There's a reason why I tend to tell people I'm not big into simulation racing -- those two words instantly make me think of harsh, realistic gameplay that requires me to know a hell of a lot about cars to perform well. When I want to play a videogame to have fun, which is the case 95% of the time, sim racing doesn't come to mind.
Forza Motorsport 3 director Dan Greenawalt, while much more of a simulation fan than myself, tends to agree. In an interview with Gamasutra, he gave his thoughts on the matter.
"The hardcore fans of the racing sim genre," according to Greenawalt, "in particular, are constantly calling to be punished more. It sounds weird. It sounds like we're in some strange sadomasochistic relationship." On the subject of being able to rewind upon crashing or simply making a bad move, he says he "can't go back to games that don't have it now."
"It doesn't hurt the tension," explains Greenawalt. "I think part of this is just embracing modern game design and realizing that people are different and what they're looking for is great entertainment, and entertainment does not have to be punishing. It can be, and it has been, but it doesn't have to be."
Since the man practically took the words right out of my mouth, I don't really have anything to add. Do any of you ever find yourself enjoying the unforgiving nature or some racing games?
Contest:
6:20 PM on 09.25.2009
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There's no reason a game can't be challenging and also respect your time. Stuff like those 2-hour endurance races in Gran Turismo is just bullshit. The challenge should be in the racing itself, not in how long it takes you to do it.
although i find myself not concentrating as much as i have done in the past..and as such making mistakes..its nice not to have wasted a few minutes just for a silly mistake. its a game after all.
i was one of the ones calling for more punishment...like in formula one games, but now i've used rewind, it'll be hard to not have it in other games.
I mean, a championship where each race takes 2 hours to complete? That's not a test of your skill. That's just fucking ridiculous.
@Mourning Orange
Hopefully there'll be an option to turn it off with a big reward as a result. I'd suspect that's the case. I prefer to not have that backup there, makes races more intense, in my opinion, but I can certainly see why people want it.
I think there is excitement without rewind. Quickly try to get back on the track. You might have lost first place but keep fighting for second or third. Folks, this is what racing and life is all about? Sometimes you screw up but that doesn't mean you have lost. A clever game splits up events into several challenges and sums up the scores at the end. Rank high enough overall and you win.