Carmageddon

Carmageddon
European cover art
Developer(s) Stainless Games
Aqua Pacific (PS1/GBC version)
Software Creations (N64 version)
Publisher(s)
Series Carmageddon
Engine BRender
Platform(s) MS-DOS, Windows, Mac OS, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, iOS, Android
Release MS-DOS
  • SWE: June 13, 1997[1]
  • EU: June 20, 1997
  • US: June 30, 1997
Windows, Mac OS
1997
PlayStation
  • EU: October 8, 1999
Nintendo 64
  • EU: December 5, 1999
  • NA: February 11, 2000
Game Boy Color
April 3, 2000
iOS
October 17, 2012
Android
May 10, 2013
Genre(s) Vehicular combat
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer

Carmageddon is a vehicular combat video game released for personal computers in 1997. It was later ported to other platforms, and spawned a series of follow-up titles. The game was produced by Stainless Games and published by Interplay Productions and Sales Curve Interactive.

In 2011, Stainless Games obtained the rights to Carmageddon from former company Square Enix Europe. In June 2012, it was announced that a new port of the game would be released for iOS and certain Android mobile devices.[2] The game was released as both a free demo and paid game in 2013.

Gameplay

Die Anna drives through the Coastal Carnage level

In Carmageddon, the player races a vehicle against a number of other computer controlled competitors in various settings, including city, mine and industrial areas. The player has a certain amount of time to complete each race, but more time may be gained by collecting bonuses, damaging the competitors' cars, or by running over pedestrians.

Races are completed by either completing the course as one would a normal racing game, "wasting" (wrecking) all other race cars, or killing all pedestrians on the level. The game includes 36 race tracks played across 11 different maps.

The game featured instrumental versions of songs from Fear Factory's album from 1995, Demanufacture, with the song "Zero Signal" being used in the game's intro. Other songs from the album that appear are Demanufacture and Body Hammer.

Development

The game that became Carmageddon started out as "3D Destruction Derby", a banger racing sim prototyped by Stainless Software. This was signed by SCi in 1995, but under the condition that it be made into a licensed game in order to guarantee popularity. Initially SCi wanted to use the Mad Max license, but they were unable to find out who owned the rights to the franchise. They instead secured the Death Race 2000 license, as a sequel to the original film was at that time planned.[3]

According to head programmer Patrick Buckland, the initial concept stemmed from the team getting bored while playing racing games, leading them to ultimately drive in the wrong direction and crash into other cars. They decided it made sense to create a game where this was the objective to begin with.[3] Shortly after, Psygnosis released a game with this same concept, Destruction Derby. The notion of running over pedestrians was added in an effort to distinguish the game from Destruction Derby and arouse controversy.[4] However, there had been a number of recent games which involved running over pedestrians, such as Quarantine and Die Hard Trilogy.[4] Rob Henderson from SCi suggested that they could increase the potential for controversy by awarding the player points for the pedestrian kills.[3]

The Death Race 2000 sequel was later cancelled, but by this point SCi were impressed enough by Stainless's work on the game that they felt they could try creating their own IP.[3] The name "Carmageddon" was coined, and development proceeded with the designers allowed unusually free rein with regard to the content of the game.

The game uses the BRender engine, which Stainless Software were already thoroughly familiar with; one of their previous contracts was to port BRender to Macintosh and build the corresponding tools and demos.[4]

The PlayStation conversion was subcontracted to U.S. developer Elite, with the plan to release the PC and PlayStation versions simultaneously. Buckland anticipated that Elite would have problems with the conversion due to Carmageddon's open environments.[4]

Release

Carmageddon was originally released for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows in 1997, and was eventually ported to Macintosh (1997), PlayStation (1999), Nintendo 64 (1999) and Game Boy Color (2000). The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions of Carmageddon are more similar to Carmageddon II, however the latter version was heavily censored at the discretion of Nintendo's policies on game releases at the time. A port was in development for the Gizmondo, but was never released due to the system's demise. Carmageddon was released for iOS in October 2012 and for Android devices in May 2013.

Reception and sales

Carmageddon
Review scores
PublicationScore
GBCiOSN64PCPS
AllGame [5]N/A [6] [7] [8]
EdgeN/AN/AN/A6/10 [9]N/A
GameFanN/AN/A40% [10]N/AN/A
GameProN/AN/AN/A [11]N/A
Game RevolutionN/AN/AN/AB+ [12]N/A
GameSpot3.1/10 [13]N/A2.1/10 [14]8.8/10 [15]N/A
IGN3/10 [16]N/A1.3/10 [17]N/AN/A
Nintendo PowerN/AN/A5.7/10 [18]N/AN/A
OPM (UK)N/AN/AN/AN/A3/10 [19]
PC Gamer (US)N/AN/AN/A78% [20]N/A
Aggregate scores
GameRankings44% [21]72% [22]29% [23]90% [24]34% [25]
MetacriticN/A74/100 [26]N/AN/AN/A

According to the co-founders of Stainless Games, the Carmageddon series sold around two million copies in total.[3]

Official UK PlayStation Magazine were scathing of the gameplay of the PlayStation version, saying that "no amount of pureed pedestrian can cover its faults."[19] The Nintendo 64 port was ill-received, being N64 Magazine's lowest rated game at 8% from 1999 till 2004.

Controversy

In many countries (including Germany and, for a short time, the United Kingdom), the first release of the game was censored. They contained zombies with green blood or robots with black oil instead of people, as running over the non human figures was considered more acceptable by their respective ratings boards. In the United Kingdom, the BBFC refused to certify the game unless all blood and gore was removed.

After ten months of appeal, the BBFC certified the original version.[27] In some countries, the game was banned completely, including Brazil.[28] In Portugal and Australia the game was passed completely uncut with an +18 and MA15+ rating, respectively.[29]

Expansions

The Carmageddon Splat Pack is an official expansion pack released in 1997. The expansion pack included new tracks, vehicles, environments, network levels and 3Dfx support. The Carmageddon Max Pack, also released in 1997, bundled the original game and its expansion pack into one package. As a bonus, it also included a strategy guide, mousepad, and a leather car key chain with Carmageddon's logo on it.

Sequels

The game was successful enough to become a series. The other games in the main series are:

SCi had originally planned Carmageddon 4 for a release in the end of 2005. Little to no information was released about the game, then SCi (at the time owned by Eidos) put development on hold for unspecified reasons.[30] SCi and Eidos went on to focus on other projects, while Square Enix Europe obtained the series Intellectual property rights.

In 2011, Stainless Games had obtained the rights to Carmageddon from former company Square Enix Europe. After obtaining the intellectual property, Stainless developed "Carmageddon 4" under the name Carmageddon: Reincarnation. Backed by a Kickstarter campaign,[2] the game was in public beta stage, scheduled for final release in April 2015.[31] However, it was released on May 21, 2015 afterwards.

Digital re-releases

Carmageddon and its expansion Splat Pack were released on GOG.com on 27 September 2012 for modern operating systems, likely in conjunction with the 29–30 September closure of Interstate 405.[32] In addition, a port of the game for Apple's mobile devices (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad) was released on 17 October 2012.[33] A port for Android-based devices was released on 10 May 2013.

Reboot

A reboot of the series, Carmageddon: Reincarnation was developed by Stainless Games, who re-acquired the rights to the Carmageddon name, releasing in May 2015.[34] The game is a downloadable or digitally distributed game for Microsoft Windows.[35]

In July 2011, the City of Los Angeles launched a massive media campaign under the title "Carmageddon" to warn drivers about a major closure on the 405 Freeway during the weekend of July 15–17.[36]

Stainless Games capitalized on the coincidence to promote the new release by announcing on the official web site during that time that "L.A. Celebrates Carmageddon" and "Yes, it’s official! The news that Carmageddon is back has been such a hit in California, that the authorities have decided to dedicate a whole weekend to the game!"[37] Funding for the game has come partially from a Kickstarter campaign[2] and donations through their main website. Further funds were secured from Les Edgar (co founder of Bullfrog Productions).[38]

On September 26, 2013 it was announced that the PC version on Steam would be released in Q1 2014. On March 27, 2014 the first 'pre-alpha' release was available as an Early Access version on Steam. The first beta version was released on February 14, 2015, and on March 18, 2015 it was announced the game would be released on April 23, 2015 via Carmageddon's YouTube channel. The release date was later delayed to May 21, 2015.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Web Archive of SCI release news post". SCI. Archived from the original on August 11, 1997. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  2. 1 2 3 "Carmageddon: Reincarnation Kickstarter Page". Stainless Games. June 1, 2012. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Making Of... Carmageddon". Edge. Archived from the original on 2012-05-09.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "NG Alphas: Carmaggedon [sic]". Next Generation. No. 25. Imagine Media. January 1997. pp. 125–6.
  5. ↑ White, Jason. "Carmageddon (GBC) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  6. ↑ Ottoson, Joe. "Carmageddon 64 - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  7. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Carmageddon (PC) - Overview". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  8. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Carmageddon [European] (PS) - Overview". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  9. ↑ Edge staff (March 1998). "Carmageddon". Edge (46).
  10. ↑ "Carmageddon 64". GameFan. July 27, 2000.
  11. ↑ "Carmageddon (PC)". GamePro. October 1997.
  12. ↑ Dr. Moo (September 1997). "Carmageddon Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on 2000-08-19. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  13. ↑ Provo, Frank (2000-04-03). "Carmageddon Review (GBC)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2014-03-23. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  14. ↑ Lopez, Miguel (2000-08-15). "Carmageddon 64 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2014-03-23. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  15. ↑ Hudak, Chris (1997-06-30). "Carmageddon Review (PC)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  16. ↑ Nix, Marc (2000-04-11). "Carmageddon (GBC)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  17. ↑ Casamassina, Matt (2000-07-28). "Carmageddon 64". IGN. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  18. ↑ "Carmageddon 64". Nintendo Power. 133. June 2000.
  19. 1 2 "Carmageddon". Official UK PlayStation Magazine (54). January 2000.
  20. ↑ Durham, Joel (October 1997). "Carmageddon". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2000-03-01. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  21. ↑ "Carmageddon for Game Boy Color". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  22. ↑ "Carmageddon for iPhone/iPod". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  23. ↑ "Carmageddon 64 for Nintendo 64". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  24. ↑ "Carmageddon for PC". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  25. ↑ "Carmageddon for PlayStation". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  26. ↑ "Carmageddon Critic Reviews for iPhone/iPad". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  27. ↑ Bradley, David (January 1999). "Carmageddon 2 review - History of Carmageddon". PC Format. Future Publishing. p. 81.
  28. ↑ "Criar ou distribuir jogos ofensivos pode virar crime no Brasil". UOL Jogos. 2009-12-01. Archived from the original on 2009-12-23.
  29. ↑ "Refused-Classification.com Games A-D". Archived from the original on 2007-06-26.
  30. ↑ "Carmageddon 4 halted". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10.
  31. ↑ Kubba, Sinan (2015-03-19). "Carmageddon: Reincarnation Gets Full PC Release Date". IGN. Archived from the original on 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
  32. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
  33. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
  34. ↑ "Carmageddon Comes Home". carmageddon.com. 2011-06-01. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  35. ↑ CVG (2011-06-01). "New Carmageddon game confirmed for digital release". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
  36. ↑ Memmott, Mark (2011-06-30). "Fearing 'Carmageddon,' Los Angeles Police Ask Celebs To Tweet". NPR. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  37. ↑ "Carmageddon: U.S. Celebrations!". carmageddon.com. 2011-07-15. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  38. ↑ Carmageddon.com (2013-03-20). "It's Budget Day". Archived from the original on 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
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