Hey look – it’s me, Tak, making a blog post! It’s been a month or two now since we popped out the little 3D engine demo for GDC, along with talking non-stop about EpicWin for almost 45 minutes straight (you can check out the talk at the GDCVault, along with some other completely awesome presentations). What I’ve been doing since then is coding up the next game – and it’s kinda more complex than previous games with it being in 3D (well 2.5D) first and foremost, and also incorporating lots more features as well.
When working on indie projects it’s easy to lose perspective while you’re working in isolation, and you have this urge to share what you are doing with the world, but there’s also the conflicting emotion of not wanting to give too much away in terms of surprise. However I think it’s come to the point where I need to just show it and get some feedback, or support, or both!
So I am gonna hand you over to Beardy Dave (the artist) to tell you all about NEW GAME OMG:
Hey guys…Big news today – it’s time to announce our next game! It’s called Drive Forever, and we’re super-excited about it!
It’s quite a strange idea. To describe it in terms of existing games, it would have to be sort of a massively multiplayer OutRun-meets-SimCity, but set in the FUTURE. If that makes sense.
DRIVE FOREVER! It's not finished yet, so be patient...
So, let me explain.
It’s sort of two games in one. Feeling creative? Build an awesome city, and sketch a winding road running between the towering skyscrapers! In the mood for some arcade action? Race through the giant mega-city that everybody has worked together to build!
When we say Drive Forever, we mean it. The idea is that you never need to drive the same bit of road twice. You just press ‘drive’, and the game picks a section of track that somebody’s made, and downloads it. As you get to the end of that bit of track…it downloads a NEW bit of track, that somebody else has built, and seamlessly adds it to the end. And it keeps going! Forever! Or until you run out of time…
Imagine it as sort of like a YouTube playlist of the best tracks people have made, all laid out end-to-end. You can rate tracks, and save your favourites to play later. And the ratings from everyone around the world are used to automatically pick the best tracks for your never-ending driving pleasure.
There’s also going to be loads of unlockables, bonuses and achievements on both sides of the game as well. So, drive well? You’ll unlock new cars, custom paintwork, and blinged-out accessories! You made a track that everybody loves? You’ll get rewarded depending on how people rate your track, and how many people drive your track, and you can unlock new buildings, themes and cool scenery!
I am SO EXCITED I can hardly explain it.
We are excited. Work-in-progress screenshots from iPad!
What else. Some basic facts:
* Initial release will be on iOS, most likely requiring iOS 4.0 and upwards (so it’ll run on anything more recent than an iPhone 3G)
* It’s going to feature our new graphics engine, so expect lots of slick 3D, fluidly curving tracks, and beautiful neon lights
* It’ll be playable offline, but obviously to get new tracks and upload scores and tracks you’ll need access to the internet.
* It is definitely going to be the most awesome game ever
We’re deep into production right now, we’re aiming to finish in the next 2-3 months, although that could vary either way. You know how it goes – making a game is a lot of work!
By the way, what do you think of the name? It’s surprisingly hard to come up with names for games nowadays – all the good ones are taken. We also considered Electro Pace, or possibly Turbo Awesome. Those would probably have been pretty cool.
We’ll be following up with lots of work-in-progress posts, so check back later this week for more articles, news and features!
EDIT: Please do read the comments – there are some awesome suggestions for alternative names for the game
It’s hard to put into words how excited we are about this… No doubt at the end you may think about renaming it ‘Work Forever’
Drive Forever is a good name.
Work Forever is an even better name – thanks niall
This is a brilliant idea, and it looks damn fine. Name is perfect too, definitely don’t change it. Short simple, easy to remember, and it conveys the core game mechanic in two words. Hard to find a game name that does all that (and still sounds awesome).
Thanks Mike! Hahaha names are really hard – you should have heard some of the rejected ones LOL
Love it. I like the name too. You could also replace the “Drive” for a more contemporary feel:
“Like forever”
Can’t wait.
Those screengrabs would make a lesser man swoon. I like the name a lot – I assume you guys considered “driving slowly and safely at all times” as well.
Yeah, actually that was pretty high up the list…”Drive Safely Forever”? Maybe – drivesafelyforever.com seems to be available
A few random name ideas:
Downtown Runaround
Driven To Distraction
Touring Cars
Wheely Good
Driven Round The Bend
Back Seat Driver
Gearboxing (if there’s fighting in it)
Windscream (if it’s a horror driving game)
Love Compartment (if it’s a driving dating game)
but my favourite so far:
Axle Of Evil
Axle of Evil…nice! Someone else (who shall remain nameless) suggested “Race Riot”. Rejected!
Also, Love Compartment is literally genius. Maybe we’ll have to make a dating addon for it…
More name ideas:
Eternal Road
Neon Highway
Orbital (after the M25 – the road that never ends)
Tron the Busses
Sounds brilliant, can’t wait to have a look. Here are some more VERY SERIOUS name suggestions for you incase you change your mind on Drive Forever:
– Kart Get You Out Of My Head
– LAN Rover (If it was played over the internet)
– Burly Chassis’s
– InCarcirated
– Spin Cycle
– Tyred Of The Same Old Driving Games
Tron the Busses is a very high scoring contender for Winner of … er … Blog Post #1
Looks pretty awesome so far! I totally appreciate the decision to make it look different. It looks interesting which is what matters. Reminds me a little bit of Extreme-G for the N64.
I can relate with how agonizing naming a game can be. But once it clicks it usually feels good. Drive Forever is short, sweet, and descriptive. Sounds like a winner!
Wow guys, I was excited to see the visuals your new engine was going to produce and it looks uhhmaayzing! I love the style and the idea makes me drool. Keep up the good work, it’s obviously paying off.
Drive Forever is fine – it’s got this Duke vibe going. So in case you get stuck, you wont feel any pressure to release it within the next 10 years.
Nah, seriously, looking good so far! Visuals reminded me a lot of Tron.
Hey its Tyrone!! Awesome to hear from you mate! Thanks for the comments – theres another post on the concept artwork. I’m aiming for that look, theres a fair way to go but its cool to aim for something fresh and different. PS can you hook me up with a powerful JDate account thanks
Anything for you Tak. I will turn you into a JDate God!
Drive-Alive-O
Please tell me you guys are going to use GameCenter as the online handler? That or open feint would be the two best game social connectors. Anything but facebook please!
Drive Forever is an awesome name. It really matches the aesthetic of the game.
Road to nowhere.
Or
To infinity and beyond (surely uncle Steve will like that one…)
[...] come from user-created levels. It’s a bit hard to explain, so here’s how Beardy Dave puts it on the SuperMono blog post where the game was announced: It’s sort of two games in one. Feeling creative? Build an awesome [...]
Just don´t make us Wait Forever.
[...] [Via blog de Supermono] [...]
[...] come from user-created levels. It’s a bit hard to explain, so here’s how Beardy Dave puts it on the SuperMono blog post where the game was announced: It’s sort of two games in one. Feeling creative? Build an awesome [...]
“Infinity Drive”?
Hi guys!
Nice game / work-in-progress you have there!
Definitely on my watch list from now on…
O.k. some name suggestions first:
The most obvious : Perpetuum Mobiles
Eternal City (Racer)
Eterncity Racing
It would be nice IMHO to go not only for the city/night/neon look, but also, if possible, for some nice sunny environments as seen in your tech demo…
Both, a more futuristic “Mirrors Edge/Jet Car Stunt” look or a more natural one with lush hillsides and/or mountains would be nice…
And subterrain rollercoaster-ish “bat cave” approach has a certain appeal for me, too
And as you asked for feedback
I see this more in a zen-like sylized approach in the tradition of jet car stunt mixed with reckless racing, which I really like as both of them have an extraordinary steering and track/graphics design…
All the best to you
and I am looking forward
to find your app at the very top
of the appstore in “2-3 months”
“Wait Forever”, “Work Forever” -> lets hope not eh!! “Infinity Drive” is better
[...] Supermono is anticipating another few months before Drive Forever is ready for you to play it. What’s more, the team is gunning for iOS 4.0 and above. Seems like one to watch, eh? [...]
Hey Jake: in answer to your question, it will most likely support both OpenFeint AND Game Center, and there’s a chance that there’ll be some Facebook connectivity as well, although if there is, it will definitely be optional. Not promising anything at this stage though!
Also, ThomHoops: “LAN Rover”? You, sir, are a *genius*!
nice work looking forward, heres a few names
drive life
drive on
car & track
endless journey
supermoto
are we there yet!
[...] Vía: http://www.supermono-studios.com/2011/04/new-game-announcement-drive-forever/ [...]
When this game is going to be released? Pls email me with updates on chd_whq@hotmail.com