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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/race_drivin_screenshot.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:Don't get dizzy.]]
3%%Not a mistake, it's stylized with an apostrophe at the end.
4''Hard Drivin''' is a 1989 arcade racing game released by Atari. It was one of the first fully 3D games ever made, along with being one of the first to include textures, which were used on signs and a couple background objects. It touted itself as the "world's first authentic driving simulation game", and this claim held up well with critics of the time.
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6The game consists, simply enough, of driving around the track before time runs out, and your score is based on your time. The beginning of the track forks into two choices, a "Speed Track" that emphasizes conventional high-speed driving ability, and a "Stunt Track" that features wildly dangerous (but still reality-based) obstacles. This makes ''Hard Drivin''' one of the earliest examples of the stunt racing subgenre.
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8The game's development involved using real world physics equations when designing the car's physics, using data from a 1950s study that was originally for aeronautics development. Further adding to the game's realism cred, the cabinet included an accurate manual transmission feature.
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10The game spawned two very similar sequels, ''Race Drivin''' and ''Hard Drivin' 2'' before falling into relative obscurity. It was ported to various consoles to varying degrees of success, and prototypes have surfaced in recent years of numerous other attempted ports, most notably one for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem.
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13!! ''Hard Drivin''' demonstrates the following tropes:
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15* ArtificialStupidity: The other cars on the track will make absolutely no effort to avoid you, even if you drive on the wrong side of the road on a direct collision course with them.
16* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Running over a pig makes it moo.
17* BadassDriver: The whole point of the game is to test your real(ish)-life driving skills for a high score. Exaggerated with the Stunt Track, where obstacles include a corkscrew, bridge jump, and vertical loop. It culminates in a 100-foot-tall near-vertical hill followed by a [[LeParkour 360-degree spiral along the walls of a tunnel]] to avoid a crashed tanker truck... whereupon you ''do it all over again.''
18* BorderPatrol: Being off track for 10 seconds cuts the gas and forces a respawn when the player comes to a stop. What mystic force prevents the player from exploring is up to their imagination.
19* BottomlessFuelTanks: Provided you reach each checkpoint in time, your car will run indefinitely.
20* EveryCarIsAPinto: In spite of having a highly advanced sports car, your car will still spontaneously combust no matter how minor the crash is.
21* {{Fauxrrari}}: The car you drive looks suspiciously like a Ferrari Testarossa, but is referred to simply as a "sports car".
22* FragileSpeedster: Even when you're not going fast, motion + wall = death. Likely by design to get the player back into the action more quickly.
23* IndestructibleVehicles: The oncoming traffic in the arcade version and some of the ports hardly even notice when you ram into them. [[EveryCarIsAPinto You, on the other hand...]]
24* NintendoHard: Well, it's called '' '''Hard''' Drivin[='=]'' for a reason, after all. As a simulator-type driving game, you are expected to take corners like you would in a real-world car, and crashing will cost you a ton of time as you attempt to start your car back up again.
25* NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom: See BorderPatrol.
26* RacingGame: Pretty obvious from the title.
27* RampJump: Taking the stunt track allows the player to jump over an open bridge.

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