Fuse Games Reveals Prototyping Insights for Star Wars: Galactic Racer
- Star Wars: Galactic Racer received a five-star review for its racing mechanics.
- Fuse Games utilized a board game to prototype the game’s upgrade systems.
- Creative director Kieran Crimmin emphasized the importance of validating game-feel through quick player testing.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer, a fast-paced and challenging racing game developed by Fuse Games, has garnered a five-star review, showcasing its successful recapture of the Burnout spirit. Insights into the game’s development process reveal innovative prototyping methods employed by the developer.
Matt Webster, CEO of Fuse Games, shared his philosophy on the prototyping process during an interview with Eurogamer, stating, “What’s the fastest way we can get ideas down and then talk about them?” He pointed out that while modern game engines offer extensive capabilities, the speed of recording written ideas remains unmatched.
Kieran Crimmin, the creative director, elaborated on their approach, saying, “There’s a prototyping tool for every kind of system that you want to prototype, and the one that you pick should be the one that gets you there the quickest, and gets you to validate the emotion the quickest.”
The team chose a board game format for prototyping Galactic Racer’s upgrades and meta progression systems, utilizing Post-It notes for quick mapping. Crimmin described this method: “I mean, I say ‘board game’: a lot of it is Post-Its and a scribble and some dice.” The focus was on rapidly validating emotional responses to the game, selecting the most effective tools available at the moment.
Crimmin also highlighted the critical nature of testing playable prototypes to gauge game-feel. “We have loads of ideas, and we have references and emotions that we’re trying to get to,” he explained. He emphasized the necessity of playtesting: “You can’t know if you’ve got game-feel until you can play the system. So we just try and get into [the] prototype [stage], get it into our players’ hands.”
In a review for Eurogamer, Christian Donlan praised Galactic Racer for its blend of modern game elements, including Roguelite traits, and traditional tight course designs. He noted, “Galactic Racer never forgets that between the loot and the loadout and the story choices this is still a racing game,” commending its exhilarating pace reminiscent of Burnout. Donlan remarked on the game’s engaging experience, describing each corner as a significant set-piece, enhancing the overall gameplay immersion.
News Courtesy of Eurogamer
