1. What is a Racing Game

What is a Racing Game?

The genre name comes from the mechanic of finishing a track before the other rivals.

Space Race was the first game that we can understand as a racing game. I was a multiplayer game where two players control spaceships using radio volume knobs and compute to get to the other side of the screen.

Taito’s Speed Race was a major innovation in the genre. The player had to dodge other cars on scrolling race track.

Pole position placed the player behind their vehicle from a third-person perspective against other seven computer opponents. On the arcade versions, there was a cabinet with a seat, an accelerator, brake pedals simulated a better driving experience.

Super Mario Kart introduced the element of combat via weapons picked up on the track.

Gran Turismo represented a massive leap forward in realistic racing games.  In its simulation mode, players had to earn different kinds of driving licenses in order to qualify for events. Gran Turismo featured 140 cars, all based on real-world models.

Like platforms, racing games has a spectrum of how “arcade” or “simulation” the game is, where’s the main distinguishing factor being the degree which the game focus on the driving experience.

Focus on realism

The racing simulators give the player a very accurate experience driving. Their physic engines are designed to simulate road conditions, tire traction, gravity, momentum and all other factors tend to come into play. They have a higher barrier to entry since this games don’t give any assistance if the player gets into trouble and usually requires some real-life experience. As part of simulations ethos, many racing simulators allow the player a high level of control and customization over their cars, the modifications made into cars alters the statics and have in-game consequences.

Arcade Racers

The Arcade games on general have a lower entry barrier than the simulators and focus much more on the fun aspect. There still some room for customization in arcade games and they still influence the game, but to keep the balance between new players and more experienced ones, the balance is more limited and less extreme. Since the focus is on the fun and speed, on general crashes are inconsequential for the player.

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