Over the past 25 years, Italian studio Milestone has developed a large number of racing games, but less well known was in the mid-1990s, when the studio's first project was to port the puzzle puzzle game Loopz to the SNES platform under the name Super Loopz.
"At that time, the company was still called Graffiti, and the whole team was only 3 people, which was very, very small. The Italian gaming market is also just getting started. Luisia Bixio, who joined Milestone in 2005 and is now ceo of the company, said.
In early 1995, Graffiti launched the mech-themed first-person shooter Iron Assault, in which the stop-motion video cutscenes impressed players. According to Bixio, the company already had 7 to 8 employees at the time, and everyone loved racing games. As a result, Graffiti decided to stop working for publishers, but instead created his own games and sold them to publishers, starting with Screamer, signed by Virgin Interactive.
After the release of Scream Racing, Graffti renamed the company Milestone and developed two sequels for Virgin Interactive. Over time, Milestone grew into a studio focused on developing racing games, including SBK Super bike, MotoGP, Monster Energy Supercross, MXGP series, Gravel, Sébastien Loeb Rally Evo, and Sébastien Loeb Rally Evo. World Rally Championship" and so on.
In September, Milestone launched Hot Wheels Unleashed, the studio's first game based on toy IP. "In some ways, our DNA is closely related to racing." Bixio explains, "With years of experience, we have worked with organizers of events such as Moto GP and Supercross. At the same time, the studio has the ability to do other things, such as completing Hot Wheels: Explosion without losing DNA. ”
"We have an engine that specializes in developing racing games, and the simulations are excellent, and we're going to keep improving on that... But racing games can also achieve many ways to play, such as blending elements of different categories to appeal to a wider audience. ”
According to Bixio, it took Milestone a long time to get the license for the Hot Wheel IP from toy maker Mattel. "We worked hard to get this IP, and we worked a lot with Mattel in terms of game design, prototyping, etc., and the whole process lasted from two and a half to three years." She believes milestone's successful partnership with AMA Supercross impressed Mattel, one of the reasons the latter confidently authorized Milestone to develop Hot Wheel: Outbreak.
After partnering with Mattel, Milestone also needed to ensure that Hot Wheel: Burst won player recognition. "We can't just make a simple racing game, we have to try to respect the spirit of Hot Wheels." Bixio said.
Hot Wheels: Burst provides players with a track editor and split-screen mode, which is more casual and more family-friendly than many hardcore racing games. That doesn't mean Milestone will snub its fans, though.
"Developing Hot Wheels: Outbreak was a huge challenge for us because we had to complete both a children's game and satisfy our die-hard fans... Our goal is to both attract children and impress adults who often play with Hot Wheel Toys in their childhood, and do a lot of homework in the pre-production stages. While improving the quality of the game and respecting details, we also had to lower the barrier to entry for the game to make it easier to pick up. ”
Bixio believes that the two goals are not in conflict with each other, as Milestone wants to attract players of different skill levels to play racing games. "At a high level of simulation, only a very small number of people can drive a car/motorcycle." In the MotoGp series, for example, players "[the level] is incredible and doesn't need any help."
"At the same time, you can also design levels where the AI is relatively weak and the system will assist the player."
In addition, from designing the track editor and split screen mode to beginner tutorials, Milestone will benefit from the experience gained during the development of Hot Wheels: Outbreak, making the other games in the studio easier to pick up. "I believe that what we learn from Hot Wheels: Outbreak will help us expand the audience of the simulation game." She said.
The original translation https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-12-01-racing-studio-milestone-wants-simulation-and-accessibility-neck-and-neck