Freeway (video game)
| Freeway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Designer(s) | David Crane[1] |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release date(s) | 1981 |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Freeway is a video game designed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 video game console. It was published by Activision in 1981.
One or two players control chickens who can be made to run across a ten lane highway filled with traffic in an effort to "get to the other side." Every time a chicken gets across a point is earned for that player. If hit by a car, a chicken is forced back either slightly, or pushed back to the bottom of the screen, depending on what difficulty the switch is set to. The winner of a two player game is the player who has scored the most points in the two minutes, sixteen seconds allotted. The chickens are only allowed to move up or down. A cluck sound is heard when a chicken is struck by a car.
Comparisons are often made to Frogger, which has also features crossing a street filled with moving vehicles. Both games were developed independently at the same time. Similarities did help sales when Frogger was popular in the arcades and a home version was not yet available.
Freeway was made available on Microsoft's Game Room service for its Xbox 360 console and for Windows-based PCs on August 18, 2010.
Development
David Crane came up with the game during the SCES in Chicago, when he observed someone attempting to cross Lake Shore Drive on foot.
The original prototype version for Freeway was entitled Bloody Human Freeway. A few major differences to the finished product were: at start up, cars were already on the freeway instead of all being lined up on the right side; the score and Activision logo were yellow instead of pink; instead of controlling a chicken, the player controlled a man and instead of being forced down a bit when hit by a car, the character would turn into a streak of blood; pressing the fire button reset the game. There were some minor differences in the sounds used.
Badge
If a player scored 20 or more points on either Road 3 or Road 7 and sent in a photograph of the television screen, Activision would send the player a cloth "Save The Chicken Foundation" badge featuring the Activision logo and the stylized "running chicken" image from the game package.
Reception
Freeway was well received, earning an Honorable Mention for "Most Innovative Game" in 1982 at the Third Annual Arkie Awards. In 2014, it received an elegant homage in the hugely successful Crossy Road, a mobile app that shares much of the former's gameplay innovations and conventions. [2]:28
References
- ↑ "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- ↑ Kunkel, Bill; Laney, Jr., Frank (January 1982). "Arcade Alley: The Third Annual Arcade Awards". Video (Reese Communications) 5 (10): 28, 76–77. ISSN 0147-8907.