Full speed in “Forza”

After Colorado, France, Italy, Australia and the United Kingdom, it’s Mexico’s turn, when the “Forza” series spins at full speed to the new generation of Xbox.

When we choose a place, we go through a rather extensive process, we don’t just land in one place. We have a long list of potential sites and we sit down and study them, explains Ben Thacker-Ville at British developer Playground Games, and continues:

Mexico is a wonderful and incredibly vast country, which allows us to be so diverse.

Landing in a volcano

“Horizon” is the mischievous little sister of the real-life “Forza motorsport”, and is set around a racing festival of the same name. It’s free, easy to access, fast and very unreal. The movie “Horizon 5”, for example, begins with a Ford Bronco parachute landing from a cargo plane, landing on the edge of an active volcano.

In the first 10 minutes, the player drove a Corvette Stingray through a sandstorm, letting the Porsche 911 slide in the mud on jungle roads before driving the Mercedes-AMG One at dizzying speeds along Mexican coastal roads.

The opening is important – as in all media. Our product gets you in the right mood and shows you the best that a game can offer, says Anna Polyakova, game designer at the studio, rather than following boring tutorial instructions.

different landscapes

A large map – 50 percent larger than “Horizon 4” – was needed to bring in the different vegetation areas. Below are eleven different biomes with their plant and animal life.

The big world makes biomes breathe. If the world is too small and you put too many biomes, you can have very distinct barriers where you are first in the desert and then directly in the forest. Then Thacker Phil says it doesn’t sound authentic to Mexico.

Creating a car game in an open world brings its own difficulties to the creators of the game.

It is important to create an environment in which you can travel at 250 – sometimes even 300 – mph (402-483 kph) in a way that does not frustrate players. He says there shouldn’t be so many things you have to bump into, that you feel constantly crashing and rebooting.

Another challenge, Anna Polyakova says, is filling environments with content.

It’s easy to think that players won’t see the details. But I think we did a good job filling the world. If the player stops and looks around, the richness of detail is on par with any role-playing game, where you just roam, she says.

New multiplayer options

Forza horizon 5 will also be populated with new ways to play with others. Among other things, there is an “arcade”, in which players can perform small tasks together.

It’s an example of frictionless, co-op games that are easy to get into, says Ben Thaker-Fel.

Poliakova’s favorite feature is the new “gift drop”, which allows players to give cars to a randomly selected player.

He will contribute positivity and friendliness to society. She says it is hard to be angry and unpleasant when you get a car for free.