NFS SHIFT: A Look Under the Hood

[Skyline_man]

The official EA site posted an interesting interview with producer Michael Mann talking about NFS SHIFT and how it is going to be different than the previous NFS games.

EA: That's an interesting approach and one I know fans are excited about. Need for Speed over the last few years has really reached new levels in cinematic storytelling. Is this something we can expect for this game as well? Or will we see a "shift" in game progression?

MM: Need for Speed SHIFT doesn't follow the traditional narrative arc that an open world action racing game has used to move players through a story. We won't go into detail yet, Need for SpeedShift has an innovative progression that embraces and leverages driver skills and driver progression through raw and visceral elements of track based racing to deliver a new fun experience.

EA: One of the new gameplay elements for Need for Speed SHIFT is the cockpit view. Tell us a little about this viewpoint and how it affects the gaming experience.

MM: The visual aspects of being behind the wheel are very important to "the true driver's experience". Slightly Mad Studios have modeled each make and manufacturers' interior, with functional dashboard display; the driver's arms, feet, and head animate to show movement from wheel to gear shift, clutch and gas. Slightly Mad Studios has also used their creative magic to communicate the feeling of actually driving the most powerful and beautiful cars in the world.


Your head is affected by G-forces when cornering, as well as when braking or accelerating, helping to impart some of the sensation of actually being there. A depth of field effect shifts the driver's focus forward to the road when your speed picks up and there are other, more subtle inclusions, such as the driver's grip on the steering wheel changing and detailed animations within the cockpit view.

Full interview can be found here.

[Zero260]

...car types and liveries are more closely based on what is seen in professional race and drift circuits than in fiction.

Is this a hint? I hope so. I wanna see some drifting.

Also, Rod from Speedhunters talked about a film project in collaboration with NFS in a recent post:

...production of a new film project that Need for Speed and Speedhunters are doing with four different racing drivers....

Their using some serious equipment. Can't wait to see this...

Edit: Woo, there is drifting!

[NaBUru83]

NfS Shift has an innovative progression that embraces and leverages driver skills and driver progression through raw and visceral elements of track-based racing...

In three letters: wtf?

ProStreet was one of the first games in the franchise to really embrace damage and then again with last year's Need for Speed Undercover.

Really? Wow, I didn't notice. High Stakes and Porsche Unleashed - that was serious damage.

Ok, ProStreet did focus on professional racing, but its physics engine was terrible both for an arcade and a sim racing game. I sincerely hope the Shift becomes a true original game and not a Race Driver: Grid rip-off.