I couldn't end the car series without making a wish list of sorts. After decades of playing driving games I asked myself what type of racing game would I come up with. Something that everybody could enjoy and not solely for car fans. A racer that brings in new ideas and doesn't feel like another cookie-cutter experience.
Now is the time to bring up my idea, not as the capper for the car series but because I feel that the game industry is stuck in a rut. They seem to be out of driving ideas and are now grasping for straws. Very few of the driving IP coming out today seems to be coming from car fans. One new titles that embodies the spirit of the hot rod isn't even about hot rodding. The heavy metal homage Brütal Legend features a hot rod coupe battling hordes of demons.
I want you to commit the artistic direction of Brütal Legend to memory. If I were to design a racing game then it would probably be set with a similar look and feel. The presentation of this game is based on many cultures. Brütal Legend is set to explore and in ways parody the whole rock and roll scene while at the same time celebrating the movement. Having a hot rod as a major weapon in the game is a nod to the contribution of car culture. It is an earnest statement from director Tim Schafer.
Other studios aren't approaching the car with a similar appreciation. Those at Disney Interactive have recently announced a new racer. Titled Split/Second and developed by Black Rock Studios, makers of racing game PURE, this new game sounds like an outlandish Hollywood blockbuster rather than a memorable racer. Disney saw the success of titles like Burnout and MotorStorm and figured they could capitalize on the formula by introducing more chaos and destruction to the tracks than either game. Of course when racing takes a back seat to special effects then you can't really expect much more than a bunch of eye candy.
The approach to this title has been described as a Michael Bay-meets-reality TV racer. The emphasis seems to be more on the events the drivers can trigger rather than the act of racing itself. There are many ways to make racing more visceral than simply causing sh*t to blow up in the foreground. But I suppose we are going to the lowest common denominator here.
Does anybody remember the lukewarm reception to the Stuntman series? The linear nature of the levels, reliance on timed sequences and pretty pyrotechnics did little to make this a memorable series. It seems that Disney would rather make a spectacle than a racing game. That is a shame too because Black Rock Studios is capable of much more. Perhaps the Fast and the Furious is also to blame for this debacle?
But I digress...
Burnout is a fine template on which to build a new racing game around. It has a basic premise, is easy to get into and play. Burnout chooses a few things in the racing genre and does them well, like an arcade experience brought to the consoles. If I were creating a racer I would want to begin with the familiar Burnout experience. That would mean solid control, lots of motion blur and the ability to smash opponents into oncoming traffic. Except instead of doing laps around a city I would create a coast-to-coast, multiple branching racer with the engine. In essence becoming Burnout-meets-Out Run. Already sounds better than what Disney was working on, right?
Initially the player would only be able to choose from four cars. These four represent the evolution of the hot rod and are distinct for their contributions. The cars for the game should look like dead-ringers for them but not actually be branded as such just to avoid licensing issues. Yup, I'm cheap like that. If I were naming the four machines they would be the '23 Ford T-bucket because it is the father of the hot rod, a DIY machine with a giant motor and light frame built for speed. The 1940's Willys coupe represents the car turned dragster, it was also the forefather to the lead sled movement. The 1962 Shelby Cobra shoehorned American muscle into a small British frame and dominated the racing circuit. The last was the 200 MPH cruise missile known better as the 1969 Dodge Daytona. For all intents and purposes this 20-foot-long monster was a marvel of modern engineering and represented the peak of the muscle car movement. Each of these cars was an amazing machine, they all deserve to have some shine in a racing game. To the car community each car is also very symbolic of the times. I'm beginning with these machines as a way to get non-car fans a little more interested in the culture.
Even the drivers of the cars are all archetypes. Each driver looks like they belong in the game. The driver of the T-bucket is the oldest and dresses classy, his name is the Eddie the "Tin Man," rail thin and quite sickly yet holding onto his dignity. The driver of the Willys looks like an old motorcycle greaser, his name is Gus and he's been sporting the same boots and jeans for decades. The driver of the Cobra, Brian, is a successful businessman that rarely finds the time to do what he really loves. Sometimes you can even catch him in his suit and tie tearing up the streets. The driver of the Daytona is a heavy-set guy with a crew-cut and racing jacket. Dave was the big man on campus back in the day but now settles for racing against anybody and everybody that crosses the path of his muscle car. These are minor details that help frame the universe this race takes place in.
The premise of the game is simple. The four friends decide to settle a bet. Which car would have won a transcontinental race. They agree to go all-out the next day during a grand prix. When the player chooses a character then a small cinema plays out. The night before the race a mysterious benefactor approaches the driver and offers a bottle of special boost. Saying that the mixture is guaranteed to turn their car into an unstoppable monster. The only thing he asks in return for the boost is a race against the winner, never quite saying what happens to the loser. The driver agrees and installs the boost to the engine. We see the stranger make the same offer to each of the other drivers, making them all think that they have the advantage.
The race begins in Long Beach. A grand prix is running near the coast. The four drivers crash the gates and run side-by side with the Indy cars, police cars follow closely behind. Players learn how to shift, drift and knock opponents out of the race while beating up on Indy cars. The cars continue to do laps until the player has managed to pass all of the control lessons, then the next portion of the level begins. The four cars break through a barrier and get on the freeway, the police still chasing them.
The freeway is wide open for a few miles. Allowing players a chance to get used to their controls and take-down commuters to block the path of their rivals. Doing so damages the player's car, damage is displayed on a meter, crash into too many cars and your car will blow up. The player can take out traffic by using the police "pit manuever" and not damage their own car too much. This strategy is much better than ramming cars at full force. Knocking out opponents or traffic also recharges the boost meter. The boost meter is earned while on the freeway speeding towards Downtown Los Angeles.
The boost is the most important part of the race. Boosting allows players to go much faster than normal, complete with awesome blur effects and a rumbling controller. Boosting also allows the player to smash through traffics and obstacles without damaging the car. Successive take downs recharges the boost quickly, like a combo modifier. A player that lines up enough traffic and finds the right lines can boost almost from the beginning of a stage until the end. While boosting the car, driver and level also begins transforming. This is the real meat of the game, the motif that transforms the racing game.
The longer a player boosts the more ominous the level becomes. The edges of the screen glow red, as if the world is catching fire. Prolonging the boost makes the edges creep in towards the center of the screen. Until the level becomes a nightmarish version of Los Angeles. Players can make out demons or giant bats flying on the horizon. Fire has engulfed the hills and city. If you have ever seen the film Constantine then you would know what I'm talking about.
In the film Constantine visits a Hell version of Los Angeles. Everything from the real world is there, the buildings, landmarks and even freeways, only burned and twisted as if hit by the fires of the apocalypse. Long boost chains in my game would render a similar version of LA. Letting off the boost would slowly return the level to normal.
However it is not enough to turn levels upside down, the cars themselves also must undergo a transformation. Even though I said the cars were all legendary, featuring them in a stock condition isn't enough to create an arcade experience. Everything in the game has to take on the speed demon look, especially these rides.
The title car, the T-bucket, is symbolic of how extreme the transformation has to be while boosting. The T-bucket is an great looking ride, with an exposed engine and a canvas canopy over the driver. This 1400-pound car is obscenely fast as is. However while boosting something awesome happens to the ride. The red-painted blower over the engine splits in half and creates two superchargers for the engine. The massive addition of horsepower unfurls the exhaust pipes like a party whistle. The canvas top rips back and almost off the frame, if not for the two metal braces holding them to the windshield. The end result makes the canvas look like a cloth spoiler or gigantic bat wings providing gothic down force to the ride.
The transformation of this car, like all the rest is inspired by real life. Rod Hadfield's twin-superchaged t-bucket was one of those legendary builds that defines the spirit of hot rodding. Hailing from Australia Mr. Hadfield has a reputation that precedes him. His imagination comes through in the cars he builds, their exaggerated but real proportions make for the embodiment of the style that I'm trying to capture in the game. Just compare what an "average" t-bucket looks like when compared to Mr. Hadfield's beast.
For the game the best part of the transformation happens with the tires. While boosting the tires catch fire and leave long trails of flame in their wake. The longer the boost remains the brighter and hotter the tires burn until they are completely engulfed in flames. The fire creates a vapor Tell me you wouldn't want to play a game where this happens to one of the cars when it reaches top speed?
However the same burning tires thing doesn't happen to each of the other cars. They all transform but in different ways. Each of these ways complimenting the strengths of the car and making the iconic rides turn into grotesque but equally impressive machines. Despite the approach of transforming cars with exaggerated features I don't want you to think that this is some sort of Wacky Races redux. The tone of the game should be a fantastic realism rather than a stylized cartoon. Even if a great animation director can re-imagine the Penelope Pitstop adventures this is nothing to do with the Hanna Barbera type of racing.
For example the T-bucket is the fastest accelerating car in the game. However it is also the lightest and has problems knocking traffic and opponents out of the way. Even while boosting the car suffers from a lack of mass. The saving grace is it's manic accelerating ability. Aggressive drivers might want to try a different car if the T-bucket is too "squirrely" for them.
The Daytona clone changes into a funny car while boosting. The tires in the rear balloon up and the angle of attack becomes more aggressive. A gigantic blower melts out from the hood, exposing the monstrous burning hemi engine. The Daytona is the slowest accelerating ride but has the highest top speed. It is also a heavy car so it can plow through opponents and traffic. The real world inspiration was based on a funny car version of the Daytona's sister car, known to car buffs as the Plymouth Superbird.
Matt Tolbin, from Texas, took the already fast and definitive muscle car and turned it into a funny car. It was too large and heavy to compete in class. That didn't stop the car from being a real crowd pleaser. But since I'm saying the cars in the game would be inspired-by rather than licensed from we'll go with a red and white scheme rather than the more familiar blue.
The Willy's has a very dramatic transformation. Rather than becoming a funny car or demon bucket, it begins melting. The body becomes short and squat, melting over the tires like a liquid lead sled and leaving an oil slick in its wake. It has the second fastest top speed while boosting and is the toughest ride of the four. Easily plowing through traffic and opponents. Players trying to hide behind this car as it clears a path for them would spin out from the melting frame. Unfortunately this car, like the Daytona doesn't do as well on turns. Most Willys get the funny car treatment, very few become lead sleds. The majority of lead sleads would be based more on cars like the Mercury Cougar. But hey, it's my game so allow me to make one type of car melt into another shape.
Speaking of changing shape completely; the Cobra has a unique transformation. The colors reverse on the car, from blue with white stripes to white with blue stripes. It becomes a little lower and longer. While boosting it behaves like a ghost. Opponents are unable to run into it while it is boosting although it can still smash into opponents and traffic. This car has decent acceleration and a good top speed. It weighs a bit more than the t-bucket so it can plow through traffic better. The transformation makes the Cobra look more like a Jaguar racing coupe, a bitter European rival to the Cobra.
While boosting something also happens to the drivers. It isn't obvious in the Daytona and Willys but for the t-bucket and Cobra it is. All of the drivers become younger versions of themselves. The beergut on Dave goes away and he is once again built like a high school linebacker, his racing jacket even becomes a letterman jacket. The Tin Man is no longer a wrinkled old man but a spry teenager. His nice tuxedo becomes a dirty tee shirt and his top hat becomes a hillybilly hat, made famous by Ed Roth. Brian is no longer a high strung day businessman but instead a phantom racer of old, with only his red scarf flowing behind him rather than his necktie. Gus seems the least changed of all, with only the gray in his hair turning black and his jacket becoming a mechanic's.
The game continues well past the Hollywood hills, where we can see that Los Angeles is sure enough becoming like hell. Of course there are roads and freeways in the game that don't exist in real life. We get to catch a glimpse of the USA while traveling at over 200 MPH through the desert and rockies.
Save points pop up every so often and players can pause and save in between stages or practice stages once completing the game, searching for additional shortcuts and secrets.
Traffic isn't everywhere so players will learn to conserve what they have during these stages. Without boost then being a good driver really comes in handy during these parts. The courses won't all take place on the roads, rockslides and other natural disasters will force players to cut across the wilderness, and in some stages to ride over bumpy railroad tracks. During one particular detour players will be racing at the bottom of a dry riverbed. Suddenly a huge thunderstorm appears. A torrent of rain creates a massive wall of water that chases the players along the winding canyon.
The canyon eventually opens up to a shallow lake. The cars skittle over the surface of the water like 2-ton skipping stones. Unfortunately the lake turns out to be the edge of a dam, with a monstrous drain hole taking the excess water and dumping it at the base of a dam. The cars have no choice but to go down the hole and go shooting out at the base.
This portion was based on the real-world drain holes made famous by skateboarders. When the weather is dry and the dam is far from capacity plenty of skateboarders and BMX guys make a pilgrimage, and trespass on Federal land, to skate these monsters. I've always wanted to see a car shoot down and through the pipes in a videogame.
Once the cars rejoin the road they make their way through the Rocky Mountains. The scenery is awe-inspiring. The bridges plentiful and chance to take shortcuts through train tunnels numerous. Of course on some of the longer tunnels players will come face to face with a massive train bearing down on them. Then only a last chance exit through a side tunnel will lead back to the highway.
These changing levels and dramatic situations were mashed together from memories of Rad Mobile. The whole coast-to-coast theme and running against the sun so that day and night would happen faster were also pulled from Rad Mobile. But where did the rest of this game come from, the transforming racers and the hell motif? And what happens once the racers reach the east coast? Come back next week to find out!
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