Suzuki began the development of Hang-On after deciding to design a motorcycle racing game as a way to use a torsion bar in an arcade game. With market research suggesting GP 500 racing was popular, Suzuki took inspiration from world champion Freddie Spencer and his style of racing. The game's soundtrack was written by, who used rock music that was uncommon in arcade games at the time.
Hang-On was very popular at launch and sold well for Sega, becoming the highest-grossing arcade video game of 1985 in the United States and then the highest-grossing arcade game of 1986 in both Japan and the United States. It received a positive critical reception for its realism, graphics, bike cabinet, and physical controls, though there was some initial controversy in Japan over modesty concerns involving female players with the bike cabinet. The game started the trend of "taken" motion simulator games in the late 1980s, which Sega followed with hits such as Space Harrier (1985), Out Run (1986), and After Burner (1987); this helped the arcade video game market recover during the late 1980s. Hang-On has been recognized as a well-remembered and influential arcade game. Several sequels were later made for arcades, as well as video game consoles.
Using a behind the motorcycle perspective, the player races a linear track divided into several stages within a limited time. Players have to lean the motorcycle in order to turn, with tighter corners requiring a further lean.[8] A throttle similar to a motorcycle has to be twisted to accelerate the bike.[9] The game has one track, pieced together in segments.[10] Reaching a checkpoint at the end of each segment extends the time limit, and the remaining time is carried over into the next stage.[11] Running off the track results in the motorcycle crashing and the rider is launched into the air.[12] The game ends if the time runs out or all five stages are completed.
Development:-
Hang-On was the second game to be developed by Suzuki, the first being 1984's Champion Boxing.[13] Development of Hang-On began with a project brought to him by a colleague who asked him to implement a torsion bar into an arcade game design—although the bar proved too difficult to implement in the final game design and springs were used instead. Suzuki was given the freedom to decide what kind of game to design, and as a fan of cars and motorcycles, he chose to design a game where the arcade cabinet simulated an actual motorcycle and players would have to move side to side on the motorcycle in order to turn.[10][14] He also had a desire to make his game better than Pole Position, A game that had beaten out Sega's Turbo in popularity.[15] In developing the game, Suzuki wanted to make his new motorcycle racing game a realistic experience. His initial desire was to create a 3D game, though the technology of the time made full 3D environments impossible. Instead, he specified the design of Sega's new Super arcade system board—initially known as Sega Hang-On hardware[10]—enhanced from the existing VCO Object system board that would utilize multiple CPUs and back end DSP compatibility to create 3D effects while utilizing 16-bit graphics.[17] The game achieves its 3D effects using a sprite-scaling technique.[18]
In designing the game, Suzuki had to decide on a style of motorcycle racing for the game. Suzuki himself was a fan of dirt bikes, along with motocross and Enduro[10] and dirt bikes would later be used in Suzuki's Enduro Racer.[19] However, Sega's market research concluded that road-based GP 500 racing was more popular worldwide.
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