Racing on Scene and In Screen - Video Game AnalogyBy Kamini Kandica Abdool

Abstract

Video games are a great way to promote sports like racing. Playing them is exciting but most video games about racing show exhibition moves and actions while regulated racing has more rules and regulations. Action packed is definitely the interest to become interested and it is what is needed to attract fans. To help attract fans to the sports, games like “Need for Speed 1994” and “Need for Speed Rivals 2013”

This paper is written to compare a sporting tournament like racing to video games so that a better understanding of the effects of video games on racing and other sports can be found. When it comes to racing for example, the excitement isn’t reading about it but interacting with it. For comparison, the games that will be used to show the relationship between racing and video games are “Need for Speed” because it’s exciting and it an industry standard game and NASCAR Fantasy Live, a full release contest provisioned by NASCAR on NASCAR.com. Both games encourage and show how exciting racing is and promotions like that are the reasons why NASCAR has become so interactive these days, and why the stands are still always full.

The objective is to entertain it seems but it also provides a type of knowledge about sports that is hard to obtain anywhere else. The idea behind those types of games is to involve the audience and make them more understanding of and about the game. However there are times when the rules of a sport in a video game can be different than that on the field, tournament, or event and the differences can pose problems by going against the regulations – one way by distributing public opinion.

Ie. Need for Speed; Need for Speed Rivals

INTRODUCTION

Many times, there is a negative association between video games and sports because of the amount of time that people spend playing them and the rules that they encounter. Rules and regulations are a significant part of sports and Sports Administration and playing video games can change and/ or violate them.

The time and involvement in fan based activities online is a problem with many fans because of the amount of time it takes to connect, find and understand the logistics of the sports and also because many gamble there as well. Excitement and fun are reasons why people buy and play video games, especially online. This is why many sports organizations put sports games up as video games.

The internet is an arena where video games video games have recently merged to and have cause an influx of online activity. In the past, there were many risks associated with online gaming but lately, it has become much safer because of internet safe contest and games such as NASAR Live. As well as increases safety, the educational possibilities that these products have supplied have become important as well in research by giving reliable data.

To get fans more involved various sports companies have included Live footage and videos on their websites as well as games and contests to bring attention to the players and athletes in the game.

NASCAR just came up with a fantasy sporting game called Fantasy Live that audience can play with appropriate logins on NASCAR.com and is a game that I just started playing. While fantasy games have been around for a while, this particular game is of interest to many because of how interactive it is but it’s not a video game so the same rules don’t apply.

VIDEO GAMES ARE MOSTLY EXHIBITION

“Need for Speed” and its counterparts “Need for Speed Rivals” and others have sold over 16 millions copies and still have avid users. The history is just a part of its extensive popularity, the game has also had encounters with major roadways and arbitrated liaisons with Road and Track Magazine and Ford Motors setting up an elite standard for gaming ahead but is that what racing is? Not getting the wrong idea is key here because this game in no way is legal racing in any capacity and is listed in genre, “Illegal Street Racing” (IMDB) Opinion pole however, changes the viewer’s choice and can impact regulated racing. It’s mostly exhibition racing – or illegal racing, an example is “drag racing”.

The Need for Speed (1994): Teamed with Road & Track to help create better and more real vehicle performance and gearing up vehicle accuracy. (Popular Mechanics) The objective was to show the open road, and it did. It also expanded the limitations of video games and it’s capacities to provide entertainment, and outlet to a sport as well as an inlet into the realness of it by giving the player the feel of being behind the wheel.

The game has a dashboard as part of the exhibit giving a real feeling of being behind the wheel with sight of “speedometer”

3-d art with attention to the variance against the horizon gives a view of a car moving forward as it is in the game; makes the game look more realistic.

Graphics like track marks appeared me as they in the game as they could possibly really

VIDEO GAMES ARE GREAT BUT IN REALITY

The public request for excitement is definitely there, but rules and regulations have to apply for safety reasons. This is one of the reasons that “Need for Speed” and other video games came about. My discussion in this paper will focus on “Need for Speed” as it is the most relevant because it released more than one version over and span of 20 years (1993-2013)

This series of games were one of the first to be successful according to Shyranis. To paraphrase additionally, the version of PC game had a high resolution as compared to this CD version with better graphics that can be compared to the other high end games. Also skills like reverse driving made the game more interesting. (Shyranis; 2009)

In addition, it added a 3D form of art that gave more realistic scenes along with track marks and conjoined the road using point perspectives to appear as if the player is really behind the wheel. It also gave am upfront speedometer that made the player feel as if the dashboard was right there while the controller acted as the accelerator and brakes. Along with the views, scenery, marketing and extra motions provided by Road and Track, this game really went beyond and was a big deal and a lot pf money for many putting Electronic Arts as a top video games company.

1993 - 2013

Reverse car moved and better pixels for 3d graphicsBetter

roads and scenery than other games

Mark Bently of Ford discussed with the press that Ford Motors did it’s part by providing the data set for the engineering of a new Mustang that also showed up in the game. The same specs were used to design the car in the game and gave a more accurate model car. (Mark Bentley; Ford; Need for Speed)

The newer versions are just as competitive with better graphics as before and better open road graphics and this time not just revisited in Road and Track but sponsored by Ford as well with a car modeled after the game. Such publicity and good talk definitely gives this game as top spot in the gaming market but is different that real on the track racing, a big difference for the audience. It attracts attention for racing and publicizes real excitement like real racing but is much different in strategy. The reality is that racing needs rules.

Game graduates from regular graphics to 3D moves and actions. Revisions show high graphics, shadows and highlights on bright and attractive colors: ie. Primary colors, Red; yellow; blue

RACING ON THE TRACK

The game is great and exciting and has many fans but it is not equipped with something that real racing on a track has – rules and regulations. For compliance reasons many scenarios in video games are not allowed on the track – safety for one. Secondly, many of the moves are illegal and inconsiderate to other drivers and the damages caused by some of the actions are horrendous.

Racing is considered a tournament and as exciting as it is to play video games, the rules that keep the sport fair don’t exist. Compliance to be a part of the tournament requires adherence to the rules that are managed by the referees.

RECENT ILLEGAL RACING MOVES SIMILAR TO THOSE IN VIDEO GAMES

Recently in NASCAR, there have been instances where team-mates in racing took a move from a video

game and used it. It’s illegal and caused another racer his place in the race. The move is called Tagging

Need for Speed Rivals (2014) is an example of a console game that exhibits the power in skill as well as marketing.

Rival2014

and it illegal in racing but perfectly okay in a game like “Need for Speed”. It occurs when one person

tries to stop another to give his team-mate a lead in the race.

Pushing another driver off the road

Bumping (Tailing) can cause an accident and penalties can be issued

Flipped car

CONCLUSIONVideo games about racing and racing the sport are different but each influences the other. At times many illegal moves appear in regulated racing that doesn’t normally occur and it resembles racing in video games. This paper decided to compare the video game “Need for Speed” to NASCAR racing and saw not just differences but similar moves, some that are okay in the game but were illegal in the sport of regulated track racing.

It brought about conclusions that show that moves in video games at times move to the track possibly because of the influence of video games. Noticing these moves and the similarity of them, especially those that are illegal, requests that better attention should be paid to regulated racing with the understanding that some moves that are okay in video games and exhibition racing like “Monster Truck Racing” are not okay in regulated racing and also that video games can and do influence racing as racing influences video games.

FUTURE RESEARCH

Fantasy Sporting Games and attention it receives and gives to sports.

REFERENCES

1. Ford Mustang Announcements; Drive the New 2015 Ford Mustang in Need for Speed Rivals Starting Today! http://www.needforspeed.com/news/drive-new-2015-ford-mustang-need-speed-rivals-starting-today-0; December 13, 2013

2. Abdool; Kamini; Situations That Need Intervention – Safety; http://articlesbykaminikandicaabdool.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/situations-that-need-intervention-safety/; October 17, 2013

3. IMDB; Listing Need For Speed; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192089/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_dt_dt#akas; 1994

4. Need For Speed; Playstation 4 and Xbox One Gameplay Trailers; http://www.needforspeed.com/news/playstation-4-and-xbox-one-gameplay-trailers; November 8, 2013

5. Need For Speed; Need for Speed Network Part 1; http://www.needforspeed.com/news/need-speed-network-part-i#node-51317; November 7, 2013

6. Popular Mechanics; http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/video-games/racing-games-a-brief-visual-history;

7. Metacritic; Fast and the Furious Showdown; http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/fast-furious-showdown; May 21, 2013

8. Abdool, Kamini; Organization in Mechanics of Sporting Administration – Racing as the Model; http://articlesbykaminikandicaabdool.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/organization-in-mechanics-of-sporting-administration-racing-as-the-model/; October 7, 2013

9. Jones, Elton; ‘Fast and the Furious: Showdown’ 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know; http://www.heavy.com/games/2013/05/fast-and-furious-showdown-release-date-racing-game/; May 24, 2013

10. Shyranis; Road and Track Presents: The Need for Speed (1994, EA); http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=G2c6RZ-LKfc; June 18 200911. Tom Cat; Need for Speed Most Wanted 2012 Episode 22 Zonda R Multiplayer; http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQhkaEibEkw; July 4, 2013