Race Intro Sequence

Our racing levels are finally out of the graybox stage! As we move into Alpha, our first assignment is to research different intro sequences to see what we want to do for our levels.

I'm not very well acquainted with racing games, so to do my research, I went back to the game I knew the best, Mario Kart. Keeping with previous assignments, I looked into the level I analyzed earlier in the semester, Bowser's Castle from Mario Kart 7.

(Please excuse the talking, but the intro itself lasts less than 20 seconds into the video, then you can stop it)

What I like about Mario Kart intros is that they're simple, meat and potatoes. They say "Okay, here's a core mechanic of the level, here's some cool shots, starting line, ready set go." Not terribly exciting, but it gets the job done and does set the player up for what's to come.

For a more exciting introduction, I found these Ambush Event cutscenes from Need for Speed: Most Wanted. It's a cool way of drawing the player into the level (as well as provide entertainment and a few laughs). If my intro can interest the player like this, I'll be happy.