We have a cast of racers riding in modified cars tearing up the roads from one coast to the other. But what was the genesis of the idea? It is my love-note to cars plus my take on the arcade experience, with a special nod to all the classic Sega racers I grew up on. It is also an homage to all the movie and comic book influences that defined my tastes. The professional illustrators and CARtoonists all had a hand in helping shape my appreciation of how exaggerated proportions could help make a car come to life.
The masked racer that Brian, the driver of the Cobra becomes, was based on a comic book racer as well. The Marauder was a masked motorcycle daredevil from Marvel's Team America comic books. He was like a racing version of the GI Joe character Snake Eyes. The Marauder even went on to have a showdown with the Ghost Rider himself. How cool was that? I was always drawn to these mysterious unknown characters and had even penned in La Bomba. from my Lucha Libre game idea based on that same mystique. People that have been reading this blog for a while should have remembered the red scarf and mask.
The transforming cars were inspired more by comics than the Transformers cartoon. The burning tires on the t-bucket might at first seem like an homage to the Ghost Rider and indeed the classic comic book character does have a lot to do with it.
During the definitive years of the NHRA there used to be fire burnouts. Crowds loved seeing the cars warm up their tires by doing burnouts in pools of gasoline. The practice was deemed too dangerous and was banned from sanctioned NHRA meets. As a kid I remember seeing dragsters engulfed in flames and being struck by the raw power captured on film.
However I was more inspired to make a Ghost Rider-type car after seeing the burning car scene from the film Christine. My brothers agreed that car was a four wheeled version of the Ghost Rider's motorcycle. It was indestructible as it rebuilt itself from even the worst accidents. They also commented that the special effects shot would be impossible to do with a motorcycle but would be awesome to try.
The image of the burning car stuck with me for decades. Every so often I would see something that reminded me of the effect, it reminded me that it should be put in a comic book or someday into a game. The last time I saw it was in the late 80's with a drawing that Shawn Kerri did. It was a fictional movie trailer titled Mulholland Drive Massacre. The image of fire licking out from under the frame of the car was very awesome. It made me wonder how that effect would look like in animated form. While none of the playable cars are burning in my game, that doesn't mean that the final boss' car wouldn't have that effect. But more on him later.
The effect that would have made the strongest impression on gamers would remain the burning tires. The trail of fire has actually been done in popular media several times and not solely in the Ghost Rider. The last few seconds of the Queens of the Stone Age music video was one such memorable use of the effect.
Of course Back to the Future created the most inspiring legacy with the flame trail. When Doc Brown's modified DeLorean travelled through time it would leave a fire trail, even while airborne. In game form the fire trail is an awesome effect. One of the special upgrades in Choro-Q are called Devil Tires. These tires are black with red cracks running all through the tread, as if the tire is cooling magma. When the car goes above 220 kph the hubcaps begin glowing, after 240 kph they spark up and the tires begin leaving fire trails. My brothers and I all agree that the effect is very awesome, especially as the car whips around corners and skips over water, leaving a long and defined trail in its wake.
Let us not forget that the fire trail effect was also used in Crazy Taxi when hitting the rapid acceleration shift or peeling around corners with the car bottoming out. However that was more of a graphical afterthought rather than something that helped the car perform better. If the effect is in my game then it has to serve a purpose. Nothing in a videogame should exist unless it does something or represents something, at least not in a game I design. The burning tires highlight the transformation of the t-bucket, it mirrors the hell motif of the boost. They also help the car stick to the roads better.
So what is with the whole hell thing anyhow? Who is the mysterious benefactor that gave the super boost formula to the racers and what happens when they reach the east coast? I leave a lot of the race open to interpretation, but the spirit is very much in the vein of Twisted Metal. Transforming cars, demons and contracts with the devil were all written into the series but not fully explored or explained. In a similar way I want players to infer where the cars are traveling through while boosting. I want them to think that the benefactor is the Devil himself and this is a sick game he is playing with four souls.
When the cars reach the east coast he is waiting for them. The drivers get out of their cars and realize that they are all young and healthy now. It is then that the benefactor reminds them of the stakes. He says that the winner of the contest promised to race him. The stipulation he didn't mention was that the other three and their rides would become his property. The losers fall to the ground. They and their rides begin to sink into the Earth, tiny red hands reaching out from the asphalt begin pulling them down. The winner recoils at horror at what he is witnessing. The benefactor puts on his racing goggles and steps into his car. "Winner takes all!" he calls out, the tires on his car bursting into flames, with fire licking out from his frame. He begins driving. The race back to the west coast begins right away.
The path back to the west coast should be familiar to the driver, except there is a lot more destruction on the roads. Famous landmarks are destroyed and once beautiful forests are now desolate wastelands. From this point on the player receives unlimited boost. They will need it as the benefactor seems to have an unbeatable ride. Every time the player tries to get past him he cuts them off. If the player does manage to get ahead then fire begins raining from the sky, and earthquakes begin destroying the road ahead. The best strategy is to keep right on the tail of the boss until the very end, then make a last boost effort to pass him up and reach the sea first.
The spectacle that Disney was going for in Split/Second would be better served as part of a racing game rather than a gimmick. You can guess what happens to players that do not beat the game. However if the player wins then they are treated to a unique ending. Each of the four racers has their own ending, no canned endings here!
For example, my favorite ending belongs to Eddie the Tin Man. If he manages to capture the lead and hold onto it while running back through Long Beach then the road becomes brighter. The sky turns from fire, and demons into clear blue, and beautiful. The screen grows brighter and brighter and the road disappears into a mist. The t-bucket continues through the fog Eddie turns to the side and sees his friends have joined him. They are all young again. Dave rolls down the window on his car and yells out "winner takes all, remember?" They begin laughing and continue racing down the foggy road, disappearing into the clouds. Is it the afterlife? A heaven for racers where the road continues on forever? I'll let the players guess what each ending means but not all endings are as happy. I'm not going to spell out what each ending will be like but some are tragic, some are ironic and others funny. Beating the game also unlocks something new.
Each of the four cars can unlock a new car, complete with their own real-world inspiration and boost transformation. This is possibly the best thing about basing the cars on reality rather than solely fantasy. The spirit of hot rodding dictates that just when you think you've seen it all, just when every possible engine and approach has been made, something new comes along and changes everything. It was the magic behind Ed Roth. It is what inspired Rod Hadfield's 3000 horsepower "Final Objective" and Bill Bolin's double-blown GTO. These are two such wild rides that would inspire the game versions of a stock '55 Chevy and '70 GTO.
These unlocked cars might be dopplegangers for existing cars or completely new rides, each with their own driver and additional piece of the story. Each car would have its own special ability while boosting, different than the existing rides. The images below to inspire you were swiped and altered from illustrations by Brian Stupski and Thom Taylor.
Once all the endings are known and all the new cars are unlocked then the player can try racing in the ultimate mode. This mode places all eight cars on the road at the same time, increasing the difficulty exponentially as the seven rivals all fight for position and try to reach the opposite coast first.. Beating the game in this mode unlocks the Benefactors ride as well as the remix courses, which makes each stage random rather than in sequence from coast-to-coast.
What can I say, I like extending the racing experience as much as I can and making for unique replays. The only think I don't have for the game is a title. Maybe a simple "Hot Rod" will do, or the campy "Hell on Wheels." Can you think up a better title? Or maybe a name for the mysterious benefactor? I'd sure like to hear your take on this. Do you think I should pitch the idea to Dwayne Vance, and his friends?
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