CS: Racing Genre

For our contextual studies so far we have been given the task of answering 4 questions on a specific genre of games, our group got 'Racing':

Narrative/Structure

1. How is the game structured - does it have levels?

2. Do you have to follow a set path to complete the game?, How much freedom do you have to explore the game world?

Visual Style

3. What does the game look like - its image and style?

4. How do the visuals affect the player?

We first had to list racing games:

Project Gotham Racing

Grid

Colin McRae Dirt

Need for Speed

F0x

Formula 1

Crash Bandicoot Team Racing

Mario Kart

WRC

Wipeout

 Pod Racing

ModNation

Gran Turismo

Forza

Blur

 Burnout

Fuel

Motorstorm

Test Drive

Drive

Sega All-Stars Racing

Crazy Taxi

Little Big Planet Racing

Outrun

SPK

Ridge Racer

Off Road

Split Second Velocity

Ferrari Challenge

Moto GP

Virtua Racing

We then picked one game out of these and then we have to answer the 4 questions. The game we chose is Fuel.

Fuel is an open world racing game developed by Asobo Studios and published by Codemasters. 

So, on to the questions;
1. How is the game structured - does it have levels?

The games structure is built upon progression. To get better vehicles and progress you have to get 3 stars in each race, to do this you have to place first each time. The game is an open world racing game, it has a sandbox map of 5,560 square miles in size that the player can explore and ride around freely and openly, the map consists of 19 different camps all in a different section of the map. Each section also has different weather conditions as well as different terrain. In order to visit each section of the map the player must progress through each race gaining more and more stars, each section has a number of stars, so the more stars the more areas the player can visit. The game itself doesn't necessarily have levels but more a progression system.

2. Do you have to follow a set path to complete the game?, How much freedom do you have to explore the game world?

The player does not have to follow a set path but if the player wants to progress through the game to get better vehicles and visit each section then the player must race in order to gain the stars. The player has a lot of freedom in terms of exploring the world but when it comes to the races they are very linear, the player must get from point A to point B quicker than the other players, this a set path for the player to follow but there are shortcuts. 

3. What does the game look like - its image and style?

The game has a gritty realistic life like style, it uses photo realistic graphics to represent the vehicles and terrain.

4. How do the visuals affect the player?

 The visuals help the player to feel as if they are actually there and in that world, this is done by the realistic style and visuals of the game.