BETA | RACING SPECIAL // DESIGN
“I don’t think gimmicks are the solution for any genre – there is only ever short-term gain to be had from them,” says Evolution’s Paul Rustchynsky, game director of PlayStation 4 title Driveclub. “But neither do I think these examples are gimmicks. Most are interesting, vibrant new features that are well integrated into the entire experience, that can change the entire dynamic of play. We just don’t do a good job of explaining to players why such features are transformative and why they’re a great reason to check out the driving genre again.”
KEEPING IT REAL
“We look across the various digital stores at some of the vehicle-based gaming that isn’t ‘cross the line’ – it’s pretty amazing,” says Nick Burcombe, creator of Wipeout and now CEO of Playrise Digital.
“I wouldn’t have thought parking would be an enjoyable activity for a game, but there’s certainly a skill-based game in there and it requires fidelity and control. Extreme taxiing? Crushing zombies before fuel runs out? Mission-based chases, endless racers, abstract racers, the list goes on. “All of them are filed under ‘racing’ but none of them are just ‘cross the finish line’. Even when you look at some of the more unusual challenges in Gran Turismo, like smashing cones and eco-driving, there’s variety of gameplay even in the sim market.” However, Nicholls warns that developers could be in danger of trying too hard to bring something new to racing.
Top-to-bottom: Codemasters’ James Nicholls, Milestone’s Michele Caletti and Wipeout creator Nick Burcombe say there are still plenty of ways to evolve the racing genre
“It would be easy to fall into the trap of trying to create complex race rules with over-the-top scoring systems and actually failing to move forward with the actual game mechanics,” he says. “You need a very clear, focused direction on the experience you’re creating, or you’ll end up with a mountain of conflicting features that don’t complement each other.”
Nicholls’ comments bring to mind some of the scepticism that accompanies the unveiling of new racing games with unexpected mechanics – particularly when it comes to more outlandish franchises such as Mario Kart. The latest title’s anti-gravity courses were initially dismissed by some as gimmicks, and there were even people that doubted the impact of social features in Driveclub or the introduction of an open world to Forza Horizon. Each, it can be argued, are attempts to overhaul their franchise or the genre without stepping too far out of gamers’ comfort zones, but are these new features under-appreciated?
22 | JUNE 2014
As has been mentioned, the simulation market dominated by Forza and Gran Turismo is far more limited in how it can keep itself fresh – flying cars are unlikely to fit seamlessly into either series. Instead, the constant push for authenticity is what drives progression in these franchises. “Motorsports continue to push their boundaries, so as racing game developers we need to do the same,” says Eutechnyx’s Westgate. “That means keeping pace with the changes and innovations within the sport. In NASCAR ’14, we patched in the new rules, keeping true to the sport. In Auto Club Revolution, we worked closely with BMW on their 1 Series M Coupé, adding it in-game to support the real
We don’t do a good job of explaining to players why new features are transformative to the driving genre.
Paul Rustchynsky, Evolution
car’s launch. Keeping in sync with the auto industry, launching cars, rule changes, tracks and race series in tune with real world events is key to keeping our genre fresh.” Ubisoft Reflections’ Musson says that making players feel immersed in the action
has been a long-running challenge for developers: “Transferring the visceral physical sensation of piloting a vehicle over into a stationary 2D monitor and controller living room setup will always be tough. In that respect, the big leaps forward came early but there is a massive amount of work still needed to convey this kind of experience. “Delivering the adrenaline rush of racing via a PC or console setup will still require leaps in innovation – and that’s before you think of all the tech around it: Driver AI, damage systems, sound systems, number of active racers and so on.”
Michele Caletti, development director at
MotoGP and WRC studio Milestone, agrees: “Involvement is everything in a racing game. It might seem obvious but the amount of buzz they’re building recently tells us that people are liking it a lot. Plus Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus – these new devices are a great opportunity to create even more heart-pounding simulations for petrolheads.” It could be argued that improvements to simulation games can only be on a small scale from this point forward, refining almost unnoticeable details rather than overhauling the mechanics. But Burcombe argues that there’s still a long way for the genre to go. “I’d like to believe sim racing could only be exhausted of innovation once we can create an experience so convincing on the senses, it’s as good as racing in the real world – apart from the risk of death, of course,” he says. “If we reach a point where you can virtually sit in the cockpit of Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car and then race on sub-millimeter scanned 3D circuits, with advanced AI, photo-real graphical detail – both inside and outside the cockpit – and emerge from the experience exhilarated, exhausted, but safe, then I think we will have delivered on the dream of all aspiring sim-racing fans.”
THE RACE OF YOUR LIFE
Many of our experts refer to the narrative of a race. Rather than literally writing storylines for the next Forza, instead they refer to the unique encounters and moments that players can carve for themselves while on the track. And if these can remain unscripted, it will be all the better.
“There’s as much thrill in pulling off an impossibly tight overtake, nailing the perfect
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