Nostalgic Game Design Focus - Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge
When I think of cool cars in the 80s, a Lotus Esprit was about as cool as cars got (short of 'KIT' from 'Knight Rider' or the DeLorean from 'Back to the Future') - and so a racing challenge centered upon this sports car was a ticket for quite a few hours of entertainment.
In 'Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge' you get to race - maybe with a friend, on easily one of the better 2D racers on the Atari ST.
It was exciting. It was fun. It was a rush.
Welcome. This is 'Nostalgic Game Design Focus' a series where I get to think back and comment upon games that I had played when I was much younger - mostly from a game-design perspective.
Title: Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge
Publishers: Gremlin Graphics
Developer: Magnetic Fields
Composer: Barry Leitch, Patrick Phelan
Released: 1990
'Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge' was one of the more polished racers that I had available to me in on the ST. As the parents would be getting ready for us all to go out for 'Bingo' for the evening (where I'd be more than a little bored - desperately trying to make a piece of paper and pens seem interesting enough a distraction - and wondering when I'd get some food to help pass the time)...
'ahem'
...Well, I'd be zooming away within this game, getting 'in the zone', having a good time.
Premise of the Game
Well... a game like 'Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge' doesn't have much of a premise to it. It very much feels like an advertisement for the British 'Lotus' brand of vehicle - and there is just no getting around it. Even in arcade 'Attract Mode' the game goes through various schematics relating to the Lotus vehicle that stars as the center-piece of this game. That and I guess you are challenged to beat all other players in the various race challenges.
Don't let this put you off however. Beyond the idolization of the 'Lotus' vehicle (specifically a 'Lotus Esprit Turbo SE' - a derivative of the 'X180 series' in that line of vehicles) the game actually is a very good standard racer for the day and you can tell that some love went into this game.
Straight to the Action!
One nice thing about this game is that when you load it up, there is very little customization to be done before one gets straight to the racing.
You select your difficulty level (and whether its one or two players).
You choose whether you prefer manual or "computerized" gears.
You choose whether you prefer sound effects or music in-game.
Off you go!
The controls are pretty straight-forward, even with manual gears selected, though I must admit that its just easier having computerized gears. I am fairly sure that the manual-gears control player can get a minor edge on the computerized-gears control player but I never really tried it out in depth as you're fast either way.
The game does a good job of ensuring that a new player has a good idea of how to play the game before starting - and this proves both simple and effective.
While the controls are designed with joystick users in mind - those using type pads or similar will still find that it works.
Controlling the car in-game is not at all difficult. Its quite standard fare. It takes into consideration the sharpness of bends, the steepness of hills and what is upon the road's surface.
Every race you get to share the track with 19 other race cars - all conveniently in white (I like to think that you didn't get the memo that the car 'dress code' was white ;cP).
This was quite impressive for the time - 19 other vehicles being controlled and potentially rendered on screen by the computer (the way the game was designed, no more than half ever needed simultaneous rendering on screen). This did come with compromises for the cars' AI - and the cars would drift aimlessly to the left and right respectively, with no consideration for where you are on the track.
That being said, somehow the car in second place always clocked in a few short seconds after you.
The easiest way to achieve this from a designer standpoint would be to simply 'fudge the numbers'. Its not like you could know any different. Which has its ups and downs. Getting too far ahead of the game could be a recipe for boredom.
What I would have hoped was the case (and it might well be) is that some cars are not only faster than others (which helps to ensure that they aren't clustered too close together), but those at the front actually speed up beyond their normal drive speed when overtaken.
In this way the game would have also included a 'catch-up' mechanism whereby players that fall behind (perhaps due to pit-stop) can get back in for the running. The top speeds of the vehicles aren't really anything to write home about.
Hmm? Are you wondering why half the screen features a car being worked on in the pits?
Well this was one of the less inspired decisions made with the game. That is the space normally reserved for Player 2. When playing a single player game the 2nd player's space remains dedicated and the designers figured that showing the car permanently in the pit was acceptable.
While I didn't terribly mind it, it does give me the vibe that the car needs a lot of maintenance - which probably wasn't the intention of the developers. Fortunately this was fixed in sequels to this game.
Indestructible Yet Thirsty
Perhaps due to its show status, in this game you could bump into as many cars and street signs and rocks as you can stomach - and still retain a pristine-looking car. Then again bumping into things even slightly would severely reduce your speed - a much kinder fate than becoming a twisted wreck of metal!
Indeed, since there is no timer chasing you in this game (only a bunch of cars) - there is only one way to truly be stopped - and that is to run out of fuel.
While I would like to think that this game allows a player to conserve on fuel using a variety of methods (not accelerating, or keeping RPM down, that doesn't appear to be how it works here. The fuel levels fade regardless and if one is out of fuel - one is unable to finish the race and its Game Over... unless one manages to cross the finish line as the car slows to a halt... (I liked doing that for some reason ;cP).
Near the lap/ finish line one finds the pit lane, a strip of roadway to the right side of the road where you can slow to a halt. When stopped in this location the screen switches to a pit view similar to that of Player 2 - except that you also have a fuel meter showing you getting a refill.
It takes 4 seconds to fully top up but you can interrupt the refuel at any time.
To my embarrassment I do confess that it took me quite a few games to figure out that stopping in the pits is all it took to get refueled. O_o
Atmosphere
'Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge' was a rather simple game to play but what it lacked in depth it quite made up for in atmosphere.
One thing I really loved however was how the game would really give a sense of speed. The two-tone ground, while rather easy on the graphics processing, did an awesome job of delivering that feeling - as did the fast-zipping-past sign posts, rocks, oil slicks, and even other cars.
In this it seems to have borrowed from 'Space Harrier', another game that well-provided that sense of speed (although in that game it was constant).
Besides the graphics I also need to talk about the sound and music in 'Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge'.
It is really nice - and I really like the tracks. I only just wish that you could shift it around during or between stages as a minute or two of the same music over and over can get repetitive and boring fast. It would also have been nice to have had music and sound effects but I understand that limitations of the machine determined that there was only so much sound and music that one could cram into the sound chip. Have a listen in.
Yes, I know its Amiga - but I couldn't find an equivalent line-up of Atari music (and you do get a taste of the Atari sound in the demonstration video just a little further down.
I'll have to confess that the Amiga's music sounded darn good - but there is 'something' about the Atari version of the music that is both desirable and missing from Amiga's music in general. Some would call it "emotionality" but I guess I could sum it up as 'retro nostalgia'. The Atari's music chip-set sounds just a little more digital but in all the right ways.
One final note that needs to be made is the witty sense of humour that the game designers managed to insert despite the privileged nature of the sports car being paraded.
While the cars on the track may all look and drive more or less the same, their drivers are named. Its a small thing but its nice nonetheless.
Providing a pretty good sense for how the game played (except that he is using an emulator - understandable) is 'The Love of Sticks' with this medium-length video. Some things are just simpler to express via video. :c)
This just reminded me of all the good times had with this game. I just wish that I had more two-player experiences. _
Yet another race down the track of nostalgia. While I know that racing games aren't for everybody I try to cover a nice broad range of games within this series - and I really look forward to the feedback of you readers! Not every game that I have featured - or shall feature shall be a diamond - but I will try to single out the interesting aspects of those games.
As after all - it is valuable to see how things were done in the past.
Do you have any comments or feedback? I look forward to hearing any comments that you have in the discussion down below!
Also, if you found this post interesting and would like to share this with your followers and friends then a resteem is always appreciated.
Sincerely,
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