NFS The Run News Post

Looking at the Future of Racing Games, Where Do We Go Next?

03:23 PM - April 12, 2012 by DustinT

Since 2005 when the next generation of consoles were ushered in with the XBOX 360, the racing game genre has seen a healthy amount of improvements. These have ranged from simple graphical upgrades to under-the-hood systems that rely more heavily on physics and real world car performance than ever before. We've also seen an incredible breadth of interpretations of what a racing video game is and what it can be. Everything from car combat, arcade racers, hardcore simulations, licensed racing games, kart-inspired games and a few games that defy labels.

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# 1 OSfan093 @ 04/12/12 03:51 PM

I think the key isn't moving forward with NEW ideas, i think for racers this is the enemy. I think the reason games used to be so popular is wide appeal. We need to get back to OLD ideas. i enjoy a realistic racer as much as the next, but why can't we have a realistic driving model like Forza in the setting of a street racing game like NFS underground or Most Wanted. The old need for speed titles starting with hot pursuit(not the new one, i hate that one) were in my opinion the most fun racing games i've ever played. Now imagine recreating those with a realistic driving model....and the simple solution to adding wide appeal is to just have a simple driving model option. The realistic model would take a lot of work to build correctly, but the simple one hardly would.

Really though, the key is fun. And now with Forza 4 and GT5 they're both increadibly easy to win, or just enter a great car in a race and crush. I want a challenge, but one that isn't fake like ridiculous AI. I used to like NFS not b/c it was realistic(it wasn't), but b/c it was really fun, had a great story. Now add in a realistic challenge(i hate having to win EVERY race) and you've got a game. And then add in a realistic driving model, you've really got a game.....so if we hybrid the old with the new, i think we could make a NFS type game that FEELS like Forza or GT5. Now that is a game i'd spend $60 on.

# 2 DustinT @ 04/12/12 05:22 PM

NFS: Most Wanted is easily the best racing game I have ever played. They kept the story interesting while the gameplay stayed pretty stale. But what really helped the gameplay was the free roam with potential high-speed chases.

# 3 Hooe @ 04/12/12 06:06 PM

Two suggestions from myself, knowing that I predominantly play the Forza Motorsport games:

More online features. Example: Forza 4 added a car club infrastructure that allowed sharing of things like cars and hot lap times. Expand that to let us run full-blown leagues, where the commissioner schedules all the races, qualifying, decides race scoring, establishes event car restrictions, etc.
More expansive user-generated content. Example: My favorite feature of Forza 4 is _easily_ the livery editor. What if the game let us make our own tracks to hold events on? What if the game let us design our own supercars to drive and paint?

# 4 sars973 @ 04/12/12 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OSfan093


	Really though, the key is fun. And now with Forza 4 and GT5 they're both increadibly easy to win, or just enter a great car in a race and crush. I want a challenge, but one that isn't fake like ridiculous AI.

I agree with this. I want a game with the level of detail/physics/graphics/etc. like forza/gt5 with the ai/real racing feel of games like shift 1 or shift 2. That'd be perfect

# 5 Retropyro @ 04/12/12 06:23 PM

My perfect game,

Forza 4 + NFS Underground 2/Most Wanted.

Basically Forza 4 as it stands now but with an open world and story mode.

# 6 mcmax3000 @ 04/12/12 06:25 PM

"The question is, can any of those racing titles compete with the likes of Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport and Need for Speed in the shrinking racing genre?"

I find it really funny that Need for Speed is part of that list because outside of Criterion's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, I'm not aware that any Need for Speed game has done fantastic sales this generation.

Also, I disagree about Motion Controls. I have yet to see any indicaiton that motion controls, as they currently exist, are worth anything in the racing genre. The lack of a dead zone makes driving in a straight line nearly impossible, which pretty much ruins the game from it's core.

# 7 bigdoc85 @ 04/12/12 06:34 PM

In my opinion, GRID was one of the best styles of racing games out there. However, Codemasters has improved the handling and graphics of its racing games in subsequent games such as Dirt 3. A sequel to GRID would make me very happy.

# 8 Proof21 @ 04/12/12 08:09 PM

Need a solid stock car racing game where you can build your career up from the local short tracks (dirt and asphalt) to the NASCAR level..

Would be cool to have a Whelen All-American series, USAC, ARCA, K&N Pro Series, Nascar Big Three, etc..not possible with all of the license issues, but would be epic IMO.

# 9 carnalnirvana @ 04/12/12 11:16 PM

i need racing to include something like a franchise mode, a career or something...

last racing game i really enjoyed and spent hours on was tokyo extreme racing 2 on dreamcast..

the game was a gem it had opponents who had personalities and challenged you..

i think racing has become too bland and relies too heavily too much on online gameplay...

# 10 Dazraz @ 04/13/12 05:44 AM

One thing this generation of consoles has given us is some awesome racing games. Forza 4 & Dirt 3 are stunning to look at. Most racing games now come with a plethora of cars & tracks to choose from & a number of modes to play.

Racing games can go into 3 categories. Those like Forza that offer accurate vehicle models across a number of categories, arcarde influenced games such as Need For Speed & those that are dedicated towards a particular franchise such as F1 or WRC. The most recent Gran Turismo game did include WRC & NASCAR licensing but this was done in a limited way & these franchises require their own dedicated games to truly capture their respective environments.

While all these types of racing games are well catered for what I would like to see is more of an atmosphere & personality to them. Pre & post race presentations in racing games are limited if present at all. F1 2011 does include cut scenes within the career mode but these are all based around your driver. I would like to see such scenes extended to the whole field of drivers, thus focusing on the entire F1 season & not just your F1 season. Such presentations should also be extended across all game modes & not just the Career mode. Commentary could also add alot to the presentation of the races but is something we've yet to see implemented on this generation. Commentary also has the ability of keeping you informed of what's happening around the race track. As it stands racing games are quite insular & you don't get enough feed back on what's happening around you.

Another big frustration with racing games is how AI cars fail to suffer the misfortunes of your own driver. F1 2011 is a great example here. It seems very easy to suffer damage or get penalised in the race but it's rare as rocking horse poo that another AI driver suffers this fate.

# 11 JMD @ 04/14/12 09:35 AM

I'd like to see a remade updated version of Project Gotham Racing 2. My Xbox live Friends and I used to play that game every night for hours. It was one of the most fun racing games made.

# 12 BIG CAROLINA @ 04/14/12 10:24 AM

How about more real life racing series games. How about an Aussie V8 Supercar game or an INDYCAR, or DTM series (I could go on).

Yes I know they have some of these cars sprinkled in some of the current racers, but I want to race a season not knock down bowling pins and get new driver suits or paint my cars.

I think the arcade/paint your car market is coverd...... How about us who want more series based racers.

# 13 mercalnd @ 04/14/12 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG CAROLINA


	How about more real life racing series games. How about an Aussie V8 Supercar game or an INDYCAR, or DTM series (I could go on). Yes I know they have some of these cars sprinkled in some of the current racers, but I want to race a season not knock down bowling pins and get new driver suits or paint my cars. I think the arcade/paint your car market is coverd...... How about us who want more series based racers.

This is pretty much what I was going to post. I was hoping when they announced the Forza/ALMS partnership that they might make more of an effort to include this kind of structure as an option in Forza. As good as the driving model and racing are in Forza, the ridiculously small fields, short races and no practice/qualifying or chmapionships makes me lose interest pretty quickly.

# 14 GuyinPA75 @ 04/14/12 07:39 PM

Forza 4 would be the nearest thing to racing perfection that I played if it only had one thing -- something I wished for since Forza 3 and something a prior poster stated -- leagues!

Seriously get with it. NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA all have it.

Forza adds that and the pointless random things of lobby games of rammers and jerks are gone and THEN and only then will online be fun with this new dimension playing with friends.

Forza 5 has this, its going to be insane!!!

# 15 rudyjuly2 @ 04/14/12 08:20 PM

I don't play racing games much. I have Modnation Racers and that was fun. I'm more of an arcade racer than pure sim and don't want anything to do with long races like Nascar. I did have GT5 Prologue but the GT series underwhelms me.

The one thing I don't understand is the lack of a season mode in Modnation and GT. Why can't I start a "season" where I set the number of races (like 10 or 15) AND pick all the tracks for those races? Then get rewarded with money at the end of the circuit to improve my car so I can move up to different and better circuits?

I remember having Andretti Racing on the PS1 I think. That was the most fun I had with a racing game. They had a 10 race season and if you did well some owners would make you offers so you could get a better car and move up the ladder for your next season. The Modnation Racers and GT5 way of beating tracks so you can earn bonuses doesn't do anything for me long term. It's like I'm playing a ton of exhibitions just to unlock things on my disc.

Like I said, I don't follow racing titles closely. Is there a good racer on the PS3 that has a season mode?

# 16 Kruza @ 04/16/12 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuyinPA75


	Forza 4 would be the nearest thing to racing perfection that I played if it only had one thing -- something I wished for since Forza 3 and something a prior poster stated -- leagues! Seriously get with it. NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA all have it. Forza adds that and the pointless random things of lobby games of rammers and jerks are gone and THEN and only then will online be fun with this new dimension playing with friends. Forza 5 has this, its going to be insane!!!

Heh, the Forza series needs a whole lot more things than leagues in order for me to take it seriously as legitimate racing games. I'm not interested in glorified car-collecting RPGs that's masquerading as one.

Anyway, I hate to sound like a doomsayer but the latest batch of console racers have been very disappointing to me. Aside from gems like SBK X, MotoGP 08, Race Pro and GRID (although I still favor the TOCA Race Driver games over it), this genre has been a gigantic snoozefest over the last few years.

Kruza

# 17 thelasthurtknee @ 05/08/12 06:30 PM

There are so many leagues for froza its crazy. I race in aussie v8, rolex gt, loctite st, lemans, and pirelli. Mkst are sponsored by the real world counter part. because its not through the game its mich better. There tons of leagues with more popping everyday on forza forums. Also there is a long 10 season career mode that will take forever to beat.

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Looking at the Future of Racing Games, Where Do We Go Next?