Turbo (video game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Turbo | |
|---|---|
 North American arcade flyer | |
| Developer | Sega |
| Publishers |
|
| Designer | Steve Hanawa |
| Programmer | Steve Hanawa |
| Platforms | Arcade, ColecoVision, Intellivision |
| Release | Arcade ColecoVision
|
| Genre | Racing |
| Mode | Single-player |
| Arcade system | VCO Object |
Turbo (Japanese: ターボ, Hepburn: Tābo) is a 1981 racing video game developed and published by Sega for arcades; in North America, it was distributed by Sega/Gremlin. Designed and coded by Steve Hanawa, the game received positive reviews upon release, with praise for its challenging and realistic gameplay, 2.5D color graphics with changing scenery, and cockpit sit-down arcade cabinet. It topped the monthly Play Meter arcade charts in North America and ranking highly on the Game Machine arcade charts in Japan.
The game was manufactured in three formats: standard upright, cabaret/mini, and a seated environmental/cockpit. All three versions have a steering wheel, a gearshift for low and high gears, and an accelerator pedal. The screen is a vertically oriented 20-inch raster display. In addition to the on-screen display, there is an LED panel to the left of the screen that displays the current player's score and the high score table. There are also lighted oil and temperature gauges on either side of the steering wheel.[7] Turbo was ported to the Colecovision and Intellivision consoles.
Turbo requires the player to navigate a road race through different urban and rural locations, through differing weather conditions, and during changing times of day. The cars in the game resemble Formula 1 race cars. In order to proceed, the player must pass and stay ahead of at least 30 competing cars before time expires. Some opponents drive predictably, while others swerve across the road suddenly.
Turbo was the first game in its genre to feature a third-person perspective, one year earlier than Namco's Pole Position. It was also the first game to use scaling sprites as well as pioneered the utilisation of day-night transitions and weather effects.[8]
In the first round, the player has unlimited lives; collisions with other vehicles will return the player's car to the bottom of the current screen. In subsequent rounds, the player is limited to two lives (one on the screen playing and the other in reserve) and awarded an additional life (up to a total of four in reserve) for each completed round. In addition to competing racers, an ambulance occasionally comes along from behind and overtakes the player - they must be avoided, as contact with them will cause the player to lose a life; the game will be over when all player lives are gone in addition to the time expired before reaching 30 passed cars.
Development
Turbo was designed and coded by Steve Hanawa. In an interview, Hanawa stated that despite its historical significance as a precedent-setting racing video game, he considers the process of creating it to have been his worst development experience at Sega. Development of Turbo required such a difficult and protracted schedule of coding and debugging that he was hospitalized for a month following its completion due to stress, exhaustion and a spontaneously collapsed lung.[9]
Ports
An Atari 2600 port by Coleco was in development and advertised by Coleco. It was never completed in part because lead programmer Michael Green was struck and seriously injured by a drunk driver while riding a bicycle. The prototype, estimated to be about 80% complete, was found by another Coleco programmer, Anthony Henderson, in his attic in 2006.[10]