Racing video game
Racing is a genre of video games based on real life racing, and so it encompasses all of the same forms of real racing like running, automotive, equestrian, etc. However, video game racing also includes fictional forms of racing like cartoon go-kart combat racing and flying dragons. Video game sites often intermix racing and driving together, but, although the two have similar themes, the mechanics are quite different. Racing games require the player to reach a goal of some sort while competing against an opponent or a clock, while driving games do not.
Racing games are among the earliest video games ever made, starting out in the early 1970s and maintaining constant production to this day. Racing video games are often categorized based on the player's perspective of the game with the two most popular being first-person in the driver's seat and third-person looking behind and slightly above the vehicle. Some popular retro perspectives that are mostly extinct now include the side view and the top-down view.
Contents
Personal
The first racing game I ever played was Pole Position for the Atari 2600. I was pretty awful at it, and didn't care much for it. I remember seeing OutRun in arcades and thinking it was gorgeous to look at, but I don't think I ever played it. My step-brother had Rad Racer, and I was bad at it too. I pretty much gave up on racing games until I saw Mario Kart 64 being played. I thought it looked pretty awesome, but, as expected, I was bad at it. I did eventually play it in an emulator, and I like playing against other people who are roughly at my skill level, but other that it and a few other similar games, I've never really been impressed by racing games. The formula seems to always be, race the same track over and over again and become slightly better with each iteration until you can defeat the clock/AI/human opponent, and I don't find that very satisfying.
Examples
This is a list of racing games that are important to me. For all games in this genre, see the racing category.
| Title | Released | Developer | Perspective |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x4 Off-Road Racing | 1988-??-?? | Epyx, Ogdon Micro Design | Behind the vehicle |
| Diddy Kong Racing | 1997-11-21 | Rare | Behind the vehicle |
| Excitebike | 1984-11-30 | Nintendo | Side |
| Mario Kart 64 | 1996-12-14 | Nintendo | Behind the vehicle |
| OutRun | 1986-09-25 | Sega | Behind the vehicle |
| Pole Position | 1982-09-16 | Namco | Behind the vehicle |
| R.P.M. Racing | 1991-11-?? | Silicon & Synapse | Top-down |
| Rad Racer | 1987-08-07 | Square | Behind the vehicle |
| Turbo Champions | 1989-??-?? | Mastertronic | Behind the vehicle |
Media
Videos
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