J. Portnow's Game Design Challenge: Mini Racing Games

[EvilLlama]

Are there lanes on the track. If so, how many?

[ronnoc10]

I've just been thinking up ideas for mini games in an arena-like box, personally.

[dreamshade]

Originally Posted by TG1

Wario ware style mini games – meaning very short and kind of silly games:

Those were actually pretty amusing and fit the style well.

I've been kinda blanking on this one. This is what I finally came up with:


Stunt Driver

The track has been rented out by a major motion picture studio to film scenes for their upcoming NASCAR Or Die movie, and you've been hired to be a driver for some of the more dramatic scenes. In each scene, you'll be given a set of directions and a short timeframe to execute each of the moves needed, and do so in different cars.

Scenes include:

* Stay neck and neck with your rival driver. Nudge your rival three times without sending him or you off track.

* Go into a tight turn with a car on either side of you. When you get bumped in the side, your car spins out of control, which you will have to maneuver manually.

* Do a power drift around an entire turn with your rival right on your tail.

* You will get smashed from the side and must slide over at a 90 degree angle so that the next oncoming car is forced to smash into you.

* Pull into a pit stop at full speed. Come to a screeching halt by whipping your tail around and line up as straight as possible with your pit crew.

* Avoid being hit by an aggressive driver to your side by driving into the grass without slowing down too much, then regain your position.

* Drive up on a three-car pile-up and maneuver around it at the last second.

* Drive up on a three-car pile-up and become the fourth car in the pile. Don't just barrel into it - make it look like you had no way out of it.

* Halfway through the last lap, you must gun the engine and maintain full speed for a photo finish. The closer your win is, the more dramatic.

[ronnoc10]

Originally Posted by dreamshade

* Halfway through the last lap, you must gun the engine and maintain full speed for a photo finish. The closer your win is, the more dramatic.

Requiring a player to finish a race with a tiny amount of time difference from the next highest racer is genius! Of course, the race would have to be relatively short.

[james.portnow]

I'm not going to respond to any of the questions, but I've been really enjoying the thinking on this one! Such a limited toolset has really gotten you guys to probe the limits of what can be done with what you have.

[Exaggeration17A]

Originally Posted by TimEdwards

Anyway let me know what you all think and also let me know if my tactic of more ideas is a bad thing.

Loved all the ideas! Unfortunately for me, though, I had to think even harder to come up with something original since my first idea was a duplicate of one of yours. Sorry if this one has been taken, too:

OBSTACLE MODE

In this mini-game, the player has access to cones and has the ability to change the terrain on small sections of a given track. A computer AI controls the car. The objective is simple: reduce the car to zero mph.

Several progressively harder stages could be designed that test the player's ability by giving the computer faster cars, letting them race on easier stages or limiting the amount of obstacles a player can select. Completing all the stages would unlock sandbox mode, where they could manipulate all the options of the mode themselves.

Not only would this give players the ability to do something with the game besides just race cars, it would also help the designers to see the AI's reaction to obstacles and make appropriate adjustments.

...Does that sound like fun, or am I a bigger nerd than I think I am?

[EvilLlama]

Originally Posted by Exaggeration17A

Loved all the ideas! Unfortunately for me, though, I had to think even harder to come up with something original since my first idea was a duplicate of one of yours. Sorry if this one has been taken, too:

OBSTACLE MODE

In this mini-game, the player has access to cones and has the ability to change the terrain on small sections of a given track. A computer AI controls the car. The objective is simple: reduce the car to zero mph.

Several progressively harder stages could be designed that test the player's ability by giving the computer faster cars, letting them race on easier stages or limiting the amount of obstacles a player can select. Completing all the stages would unlock sandbox mode, where they could manipulate all the options of the mode themselves.

Not only would this give players the ability to do something with the game besides just race cars, it would also help the designers to see the AI's reaction to obstacles and make appropriate adjustments.

...Does that sound like fun, or am I a bigger nerd than I think I am?

Actually it sounds like a ton of fun. Sweet idea

[TimEdwards]

Thanks for the kind words Exaggeration17A, but just because your idea might be a clone, or similar, doesn't mean you shouldn't submit the idea for critique. I mean after all, it might have something different that I hadn't thought about that would get your idea approved over mine! Never worry about similar ideas, I mean after all... the industry is full of them!

It definately sounds fun, and the AI wouldn't really be any more complex than it would in the game's difficulties. Although remember for this challenge in particular, you only have cones and traction that are huge towards your idea... so for the challenge it might not be so good but... I'd like to see that kind of a challenge in a game. Reminds me of Excitebike where you had huge ramps and mud spots and ramps with narrow bridges...

I want to play excitebike again...

I also really enjoy dreamshade's Stunt Driver idea, although if you're interested in a similar game, Stuntman: Ignition is all about timing, speed and accuracy... my only complaint with that game is you have to redo levels over and over again just to see what the next leg of the track is. Like a stuntman would go in without taking a walkthrough of his track!

As for TG1's Warioware style games, I never thought any racing game would end up with that style! However, I do really enjoy the concept of quick timed mini games. Quick thinking games like "Dodge the Cone!" or "Spin 360", quick, simple and more fun than a lot of current racing titles have. I for one have always been a huge fan of Burnout 3. Probably will be forever.

Awesome work so far guys!
Tim Edwards

PS-For those of you with questions as to what we can and can't do, just reread the challenge a few times and then decide for yourself what you can do. In all honesty I think James has answered all the questions in there pretty clearly, and this is all just for glory and working your brain. Just go with your idea!!! Even if you don't get the top spots, might get honorable mention!

[dreamshade]

Originally Posted by Exaggeration17A

OBSTACLE MODE

In this mini-game, the player has access to cones and has the ability to change the terrain on small sections of a given track. A computer AI controls the car. The objective is simple: reduce the car to zero mph.

Several progressively harder stages could be designed that test the player's ability by giving the computer faster cars, letting them race on easier stages or limiting the amount of obstacles a player can select. Completing all the stages would unlock sandbox mode, where they could manipulate all the options of the mode themselves.

Not only would this give players the ability to do something with the game besides just race cars, it would also help the designers to see the AI's reaction to obstacles and make appropriate adjustments.

This is an honest question from someone with only about a year's experience in the industry - just how much work would something like this require from the coders? If we're on a crunch period, are we assuming that the coding team will have enough time to implement this new feature? Or anyone else's for that matter - my idea would've required a bit more coding to determine making good screenshots, certainly. Or are we assuming that 'I', the designer, am the coder and will be responsible for putting the new stuff together?

[Exaggeration17A]

Originally Posted by dreamshade

This is an honest question from someone with only about a year's experience in the industry - just how much work would something like this require from the coders? If we're on a crunch period, are we assuming that the coding team will have enough time to implement this new feature? Or anyone else's for that matter - my idea would've required a bit more coding to determine making good screenshots, certainly. Or are we assuming that 'I', the designer, am the coder and will be responsible for putting the new stuff together?

Well, for my idea specifically, I'm assuming that the design team already has a system that they use themselves to browse the game's tracks and place cones or terrain changes. After using the Neverwinter Nights toolset in particular, I know it would be possible for users to grasp this system fairly quickly, especially if you limit what they can do with it to just those few options. With my limited programming experience, however, I'm not sure how difficult it would be to, um, remix the toolset? It certainly sounds complicated when I put it that way; but at least the bulk of the programming is already there.

If the team had unlimited time, "Obstacle Mode" would become "Supervillain Mode" and players would be following the computer's car in a black helicopter with a "Chaos Gun" mounted on it. Select what you'd like to fire at the track, and a crackling beam of energy violently transforms the terrain accordingly. I'd also give players access to much more fun obstacles, like Tim Edwards suggested. Ramps are boring, though. I'm thinking, evil gremlins that cling to the car and start messing with their controls until they can shake them off.