Forza Motorsport interview with Dan Greenawait

MGS/Forza Motorsport Representative:
Dan Greenawalt – Lead Game Designer


AMN: Forza Motorsport was probably the best-kept secret to be announced at E3, as it seemingly came out of nowhere and blindsided the crowd. How long has the game been in development, how was the project started, and what were the goals for the final product from the start?

Dan Greenawalt: We were very pleased with the response Forza Motorsport received at E3. Everyone who saw it seemed to think very well of it, and were amazed that we’d been able to keep it a secret for so long. How long did we keep it a secret? Believe it or not, it’s been in development for just over two years now!

Forza was started by a group of us who really wanted to create the best racing sim available for Xbox. Our goals right from the start were to make the game realistic while also being fun. We wanted to make sure it had a full customization system and realistic damage for the advanced players, while also offering an enjoyable gameplay experience for the casual racer.

AMN: Generally speaking, the Xbox userbase seems to have embraced arcade-style racers; games such as Project Gotham Racing 2 and Need for Speed Underground have sold very well, while games such as Sega’s GT games have been met with a lukewarm reception [by comparison]. Do you feel this is an indication of consumer preference as it relates to gameplay design, or is it due to a lack of quality titles on the simulation side of the genre?

DG: I wouldn’t say that Xbox gamers prefer arcade games over simulation. In fact, ever since the launch of the Xbox, gamers have been asking us for a game like Forza Motorsport.

AMN: Relating to the last question, if the former is the case, what aspects of Forza Motorsport are likely to appeal to fans of arcade racers? Similarly, if the latter is true, what mistakes have previous entries in the genre made and what design decisions have been made in efforts to prevent repeating them?

DG: We have never been interested in making a “me too” game. Our vision was to make a game that would set the new standard for simulation racing on the console. This can’t be done simply by attempting to do “what everyone else does, but better”. We had to innovate and push the boundaries of what is considered possible in this space. That is why Forza Motorsport is the only racing game that features over 200 cars including Ferrari, Porsche, Ford, and Honda with performance impacting damage and customization. That is why we have learning AI that adapts and grows with the player. That is why we spent months perfecting the tire physics alone.


The Porsche license: One of many reasons Forza Motorsport is not a ‘me too’ racing sim

AMN: How many vehicles are slated to appear in Forza Motorsport? Were there any guidelines regarding which cars would be included, or are you simply trying to fit as many in as possible?

DG: Right now, we’re planning for more than 200 cars in Forza. When choosing cars, we wanted vehicles that people were actually interested in collecting and racing. We could throw in everything but the kitchen sink, but how many of those cars would people really race? We believe it is better to create over 200 hundred handpicked cars featuring damage and customization coupled with spot-on physics than to create 500 cars with no damage or customization and a less sophisticated physical simulation. Offering damage and customization is a significant investment. It more than doubles the amount of time required to create and tune every car. This choice between more car or better cars must be made by every racing game developer.


AMN: Project Gotham Racing 2 had a fairly linear single-player model, restricting players to an unfinished car class regardless if they could afford the cars in the next class or not. Assuming Forza Motorsport works on a cash based system, will the campaign provide players with more freedom in terms of the races available to them at any given point, and which order they choose to tackle them?

DG: Forza’s career mode allows you to race in the types of races you prefer. If you’re into just a few quick laps. You can race that way and earn cash, or you can race in circuits or point-to-point races. It’s really up to you and your racing tastes, every race is a chance to earn cash, so you’re not forced into a linear progression through the game.

AMN: One of the reasons Forza Motorsport made such an impression on the crowd was the quality of the graphics. On average, how many polygons are being pushed by the game, and what graphical features/effects have been implemented to take advantage of the Xbox hardware?

DG: We’re pushing plenty of polygons with each car, around 15,000 per model. Camera effects like blooming, lens flare, heat shimmer, light rays, and depth of field are implemented to make it seem like you’re right there on the track.

AMN: The E3 trailer put a large emphasis on the level to which players could tune their cars. Could you elaborate on, and provide some examples of, the amount of control players have over the changes they make to their rides? What aspects of the vehicles can be manipulated, and – in the case of performance-related adjustments – to what level of precision?

DG: Forza’s customization system is going to allow for both cosmetic and performance-based upgrades. For the fans of eye-candy, we’ll have a livery system that allows you to customize paint schemes and decal sets for your car. For the performance junkies, Forza’s a dream come true. Our relationships with aftermarket parts companies have allowed us to offer dozens of aftermarket parts that actually affect performance. Rear wings, ground effects, engine upgrades…they’re all in there, and they will all affect the performance of your car.

AMN: How much time has gone into the development of the physics engine behind Forza Motorsport, and what methods did you use to make sure they were accurate? How important are the physics in terms of creating the gameplay experience that the team envisioned from the outset? Feel free to give examples in order to illustrate how many facets of the experience are related to the physics engine.

DG: We spent many months tuning and re-turning the physics to make sure everything comes together for as perfect a simulation as we could make. We’ve taken real world cars and run them on tracks and dynamometers to ensure that we recreate their weight and aerodynamic characteristics. We spent three months just working on the tire physics, making sure that we were simulating the rubber compounds slip and grip characteristics so that racing feels as realistic as possible.


The ‘Drivatar’ AI system will allow CPU opponents to learn as they race


AMN: Both PGR2 and RalliSport Challenge 2 featured realistic damage modeling, but it both cases it served as more of an aesthetic feature than anything, as damaging one’s car had little effect on the gameplay; the car looked banged up, but continued to handle well, for example. Will taking damage in Forza Motorsport affect car performance in any way?

DG: Damage in Forza will clearly affect the vehicle’s performance, causing slowdowns and handling issues. And of course, it will be reflected in the vehicle’s appearance. Damage will also have an economic effect, as players will not get those aftermarket parts repaired for free between races. If you trash that new bumper, well, you’re going to have to spend money to buy a new one, or continue racing with hit dangling off the front end of the car.

AMN: What has been done to make the opponent AI as realistic as possible? What should players expect from the opposition in terms of the lines they take, or their reactions to the player’s and/or other drivers’ actions on the track?

DG: Forza Motorsport is taking advantage of a new AI technology called “Drivatar.” This technology allows the game’s AI to actually learn as it races. Drivatars will watch how players race and emulate their style when appropriate. They can also take what they’ve learned and generalize it as needed. This means the Drivatar can take what it has learned on one track, and apply it to a track it hasn’t raced before, adapting to any changes on the new track as needed.

AMN: For many, PGR2 stands alone as the single best example of Live implementation, where even aspects of the single-player game are affected by the online component. Are any of the features that appeared in PGR2, or any similar features planned for Forza Motorsport?

DG: While we’re definitely going to integrate Xbox Live support into Forza, we’re not announcing what features and gametypes we’ll be including until later. Keep an eye out for an announcement in the coming weeks.

AMN: Thanks for taking time out of your schedule to talk with us.

For more information on Forza check out our Forza hands-on articles:

  • Forza Motorsports hands on #1
  • Forza Motorsports hands on #2:

    We’ll have more updated information for you on Forza Motorsport as it becomes available.