TITLE
The Racing Game That Changed Everything Was Built on Lockheed Martin Technology
AUTHOR
Adam Ismail
PUBLICATION
Jalopnik
YEAR
2023
ARTICLE TYPE
Article
FROM THE ARTICLE
Real life has a funny way of underwhelming sometimes.It’s 1993. Sega’s AM2 division, the studio led by Yu Suzuki, the mind behind Hang-On, Space Harrier, Out Run and After Burner, is making great progress on one of its big arcade tentpoles for ’94, Daytona USA. The NASCAR-inspired racing title will be the first to utilize groundbreaking 3D graphics technology sourced from General Electric Aerospace Simulation & Control Systems, enabling texture mapping and filtering for visuals more lifelike than any seen in the medium before.
Suzuki’s last racing game, 1992’s Virtua Racing, was fast and striking but lacked the hardware to apply textures to 3D models. Mountains in Virtua Racing were piles of defined triangles painted shades of brown. The asphalt and grass alternated stripes of grays and greens, respectively, because one consistent color would’ve made depth perception impossible. But in Daytona USA, trees looked like trees, not verdant spikes jutting from Earth. Rock formations were distressed and layered; glass reflected the sky.
GAMES MENTIONED
Daytona USA