{{Short description|1979 video game}} {{more citations needed|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox video game | title = Speed Freak | image = File:Speed_Freak_1979_Arcade_Flyer.jpg | caption = | developer = Vectorbeam | publisher = Vectorbeam | designer = Larry Rosenthal | released = March 1979<ref>{{harv|Gaming History|2009}}</ref> | platforms = Arcade | genre = Racing | modes = Single-player | arcade system = Vectorbeam hardware }} '''Speed Freak''' is a monochrome vector arcade game created by Vectorbeam in 1979. Along with Atari, Inc.'s ''Night Driver'' and Bally Midway's ''Datsun 280 ZZZAP''–both from 1976–it is one of the earliest first-person driving games and the first such game known to use vector graphics.<ref>{{harv|Yu|2002}}</ref>
==Gameplay== thumb|left|Gameplay screenshot The game is a behind-the-wheel driving simulation where the driver speeds down a winding computer-generated road past other cars, hitchhikers, trees, cows and cacti. Occasionally a plane will fly overhead towards the screen. One must avoid crashing into these objects and complete the race in the allotted time.<ref>{{cite book|title=Speed Freak Operating Manual|year=1979|chapter=1|page=2}}</ref> The player can crash as many times as he wants before the time runs out and players were treated to two different crash animations. The first was a simple cracked windshield effect, the second was a crash where the car explodes into car parts that fly through the air.<ref>{{cite book|title=Speed Freak Operating Manual|year=1979|chapter=2|page=3}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
;Sources *{{cite web|url=http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=speed-freak&page=detail&id=2578|title=Speed Freak: The [Coin-Op] Arcade Video Game|publisher=Gaming History|date=2009-08-28|accessdate=2014-12-27|ref={{harvid|Gaming History|2009}}}} *{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/download/ArcadeGameManualSpeedfreak/speedfreak.pdf|title=Speed Freak: Operation and Maintenance Manual|year=1979|publisher=Vectorbeam|location=Union City, CA|ref={{harvid|Speed Freak Operating Manual|1979}}}} *{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XiM0ntMybNwC|title=The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to Playstation and Beyond|last=Wolf|first=Mark J. P.|year=2008|publisher=Greenwood|location=Westport, CT|isbn=978-0-313-33868-7}} *{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2002/01/24/pedal-to-the-metal/|title=Pedal To The Metal: From arcade classics' sparse graphics to today's lifelike games, racing titles have come a long way|last=Yu|first=Andrea|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=2002-01-24|access-date=2014-12-27}}
==External links== *{{KLOV game|id=9707|name=Speed Freak}} *[http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=1724&image=1 ''Speed Freak''] at the Arcade Flyer Archive
Category:1979 video games Category:Arcade video games Category:Arcade-only video games Category:First-person video games Category:Racing video games Category:Single-player video games Category:Vector arcade video games Category:Vectorbeam games Category:Video games developed in the United States