'80s Desktop Driving Game Converted to Play Out Run

Jeremy S. Cook
Aug 29, 2017 · 2 min read

If you grew up in the 80s, you likely remember a game called Out Run, where you cruse through the countryside in a Ferari Testarossa Spider. A classic game in its own right, hacker Matt Brailsford, aka “Circuitbeard,” decided to take things several steps further, and integrated it into a 1980s desktop game called the Tomy Turnin’ Turbo Dashboard using a Raspberry Pi.

The project includes a 3.5” TFT screen, a steering wheel and gear shifter, a working ignition key for power, true MPH speed and rev counter displays, and a fuel gauge to represent the stage time remaining. (📷: CircuitBeard)

While ripping the guts out of a vintage toy and inserting a few retro games has been done before, what sets this build apart is just how much effort he put into preserving the Tomy Turnin’ game’s original look. In order to do this, he actually used Cannonball, a C++ port of Out Run that can be played on a Raspberry Pi. This allowed him to modify the code in order to output dash-mounted LEDs corresponding to in-game statistics, such as speed, revs, and even a turbo button that goes on when in high gear.

The controls are left as original as possible as well. A game start button replaces the original reset button, the shifter is made to double as the throttle and brake pedals, and the ignition switch is even wired to properly power up and shut down the Raspberry Pi running the game. Perhaps most impressively, the steering wheel features actual analog control, via a slide potentiometer adapted to this purpose.

A look inside the dashboard. (📷: CircuitBeard)

Finally, a 3.5-inch TFT screen shows the actual gameplay, nicely plugged in where the original display used to sit. It’s a truly epic build, and if you’d like to know more details, be sure to check out Brailsford’s detailed write-up!

Hackster Blog

Hackster.io, an Avnet community, is the world’s largest network for hardware & software developers. With 1 million members and 17,000+ projects, beginners and professionals can learn and share how to build robotics, industrial automation systems, AI-powered machines, and more.

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Jeremy S. Cook

Written by

Engineer, tech writer, content creator, maker of random contraptions for fun and profit.

Hackster Blog

Hackster.io, an Avnet community, is the world’s largest network for hardware & software developers. With 1 million members and 17,000+ projects, beginners and professionals can learn and share how to build robotics, industrial automation systems, AI-powered machines, and more.

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