Speed Racer
Project Type:
Engine Used:
Language Used:
Primary Role(s):
Project Length:
Solo Project
Unity
C#
Game Designer
Created in 1 week
Speed Racer is a game I created for my Rapid Game Development class where we had 1 week to create a racing game where you would race to a finish line against an opponent or the clock. I created a time-trail style racing game that would have the player racing to complete laps of a course against a time limit, and if they completed all laps before the end of the time limit they would win. I included an easy and a hard racing course, as well as two different vehicles with a car selector from the main menu, letting the player drive a race car or a motorcycle that both had their own separate stats.
Game Creation Process
Game Design
We were given 1 week to design and submit a fully working bug-free build of a racing game where the player had to win a race against opponents or the clock. During my brainstorming phase I was heavily inspired by old Nintendo racing games like Mario-Kart Double Dash and F-Zero GX which were the two first big racing games I played as a kid. Given the one week time limit I decided to let the player race against a clock rather than program AI opponents, and tried to be creative when designing the courses and road hazards. I went above the assignment requirements by creating multiple vehicles the player could choose from with their own stats, as well as an easy and a hard course the player could choose from. I used free assets I found online, mostly from Kenney Assets, and scripted the entire project using Unity and C# scripts.
Game Brainstorm Ideas and Concepts
Scripting
I created this project to make the car feel as realistic as possible, trying to incorporate logical physics when turning and braking. This was a challenge for me at the time, and was the first time I had used Unity to code realistic physics for a race car. This was also the first time I had used trail renderers and particle systems to give car tire screech VFX and SFX to make the car feel much more realistic.
Car Physics Scripting
Checkpoint System Scripting
Obstacle/Power-up Scripting
As a bonus to this project that wasn't an assignment requirement, I created two courses the player could race on, and also two vehicles the player could select from the main menu.
Vehicle and Map Selector Scripting
Project Take-Aways
I really enjoyed this project and had so much fun I decided to create several vehicles and maps even though it wasn't required. I learned a lot through my research about how I can create realistic physics of a car in 2D space, as well as creating a unique map and vehicle selector from a main menu.