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Arcade game:Night Driver

1976

The Strong National Museum of Play

The Strong National Museum of Play
Rochester , United States

Night Driver is famous for being the first arcade racing game displayed from the first-person point of view of the player, a genre that is now incredibly popular. It is also one of the earliest games to use 3-D perspective. The simple design of the game is enhanced by 3-D pylons marking the road.
In Night Driver, the driver must steer a Sebring racer through a dark racetrack. The illuminated pylons are the driver's only guidelines along road. The nighttime setting of the game allowed the game's designers to simulate surroundings without having to worry about details.
Two versions of the arcade machine, an upright and a sit-down cockpit, were manufactured. The sit-down model includes silver foot pedals and a black steering wheel. The first-person perspective of the car was created by placing a plastic insert under the screen, not by programming a computerized image.
The game was later ported to the Atari 2600, the Apple II and the Commodore 64, and is currently available on Microsoft's Game Room for the Xbox 360. Night Driver is a game that has endured the advances of the video game industry. Its innovative first-person perspective acted as a model for future racing games.

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The Strong National Museum of Play

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