ABSTRACT
Raptor Safari, a game by Flashbang Studios (Figure 16.1), provides a window into just how difficult, intricate and time-consuming it can be to create and to give a leg up toward creating your own good-feeling driving mechanic. But it should be noted that of the popular retail games that feature a driving mechanic, Raptor Safari prob ably has the most in common with the tuning of cars in Grand Theft Auto 3. Many of the ideas and structures, if not the specific implementations, can be generalized and applied to all driving mechanics. Just bear in mind how deep the rabbit hole goes in terms of the feel of driving games and players' sensitivity to subtle changes in it. Whether the treatment is photorealistic or iconic, if you're going to create a game where the avatar is represented as a car, be prepared for an obscene amount of tweaking and tuning to get it to a place where it feels right to players.
