Forza 2’s Dan Greenawalt: play the game, learn to drive better

It’s not exactly an outrageous claim. When Turn 10 and Forza Motorsport 2 director Dan Greenawalt tells CVG that he believes players of Forza 2 will find that their driving might improve, it’s because of all the attention to details – physics, car construction, driving dynamics – they’ve poured into the game.

There are physical consequences to the way people drive, and it impacts on car performance, and players will learn to recognize them. Dan’s example is a car “on the edge of traction”: if the front wheels are at the limit of their grip, and you’re in a turn, braking (as is suggested in arcade-physics racers) is the last thing you should do: you’ll lock up and under-steer, and eat outer wall, and it’s what’s going to happen in Forza 2.

(If you’re curious, the proper answer to that is “never brake well into a low speed turn; always straight-line brake to bleed off speed before the turn and then coast it in, blipping the gas through the turn to maintain corner speed, saving full-on throttle for the exit.”)

Of course the operative word there is might. CVG pointedly points to the British School of Motoring Survey that claims an “indisputable link” between driving games and driving faster. Ultimately, it all boils down to the lessons you take from Forza or Gran Turismo or similar detailed driving sims. Do you say “Man, I can take on Schumi any day, bring it!!!” Or do you say “Man, that was harder than I thought. I think I need more lessons”?

Back to driver’s ed and the nightmare of nearly hitting another car… If you can’t amp down, you can’t rev up. There’s a reason why coming in with no car damage is an Achievement in Forza 2 (albeit a cheap one…).

It’s not exactly an outrageous claim. When Turn 10 and Forza Motorsport 2 director Dan Greenawalt tells CVG that he believes players of Forza 2 will find that their driving might improve, it’s because of all the attention to details – physics, car construction, driving dynamics – they’ve poured into the game.

There are physical consequences to the way people drive, and it impacts on car performance, and players will learn to recognize them. Dan’s example is a car “on the edge of traction”: if the front wheels are at the limit of their grip, and you’re in a turn, braking (as is suggested in arcade-physics racers) is the last thing you should do: you’ll lock up and under-steer, and eat outer wall, and it’s what’s going to happen in Forza 2.

(If you’re curious, the proper answer to that is “never brake well into a low speed turn; always straight-line brake to bleed off speed before the turn and then coast it in, blipping the gas through the turn to maintain corner speed, saving full-on throttle for the exit.”)

Of course the operative word there is might. CVG pointedly points to the British School of Motoring Survey that claims an “indisputable link” between driving games and driving faster. Ultimately, it all boils down to the lessons you take from Forza or Gran Turismo or similar detailed driving sims. Do you say “Man, I can take on Schumi any day, bring it!!!” Or do you say “Man, that was harder than I thought. I think I need more lessons”?

Back to driver’s ed and the nightmare of nearly hitting another car… If you can’t amp down, you can’t rev up. There’s a reason why coming in with no car damage is an Achievement in Forza 2 (albeit a cheap one…).