Carmageddon

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Carmageddon
UK PC Version boxart
Developer(s)	Stainless Games
Publisher(s)	SCi, Interplay
Engine	BRender
Platform(s)	DOS4GW, Macintosh
Release date	June 30, 1997
Genre(s)	Vehicular combat
Mode(s)	Single player, Network Multiplayer
Players	1 - 6 players
Rating(s)	ESRB: M BBFC: 18 OFLC: MA15+ ELSPA: 15+ (cut) USK: 12 (cut)
Media	CD-ROM
System requirements	MS-DOS 6.6 / Windows 95 75MHz CPU 32MB RAM 20MB Hard Disk Space 2MB Graphics card 4x CD-ROM Drive SoundBlaster or 100% Compatible IPX (for network game)
Input methods	Keyboard & Mouse

Carmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent driving-oriented video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi and released June 30, 1997 on Windows PC and Macintosh. It has the dubious title of being a poster child for video game controversy.

The game was notable for its realistic and ground-breaking physics, and for its in-game movie making features. It was also one of the earliest examples of a sandbox 3D driving game, and may have influenced other later games including the Driver and Grand Theft Auto series.

Gameplay

The aim is for the player to work their way up the ranking system, from 99th place to first. The player vehicle is pitted against a number of computer controlled competitors, in locations such as cities, mines and desert towns. Levels can be beaten in one of three ways:

• Completing all the laps of the race course, as one would a normal racing game.
• "Wasting" (wrecking) all the opponents vehicles.
• Killing all the pedestrians in the area.

There are three difficulty levels to choose from. Each level has a time limit, but more time may be gained by going through checkpoints, collecting bonuses, damaging the competitors' cars, and by running over pedestrians (with points awarded for style).

These actions also reward the player with Credits, which can be used to make instant repairs or recover the car (after falling down a chasm, for example). They can also be used to upgrade Armour, Power and Offense stats in the Parts Shop between races. This is also the time to switch which car to drive if others have been obtained.

As well as opponents partaking in the 'race', some levels also contain a number of Squad Cars, which will activate their sirens and hound the player when provoked. They can be attacked and destroyed, but do not count as opponents. A single "Super Squad Car" exists in one level, and it can be claimed if destroyed. An action replay is available at any point during a race.

The game also had a multiplayer mode - Up to 6 players could play over a network connection.

See also: Levels in Carmageddon

Plot

The intro movie portrays the build-up to the start of a race, focusing on the drivers and their vehicles on the starting grid. Censored versions of the game had a different voiceover and some alternate footage, in order to justify the presence of zombies as opposed to humans:

"The year is 2028. Solar flares have contaminated the atmosphere, turning 80% of the world's population into wandering crowds of evil zombies. In this era of peace, where weapons are a forgotten problem of the past, mankind has only one option - to defend society as we know it IN CARS. All pedestrians have been cleared from the streets; Carmageddon is our only hope."

The ending movie was the same in all versions, showing the playing mowing down race officials in the Supressor. The Blood version had no voiceover, but the censored version had the following speech:

"They presented the cash, the lousy trophy, but the other stuff? The new world? They LIED. There was no end to this hell, no fabled land of clean air and freedom. It was all the same, and now you knew the truth, they'd NEVER let you live. So you've got to keep going, you've got to keep driving, because while you're driving, you're surviving."

Characters

Main article: Category:Drivers in Carmageddon

See also: List of vehicles in Carmageddon

Carmageddon features 30 characters, each with their own individual vehicle and three stats; Top Speed, Weight and 0-60 Speed (Miles per hour). Each of these attributes leads to each car having pro and cons, such as light cars being fast but weak. The player can choose one of two characters to play as in the game - Max Damage (male) or Die Anna (female) - and their own username.

Some cars in the game are 'stealworthy': occasionally when an opponent has been wasted, a message will pop up to notify the player that the car has been added to their garage, free of charge. All cars are unlocked upon completion of the game (including the Police vehicles), but those that were not earned are labelled 'CHEAT!'.

Levels

See also: Levels in Carmageddon

The locations of Carmageddon are varied; races take place in mine shafts, the Arizona desert, chemical facilities, city streets and on coastal roads. All are populated by pedestrians, street furniture and parked / burnt-out cars. The countryside features flora and fauna. Many levels have endless drops - if anyone falls down these (player or opponent), they are automatically recovered.

Development

Carmageddon began life in 1994 as a banger-racing game, but it was decided by publishers SCi that a license was needed to ensure success. The rights to a Mad Max video game were sought, but the rights owners could not be found. Development moved on based around a Death Race 2020 license - a sequel to the 1975 cult classic movie Death Race 2000. This brought in the 'running over people' part of the game. Unfortunately the license agreement fell through late in development; In near-final versions of the game, the .exe was still called Deathrace. Stainless decided to press on and create their own IP.

Controversy

The game was controversial at the time of its release, due to players being able to kill people and animals, and being rewarded for doing so. In many regions the pedestrians were replaced by Zombies with green blood; In Germany they were replaced by Robots with black oil. Downloadable "Blood Pack" patches were quickly released onto the internet (possibly by Stainless themselves) which would restore the human pedestrians and red blood.

Music

The game featured a music score version of Fear Factory's album Demanufacture, with the song 'Zero Signal' being used as the opening theme.

Modification

The game is open to a significant amount of customization, and many tools are available for doing so. Many object definitions (i.e. a cars acceleration, a powerups duration etc.) and physics numbers are in encrypted text files, but these can be decrypted with the IWANTTOFIDDLE cheat or external apps. Community-created vehicles and levels can be added, pedestrians can be re-skinned with new looks, and the audio can be changed.

Expansion Pack & Compilation

Main article: Carmageddon Splat Pack

Carmageddon Splat Pack was the only official expansion pack, released in 1997. It was a standalone game, but required the Carmageddon disc to install. The pack featured 19 new cars and 8 new locations, as well as a patch to enable 3DFX Glide support in Carmageddon.

The two games were later packaged together as the Carmageddon Max Pack, which was also available in a Limited Edition.

An unofficial collection titled Level Pack 8: Carmageddon was released, putting several community maps and utilities onto CD.

Taglines

Europe: Drive to survive!

US: The Racing Game for the Chemically Imbalanced

External links

• Listing on SCi's Offical Site
• GameSpot's Carmageddon Review
• Review scores at Gamerankings
• Edge Magazine's The Making of... Carmageddon
• Thunderbolt Games article
• Trivia at MobyGames
• Carmageddon FAQ by RCS (V1.95)