The Search for the Perfect Race

Even after all of the simulation racing games since the very first Gran Turismo game on PS1, which I'm sure isn't the first ever, they still have one problem: dog awful computer A.I. and gamers that want to win all the time.

That sounds contradictory, but it isn't. When I play a racing game, I want to 1) win every race to complete the game and 2) get the cash reward. But I also don't want to race 4-9 laps of a track 2 laps ahead of the rest of the competition. See, winning isn't everything. I want to have a good time while doing it. I want to feel like I'm being challenged, but I don't want to lose 4 out of 5 races because I slip up.

This problem was first addressed early in video game racing with a term called "rubberbanding", where no matter how well you were doing, the competition was able to keep up with you. You would jockey for position the entire race, which may have looked like a more realistic race, but to the player felt like no matter what they did, they couldn't turn a real advantage, even when the A.I. wrecked completely off the track.

Online racing and leader boards are simulation racing's saving grace. Real people are the best competition. Racing against numbers like a time trial is competitive and indirect. Your free to practice as much as you want and post scores all day without being bothered by people hiding behind the veil of internet anononimity.

The Forza Motorsports series has tried to take strides in A.I. development from the opposite point of view: train your computer driver to drive for you. The technology is defunct now and was only in the first Forza game. The second Forza game replaced the Drivatar technology with a new model: pay to win. At any race you could hire a computer driver to drive for you. Depending on how much you paid for a driver afforded you that much experience and a probability of a win. Handing over 100% of your earnings from the race up front meant that you would most likely win the race. But as you watched the race go, you could see glaring driving mistakes and missed opportunities at every turn and corner.

Forza Motorsports 3 doesn't seem to tout any of this kind of fair-racing/assistance technology. Instead, they are continuing to push how many millions of polygons make up a car, how many cars are in the game (or different versions of the same cars, don't be fooled!) and what modes you can race in.

My question is when are we going to stop worrying about looks and options in a game that is supposed to be more about simulation than photo realism? Why advertise a racing game to be a simulation game if the only sense we're worried about duplicating in video games is sight? I want to hear that Turn 10 and Polyphony Digital hired outside artificial intelligence teams to program their games instead of hearing that now you can drag race and drift race the same stupid computer players. A change of scenery is nice, but if you're still surrounded by idiots...

Link: Forza Motorsports
Link: Gran Turismo