ULTIMATE GUIDE: STUNT CAR RACER

OF ALL GEOFF CRAMMOND'S CELEBRATED 3D GAMING EXPERIENCES, STUNT CAR RACER IS ARGUABLY THE MOST FUN. RETRO GAMER IS YOUR NAVIGATOR, AS YOUR VEHICLE IS WINCHED ONTO THE STARTING LINE OF HIS DAREDEVIL RACING TITLE

- RORY MILNE

When Geoff Crammond left university in the mid-Seventies there was no such thing as a home computer. It wasn’t until six years after he graduated that they first started to appear, at which point he bought himself a BBC Micro. After developing a version of Space Invaders for the system, which was published as Super Invaders, he focussed on creating games set in 3D worlds, including the combat flight simulator Aviator, the racing game Revs and the strategy title The Sentinel.

Given that all of his three-dimensional projects had been number-one hits, Geoff naturally moved onto designing a fourth game depicted in 3D, initially for the C64. Fans of his previous work knew nothing of his plans, however, as he kept his next project quiet, and his publisher MicroProse followed suit by not briefing the gaming press about what he was working on.

Behind closed doors, Geoff came up with a prototype that would lead to a design that was part racer, part roller-coaster ride. Initially, however, this work in progress had the potential to be a shoot-’em-up, possibly involving tanks battling each other across its rough terrain. This uneven ground happened to be randomly generated, and while playtesting, Geoff spotted a small hill. When he drove over it, the thrill of flying through the air gave him an idea: his project’s core objective should be speeding over ramps. So he levelled its undulating playfield, and peppered it with jumps. Then because these were widely dispersed, and therefore tricky to find, he linked them together to form a track, and then raised this high off the ground to provide motivation to stay on the course.