In most racing games (Mario Kart, Sega Rally, F-Zero, etc.), racers typically make some number of laps in a closed circuit. The most notable exceptions that come to mind are all arcade games, or arguably not even a racing game (Trackmania, OutRun, the Cruis'n series). Why would a designer want to build tracks as closed loops, and why is it so commonplace?
|
|
I'm not sure about your assertion of "most" - many games like GT, DriveClub, etc, have many point-to-point races... But there are two reasons to this: Firstly, many real-life races are lap-based on closed circuits (Formula 1, Nascar, etc), so gameplayers might expect this as a standard. Secondly, and from a game design point of view, putting multiple laps on a closed circuit means you can multiply the game time for less game design (a 4 lap race on a 1 mile circuit means only 1 mile of track and environment design - a 4 mile point-to-point means 4 miles of track and environment design). |
|||||
|
|
From a design point of view, it's advantageous for new players to learn the placement of powerups, dangers and other landmarks on the track in the first lap so they can focus more on gameplay for the remainder of the game. The sooner the player can get through the learning phase of the game, the sooner they can start mastering the other aspects of the game. As Bushnell's Law states: "All the best games are easy to learn and difficult to master." |
|||
|
|
