NEW YORK, NY -- March 14, 2002 – The Codemasters Pro Race Driver development team is about to showcase a new level of excellence in game production values, as action movie production methods are integrated into character and scene creation for this dynamic and gritty racing game.  This fusion of the movie and gaming worlds means players will be drawn into Pro Race Driver on a whole new level.

The storyline is pieced together through character-based narrative sequences within the game, which build the player’s rivalries and friendships with in-game characters, creating a passionate reason to beat them on the track.  Gamers step into the shoes of lead character, Ryan McKane, as he enters his first season as a professional championship driver.  Overshadowed by a great racing heritage, Ryan soon finds himself trying to live up to his father’s reputation as a renowned race driver of past years whilst also chasing his older brother Donnie’s current success on the world’s most challenging circuits.

The game’s development team has achieved the pace of a blockbuster movie through working directly with film production professionals.  Paramount in achieving this high standard of animated scene visuals is Pro Race Driver’s implementation of advanced motion capture (MoCap) technology, in which character movement was recorded with full casts of actors performing each scene with their speech recorded simultaneously.

While this is standard in movie production, it’s a departure for MoCap in games, which usually captures one actor’s movement at a time, before melding a scene together.  Each scene was captured using a 16-camera Motion Analysis system (previously used for the ‘Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within’ feature film) on a soundstage at a studio in Long Island, New York.  Additionally, Pro Race Driver’s MoCap scenes are played live, so the player’s most recently raced car and track can be included in the scene, making the story much more personal and reflective of the most recent race.

“It was important to take motion capture in this direction as it is closer to the way actors are traditionally filmed,” said Gavin Raeburn, Producer of Pro Race Driver.  “When you separate actors and record them individually, you lose the naturalness and spontaneity of the acting.”

As the story develops, it follows a nine-act structure, something that 90% of the top 200 grossing Hollywood movies adhere to.  This technique produces an unpredictable journey through a believable story.

While the production of the scenes is high, they won’t overwhelm the adrenaline-fuelled racing action of Pro Race Driver’s gameplay, as Raeburn explains:

“Each story sequence lasts between just 15 and 45 seconds.  This avoids players feeling the need to press buttons to skip scenes.  Certain characters will also feature in other parts of the game, replacing text information and option displays with actual speech. This helps dispense with the impersonal documentary feel of many licensed racing games and keeps Pro Race Driver a dramatic and fast, though personal, experience throughout.”

Pro Race Driver is currently in development at Codemasters with a team of 58 working on it.  The title will launch on PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game console from Microsoft and PC in June 2002.

ABOUT PRO RACE DRIVER
One driver, one world, one champion – the aggressive, white-knuckle drive of the global Touring Car challenge comes to the screens of gamers in Codemasters’ Pro Race Driver*.

Uniquely blending a cast of game characters with the sport’s real-life drivers, locations and championship events, Pro Race Driver moves the racing game genre on by giving the player one central character to connect with and wraps the high speed action with cinematic presentation. It’s also set to be the only race game to feature high-impact collision damage on the world’s most expensive touring cars.

Pro Race Driver features more licenses than any previous game in the series, enabling players to race the world over in championships such as Germany’s DTM Championship, Australia’s AVESCO V8 Supercar Shell Championship Series and the UK’s TOCA Tour.

About Codemasters

Established in 1986, UK-based Codemasters is one of Europe's best-selling and profitable game-makers, developing and publishing titles for the console platforms and PC.  Codemasters’ products first appeared on US retail shelves in 1999 and since then they have continued to provide energetic, compelling and innovative entertainment to gaming fans of all genres.  The company’s 2001 offerings included Blade of Darkness and Operation Flashpoint, both of which met with critical acclaim and enormous consumer praise. Richard Darling, the company’s Design Director and co-founder, is renowned as one of the most prolific game designers and has been involved in the creation of 60 of the company’s staggering #1 titles in the UK.  In keeping with the company's mission to remain on the crest of the gaming wave, Codemasters is developing games for online and next generation platforms.  Additional information about the company and its products can be found at www.codemasters.com

About Xbox
Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever.  Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in North America at the suggested retail price of $299.99.  *Reseller prices may vary.

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