Developer Interview: HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2 - Turbocharged

The team behind HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2 - Turbocharged is quite substantial. Considering all the departments, it includes more than 60 people, but if I had to define them all in a few words, I'd say "positive", "emotional", and "creative". They have the luck to work on a franchise that gives you tons of occasions to express yourself, and they do it every day. The game Director is Domenico Celenza; he has been in Milestone for many years and has done an amazing job at balancing "the crazy" and the doable in such a rollercoaster project like [this].

When we designed the game, our goal was to create something very familiar yet significantly fresh. So there are new environments and tracks, of course, and many new cars, even new kinds of vehicles (motorcycles, quads, etc.), all with their specific handling. We have a new story-driven career mode called "Creature Rampage" with all new boss levels, a new car development system, and brand-new online game modes, but the most immediate news is the introduction of the Jump and Dash actions to enrich the gameplay and open new possibilities.

I think balancing the game for a very wide audience was the biggest challenge, making it appealing both to very young kids less than 10 years old and to core gamers in their 30s and beyond. This is hard because we need to create an experience that suits both sides and all in between; thus, some parts of the game are more aimed at one or another type of player. We always need to ask ourselves if it's overall clear, accessible, fun, and engaging.

Like every strong team, they've got their own way [that is] made 90% by pure passion and awareness that the others will cover you if necessary — no matter what. Anytime. The rest is made by a weird mixture of inside jokes, roleplays (who's playing the bad cop today? Come on, someone has to do it!), and knowing that this is possibly the best job ever. The remaining 50% (I know it adds to 150%) comes from working on such a cool and engaging franchise.

There's a very rigorous and technical side that you appreciate when it works, but it's incredibly complex to manage. The result is the bright and fast world you see on your screen, but it's very demanding to design the environments that need to look cool but also have to be extremely playable: the two things sometimes seem to fight each other, and we need to find a balance. Also, creating the game assets in a quality that works at inch-scale is very specific to this title, and this adds a new level of challenge. We prototype environments, playtest them, make several reviews, and then move into production, where performance attention is paramount; it's a long process and a complex one, too.

For sure, being able to play the finished game, seeing in it all the ideas, all the choices, all the efforts is something to be proud of. While making it, I can say, at least on my side, being with a blank page and saying, "OK, what should we make of it?" and having the chance to pull out any idea. "We need dinosaurs. Many dinosaurs" or "What about a game mode with no orange tracks?" It's a game where anything is possible, literally.

As I was saying, there are two big risks: not adding or changing enough, playing it too safe in the fear of upsetting fans, but ultimately not stimulating them. And at the other side of the spectrum, changing too much, erasing the good vibes of the first game. I think we've hit a good balance with HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™ 2 - Turbocharged.

It's been one of the biggest challenges because it's very powerful but also very complex. It's more or less the same tool used by developers to create the built-in tracks, but making it straightforward and usable to everyone is easier said than done. Developers tend to work around the idiosyncrasies of the tool, something we cannot expect from players, so we constantly have to put down the pad and say, "I'm a player now, a pure player." [and then] take the pad again and see if it works.

It's an art we're constantly refining. Some of the new tracks were playable and fun but had something missing. They were made in a bubble, without real level interaction. When we understood that this was the problem, some needed to be redone, not only to be hosted in the environment but to play with it. Showcase it; make you marvel. Scrapping something that actually works is sometimes hard but needed.

Anything is allowed! Minigolf? Why not! Dinosaurs? Of course! Also, the new mechanics were introduced purposely to extend the palette of what we could do track-wise. We can change the actions we give to the players; we can change the pace of races. As soon as we stick to the Hot Wheels identity, there is no actual limit.

The first game was a huge success; we hope that players will enjoy HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2 - Turbocharged because the waves of this love and positivity reached and motivated us. Now, it's a vital and happy community, and we want that feeling again for them and for us, too!

During development, I've played "Guided Tour" from the Dinosaur Museum countless times, and I just love it. I have a sweet spot for that environment, I have to admit.

All Hot Wheels cars have a name already, but should I invent a new one? Could it be... Tyrannocrusher? A Tyrannosaurus-meets-Skullcrusher. Three for me, one to play, one to show, and one to keep!