When Sony Playstation first released Polyphony's Gran Turismo in 1997, visionary Kazunori Yamauchi intended for a driving game with the ability to simulate the performance of an expansive array of vehicles, all of which were licensed reproductions of real machines.
In 2005, Turn 10 Studios' Forza Motorsport stepped into the scene as a driving simulator for Microsoft Xbox. As both Forza and Gran Turismo evolved, Forza catered its platform to car enthusiasts by capturing as much of the culture as possible while Gran Turismo focused its attention to driving simulation and race craft.
Fast forward 15 years since Gran Turismo's initial concept, the latest video game to push the envelope in the driving sim genre is the upcoming Forza Horizon, joint-developed by Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games, the UK developer that is responsible for racing games including GRID and DiRT. During the press conferences held at E3, the premier video game trade show in Los Angeles, Forza Horizon's official trailer was finally revealed. There's no other way to say this - it looks absolutely incredible.
In the past, racing arcade games delivered an edgier experience, utilizing excitment and the unpredictability of the open road. Racing simulators concentrated on the delivery of its precise physics engine within the confines of the racetrack. In the new Forza Horizon, the boundaries are blurred.
During an interview with Autoblog, Turn 10 Studios Creative Director Dan Greenawalt and Playground Games Design Director Ralph Fulton provided an idea of what Forza Horizon is all about.
"Our hope really is to be painting more of the car culture map. [Forza Horizon] is able to cover multiple genres while still having a lot more soul than you might see in the overall motorsport coverage. You get a lot more of a social or a cultural vibe."
Acknowledged by the developers as an action racing game more than a true driving sim, Ralph Fulton offers his thoughts, "Action racing is all about pick-up-and-play fun. This game has been designed so that if you love driving cars fast, if you love smashing through stuff, weaving in and out of traffic, you're going to be able to jump right in and have fun straight away." While the game environment has taken a big departure, Fulton assures Forza diehards that Horizon will not lose any of Forza Motorsport's authentic driving dynamics.
"What Horizon brings to the genre is authenticity," Fulton continued. "That's what Forza stands for. In the past there's been a problem with open road driving games in that they can feel a little arcadey. The problem with arcadey games is that the cars all start to feel the same. That doesn't work for Forza. In Forza, the car is the star."
Experience the new Forza Horizon in all its dubstep glory. Check out its latest trailer below:
