Arcade Games and Racing Game Research

Arcade Racing Games Research

Here in this blog, I present my research that I have conducted to understanding rally games and arcade rally games. It's clear from my team that our biggest influence for our racing car game is Sega Rally and Outrun.

Knowing that our project is on an Arcade racing game, it's good to understand how arcade racing games work and feel, including racing games in general. 

Understanding Sega and their games

Sega have been making game consoles and publishing home console games since 1983, and already have a phew game titles under their belt, such as Sonic The Hedgehog, Alex Kidd, and Virtual fighter etc. Being a fan of Sega and owning/collecting much of Sega's work I feel I know already a lot about Sega's designs and style. Apart from having their own game console brand in the 80's and 90's they have and still do, a large range of arcade games, some of the biggest being Sega Rally and House of the dead etc.

Sega no longer make consoles anymore but they still publish their own games through today's modern game consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. 

Sega Rally Championship

First published in 1994 and has since gone onto make four other titles, one of which I own on my PlayStation (Sega Rally Online Arcade)

Sega Rally 1995 Championship Arcade Machine, player could race against each other

Sega Rally Championship gameplay 

Sega Rally Championship has very unrealistic physics and some basic rally tracks, understandably for it's time this was great. However for it's time It does have some of the most important and still used designs that make a rally racing game today, It has all the main function that a rally game needs, rally cars, rally tracks, and basic car physics, and even a good interface. 

The same could be said for Sega Rally Online Arcade which still follows the same theme and style as it's predecessors, again unrealistic physics, and somewhat basic and short rally tracks. However because it follows the same style and theme you know it's Sega, and for anyone who knows the old Sega Rally games will know and love the new rally games by Sega because of it nostalgic designs, still being used.

Outrun

A classic arcade racing game released in 1986 that pretty much had everything, it was a commercial success, becoming one of the best-selling video games of its time. Outrun has a brilliant combination within its game with a in car radio allowing you to choose your own soundtrack to drive to, and driving routes which you can take at the end of each track for a different terrain or driving experience. The whole game is designed with a luxury and relaxation theme within it's game.

OutRun Arcade Machine (it even moved)

Outrun 2 Gameplay 

Outrun 2 brought an even better and up to date version of outrun, still using all of the original classic features of the first game. Outrun gameplay is very unrealistic which makes the game fun and suitable for an arcade racing game. Playing the game on your own or with friends is really enjoyable no matter which way you play the game. Outrun single player mode doesn't just have a race mode, there are other game modes a player can choose from. Heart attack mode is when that player has to perform certain tasks for the characters (The Driver) girlfriend, impress her and she'll reward you with a score which is all added up at the end of the game to make an overall score. Time attack mode is when players have to race against a ghost car, which is someone that holds the current fasted time within the game.

From personally playing a wide range of Sega games, Sega often uses and tries to style itself around what is popular at the time. e.g. movies, music, and fashion. Many of the popular games have been designed around popular icons, e.g. AfterBurner was designed around the time of the block buster film Top Gun. Sega still feels today to me very 90's, though that isn't a bad thing, it helps me to understand their style and design with the added nostalgia theme within their games.

Rally and Racing Console Games

It's a good idea to understand how today's car games work and perform just as much as arcade games do. Understanding the difference in style and theme within these games help sum up the appealing factors to a racing game from a home console game to an arcade game.

Today's popular rally and racing games such as Dirt 3 WRC 3, Gran Turismo, and Need For Speed Most Wanted, are somewhat American, or in some cases to serious. Some of these games focus on the realistic driving feel within a car and where as other games don't. Car physics, graphics and car models are key to today modern rally car games. Owning these games I know from experience that these games focus on the driving side of the game, where your skills as a driver are put to the test.

WRC 3 is the more professional and traditional style of rally car racing, this game follows the rules of rally and designs it's courses around some of the hardest rally tracks in the world. WRC has a wide range of rally tracks on different terrains such as concrete, snow, sand, and mud which all put your driving skills to the test with it realistic physics. WRC is less fun to play with your friends or have a laugh with, because of it's serious approach within the game.

Dirt 3 is very American and less about Rally and more about racing and pulling off stunts. With the focus of the game on Ken Block an American rally car driver, you have to get sponsors and perform certain tasks that aren't always racing to achieve your medals to progress within the game. This game does not follow the rules of rally, and the same could be said about it's physics. Dirt has taken a different approach, however the game is a lot more fun because of it's less seriousness approach to rally/racing. The game is great to play online and with friends, and compared to games like WRC 3 is a big difference in gameplay.

Gran Turismo 5 is popular for it's collection in very luxurious cars and in game graphics. The game focuses on pure driving skills with realistic physics and car handling as the main focus. People who love driving will enjoy this game, however it's racing side can be seen as boring to some. The game realistic physics and style of gameplay, is boring to someone that just wants to race and drive fast. From personal experience this game is very boring if you just want to have a laugh with some friends, this game is way to serious and is for enthusiastic drivers.

Need For Speed Most Wanted is an open world racing video game, the game has won several awards including the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards for best driving game. The game has great graphics and as the reward says a great driving game. This game understands players/drivers that want to get going fast, and the pure need for speed, instead of just a typical racing game. Need For Speed Most Wanted takes on a story within it's game, and has impressive car physics, maybe not as realistic as games like Gran Turismo, but the balance within Need For Speed is just right that make the game fun for everyone.

Arcade Racing Games Designs and functions

Visiting my local arcade, I was able to view and understand how arcade racing games are designed and presented. I played Sega Rally 3 and Outrun 2 with an open mind to understand it's theme and in game design.

How it feels: When playing Sega Rally 3, the game physics on the car, are at a good balance that make it acceptable for a car racing game, it's not realistic and true physics but it's good enough to make the car move and feel believable. Sega Rally 3 has good graphics with a nice usage of colours to help bring out that Sega arcade like feel. From it's colours you can accept that it's not realistic, or the fact the game is trying to be realistic in anyway.
Sega Rally 3 steering wheel and pedals all helped to make me feel immersed in the game, as if I was actually driving within the game. The steering wheel and dual shock controls and resistance to my driving, makes the game even more enjoyable and fun to play with these added extra challenges to my driving.

OutRun 2 feels like a high speed game, where drifting plays a big part of driving. The physics are so unrealistic it's acceptable because of the amount of fun the drifting provides to the player within the game. There is no steering wheel dual shock meaning steering the car is easy, but I feel if there was dual shock, there would of been more of a challenge and a sense of resistance to my steering as I drift around corners. 

How it looks: 
Both games have a nice use of colours and sound to draw the players towards the arcade machine. The artwork used around the arcade machine are impressive and really makes the game look appealing. The steering wheel and chair design all represent a racing cars interior to make the player feel as if there sitting in the car they are driving on screen, it is these themes that all help the player be immersed within the game, along with the sounds and gameplay.

Both games follow a theme, Outrun follows that European and tropical holiday theme of being in the sun all glammer, where Sega Rally uses an artistic and images and slides through out it's interface to make the game look somewhat professional

How it plays: As I have already pointed out both games feel very unrealistic with the games physics controls providing difficult turns and grip within some area's of the game. However it is these features that makes the game fun and challenging to the player.

Arcade Music:
Both games soundtracks never really sound suitable to be used in an arcade racing or rally game compared to home console games like WRC 3 and Dirt which use suitable and high pulsing driving music for the players. Sega Rally 3 and Outrun 2 use cheesy 80 and 90's style music which in someway helps show to the players, that the racing game they're are playing is something not serious  and only a bit of fun.

Outcome from research:
From doing this research into arcade games, I feel I have a good understanding into how arcade games are structure and compiled together to create a unique and fun experience for the player. From this research I've collected, I can see the many ways in which arcade games design and display themselves to their audience, which is all designed to invite the player in and to play. Its important to understand how and why arcades are so loved and enjoyed. I feel I managed to understand how arcade games use a range of creativity in their gameplay and game design to bring out the best game that they can place within a machine.