The racing video game genre is the genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings. In general, they can be distributed along a spectrum anywhere between hardcore simulations, and simpler arcade racing games. Racing games may also fall under the category of sports games.
In 1973, Atari’s Space Race was a space-themed arcade game where players controlled spaceships that race against opposing ships, while avoiding comets and meteors. It was a competitive two-player game controlled using a two-way joystick, and was presented in black and white graphics.[1] The same year, Taito released a similar space-themed racing game Astro Race, which used an early four-way joystick.[2]The following year, Taito released Speed Race, an early driving racing game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado (of Space Invaders fame).[3][4] The game’s most important innovation was its introduction of scrolling graphics, specifically overhead vertical scrolling,[5] with the course width becoming wider or narrower as the player’s car moves up the road, while the player races against other rival cars, more of which appear as the score increases. It also featured an early racing wheel controller interface with an accelerator, gear shift, speedometer and tachometer. It could be played in either single-player or alternating two-player, where each player attempts to beat the other’s score.[6] The game was re-branded as Wheels by Midway Games for release in the United States and was influential on later racing games.[5] That same year, Atari released another early car driving game in the arcades, Gran Trak 10, which presented an overhead single-screen view of the track in low resolution white on black graphics, on which the player races against the clock around a track to accumulate points; while challenging, it was not competition racing.
In 1976, Taito released Crashing Race, a simultaneous two-player competitive car racing game where each player must try to crash as many computer-controlled cars as possible to score points, and the player with the most points wins.[8] Sega’s Road Race, released in February 1976,[9] introduced a three-dimensional, third-person roadside scene of the race, displaying a constantly changing forward-scrolling S-shaped road with two obstacle race cars moving along the road that the player must avoid crashing while racing against the clock.[10] That same year, Sega released Moto-Cross, an early black-and-white motorbike racing game, based on the motocross competition, that also used an early three-dimensional, third-person perspective.[11] Also known as Man T.T. (released August 1976),[12] Sega re-branded the game as Fonz, as a tie-in for the popular sitcom Happy Days.[13] The game displayed a constantly changing forward-scrolling road and the player’s bike in a third-person perspective where objects nearer to the player are larger than those nearer to the horizon, and the aim was to steer the vehicle across the road, racing against the clock, while avoiding any on-coming motorcycles or driving off the road.[11][13] The game also introduced the use of haptic feedback, which caused the motorcycle handlebars to vibrate during a collision with another vehicle.[14] In October 1976, Atari’s Night Driver presented a first-person view,[15] displaying a series of posts by the edge of the road, though there was no view of the road or the player’s car and the graphics were still low resolution white on black, and like Gran Trek 10, gameplay was a race against the clock.In 1977, Micronetics released Night Racer, a first-person car racing game similar to Night Driver,[16] while Sega released Twin Course T.T., an early simultaneous competitive two-player motorbike racing game.[17] Road Champion, released by Taito in 1978, was an overhead-view timed car racing game where players try to race ahead of the opposing cars and cross the finish line first to become the winner.[18] In 1979, Sega’s Head On was a racing game that played like a maze chase game and is thus considered a precursor to the 1980 hit Pac-Man.[19] Monaco GP, released by Sega in 1979,[20] improved upon previous overhead-view racing games with a vertically scrolling view and color graphics. Another notable video game from the 1970s was The Driver, a racing-action game released by Kasco (Kansai Seiki Seisakusho Co.) that used 16 mm film to project full motion video on screen, though its gameplay had limited interaction, requiring the player to match their steering wheel, gas pedal and brakes with movements shown on screen, much like the sequences in later laserdisc video games.In 1980, Namco’s overhead-view driving game Rally-X was the first game to feature background music,[22] and allowed scrolling in multiple directions, both vertical and horizontal, and it was possible to pull the screen quickly in either direction.[23] It also featured an early example of a radar, to show the rally car’s location on the map.[24] Alpine Ski, released by Taito in 1981, was an early winter sports game, a vertical-scrolling racing game that involved maneuvering a skier through a downhill ski course, a slalom racing course, and a ski jumping competition.[25] Turbo, released by Sega in 1981, was the first racing game to feature a third-person perspective, rear view format.[26] It was also the first racing game to use sprite scaling with full-color graphics.[27] Bump ‘n’ Jump, released by Data East in 1982, was a vertical-scrolling driving game where the player’s car jumps or bumps enemy cars for points, while bonuses were awarded for completing levels without hitting any cars.[28]

The most influential racing game was released in 1982: Pole Position, developed by Namco and published by Atari in North America. It was the first game to be based on a real racing circuit, and the first to feature a qualifying lap, where the player needs to complete a time trial before they can compete in Grand Prix races. While not the first third-person racing game (it was predated by Sega’s Turbo), Pole Position established the conventions of the genre and its success inspired numerous imitators.[29] According to Electronic Games, for “the first time in the amusement parlors, a first-person racing game gives a higher reward for passing cars and finishing among the leaders rather than just for keeping all four wheels on the road”.[30] According to IGN, it was “the first racing game based on a real-world racing circuit (Fuji Speedway in Japan)” and “introduced checkpoints,” and that its success, as “the highest-grossing arcade game in North America in 1983, cemented the genre in place for decades to come and inspired a horde of other racing games”.[31]

Pole Position II was released in 1983 and featured improvements, such as giving the player the choice of different race courses as well as more colourful landscapes lined with advertising bill-boards.[32] TX-1, developed by Tatsumi in 1983, [33] was licensed to Namco,[34] who in turn licensed it to Atari in America,[34] thus the game is considered a successor to Pole Position II.[34] TX-1, however, placed a greater emphasis on realism, with details such as forcing players to brake or downshift the gear during corners to avoid the risk of losing control, and let go of the accelerator when going into a skid in order to regain control of the steering. It was also the first car driving game to use force feedback technology, which caused the steering wheel to vibrate, and the game also featured a unique three-screen arcade display for a more three-dimensional perspective of the track. It also introduced nonlinear gameplay by allowing players to choose which path to drive through after each checkpoint, eventually leading to one of eight possible final destinations.[34]

Change Lanes, released by Taito in 1983, was a third-person racer where the player’s car had fuel that reduces while driving, thus the driver must pick-up fuel cells to get a refuel at each checkpoint, while crashing into cars or obstacles would slow down the car and further reduce its fuel. If the fuel runs out, the game would end.[35] That same year, Kaneko produced Roller Aces, an early roller skating racer played from a third-person perspective,[36] while Irem released MotoRace USA, an early partially third-person motorbike racer,[37] where the player travels across the US and refuels at various cities along the way, while avoiding crashes that can cause a substantial loss of fuel, causing the game to end if the fuel is depleted.[38] An early attempt at creating a home driving simulator was Tomy’s Turnin’ Turbo Dashboard, also released in 1983. It was the first home video game-like device (actually not video, but electromechanical with simple projector consisting of lightbulb and rotating drum) to feature a racing wheel controller.[39]

In 1984, several early racing laserdisc video games were released, including Sega’s GP World[40] and Taito’s Laser Grand Prix[41] which featured live-action footage, Universal’s Top Gear featuring 3D animated race car driving,[42] and Taito’s Cosmos Circuit, featuring animated futuristic racing.[43] Taito also released Kick Start, a fully third-person motorbike racing game,[44] and Buggy Challenge, an early dirt track racing game featuring a buggy.[45] Other early dirt racing games from that year were dirt bike games: Nintendo’s Excitebike[46] and SNK’s motocross game Jumping Cross,[47] both played from a side-scrolling view. SNK also released Gladiator 1984, an early horse racing game,[48] and Mad Crasher, an early futuristic racing game, where the player drives a futuristic motorbike along diagonal-scrolling futuristic roads suspended in mid-air, while leaping across gaps, shooting other cars, and getting bonuses and power-ups.[49] Another racing game that involved shooting that year was Nichibutsu’s Seicross, where the player rides a motorcycle-like craft, bumps other riders, collects power modules and shoots blue coins.[50] Other notable arcade releases that year include Konami’s Road Fighter, a vertical-scrolling racer where the aim is to drive fast, pass cars and avoid accidents for maximum points, while reaching check points before running out of fuel;[51] and Irem’s The Battle-Road, an early open-ended vehicle combat racing game that featured branching paths and up to 32 possible routes.[52] Another unique take on the genre that year was Plazma Line, a first-person space racing game that is considered the first computer game with 3D polygon graphics. The objective of the game is to race through outer space in a first-person view while avoiding obstacles (rendered in 3D polygons) along the way. It also featured an automap radar to keep track of the player’s position.[53]

Racing games in general tend to drift toward the arcade side of reality, mainly due to hardware limitations, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. It is, however, untrue to say that there were no games considered simulations in their time. In 1984, Geoff Crammond, who later developed the Grandprix series (Known collectively as GPX to its fanbase), produced what is considered the first attempt at a racing simulator on a home system, REVS, released for the BBC Microcomputer. The game offered an unofficial (and hence with no official team or driver names associated with the series) recreation of British Formula 3. The hardware capabilities limited the depth of the simulation and restricted it (initially) to one track, but it offered a semi-realistic driving experience with more detail than most other racing games at the time.[54]

In 1985, Sega released Hang-On, a popular Grand Prix style rear-view motorbike racer,[55] considered the first full-body-experience video game,[56] and was regarded as the first motorbike simulator for its realism at the time, in both the handling of the player’s motorbike and the artificial intelligence of the computer-controlled motorcyclists.[55] It used force feedback technology and was also one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graphics and Sega’s “Super Scaler” technology that allowed pseudo-3D sprite-scaling at high frame rates.[57] That same year, Jaleco released City Connection, a platform-racer where cops chase the player around different cities in the US, UK, France, Japan and India.[58]

In 1986, Durell released Turbo Esprit, which had an official Lotus license, and featured working car indicator lights. Also in 1986, Sega produced Out Run, one of the most graphically impressive games of its time. It used two Motorola 68000 CPUs for its 2D sprite-based driving engine, and it became an instant classic that spawned many sequels. It was notable for giving the player the non-linear choice of which route to take through the game and the choice of soundtrack to listen to while driving,[59] represented as radio stations. The game also featured up to five multiple endings depending on the route taken, and each one was an ending sequence rather than a simple “Congratulations” as was common in game endings at the time.[60] That same year, Konami’s WEC Le Mans was a race driving simulator that attempted to accurately simulate the 24 Hours of Le Mans competition, with fairly realistic handling, a day-night cycle, and the use of force feedback to simulate road vibration in the form of a vibrating steering wheel that reacts to the driver’s acceleration and off-road bumps.[61]

In 1987, Namco produced Final Lap,[62] the unofficial sequel to Pole Position II. Final Lap was the first arcade game that allowed multiple machines to be linked, allowing for multiplayer races, with up to eight players in total.[62] It was also arguably the first racing game to implement “rubber banding” to ensure that less talented players were never too far behind the leader, a concept that would be taken much further by the Mario Kart series.[63] Also in 1987, Square released Rad Racer, one of the first stereoscopic 3D games.[64] In the same year, Atari produced RoadBlasters, a driving game that also involved a bit of shooting.

In 1988, Taito released Chase H.Q., a unique racing game where the player drives a police car that must chase criminals within a time limit.[65] Chase HQ’s gameplay, which involved ramming the enemy car while avoiding oncoming traffic, has been cited as a precursor to the gameplay of later titles such as Driver and Burnout.[66] CBS Sony released Paris-Dakar Rally Special, an imaginative racing game with platformer and action-adventure elements, featuring Dakar Rally cars that could fire bullets, the driver able to exit the car and go exploring to lower a bridge or bypass other obstacles, underwater driving sections, and at times having avoid a fleet of tanks and fighter jets.[67] That same year, Namco released an early 3D racing game in the arcades, Winning Run.[68]

In 1989, Atari released Hard Drivin’, another arcade driving game that used 3D polygonal graphics. It also featured force feedback, where the wheel fights the player during aggressive turns, and a crash replay camera view. That same year, the now defunct Papyrus Design Group produced their first attempt at a racing simulator, the critically acclaimed Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, designed by David Kaemmer and Omar Khudari. The game is generally regarded as the first true auto racing simulation on a personal computer. Accurately replicating the 1989 Indianapolis 500 grid, it offered advanced 3D graphics for its time, setup options, car failures and handling. Unlike most other racing games at the time, Indianapolis 500 attempted to simulate realistic physics and telemetry, such as its portrayal of the relationship between the four contact patches and the pavement, as well as the loss of grip when making a high-speed turn, forcing the player to adopt a proper racing line and believable throttle-to-brake interaction. It also featured a garage facility to allow players to enact modifications to their vehicle, including adjustments to the tires, shocks and wings.[54] The damage modelling, while not accurate by today’s standards, was capable of producing some spectacular and entertaining pile-ups.

Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships.

Professional historians normally focus on military affairs that had a major impact on the societies involved as well as the aftermath of conflicts, while amateur historians and hobbyists often take a larger interest in the details of battles, equipment and uniforms in use.

The essential subjects of military history study are the causes of war, the social and cultural foundations, military doctrine on each side, the logistics, leadership, technology, strategy, and tactics used, and how these changed over time. On the other hand, Just War Theory explores the moral dimensions of warfare, and to better limit the destructive reality caused by war, seeks to establish a doctrine of military ethics.

As an applied field, military history has been studied at academies and service schools because the military command seeks to not repeat past mistakes, and improve upon its current performance by instilling an ability in commanders to perceive historical parallels during a battle, so as to capitalize on the lessons learned from the past. When certifying military history instructors[1] the Combat Studies Institute deemphasizes rote detail memorization and focuses on themes and context in relation to current and future conflict, using the motto “Past is Prologue.”[2]

The discipline of military history is dynamic, changing with development as much of the subject area as the societies and organisations that make use of it.[3] The dynamic nature of the discipline of military history is largely related to the rapidity of change the military forces, and the art and science of managing them, as well as the frenetic pace of technological development that had taken place during the period known as the Industrial Revolution, and more recently in the nuclear and information ages. An important recent concept is the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) which attempts to explain how warfare has been shaped by emerging technologies, such as gunpowder. It highlights the short outbursts of rapid change followed by periods of relative stability.
This branch of our discipline flourishes in an intellectual ghetto. The 144 books in question [published in 1968-78] fall into two distinct classes: works aimed at a popular readership, written by journalists and men of letters outside academic circles, and professional work nearly always produced within the military establishment…. The study of military history in universities remains seriously underdeveloped. Indeed, lack of interest in and disdain for military history probably constitute one of the strangest prejudices of the profession
Historiography is the study of the history and method of the discipline of history or the study of a specialised topic. In this case, military history with an eye to gaining an accurate assessment of conflicts using all available sources. For this reason military history is periodised, creating overlaying boundaries of study and analysis in which descriptions of battles by leaders may be unreliable due to the inclination to minimize mention of failure and exaggerate success. Military historians use Historiographical analysis in an effort to allow an unbiased, contemporary view of records.[7]

One military historian, Jeremy Black, in a recent work mentioned some problems 21st century military historians face as an inheritance of their predecessors: Eurocentricity, a technological bias, a focus on leading military powers and dominant military systems, the separation of land from sea and recently air conflicts, the focus on state-to-state conflict, a lack of focus on political “tasking” in how forces are used.[8]

If these challenges were not sufficient for the military historians, the limits of method are complicated by the lack of records, either destroyed or never recorded for its value as a military secret that may prevent some salient facts from being reported at all; scholars still do not know the exact nature of Greek fire for instance. Researching Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, for example, have presented unique challenges to historians due to records that were destroyed to protect classified miltiary information, among other reasons. Historians utilize their knowledge of government regulation and military organization, and employing a targeted and systematic research strategy to piece together war histories.[9] Despite these limits, wars are some of the most studied and detailed periods of human history.

Military historians have often compared organization, tactical and strategic ideas, leadership, and national support of the militaries of different nations.

The documentation of military history begins with the confrontation between Sumer (current Iraq) and Elam (current Iran) c. 2700 BC near the modern Basra, and includes such enduring records as the Hebrew Bible. Other prominent records in military history are the Trojan War in Homer’s Iliad (though its historicity has been challenged), The Histories by Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC) who is often called the “father of history”.[11] Next was Thucydides whose impartiality, despite being an Athenian, allowed him to take advantage of his exile to research the war from different perspectives by carefully examining documents and interviewing eyewitnesses.[12] An approach centered on the analysis of a leader was taken by Xenophon (430 BC – 355 BC) in Anabasis, recording the expedition of Cyrus the Younger into Anatolia.

The records of the Roman Julius Caesar (100 BC – 44 BC) enable a comparative approach for campaigns such as Commentarii de Bello Gallico and Commentarii de Bello Civili.
Naval warfare was often crucial to military success. Early navies used sailing ships without cannons; often the goal was to ram the enemy ships and cause them to sink. There was human oar power, often using slaves, built up to ramming speed. Galleys were used in the 3rd millennium BC by the Cretans. The Greeks later advanced these ships.[23][24]

In 1210 BC, the first recorded naval battle was fought between Suppiluliuma II, king of the Hittites, and Cyprus, which was defeated. In the Persian Wars, the navy became of increasing importance.

Triremes were involved in more complicated sea-land operations. Themistocles helped to build up a stronger Greek navy, composed of 310 ships, and defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis, ending the Persian invasion of Greece.[25]

In the First Punic War, the war between Carthage and Rome started with an advantage to Carthage because of their naval experience. A Roman fleet was built in 261 BC, with the addition of the corvus that allowed Roman soldiers on board the ships to board the enemy ships. The bridge would prove effective at the Battle of Mylae, resulting in a Roman victory.

The Vikings, in the 8th century AD, invented a ship propelled by oars with a dragon decorating the prow, hence called the Drakkar. The 12th century AD Song Dynasty invented ships with watertight bulk head compartments while the 2nd century BC Han Dynasty invented rudders and sculled oars for their warships.

Fortifications are important in warfare. Early hill-forts were used to protect inhabitants in the Iron Age. They were primitive forts surrounded by ditches filled with water. Forts were then built out of mud bricks, stones, wood, and other available materials. Romans used rectangular fortresses built out of wood and stone. As long as there have been fortifications, there have been contraptions to break in, dating back to the times of Romans and earlier. Siege warfare is often necessary to capture forts