Standard Blog
Go! Filter
Login Register Password?

Need for Speed Shift Interview Continued



And why? Is that something that you got from other games that you just knew that if – and this is a big word developers are using, is immersion. Was that one of the reasons, because you really wanted to give the player a feeling?

Need for Speed ShiftWe sat down and said “What sums up a great driving experience? What are we after?” So the first thing the Slightly Mad guys did was render a cockpit view, and they had that already, so that was a huge win for us. I don't think we could've done it without that. Then we started playing with different camera angles, like, when you brake, you see the head tilting forward. It was the Slightly Mad guys idea to blur the cockpit at high speeds, and I think it was because the feedback I gave them was “At high speeds, it's hard for me to focus on the road,” and they're like, “Okay, what if we blur the cockpit out?” That proved to be a very, very effective way, and I think it's really cool, too.

It's different depth of field. When you're driving you're never looking dead in front, you're looking way ahead, or you're looking at your instruments to see what it is you're doing; if you're in the right speed, if you're going to be entering the corners. So that must've been a relief not to have everything so sharp.

Yeah, and we took that to heart. It's all about perception. It doesn't need to feel real, it needs to look kind of like what it feels like. That's what we were after.
Need for Speed Shift
It's a beautiful looking game, we know it looks gorgeous, but is there anything in there you wish you could've done, or made a little bit better, or spent a bit more time with? And let's not give the EA guys a bit of fluff, let's be honest here. What is it that you want to see more of?

There's a ton of things that we want to do, and hopefully we can do them for the next version, but one thing – I would have liked to have more cars than what we have. We have about 100 cars approximately, but I'm a car nut, so that I like. Even though we have a very good, deep multiplayer in the game, I would've liked to do a little more in the social network aspect - “What's happening out today in society?” That's something I work with in my other job, which is managing the DICE studio in Sweden. They're totally into that, they're deep into that with the Battlefield games, and that's something that I think we're either going to do after launch or in the next version of Shift.

Just so that the audience know who you are, just explain who you are. Just so that people get an idea of what you've done and how important and how realistic this is, give them a bit of your World Touring Car championship history.
Need for Speed Shift
Well, what I do is I race cars in the Porscha Carerra Cup in Scandinavia, which is a sprint-based racing series, where all the drivers have the same cars. So I do that, that's about ten races a year, and then I also do a lot of long-distance racing – endurance. So I do the 24-hour Le Mans, the 24-hour Dubai, the 24-hour Nürburgring, all that kind of stuff.

And all that stuff's in the game?

Some of it is, yes.

And how do you think it compares to the real life?

To be honest, nothing can compare to real life, but I think that again, we've made a very, very good effort to show the people who don't know how it is to race a car, what it feels like. So I'm really proud of what the developers have managed to do – they do all the work, to be honest.


Comment


Add a comment using your Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Google or OpenID accounts.
blog comments powered by Disqus
 
Need for Speed Shift
Game: Need for Speed Shift
Developer: EA
Publisher: EA (Electronic Arts)
Released: 17 Sep 2009
Screenshots Videos Need For Speed: Shift Ferrari DLC Trailer
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
0
/10

Latest Stuff

 

Dragon's Dogma [Review] - A JRPG with a western edgeDragon's Dogma [Review] - A JRPG with a western...
A mixing of worlds, a worthwhile exercise?

Fifa 13 [Interview] - What's new to the game? Part 1Fifa 13 [Interview] - What's new to the game? P...
Evolution is the name of the game this year, so what's improved?

Sleeping Dogs [Preview] - Undercover in an open-worldSleeping Dogs [Preview] - Undercover in an open...
Welcome to Hong Kong.

Dirt Showdown [Review] - Spin-off or spin-out?Dirt Showdown [Review] - Spin-off or spin-out?
The rally series adds a touch of destruction.

F1 Online [Preview] - Massively multiplayer online racerF1 Online [Preview] - Massively multiplayer onl...
Racer, management sim and MMO rolled into one, with a dash of DRS.

Lost Planet 3 [Preview] - Looks a lot like a rebootLost Planet 3 [Preview] - Looks a lot like a re...
It's all gone survival horror.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier [Review] - Faux-tactical shootingsGhost Recon: Future Soldier [Review] - Faux-tac...
Does the mix of stealth and action work?

XCOM: Enemy Unknown [Preview] - Space InvadingXCOM: Enemy Unknown [Preview] - Space Invading
Can Firaxis usher in a welcome alien return?

Diablo III [Review] - Bloody hellDiablo III [Review] - Bloody hell
Was it worth the 12 year wait?

Dirt Showdown [Interview] - Crafting destructionDirt Showdown [Interview] - Crafting destruction
Producer Iain Smith talks us through the carnage.

 
 

Other Sources

Need for Speed Shift on gamrReview