{"id":1233,"date":"2014-06-23T23:17:58","date_gmt":"2014-06-24T03:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/?p=1233"},"modified":"2014-06-23T23:17:58","modified_gmt":"2014-06-24T03:17:58","slug":"can-co-op-modes-work-in-racing-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/can-co-op-modes-work-in-racing-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Co-Op Modes Work in Racing Games?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several high-profile racing games are slated to come out this fall, including The Crew<\/em> and Forza Horizon 2<\/em>. Each offers its own focus and unique features, but one subject has been touched on repeatedly as these titles approach completion: community. With both touting their particular takes on social interaction and player collaboration, an interesting question comes to the fore. Interacting with other players is simple enough, but cooperating in an inherently competitive genre is something else entirely. Even in a team situation, only one person can cross the finish line first. Can a racing game ever be truly cooperative?<\/p>\n

\"HorizonCoOp\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Get back here and let me help you!<\/em><\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s best to start by looking at genres more traditionally associated with cooperative play: Role-Playing Games and First-Person Shooters. RPGs encourage gamers to cooperate by implementing a player class system. In theory, no one class has a skill set that allows it to succeed on its own. Magic users need fighters to distract the enemy, and the fighters in turn need healers to help them soak up damage. Because it\u2019s impossible to win alone, working with other people to achieve common goals is the natural style of play. An FPS may also throw some class-based skills into the mix, but it\u2019s more often a simple numbers game that forces players to collaborate. You and your partner might both be firing the same kind of bullets from your assault rifles, but neither of you can personally deal enough damage to kill all the bad guys before they kill you. In order to deal with coordinated attacks from a large number of enemies, players must work together to maximize their offensive abilities. Whether in an objective-based or deathmatch situation, having an ally can double a player\u2019s chances of victory.<\/p>\n

The trouble is, neither of these approaches works with a group of racing drivers. A particular car may specialize in top speed, handling, or endurance, but these aren\u2019t the same as the different skills of RPG classes. I may have a super-lightweight track car, but I can\u2019t use that extra grip to help someone in a dragster make it through a series of tight corners. My teammate might show up in a dump truck, but he can\u2019t use it to hold up our opponents unless it\u2019s the widest dump truck in human history. By the same token, the coordinated tactics of an FPS team lose much of their potency when firepower gets swapped out for horsepower. Two machine guns with 100 bullets apiece can put 200 rounds into the enemy, but two cars with 300 horsepower apiece don\u2019t get to combine for 600 horsepower on the straights.<\/p>\n

\"TheCrew\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Besides, are Porsche Guy and Muscle Car Guy ever going to get along?<\/em><\/p>\n

Even in situations where two racers might work together, one particular problem will always persist. When victory is measured by reaching the finish line first, teammates will always compete with one another. Take a look at motorsport history and you\u2019ll find plenty of legendary rivalries between drivers who were employed by the same team. One RPG player may land the final hit on the boss, or one FPS player may get the most kills, but the spirit of the game remains primarily cooperative with a bit of competition for added flavor. In racing, it\u2019s the opposite. We\u2019re always competing, even if we occasionally work as something resembling a team.<\/p>\n

In the past, the best way to get drivers to collaborate on the virtual road has been by changing the rules to resemble something other than a professional circuit race. Objective-based gametypes have been successful in fostering cooperation in the past, and The Crew<\/em> seems to be following this tried and true route. Modes that require forcing a particularly tough vehicle off the road or driving over lots of collectable items in a short amount of time have \u201ccooperation required\u201d written all over them. An E3 walkthrough video shows how this would work, and is mercifully free of voice actors pretending to be the people playing the game:<\/p>\n