Gran Turismo Sport, the first installment of the long-standing PlayStation-exclusive racing franchise for the PlayStation 4, is being prepared for a Nov. 15 release in North America.
The title, which will tie up with the real-word FIA Gran Turismo Championship, is expected to take multiplayer gaming to the next level. With such high expectations, is it possible to keep the playing field both civil and competitive for players?
In a presentation for the game, Gran Turismo Sport game designer Kazunori Yamauchi, who goes simply by the name Kaz, said through a translator that the playing experience that can be expected from the game is something that all players will appreciate, whether new players taking on their first racing game or veteran racers of the Gran Turismo franchise.
Kaz said that the team who developed Gran Turismo Sport is looking to make the game as a means for people to discover and fall in love with cars, a task which would be greatly assisted by the 140 beatifully rendered vehicles in the game's lineup. However, there is also the competitive nature of the game, and Kaz said that Gran Turismo Sport will have a specific focus on racing etiquette.
Gran Turismo Sport players will first have to go through offline tutorials before participating in the game's FIA-sanctioned championship races. These tutorials will teach gamers the basics of racing, including how to maintain speed while turning corners and throttle usage. In addition to these though, players will also be taught racing etiquette, which covers lessons on how to pass other racers without bumping them, and basically how to compete in races without ruining the game for everyone else.
Gran Turismo Sport does not end with teaching racing etiquette, though. There will be two different metrics on how players are scored, and those are performance and etiquette. Race finishes and track times will affect a player's performance score, while actions such as bumping other racers, ignoring flags and leaving the track will affect the etiquette score.
The scores of players in these two metrics will be a factor in the matchmaking system when players are looking for online matches. This means that players will likely be paired with like-minded racers, whether in competitive but clean games or in races filled with crazy antics.
The FIA, the governing body of motor sport, has sanctioned digital championships for Gran Turismo Sport across several countries. Players who complete challenges within the game will gain progress in the real world if they are looking to acquire an actual competition license.
