiro Nishikado was born in 1944. He began conducting his own science experiments at an early age and, in junior high school , started working with electronics by building radios and amplifiers . He graduated with an engineering degree from Tokyo Denki University in 1967. He had originally planned to work for Sony , but failed
1340-464: The volume-control dials used in his earlier Pong -inspired machines, Speed Race had a realistic racing wheel controller , with a accelerator , gear shift , speedometer and tachometer . It could be played in either single-player or alternating two-player, where each player attempts to beat the other's score. The game also had selectable difficulty levels , giving players an option between "Beginner's race" and "Advanced player's race". The game
1407-418: The 1990s to early 2000s, there was a transition from traditional video game platforms like arcades, to consoles such as the original PlayStation , for their ability to be played at home. PC games remained popular during this time, as many publishers continued to produce games primarily for the PC platform. Due to the limitations and the relative simplicity of the controllers available for gaming consoles at
SECTION 20
#17327901021201474-425: The 2008 Nintendo DS version of Ys I & II . He personally oversaw the development of Space Invaders Revolution , released by Taito in 2005, and was involved in the development of Space Invaders Infinity Gene , released by Taito's current owner Square Enix in 2008. Dreams was involved in the development of the fighting game Battle Fantasia , released by Arc System Works in 2008. As of 2013, he
1541-820: The Free Trade Zone by a system of caves, rivers, and deltas that run deep into DST territory. Bitterfeld is a desolate area littered with disused industrial buildings, crashed ships, abandoned machinery and other debris left behind by the old Progress Company. Yager and Aerial Strike received "mixed or average reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . Combat flight simulation game Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games , amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and military flight training which consist of realistic physical recreations of
1608-536: The US or Russia. The sophistication and intricacy of these simulators continued to grow, and in 2008 the Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) released DCS: Black Shark , the first of a series of simulations that featured a complete and detailed cockpit with all the relevant switches accurately modelled and functional, and mapped over 500 key-commands. DCS also supported a variety of input devices aside from
1675-565: The United States), released in 1975. The game's concept was adapted from a Sega arcade electro-mechanical game , called Gun Fight (1969), with the cowboy figurines adapted into character sprites and both players able to maneuver across a landscape while shooting each other. The game is historically significant for several reasons. It was an early on-foot , multi-directional shooter , that could be played in single-player or two-player . It also introduced video game violence , being
1742-471: The actual aircraft cockpit, often with a full-motion platform. Combat flight simulation titles are more numerous than civilian flight simulators due to the variety of subject matter available and market demand. Many free flight simulators , such as the open source Linux Air Combat , Falcon 4.0 , Digital Combat Simulator and Rise of Flight , can be downloaded for free off the Internet. Prior to
1809-452: The arcade games G-LOC: Air Battle and Wing War . A survey simulation is a classification of simulator that includes a variety (or survey) of aircraft from the period in question. This type of classification applies to many historical combat simulators, and typically includes aircraft from all nations participating in the conflict. Early simulators suffered from flight models and instrument panels that differed little between aircraft. As
1876-423: The arcade phenomenon in North America was in part due to Space Invaders . Game Informer considers it, along with Pac-Man , one of the most popular arcade games that tapped into popular culture and generated excitement during the golden age of arcades. The game also played an important role during the second generation of consoles , when it became the Atari 2600 's first killer app , establishing Atari as
1943-405: The category of "flight simulation." Simulator realism can be classified as the following : Arcade-style combat flight simulators have various elements that are less realistic than other simulators, such as simplified controls and physics models, compressed or non-existent start up times, emphasis on close-range dogfighting over beyond-visual-range combat for modern jets, and the ability to carry
2010-475: The century saw advancements in technology that increased the capabilities of these simulators, simplifying and improving their weapon handling and flight models, as well as updated visuals. Titles featuring these improvements include Jane's Combat Simulations , a line of flight simulations originally developed by Electronic Arts and later continued by the company Third Wire , as well as the series Strike Fighters: Project 1 and Wings over Europe . The "study sim"
2077-587: The concept by taking "a typical pong game" and rearranging the shapes so that they looked like objects such as a basketball hoop . It was also the earliest basketball video game in arcades, and the second basketball-themed video game in general, after the Basketball overlay released for the Magnavox Odyssey console in 1973. In February 1974, TV Basketball became the earliest non-American video game to be licensed for release in North America, with
Yager - Misplaced Pages Continue
2144-404: The earliest shooter games , it set precedents and helped pave the way for future titles and for the shooting genre. Space Invaders popularized a more interactive style of gameplay with the enemies responding to the player controlled cannon's movement. It was also the first video game to popularize the concept of achieving a high score , being the first game to save the player's score. It
2211-479: The earliest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator (1982) had crude graphics, simple flight models, and a combat option with "dog fighting" in a World War I Sopwith Camel . Shortly after Microsoft Flight Simulator was released for the 8-bit computer, Microsoft released Jet in 1985. This simulator used simple filled wire frame graphics and a small generic battle space to allow players to fight MiGs in an F-18 or F-16 . There were also titles released for
2278-567: The earth is controlled by a number of megacorporations, most notably DST, as well as Proteus and Lobos Robotics. Although the old countries officially do not exist there are tell tale signs identifying each environment. The Proteus Islands are a tropical paradise and the headquarters of the Proteus Corporation. The Free Trade Zone, a landscape dotted with turbines and palm trees, is the only zone not controlled by any corporation. The DST zone and surrounding fjords are connected to
2345-402: The expansion of the video game industry from a novelty into a global industry to the success of the game, attributing the shift of video games from bars and arcades to more mainstream locations like restaurants and department stores to Space Invaders . The game's success is also credited for ending the video game crash of 1977 and beginning the golden age of video arcade games . The launch of
2412-413: The final round of the company's testing process, so he instead joined an audio engineering company called Takt in early 1967. But after completing his training there he was not put in the development department, so he quit a year later and looked for a new job, eventually accepting a job offer from a communications company. Before beginning work, he met an old colleague at a train station who told him about
2479-433: The first video game to depict human-to-human combat , and the first to depict a gun on screen. The game introduced dual-stick controls, with one eight-way joystick for movement and the other for changing the shooting direction, and was one of the earliest video games to represent game characters and fragments of story through its visual presentation. The player characters used in the game represented avatars for
2546-495: The game's integrated circuits worked, and began modifying the game. He developed Elepong (similar to Pong ), one of Japan's earliest locally produced arcade video games, released in 1973. He produced more than ten video games up until 1977, before Space Invaders was released in 1978. Nishikado developed Sky Fighter , a target shooting electro-mechanical game released by Taito for amusement arcades in 1971. The game used mirrors to project images of model planes in front of
2613-454: The late 1970s. In 1975, Taito released the arcade video game simulator Interceptor , an early first-person combat flight simulator that involved piloting a jet fighter using an eight-way joystick to aim and shoot at enemy aircraft. Sega's last EM combat flight simulator was Heli-Shooter (1977), which combines the use of a CPU processor with electro-mechanical components, screen projection and audio tape deck. The gameplay involves
2680-454: The market leader in the home video game market at the time. Space Invaders is today regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time. Nishikado's later credited games for Taito included the racing video game Chase HQ II: Special Criminal Investigation in 1989, the scrolling shooters Darius II ( Sagaia ) in 1989 and Darius Twin in 1991, the platform game Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III in 1991,
2747-400: The mid-to-late 1980s. In 1977, Nishikado began developing Space Invaders , which he created entirely on his own. In addition to designing and programming the game, he also did the artwork and sounds, and engineered the game's arcade hardware, putting together a microcomputer from scratch. Following its release in 1978, Space Invaders went on to become his most successful video game. It
Yager - Misplaced Pages Continue
2814-622: The most sophisticated helicopter simulation of the time. In 1996 it was exceeded by Jane's AH-64D Longbow , a game created by Origin Systems and released by Electronic Arts as part of the Jane's Combat Simulator series. The sequel, Jane's Longbow 2 (1997), was one of the earliest simulations to take advantage of hardware accelerated graphics, including advanced lighting. 1998 saw the release of Enemy Engaged: Apache vs Havoc by Empire Interactive , which allowed players to choose to fly for either
2881-429: The next and will only be rebuilt in view of limited resources, realistic time and strategic priorities, etc.). A notable pioneer in this area was Andy Hollis , producer of the Jane's Longbow series ( Jane's AH-64D Longbow and Jane's Longbow 2 ). Digital Image Design , with their release of F-22 Total Air War in 1998, allowed for a transparency into the larger strategic battlefield by use of multiple screens and
2948-640: The player piloting a helicopter using a throttle joystick (to accelerate and decelerate) and pedals (to maneuver left and right) across a realistic three-dimensional landscape and shooting at military targets across the landscape. In Japan, it was one of the top ten highest-grossing EM arcade games of 1977 , and it released in North America the same year. The 1980s experienced a wave of more advanced simulation video games, with companies such as Atari Inc. releasing their own game called Red Baron in 1980, which used QuadraScan graphics and sound effects to simulate first-person flight combat. Other games such as
3015-589: The player's aircraft around a landscape displayed on a screen and shoot missiles at targets that would explode when hit. The game displayed three-dimensional terrain with buildings, produced using special belt technology along with fluorescent paint to simulate a night view. Upon its debut, the game was cloned by three Chicago arcade manufacturers, which led to the game under-performing in North America. Sega released several other similar EM flight combat games, including Dive Bomber (1971) and Air Attack (1972). Combat flight simulator video games began appearing from
3082-511: The players' own aircraft are controlled by the program's "AI" ( artificial intelligence ), and modern video games create very sophisticated and intelligent AI with independent behavior for adversaries and allies. Multiplayer games, which usually also contain AI, allow players to oppose one or many human players. After the growth of the internet, many simulators were created that exist only or primarily as internet multiplayer versions (e.g., Air Warrior ,
3149-436: The players, and would yell "Got me!" when one of them is shot. Other features of the game included obstacles such as a cactus , and in later levels , pine trees and moving wagons, that can provide cover for the players and are destructible . The guns have limited ammunition, with each player limited to six bullets, and shots can ricochet off the top or bottom edges of the playfield, allowing for indirect hits to be used as
3216-566: The popular Falcon 4.0 , a detailed simulation of the USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon . Other development of these simulators includes a collaborative and specialized effort between Electronic Arts and Jane's in the 1990s, with titles such as Jane's Longbow , Jane's Longbow 2 , Jane's F-15 and Jane's F/A-18 . Helicopter simulations began in 1986 with the title Gunship by MicroProse . Nine years later, in 1995, Digital Integration Ltd. released Apache Longbow ,
3283-412: The portrayal of killing humans) on the part of Taito. As with subsequent shoot 'em ups of the time, the game was set in space as the available technology only permitted a black background. The game also introduced the idea of giving the player a number of " lives ". It sold over 360,000 arcade cabinets worldwide, and by 1981 had grossed more than $ 1 billion, equivalent to $ 2.5 billion in 2011. As one of
3350-414: The results of each successive mission (e.g. if the player destroys a "target of opportunity" which turns out to be a truck carrying an enemy leader, then the campaign starts to take a different path). Some campaign models have been developed which are fully dynamic, and where successive missions take place in an environment which is persistent (if a building is destroyed in one mission, it remains destroyed in
3417-436: The rise of modern-day video games, electro-mechanical games (EM games) were produced that used rear image projection in a manner similar to a zoetrope to produce moving animations on a screen . This technology led to the rise of flight simulation arcade games , initially in the form of EM games. One such EM game was Jet Rocket , a flight simulator released by Sega in 1970 that featured cockpit controls that could move
SECTION 50
#17327901021203484-453: The role of Magnus Tide, a freelance pilot adventurer. Yager and Aerial Strike is set over 20 levels in which the player takes possession of various weapons and ships in an effort to accomplish each mission. The game, while well-received critically, was not a commercial success, largely in part due to a delayed North American release amidst a lack of advertising. Yager is set in a futuristic world where countries' borders no longer exist and
3551-631: The same year. It involved piloting a jet fighter , using an eight-way joystick to aim with a crosshair and shoot at enemy aircraft that move in formations of two, can scale in size depending on their distance to the player, and can move out of the player's firing range. The game used a form of pseudo-3D object-scaling to create the illusion of 3D space , a technique that was later used in racing video games such as Atari's Night Driver (1976) and Namco 's Pole Position (1982), and more extensively in Sega Super Scaler arcade games during
3618-435: The screen, with the characters made larger in size. Nishikado believed that his original version was more fun, but was impressed with the improved graphics and smoother animation of Midway's version. This led him to design microprocessors into his subsequent games. Gun Fight was a success in the arcades, selling 8,600 arcade cabinets in the United States, where it was the third highest-grossing arcade game of 1975 and
3685-702: The second highest-grossing arcade game of 1976 . The game was ported to the Bally Astrocade console and several computer platforms. Gun Fight's success helped pave the way for Japanese video games in the American market. Interceptor is a first-person combat flight simulator designed by Tomohiro Nishikado. The game was first demonstrated in 1975, before releasing in Japan in March 1976, and in Europe
3752-758: The technology got better, so did the diversity of aircraft, which forced the virtual pilot to learn the carefully modelled strengths and weaknesses of the various types of aircraft (e.g. the different fighting and flying styles of a Spitfire versus a Messerschmitt 109 in IL-2 Sturmovik or a Mitsubishi Zero versus a US Navy F4F Wildcat in Combat Flight Simulator 2 ). Modern jet survey simulators have been developed as well, such as US Navy Fighters (USNF) and Jane's USAF by Jane's/Electronic Arts, typically with simplified and generic modelling of radar, navigation, and weapons. The turn of
3819-480: The template for the shoot 'em up genre, with its influence extending to most shooting games released to the present day, including first-person shooters such as Wolfenstein , Doom , Halo and Call of Duty . Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto considers Space Invaders a game that revolutionized the video game industry ; he was never interested in video games before seeing it, and it would inspire him to produce video games. Several publications ascribe
3886-1442: The time, flight simulators remained largely absent from consoles for years to come. Several rival publishers rose during this period such as NovaLogic with titles like the Comanche Series that simulated helicopter combat, and Electronic Arts with Jane's WWII Fighters which improved upon features such as detailed visible damage. Newer software in the genre include Digital Combat Simulator (released in 2008 and mostly simulating modern aircraft), Rise of Flight (released in 2009 and set in World War I ) and IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover (released in 2011 and set in World War II ). These three are examples of accurate simulation PC games , as opposed to arcade-style air combat games such as Bandai Namco Entertainment 's highly-successful Ace Combat series. Combat flight simulators are classified according to their historical period, type of aircraft, and level of detail. This method of classifying means that many simulators belong to more than one category, which leads to arguments about what can be considered actual simulations instead of games. Generally, simulations are expected to be imitations of real-world technology, while games are not; therefore, every game with flying in them does not fit into
3953-724: The traditional joystick, throttle, and pedals, featuring built-in support for TrackIR and virtual reality with 6 degrees of freedom which, in conjunction with the interactive 3D -cockpit, created a very realistic experience. Modern jet simulators are usually classified by their historical context or level of details ( study versus survey ). There have been many modern jet sims that concentrate on existing fighters (several AV-8 Harrier II sims, and others such as Fleet Defender by MicroProse, and F-22 Lightning 3 and F-22 Raptor by NovaLogic) , whereas others concentrate on future fighters (e.g., F-22 Total Air War by Digital Image Design in 1998). While many simulators either classify as
4020-581: The work he was doing at Taito , which Nishikado found interesting. His friend told him that Taito were desperately searching for new engineers, so Nishikado decided to join Taito instead of the communications company. He joined Pacific Industries Ltd in 1968, a subsidiary of Taito Trading Company. He began working on arcade electro-mechanical games , developing the hit target shooting games Sky Fighter (1971) and Sky Fighter II . His bosses at Taito believed transistor-transistor logic (TTL) technology would play
4087-402: Was a team sport video game, a tennis doubles game with similar ball-and-paddle gameplay to Pong but played in doubles, allowing up to four players to compete, like Atari 's Pong Doubles (1973) released the same year. Soccer was also a team sport video game, based on association football . Soccer was also a ball-and-paddle game like Pong , but with a green background to simulate
SECTION 60
#17327901021204154-405: Was a driving racing video game , released in November 1974. He considers it to be his favourite among the games he had worked on prior to Space Invaders . It was also one the first Japanese video games released in North America, where it was distributed by Midway. Running on Taito Discrete Logic hardware, the game used sprites with collision detection . The game's most important innovation
4221-535: Was also the first game where players had to repel hordes of creatures, take cover from enemy fire, and use destructible barriers, in addition to being the first game to use a continuous background soundtrack , with four simple chromatic descending bass notes repeating in a loop, though it was dynamic and changed pace during stages. It also moved the gaming industry away from Pong -inspired sports games grounded in real-world situations towards action games involving fantastical situations. Space Invaders set
4288-553: Was an arcade basketball video game released by Taito in April 1974. It was designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, who wanted to move beyond simple rectangles to character graphics. Taito released the game in Europe as Basketball in 1974. It was the earliest use of character sprites to represent human player characters in a video game. The gameplay was largely similar to earlier ball-and-paddle games, but with human-like characters rather than simple rectangles. Nishikado came up with
4355-413: Was important as modern jet combat aircraft and helicopters have a variety of complex electronic and weapon systems that are specific to a particular aircraft. Early iterations of simulators in this genre include the release of EF2000 by Digital Image Design (DiD) which quickly garnered a dedicated following, including a user group that produced a detailed online manual of weapons and tactics, as well as
4422-533: Was its introduction of scrolling graphics, where the sprites moved along a vertical scrolling overhead track, with the course width becoming wider or narrower as the player's car moves up the road, while the player races against other rival cars , more of which appear as the score increases. The faster the player's car drives, the more the score increases. The game's concept was adapted from two earlier electro-mechanical driving games: Kasco's Mini Drive (1958) and Taito's Super Road 7 (1970). In contrast to
4489-408: Was re-branded as Wheels by Midway for released in the United States and was influential on later racing games. Midway also released a version called Racer in the United States. Wheels and Wheels II sold 10,000 cabinets in the United States to become the best-selling arcade game of 1975 . The game received nine sequels: His next major title was Western Gun (known as Gun Fight in
#119880