Guys Night...
A couple of weeks ago, a few of the guys had a lads night, playing games and that. Mainly on the Wii, a bit on the Xbox and with a few beers. ;)
One of the games we played was Black Rock Studios racing game Split/Second. I was a bit surprised with it. One reason was because its the first racing game I have liked since Test Drive Unlimited in 2006, but mainly because it fits into my research quite nicely.
For those who don't know of it, it's a racing game based off the idea that you are a driver in a TV show set in several locations that have been rigged with explosions to be used by the racers to make the race more interesting. These explosions aren't just used as traps to destroy your competition but also to change up the track making each track turn out different every time you play it.
Here's a little example of what I mean:
One of the games we played was Black Rock Studios racing game Split/Second. I was a bit surprised with it. One reason was because its the first racing game I have liked since Test Drive Unlimited in 2006, but mainly because it fits into my research quite nicely.For those who don't know of it, it's a racing game based off the idea that you are a driver in a TV show set in several locations that have been rigged with explosions to be used by the racers to make the race more interesting. These explosions aren't just used as traps to destroy your competition but also to change up the track making each track turn out different every time you play it.
Here's a little example of what I mean:
So the tracks change as the environment change from player interaction. This makes each race unpredictable each time it is played. You never really know what's going to happen. Sometimes you don't notice the biggest changes happening till its too late, often when your in the last stretch and in first place. -_-
You could say that racing games mainly play off the environment anyway, but the way that Split/Second does it is much different than your standard racing game as it keeps you guessing when the next turn is and wondering when your next move will come. As I found out, you are always jumping up and screaming at the game because of how it is surprising you. I remember screaming at Jay because of some of the plays that just totally threw what looked like a certain win into a desperate struggle to get back to a lead.
I really like this idea of the environment playing the player. I guess that this could be something that could really make the player think more into what is around them and rather just blindly playing through a game till the end. I think this is the problem with some of the current "BIG" games, the player just isn't thinking about whats happening and what they have to do but being guided to the finish.