Fire Truck (video game)
Fire Truck is a black-and-white 1978 arcade game developed and published by Atari, Inc..[2] According to GamesRadar, it was the earliest video game with cooperative gameplay where two players are forced to work together.[3] A single-player version was released as Smokey Joe.[4][5] It is internally identical to Fire Truck.[6]
Fire Truck | |
---|---|
![]() Arcade flyer | |
Developer(s) | Atari, Inc. |
Publisher(s) | Atari, Inc. |
Designer(s) | Howard Delman |
Platform(s) | Arcade |
Release | 1978 |
Genre(s) | Racing |
Mode(s) | Single-player, co-op |
Cabinet | Sit-down, upright |
CPU | 6800 @ 1MHz[1] |
Sound | Amplified Mono (one channel) |
Display | 23" Black-and-white CRT monitor[1] |
Fire Truck is built on the technology created for Atari's Super Bug released the previous year.[6] Both games were programmed by Howard Delman.[7]
Gameplay

Players must cooperate to drive the truck through traffic as far as possible without crashing. While the game can be played with one player, it was primarily designed for two. The front player steers the tractor of the truck sitting down, controlling the gas and brakes, while the rear player stands, and steers the tiller for the rear wheels, controlling the swing of the trailer. The cabinet also provides the players with bells and horns, although these have no use in the actual game.
References
- http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7814
- "Fire Truck - Overview". allgame. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- "Gaming's most important evolutions, Xbox 360 Features". GamesRadar. 2010-10-08. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9593
- http://www.gameclassification.com/EN/games/1139-Fire-Truck--Smokey-Joe/index.html
- Scott Stilphen, DP Interviews Howard Delman, retrieved May 31, 2012
- Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".