F1 2011

Pixel Hunt, an E-Zine and online website, recently posted their review of F1 2011... meaning that after many years posting here on the blog, I have finally been published elsewhere!

Yes, it's true, I wrote the review of Codemasters' latest installment in their rather wonderful Formula 1 series, and it was an absolute pleasure to try my hand at writing a review rather than whatever I feel like here on Raptured Reality. Writing a review means that you're writing for an audience, basically, so with that in mind I tried my best to keep things simple and cover a variety of things about F1 2011 that I thought would be beneficial to anyone who may end up reading it. F1 being what is, however, it was rather challenging as the sport is just too complex to be able to describe without venturing into motorsport jargon territory, or at the very least areas in which only automotive enthusiasts would understand. Still, I thought the review came out pretty well considering it was my first, so do let me know what you think.

While we're on the subject of Formula 1 games, I suppose I should address a few things. First of all, reviewing this year's title suggests that I have moved on from last year's F1 2010 and, by extension, that I might be done with my Living The Life story or, indeed, covering that game from an analytical point of view. Not true! Whilst I have slacked off, again, with coverage for the game and my story, I don't consider myself to be finished with either and will continue to focus on that game until I am. This means that you can expect the story to resume (sooner than you may think, too!) and that I am still dedicated to seeing it through to the last round, in Abu Dhabi. You can also expect me to start posting about why I fell in love with F1 2010 so much as well as pick up on some of the issues I think the game has -- some of which I actually mention in my review of F1 2011. 

Once I have done that, then I will shift my focus over to F1 2011 and begin discussing what makes that game worth playing, as well as why it is so different (surprisingly) from Codemasters' first effort with the license.  I will also elaborate on some of the things I covered in the review, and point out some of the things I left out. Then I'll begin the second season of my Living The Life story because I'm interested in what it would be like to experience another season using that mentality (or persona) and to then convey those findings, once again, here on the blog. 

As far as other content is concerned, both the Metroid Marathon and Red Dead Ruminations posts will continue (apologies for the delays) and I will also be taking a look at both L.A. Noire and Test Drive Unlimited 2, finally, as I am now ready to think about my experiences with them.

It was an absolute pleasure to try something new and do a review of F1 2011 for Pixel Hunt. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my editor for the review, Dylan Burns (if he's reading this), for giving me the chance to experiment with my writing. Will I do more reviews in the future? I'm not sure yet but considering this experience was nothing but positive the entire way through, I am certainly willing to consider it if the chance arises once again.

Anyway, if you're interested then by all means give it a read and let me know what you think. Thanks again for reading my work, everyone, and happy gaming.

The Life I Live

When I purchased F1 2010 I bought it excited to finally be able to play a racing game based firmly in the realities of a real life sport that I love. I was eager to re-live some of the moments that made the real 2010 season so amazing, and ready to drive on both tracks I’m familiar with -- but don’t get featured regularly in other games like Monaco and Albert Park in Australia -- as well as venues completely foreign to me, like Abu Dhabi or Singapore. It was an opportunity to do something different, again, after years of familiarity in games like Forza or Gran Turismo. Never in my life did I expect it to enlighten me to things I was oblivious to previously, or for it to completely change my perception of the genre or, indeed, change me as a player. By approaching the game like I have, by living the life (so to speak), F1 2010 opened my eyes to a whole host of things and, now that the series is under way and I’ve demonstrated my commitment to it, I thought it was time to discuss just what they are.

One of the first things I realised by playing the game the way I do was that I was telling a story; that I was giving the events that unfolded weight and meaning. Instead of engaging it as a series of tracks and menus like it actually is -- like most racing games are -- I was giving each race, each event, a purpose, and realising that was fascinating. Thinking about it some more, I started to recognise that I wasn’t just telling this story as it happened (what you see here on the blog), I was actually creating it by living it. I wasn’t taking what took place and repurposing it to post a story afterwards, I was going through the events as they occurred, reacting to and dealing with them as if they really happened and that amazed me. It wasn’t a case of a spin just happening and me forgetting about it by the next corner as in other games, that spin was important because it was a mistake on my behalf, affected my current round’s progress directly and impacted on my overall impression of my performance(s) for that event. Basically, I was thinking like a driver rather than a player and as a result, acting like one too.

In any other game, this would be considered role playing: I’m intentionally playing in a particular way to benefit my desired experience, and to fulfill an activity that, as much as I’d like to, I can’t do (professionally, at least) in real life. Videogames have an entire genre centered on this act, on our assumption of doing something we can’t or won’t do in our real lives, but no one would ever expect a racing game to be an RPG -- even games like Test Drive Unlimited 2 wouldn’t be considered as an RPG, despite its leveling up and general lifestyle (more on this soon) -- and I certainly never expected an F1 game, of all things, to deliver such an experience. In some respects, it doesn’t -- my approach is what makes this story, this particular role, possible, not the game itself -- but the fact that, by living it myself, I’ve shown it can be done is significant, I think, and opens up a lot of possibilities for the future. In real life, racing can be hard to get into, requiring a lot of money to survive and, it has to be said, luck too -- I myself missed out because it wasn’t financially viable despite some unexpected support, so it’s not easy.* If racing games could enable people to fulfill their dreams as a racing driver in a virtual (and therefore, much cheaper) environment, then that could open up a lot of opportunities, not least of which is allowing people to live their ideal lives.

At the end of the day F1 2010 may just be a series of menus and circuits like all other racing games, and I may just be pressing buttons on a controller, but if games in other genres can empower us to do things that are impossible in reality or take us to places we are unable to physically visit, then surely racing games can too?

I’ll have more on what playing F1 2010 in this way has revealed once the season is a little further along, so stay tuned.

*Yes, my love for racing could have become a professional reality if I had the means (read: money) to make it happen. I didn’t, however, so virtual racing -- among other things -- satisfies a void that my real life circumstances could not.