Putting It Together

Designing a vehicle simulation is primarily a question of research and compromise. Unless your game is a lightweight simulation such as Super Mario Kart , vehicle simulation is the most technologically oriented of games . Much of the entertainment value comes from the feeling of controlling a real machine instead of meeting strategic challenges or taking part in a story. To provide that value, you will need to research your vehicles thoroughly. If you're designing a military vehicle, you can probably find much of what you need from the Jane's Information Group, publishers of such volumes as Jane's All the World's Aircraft , and, of course, from the vehicle's manufacturer. For automobiles, the various enthusiast magazines offer all the data you could want.

The compromises occur when you start trying to control a simulated vehicle with a computer or console machine's I/O devices, especially a large, complicated vehicle such as a B-52 bomber. The kinds of compromises you make, and the places they take you, will depend mostly on whether your target audience is the purist or the casual player.