Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 64: Arcade Fired Up
Recently, I hosted the very first round of a new forum competition for Automationeers - the Automation Gamer Challenge. This was a recurring contest in which users are asked to submit ideas for cars that will be featured in a video game. I only took up the challenge of hosting the inaugural round simply because no other users were interested in doing so. However, I also had to come up with a rule set that everyone could agree on. After a brief deliberation, I decided on a theme that took me back to my childhood days - in a good way.
The premise was as follows: Back in 1995, the staff at a game development studio was in a grim mood, with finances running tight, but their latest game, SpeedStorm 3D, was expected to carry the studio out of the doldrums. To make that dream a reality, the dev team decided to search for cars that would be appropriate for the game. Given that SpeedStorm 3D was a fast-paced arcade racer for home consoles and PCs (a subgenre now sadly on its last legs nowadays), the team clearly wanted the fastest, coolest cars they could find, and would eventually single one of them out for being worthy of the cover art.
A week later, I had received a total of twelve submissions from other users. However, it was clear that, before deciding the final finishing order, I had to eliminate any entries that were either aesthetically challenged, not relevant enough, or both. With this in mind, four entries were ruled out of contention on the spot, and would therefore not be featured in SpeedStorm 3D. This left only eight cars under consideration for the cover, although these eight would still be included regardless of what happened next. Three of those, however, would soon be cut for poor aesthetics relative to the other cars - a shame considering their potential.
Thus, there were now only five cars still being considered for the cover of SpeedStorm 3D. In fifth place was the Haapala GT2 Street Legal; it may have looked racy, but it simply had too much wheelspin to keep up with the field. In fourth place was the Zacspeed R1, with its immensely powerful engine; only some mild understeer held it back from the podium places.
The Greil Dainsleif claimed a very honorable third place, with its clean, uncluttered styling and excellent all-around performance. However, the more aggressive-looking LMC Nessus Type S beat it to second place; the fact that the Nessus was even better to drive than the Greil almost sealed the deal. Only a much more powerful car could steal the win from it... and the Adonijin Kite 8000S proved to be just that, and much more. In addition to being much better to drive than anything else in the field, it had much more presence on the road as well. Unsurprisingly, the Kite was chosen for the cover art of SpeedStorm 3D.
And so the inaugural Automation Gamer Challenge came to an end. But this would just be the start - a second round has recently been announced and is now underway, with results to follow shortly. Whoever wins it will take pride in knowing that they can create a car that not only belongs in a hypothetical video game, but will also feature on its cover as well.
The premise was as follows: Back in 1995, the staff at a game development studio was in a grim mood, with finances running tight, but their latest game, SpeedStorm 3D, was expected to carry the studio out of the doldrums. To make that dream a reality, the dev team decided to search for cars that would be appropriate for the game. Given that SpeedStorm 3D was a fast-paced arcade racer for home consoles and PCs (a subgenre now sadly on its last legs nowadays), the team clearly wanted the fastest, coolest cars they could find, and would eventually single one of them out for being worthy of the cover art.
A week later, I had received a total of twelve submissions from other users. However, it was clear that, before deciding the final finishing order, I had to eliminate any entries that were either aesthetically challenged, not relevant enough, or both. With this in mind, four entries were ruled out of contention on the spot, and would therefore not be featured in SpeedStorm 3D. This left only eight cars under consideration for the cover, although these eight would still be included regardless of what happened next. Three of those, however, would soon be cut for poor aesthetics relative to the other cars - a shame considering their potential.
Close, but no cigar: despite looking promising on paper, the Haapala GT2 and Zacspeed R1 were ultimately held back by fundamental issues that, in hindsight, should have been fixed early on.
Thus, there were now only five cars still being considered for the cover of SpeedStorm 3D. In fifth place was the Haapala GT2 Street Legal; it may have looked racy, but it simply had too much wheelspin to keep up with the field. In fourth place was the Zacspeed R1, with its immensely powerful engine; only some mild understeer held it back from the podium places.
So near, and yet so far: the Greil Dainsleif and LMC Nessus almost took the title, but were both surpassed by something just a little bit more... awesome, for lack of a better word.
The winning car of the inaugural Automation Gamer Challenge - the Adonijin Kite, as featured on the cover of SpeedStorm 3D.
And so the inaugural Automation Gamer Challenge came to an end. But this would just be the start - a second round has recently been announced and is now underway, with results to follow shortly. Whoever wins it will take pride in knowing that they can create a car that not only belongs in a hypothetical video game, but will also feature on its cover as well.
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