The innovative racer Split/Second has hit store shelves. I recently had the opportunity to participate in a group interview with Nick Baynes, game director from developer Black Rock Studio. For those of you not familiar with Black Rock Studio, it is the developer behind the highly acclaimed racing game Pure, which was released in September 2008.
Nick started by sharing what Split/Second is about: “It’s an action-packed, arcade-style game where you, the player, will be driving through this city that is rigged to blow. So imagine explosions and action-style movie sequences in a race where you have the power to create these explosive moments on your opponent to take them out or to open shortcuts in the track. It’s set in a world of a fictional reality television show, so you as a player, you are a contestant with the aim of becoming the season champ.”
When asked why Black Rock Studio decided to make Split/Second rather than follow up with a sequel to Pure, Nick said, “At Black Rock, we have always had two teams. One was doing Pure, and one started on Split/Second around that same time. In regards to why they are so different: as a studio, our goal is stay and become experts in racing, but we also don’t want to stand still and do that same again and again. We felt that Purepushed the limits for off-road racing, and therefore, we wanted Split/Second to do the same for street racing. We are always looking at innovative ways to bring fun and excitement to racing games.”
Nick also revealed that Split/Second as a core concept has been around for well over five years. The team decided that with technology where it is now, they could finally work on the title. With the destructible environments and being able to control the track, technology was finally at a place where the game could be made.
The game is set in a reality television show. Rather than equip cars with weaponry, the team wanted to be innovative with the gameplay and do something different. By putting the racing game in the television show, it opened the reality that “sets” for television shows can be rebuilt in a week or two. This grounded the game world in an alternate reality where the player could blow up the track, come back and race the track again and again, without having to come up with reasons why the city was back to normal. The idea was to create a game that felt real and wasn’t so unreal that the player’s suspension of disbelief was always being challenged.
Nick also explained that the tracks are never the same. He said there is so much content on the tracks that you could essentially play a track over and over and you would still find new elements that you haven’t yet experienced. He also shared with us that they used some techniques from television storytelling and incorporated into the actual play of the game.
Nick didn’t mean that there is an in-depth story; however, he meant that television shows use cliffhangers and teaser trailers for the next episode. In Split/Second you have to win at least three races in an episode to be invited back to race in the next episode. Nick said the team took special care in creating a need for you to keep playing the game. You will get teasers of the next episode as well as be prompted for how many more points you need for your next unlockables and other features of this nature.
Nick said that pushing the tech was one of the toughest challenges in creating compelling gameplay in Split/Second.
“Normally, with a racing game you go relatively smoothly from basic track concepts to layouts and then you dress the scene. With Split/Second, we had a basic idea of what we wanted, we would lay out the power plays, then the track would go back and forth between animators, artists and designers.”
Nick explained that Split/Second wasn’t the typical racing game development. However, the Black Rock Studio development team was completely dedicated to making an engaging game at all times of the development process.
Split/Second is a huge change from the typical racing game, even from combat racers. The player doesn’t have a car mounted with all sorts of weaponry. Rather, players must use their own abilities to earn points so that they may manipulate the racing environment.
Personally, I am really excited about the game. Officially Split/Second is available. Check back here in a few days and look for my review. I can’t wait to check this title out!
