November 26, 2007
New MX vs. ATV: Untamed Developer Diary
THQ has released a new developer diary for their
upcoming offroad racer, MX vs. ATV: Untamed. In it, Brian Coonce, Principle Game
Designer at Rainbow Studios, describes the open world structure in the game.
Additionally, they have released new gameplay clips, which can be viewed below.
Read on to see the new developer diary.
Click here to download the new MX vs. ATV: Untamed
video.
Developer Diary – Freestyle and Open Worlds
By Brian Coonce, Principle Game Designer, Rainbow Studios
Long-time Rhythm Racers know that some of the
best moments playing MX vs ATV come not just from the intense racing competition
but from exploring the massive open worlds and carving up their own trail. While
designing MX vs ATV: Untamed, we wanted to take this interaction with the
environment to the next level, so gone are the sloping terrains and foggy skies
and in their place are towering canyons, jagged rock spires and flowing streams.
Pulling off freestyle stunts in a crowd-filled arena is always a challenge, but
landing a double back-flip off a hundred foot cliff drop leads to the ultimate
pulse-pounding offroad experience. With these massive new environments in mind,
we sought to revamp our freestyle mechanics from the ground up to take advantage
of these natural outdoor launching pads.
One of the biggest gripes of gamers in the past
was the inability to rack up massive stunt combos. This was largely because a
player was limited by the biggest jump they could find to execute their most
intense combo. In MX vs. ATV: Untamed, gone are the days of single-jump stunt
combinations. A sequence of jumps and stunts can now be chained together through
a new linking mechanism that allows the player a short period of time to execute
their next back-flip or three-sixty. Is the next ramp still too far away?
There’s still time to keep your combo alive by executing one of our all new
ground stunts including no-handers and side-saddles. Your stunt score is limited
only by your creativity and ability to nail that next line of jumps.
Of course, the biggest single-jump combos can
still only be executed by hitting the outdoors hard. Next-gen hardware has
allowed our level designers to create massive changes in elevation, unlike
anything seen in previous MX titles. Not only does this change in elevation
allow for major air-time, keeping your wheels on the ground while tearing
through a down-hill trail leads to speeds bordering on the verge of insanity.
The result is terrain that leaves zero room for error on the biggest jumps and
down-hills, but also has the biggest potential payoffs.
When you’re not stringing together six-stunt
combos, we’ve also made sure you have plenty to keep your time occupied as you
begin to explore the offroad. Take in the scenery of ocean views, lakeside
villas, and desert buttes, or begin conquering the outdoors by jumping streams
and scaling rock archways. We’re particularly proud of the work we’ve done on
our water simulation. You’ll feel the full effect as the tug on your vehicle
churns out huge water sprays. Leaping over a water hazard can mean the
difference between beating the competition and winding up in last place with
only soaked gear to show for your efforts.
The best part is that the waiting to conquer the
terrain in MX vs. ATV: Untamed has finally come to an end. Download the demo
today on Xbox Live and the Playstation Network to experience the Untamed World
for yourself, and check out the full version in stores December 17th!
