Forza series inspired by Pokemon
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Creative director says the "worst place" to look for inspiration is in same genre; car-collecting, rarity systems inspired by Nintendo's monster catching franchise.
Turn 10's Forza Motorsport racing series draws inspiration from unexpected sources. Speaking to Spong, studio creative director Dan Greenwalt said "the worst place to look for inspiration is in your own genre," revealing the company was deeply inspired by Pokemon, among other franchises.
"I knew that I wanted this car-collecting element to be implemented into the game," Greenwalt said. "What game, especially back in 2002, had inspired collecting more than Pokémon?"
Greenwalt added that in the original Forza, cars had a "rarity meter," and players had to choose a region, which made vehicles more or less rare in the game. He said this was directly inspired by Pokemon Sapphire or Ruby.
The developer also said the Forza series, over the years, has been inspired and influenced by World of Warcraft, as well as open world titles like Red Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
The next entry in the Forza series is Forza Horizon, which is due out exclusively for the Xbox 360 on October 23. The game is in development at United Kingdom-based startup Playground Games. The new company has not yet shipped a game, but it has a formidable racing pedigree.
Founded by former Codemasters (F1 series) alums, Playground Games is staffed also by veterans from now-defunct studios Black Rock and Bizarre Creations. Those two studios created Split/Second and Blur, respectively, before being shut down.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
63 comments
8 Like I very much agree with "the worst place to look for inspiration is in your own genre." This applies in music too if you really want to create something unique.
4 Like if Forza is inspired by Pokemon, then the next Battlefield Dice/EA should stop looking at Call Of Duty for inspiration.
It's a good thing racing games are looking for ways to be better, but a bad thing that I think they suck.
6 Like There's no denying that's pretty damn smart. I mean look at what happens when games to take inspiration purely off of the same genre (look at modern shooters at least). Also notice all the ones that DON'T. The ones that don't usually are a lot better.
1 Like Dan Greenwalt isn't far off the mark to be honest. If its something gamers like doing it is being competitive, bragging, collecting something unique or rare (see bragging), comprehensive comparable statistics (see bragging again) and playing alongside or against one another. Throw all that into the mix along with a well designed and polished game, no matter what the genre is and you'll have a recipe for success. Obviously different gaming genres will suit different individuals.
I am (or was) a massive fan of Bizzare Creations, having purchased Forza 1,2, 3 and 4 I can't see why I wouldn't also grab Horizon. If anything I am really interested to see the direction it has taken. Forza 5 will obviously be a next gen xbox release title, so that should also be something to look out for.
@Fernin-Ker that seems like a right comparison........put enough hours into the honda, it will evolve and kill everyone.....
Last time I played this (believe it was the 4th one) cars felt pretty floaty for my liking. Maybe I'll try out the next one coming out though, definitely gonna get the demo and see how I like it. I like developers with minds like these, we need more of them. If games were based off creative design and not what you think will make the most money, we'd have better quality games overall.
3 Like This explains why Forza can stand its own against GT... The developers have a great design philosophy had they simply tried to chase GT and make a better GT the series would have failed. So many shooters try to take inspiration from CoD but it rarely results in a good game. Not to mention people rarely leave the original series for one that only matches...
8 Like It's about time more games took inspiration from the most unusual sources. That would certainly make for an amusing variety of games (remember, Miyamoto wants to make an FPS). Come on lads, let's hear your ideas!
2 Like Car Collecting, a CarPG? Hmmm...where have I heard that phrase before? lol. A little franchise called Gran Turismo?
@SolidTy yeah but after I played gt 5 I have lost faith in polyphony turn 10 has always made a great racing game
@SolidTy Yeah, but it's not that much fun on GT. This from a guy who has played GT to death and hasn't even touched a Forza game.
1 Like @RendomName they still do a better job than Gran tourimo in some ways,BTW gran tourismo was my first racing simulator game,and I loved it but Forza has over all good feel to it to.
i see where he's coming from but its not like u can tune them to your liking.... oh wait thats nfs that cant do that.lmao
@kenkashijd Funny you used to be able to do that in the Underground series, it wasn't much but it was definitely fun trying to tune out the most HP out of your favorite car while letting it handle nicely.
@Fightingfan you know they take the Lamborghini Aventador as an equivalent to Zekrom right lol.
Inspiration is awesome! The best ones always come from places you don't expect. I wish more developers would look to other genres for inspirations on how they can apply design principals not normally associate to their own genre to expand their franchise in bold and new directions, instead of doing rehashes with minor tweaks and additions year after year.
In any case, everyone is happy as long as developers don't walk the dark path that Zynga has been taking.
They should move to make games for nintendo from now on lol,I am just saying not hating I love Forza.
1 Like @Jadedfever It would actually be interesting if Nintendo also started making its own ultra realistic racer. I say the more competition the better.
@OmegaGear Agreed,they should get bored of making mario kart right now,not that is sucks but with there hardcore home console they should totally hire new devs for this.
@Jadedfever @OmegaGear I know. It just seems like we'll see all these great games on the new consoles and wish the wii u was as powerful and running a zelda or metroid game.
@OmegaGear @Jadedfever I'd love to see what nintendo would do if they started making more realistic games. I hope the wii U fails simply to see them utilise the power of more powerful consoles. Skyrim or Dark Souls mixed with Nintendo? I'm there.
2 Like I skipped forza 4... becoz it was to much similar to the 3. and had just a few tracks more than previous... Forza horizon seems to be a lot different... so I'm deff gettin this one :)
Conversation powered by Livefyre
Content you might like…
-
Impossible Studios shut down
Studio made up of former Big Huge Games employees closed six months after it opened, Infinity Blade: Dungeons on hold.
- Feb 8, 2013
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
Biden: No legal problem with taxing violent games
United States Vice President Joe Biden believes there is no legal restriction on ability to tax violent media. Full Story
- Posted May 13, 2013 12:50 pm PT
-
Just Cause dev promises 'holy f**king sh**' moments in future games
Avalanche Studios co-founder says developer's ambition is for action, not moments that make players cry; steampunk-style game on hold. Full Story
- Posted May 15, 2013 6:33 am PT
Featured Stories
-
Bungie shoots down Destiny for PS Vita rumor
Developer confirms image suggesting version of upcoming shared-world shooter in development for Sony's latest portable is a fake. Full Story
- Posted May 16, 2013 5:08 am PT
-
Ubisoft planning to release games more frequently
Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher says its network of 26 studios and over 7,000 developers will allow company to ship major franchises more regularly. Full Story
- Posted May 16, 2013 4:42 am PT
-
Metro: Last Light dev responds to workplace conditions claims
4A Games creative director Andrew Prokhorov thanks Jason Rubin for telling the studio's story, but says, "We deserve the ratings we get." Full Story
- Posted May 16, 2013 12:44 pm PT
-
EA opens DICE LA to make Star Wars games
DICE head would also like to poach top talent from rivals Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Full Story
- Posted May 15, 2013 3:28 am PT
-
EA dropping Online Passes - Report
Future EA games won't require Online Passes; the service is being scrapped after tepid player response. Full Story
- Posted May 15, 2013 8:28 pm PT
Submit News
Related Game
Forza Horizon
Not Following
- Publisher(s): Microsoft Game Studios
- Developer(s): PLAYGROUND
- Genre: Driving
- Release:
- ESRB: T
Recent News
-
GameStop shares slide on Xbox One preowned rumors
Share value down more 6 percent today amid new reports claiming GameStop's business could be hurt by Microsoft's rumored used game policy for next-gen...
