Hard Drivin'

Atari Games
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Founded	1984; 42 years ago
Founder	Warner Communications
Headquarters	Sunnyvale, California, United States
Products	Video games, arcade games
Parent	Warner Communications (until 1985), Time Warner (after 1990)

Hard Drivin' is a 1989 sim racing arcade video game created by Atari Games. Players navigate a sports car through stunt-oriented tracks that prioritize speed and precision. The game is notable for featuring one of the earliest implementations of 3D polygonal driving environments, delivered via a simulator cabinet equipped with a force-feedback vibrating steering wheel and specialized rendering hardware.

Gameplay

The game places players behind the wheel of a sports car from a first-person viewpoint, challenging them to complete one or two laps on stunt courses while evading hazards such as other vehicles and various obstacles. In select modes, the top ten scorers compete against an AI opponent known as the Phantom Photon. The manual transmission option incorporates a clutch pedal, introducing the possibility of stalling, alongside a vibrating haptic steering wheel for enhanced immersion.

Player advancement is monitored through invisible checkpoints, which appear as flags on the course map once the timer expires. Passing the midpoint checkpoint awards additional time to continue racing.

When players crash—either by colliding with objects or failing jumps—a ten-second instant replay presents an aerial perspective leading up to the incident. Afterward, gameplay resumes from the last checkpoint passed, which can be located some distance from where the crash occurred. If the vehicle veers off the designated track, a ten-second countdown initiates; failure to return within this period results in the car being halted and repositioned at the previous checkpoint.

Development

The creation of the 3D arcade hardware powering Hard Drivin' originated in the mid-1980s. During this period, Atari Games was under Namco ownership, and both companies jointly developed a 3D arcade system. Following their split, each firm pursued its own iteration derived from the shared prototype: Atari implemented an earlier version for Hard Drivin', while Namco refined the technology into the Namco System 21, which was utilized in Winning Run (1988).

Development on Hard Drivin' commenced in 1988 with plans for release that same year. However, concerns raised by Atari's vice president regarding the arcade cabinet's steep price tag—approximately —led to delays. Market research eventually confirmed consumer willingness to pay, allowing development to proceed.

The system architecture comprises a primary CPU, two TMS34010 32-bit graphics processors, and a dedicated digital signal processor.

Physics

The game's physics engine simulates vehicle behavior—including engine performance, transmission mechanics, suspension dynamics, and tire interactions—in partnership with Doug Milliken, co-author of Race Car Vehicle Dynamics and credited as a test driver. His father, William Milliken Jr., was instrumental in pioneering efforts at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (later Calspan) that adapted aircraft motion equations for automotive use, providing foundational expertise in realistic car modeling vital to the simulation's authenticity.

Ports

Home versions of Hard Drivin' were considerably limited in processing power compared to their arcade counterpart. Available platforms included the Amstrad CPC, Mega Drive / Genesis, and Atari Lynx. The Commodore 64 iteration was only released as part of the Wheels of Fire compilation. Additionally, an unreleased version for the NES, developed by Mark Morris, exists but was never commercially launched.

Reception

Atari distributed a total of 3,318 arcade units of Hard Drivin'. In Japan, Game Machine listed it as the second most popular upright/cockpit arcade machine in June 1989, while it ranked sixth among the top-grossing dedicated arcade titles in 1990. In Hong Kong, it secured the top position on Bondeal's dedicated arcade cabinet rankings in November 1989. The Spectrum edition climbed to number two on the UK sales charts, trailing only behind Gazza's Superstar Soccer.

Critics praised its demanding gameplay and realistic driving simulation. Nick Kelly from Commodore User lauded the arcade edition as a significant breakthrough in coin-operated driving simulators. Review scores included 92% from Crash (Spectrum), 89% from MegaTech (Mega Drive), and ranged between 78% and 90% across various Spectrum publications. IGN assigned the Lynx version a score of 6 out of 10.

In contrast, the Commodore 64 adaptation received harsh criticism from Zzap!64, which rated it at 20% due to substandard visuals and performance problems. The Mega Drive iteration earned a moderate score of 30 out of 40 from reviewers in Japan.

Accolades

Your Sinclair honored it as the best arcade game of 1989. Meanwhile, Computer and Video Games placed it fourth among that year’s top arcade games. The home computer versions were awarded Best Coin-Op Conversion at the 1989 Golden Joystick Awards. Additionally, Crash granted it a Crash Smash distinction, and The Games Machine recognized it with a Star Player award.

Legacy

In 2004, Hard Drivin' was featured within the compilation Midway Arcade Treasures 2, which was released for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox platforms.

Sequels

The arcade sequel Race Drivin' debuted in 1990. In 1991, Hard Drivin' II - Drive Harder was launched for Atari ST, Amiga, and MS-DOS. However, planned follow-ups titled Hard Drivin's Airborne (1993) and Street Drivin' (1993) were ultimately never published.

External links

Hard Drivin at Arcade History