''Rally Speedway'' (also known as ''John Anderson's Rally Speedway'') is a top-down racing game developed by John Anderson for

Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...

. It was published by

Adventure International Adventure International was an American video game publisher, video game publishing company that existed from 1979 until 1986. It was started by Scott Adams (game designer), Scott and Alexis Adams. Their games were notable for being the first i ...

in 1983 as 16K ROM cartridge. A port to the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

was published by

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

in 1985. The game includes options for changing how vehicles handle, such as top speed, acceleration, and whether roads are wet, dry, or icy. There's also an integrated editor for creating and saving race tracks. Ansderson was inspired by the 1980

Intellivision The Intellivision (a portmanteau of intelligent television) is a home video game console released by Mattel Electronics in 1979. It distinguished itself from competitors with more realistic sports and strategic games. By 1981, Mattel Electronic ...

game ''

Auto Racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

''. In turn, ''Rally Speedway'' directly influenced the 1991

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

game ''

Micro Machines Micro Machines are a line of toys originally made by Galoob (now part of Hasbro) from 1987 and throughout the 1990s. Micro Machines are tiny scale component style "playsets" and vehicles that are slightly larger than N scale. History The toys ...

''.

Gameplay

''Rally Speedway'' shows a birds-eye view of a small section of a larger race track that

scrolls A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyru ...

. Single-player and two-player modes are available, with no computer-controlled opponents present in either mode. In the single-player game, the player races against time. The only goal is to improve one's lap time while avoiding various roadside objects. In the two-player mode, players race against each other over a set amount of laps (three by default). Both players share the same view of the track. Player vehicles get near the screen's edges when the distance between them grows. Once one player gets too far behind, he or she receives a 5-second time penalty, and both players are placed together at the current location. A player that crashes receives a 10-second penalty. There are options for changing top speed and acceleration, road surface, and enabling immunity to crashes. ''Rally Speedway'' includes an editor for creating new tracks and saving them on cassette or disk.

Development

In a 2008 interview, John Anderson said that the idea for ''Rally Speedway'' came from the

game ''

''. He compressed the graphics to make them fit on a 16K cartridge:

Reception

Lee Pappas of ''

ANALOG Computing ''ANALOG Computing'' was an American computer magazine devoted to Atari 8-bit computers. It was published from 1981 until 1989. In addition to reviews and tutorials, ''ANALOG'' printed multiple programs in each issue for users to type in. Almo ...

'' wrote in January 1984 that ''Rally Speedway'' "is one of the nicest designed and executed games for the tari 8-bit. In the May 1984 issue of ''

Electronic Games ''Electronic Games'' was the first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States and ran from October 15, 1981, to 1997 under different titles. It was co-founded by Bill Kunkel, Joyce Worley, and Arnie Katz. History The h ...

'', Bill Kunkel praised the graphics and the variety of menu options for customizing the game, calling it "a virtual role model for games of this type". A 1984 review in ''Hi-Res'' magazine called ''Rally Speedway'' "graphically gorgeous" but criticized the top-down perspective for being less exciting than a behind-the-car view.

Legacy

Andrew Graham, designer of ''

'' for the

, used ''Rally Speedway'' as a model for that game: ''Micro Machines'' ended up using a scoring system instead of time penalties.

References

External links

* * {{lemon64 game, name=Rally Speedway, id=2083
Review
in ''

GAMES A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

'' magazine 1983 video games Adventure International games Atari 8-bit computer games Commodore 64 games Top-down racing video games Video games developed in the United States Multiplayer and single-player video games

Gameplay

Development

Reception

Legacy

See also

References

External links