Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic racing simulations and more fantastical arcade-style racing games. Kart racing games emerged in the 1990s as a popular sub-genre of the latter. Racing games may also fall under the category of sports video games.
Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a driver must understand all aspects of car handling that make real-world racing so difficult, such as threshold braking, how to maintain control of a car as the tires lose traction, and how properly to enter and exit a turn without sacrificing speed. It is this level of difficulty that distinguishes sim racing from arcade racing-style driving games where real-world variables are taken out of the equation and the principal objective is to create a sense of speed as opposed to a sense of realism like the Need for Speed series.
Geoff Crammond is a computer game designer and programmer who specialises in motor racing games. A former defence industry systems engineer, he claims to have had little interest in motor racing before programming his first racing game (Revs) back in 1984, but he holds a physics degree, which may explain the realism of some of his programming. As a consequence of that project he became a big fan of Formula One motor racing. At the end of the 80s, this interest, plus the ever improving capabilities of home computers, inspired him to specialise in programming Formula One racing simulations.
Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, with loss of traction, while maintaining control and driving the car through the entirety of a corner or a turn. The technique causes the rear slip angle to exceed the front slip angle to such an extent that often the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn. Drifting is traditionally performed using three methods: clutch kicking, weight transfer, and employing a handbrake turn. This sense of drift is not to be confused with the four wheel drift, a classic cornering technique established in Grand Prix and sports car racing.
Formula One Grand Prix is a racing simulator released in 1991 by MicroProse for the Amiga, Atari ST and PC created by game designer Geoff Crammond. It is often referred to as Grand Prix 1, MicroProse Grand Prix, or just F1GP. Although the game itself was not affiliated officially with the FIA or any Formula One drivers, team liveries and driver helmets were accurate to represent the 1991 season, but the names were fictional. The game is a simulation of Formula One racing at the time and was noted for its 3D graphics, remarkably high framerate and attention to detail, in particular the player's ability to edit the teams and drivers and set up their car to their own personal specifications. The game was ranked the 27th best game of all time by Amiga Power. Grand Prix's success spawned three sequels, called Grand Prix 2, Grand Prix 3 and Grand Prix 4.
F1 Challenge is an officially licensed Formula One game developed by Bell Corporation and produced by Sega for the Sega Saturn. The game contains only three of the many Formula One circuits – Hockenheim, Monte Carlo, and Suzuka – while having another three based on the fictional Neo City, containing three different configurations.
Virginia International Raceway (VIR) is a race track located in Alton, Virginia, near Danville. It is less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina, on the banks of the Dan River. VIR hosts amateur and professional automobile and motorcycle events, driving schools, club days, and private test rentals.
The Autodromo di Vallelunga Piero Taruffi is a racing circuit situated 32 km (20 mi) north of Rome, Italy, near Vallelunga of Campagnano. Vallelunga was built as a 1.773 km (1.102 mi) sand oval in 1951.
Ever since Pole Position in 1982, Formula One (F1) has always played a part of the racing genre in video games. Early Formula One games were typically arcade racing games, before Formula One Grand Prix (1991) popularized Formula One racing simulations on home computers.
iRacing is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tracks, and racing events, and enforces rules of conduct modeled on real auto racing events.
Live for Speed (LFS) is a racing simulator developed by a three-person team comprising Scawen Roberts, Eric Bailey, and Victor van Vlaardingen with its latest release in 2024. The main focus is to provide a realistic racing experience for the online multiplayer game and to allow single player races against AI cars. Users can set personal bests which can then be uploaded to LFSWorld in hotlap mode, and take driving lessons in 'training' mode.
rFactor 2 is a computer racing simulator developed by Image Space Incorporated and released for Windows in 2013. Like its predecessor rFactor, rFactor2 is designed to be modified and used by professional racing teams for driver training and race car development. Much of its source code is derived from rFactor Pro, which is also used by professional racers and most of the Formula One teams and NASCAR manufacturers.
Cruden B.V. is a Dutch motion-based racing simulator designing and manufacturing company based in Amsterdam. Founders of Cruden have been developing professional motion simulators since the 1990s. Their experience in designing simulators for aerospace industry led them to use this knowledge to branch out into the marine, automotive and motorsport industries. Cruden is also branded as Hexatech.
Assetto Corsa is a sim racing video game developed by the Italian video game developer Kunos Simulazioni. It is designed with an emphasis on a realistic racing experience with support for extensive customization and moddability. The game was first released through the Steam Early Access program on 8 November 2013, and officially left Early Access as final release version on 19 December 2014.
Kunos Simulazioni s.r.l. is an Italian software development studio that specializes in creating driving simulations. The company is headquartered at the ACI Vallelunga Circuit near Rome and was established in 2005 with the goal of developing software for varying needs from solutions for professional racing teams to consumer software.
The Lucas Oil School of Racing is a racing school located in Port Richey, Florida that launched in December of 2015. In 2016, Lucas Oil School of Racing was chosen to host the finals for both the Team USA Scholarship and Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 Scholarship shootouts.
Assetto Corsa Competizione is a racing simulation video game developed by Italian video game developer Kunos Simulazioni. The game focuses on GT3, GT4, GT2 and one make series cars and is an officially licensed simulation of the GT World Challenge Europe and the Total 24 Hours of Spa covering seasons from 2018 to 2023, and is set to serve as a platform for esports.
Digital Bros is an Italian video game company that develops, publishes and distributes games. It publishes games under its 505 Games subsidiary brand since 2007 and established video game development school, Digital Bros Game Academy, in 2014. Digital Bros was founded in 1989 as Halifax and the name is still used for distribution.
A direct-drive simulator steering wheel is a simulator steering wheel with a direct-drive mechanism between the drive and output, i.e. without gearing, and is used similarly as with other simulator steering wheels for providing torque feedback so that the driver, through movement in the steering wheel, gets an interface for sensing what is happening to the car in the simulator. It is an example of human–computer interaction in driving simulators, racing simulators, and racing video games, and is an example of haptic technology
