Criterion unveiled a new multi-vehicle racing title during EA’s E3 press conference last week and now, speaking with TrustedReviews, the developer has discussed the inspiration behind the game.
Where you might expect it to be all about horsepower and engine notes (don’t worry, there’s still plenty of both), Criterion is looking to replicate something deeper and more human – the intense first-person video experience which has been birthed by the rise of action cameras.
“The stuff [which] definitely has been a super influence, or an inspiration, is action cameras and GoPros - that first-person view,” Matt Webster, Criterion’s General Manager said discussing the unnamed title out in LA.
“They are becoming ubiquitous in the real world and they are certainly defining how the world sees action in a lot of senses and certainly how people are sharing their experiences.”
The game, which was shown in its early development stages, will touch down for next-gen consoles in the coming years and, according to the early clip we’ve seen (below), will let you take control of all manner of vehicles, from cars, bikes and ATVs to jet-skis, planes and boats.
For those of you who are fans of Criterion’s Burnout and Need for Speed efforts, worry not, the studio is still focused on the basics and ensuring that this first-person racer handles as you would expect.
“Our games are underpinned by beautiful vehicle control; that has to be the start point,” Webster told us.
“If you imagine those vehicles being in the air or on water as well as being on the ground, you have got scope for a diverse type of play that you’ve maybe not imagined, and certainly not seen before.”
On pairing this mass of vehicles with a new, action camera inspired first-person view, he added: “That is the fun bit and it is where we get the action from.
“We are just bringing those two ideas together. It just seems natural to us.”
Although the game is still a couple of years away from release, Webster suggested that the multi-vehicle idea is far from a new one within the studio’s walls.
“We have kicked ideas about games that go beyond cars for many years. Many, many years in fact,” the Criterion MD said.
He added: “If you take a look at what we did in Burnout Paradise, with motorbikes and planes – we never released the planes but we were playing around with different vehicles as it’s the things that excite us – now, the opportunity is there for us to do something new.”
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