This article in the series lists the activities, broken down as detailed as possible, that constitutes the game play in a racing game.
The Game Play Activities
Core Game Play Activities a racer or gamer can master and execute in a racing game as below:
- Accelerating,
- Decelerating,
- Braking,
- Gear Shifting,
- Line Taking,
- Strategic Boosting (nitro or speed boosters if available),
- Slipstreaming (or Drafting),
- Understanding the Track’s Layout,
- Drifting,
- …etc…
Additional Game Play Activities that require mastery in “evolved” racing games:
- Aiming / Firing Accuracy
- Ammo conservation (A curve is approaching, hold back on the missile until a better opportunity arises?)
- Additional finesses in control (To get items or boosting strips on tracks on top of racing lines.)
- Reaction (To avoid obstacles or traps on tracks, especially those left by opponents!)
- Combat Strategy (Which stretch of the track to take down the opponent for optimum advantage? Around the curve perhaps?)
- Team Strategy (Team mates acting as shields against attacks, blockers against opponents catching up, assists by creating slipstream in front of the ace racer…)
- …etc…
Possible Community Activities in a racing game brought about by online game play capabilities offered by pcs and consoles?
- Record a Replay
- Share a Replay
- Spectate a Race
- Offering a chance to players to play other roles?
- Offering a chance to players to play as mechanics? (Players can salvage parts from other destroyed vehicles that the player has destroyed, must bring it to the mechanic to build. Mechanics require different skill-sets mustered by different game play loops.)
- Offering a chance to players to play as a manager of a racing team? (Can manage other players or train AIs?)
- Bets (May not be the most moral…)
- Drafting to assist a teammate in a race
- Blocking an opponent team member in a race
- …etc…
There are more, but this is not the definitive list. Just to serve as a reference.