1. Mechanics Depth

The racing games of today provide a large range of depth to their physics model and to the driving mechanics that allow the user to control the vehicle.

These days the term "simulation" is vague and confusing, in that it is used inconsistently throughout the industry, press, and by consumers. A simulation game sometimes refers to the physics model, sometimes to a technical mastery-focused race style and/or to a real-world sport.

Today there are racing games like Project Gotham Racing that share many elements of traditional motor sport sims, such as a detailed physics model and technical track mastery, but do not share the real-world motor sports vehicles or track locales like those found in real life Formula One or Grand Prix racing.

With this ambiguity, the control model style becomes one of two major culprits in the racing genre identity crises. The depth of the underlying control mechanics is an area that must be clearly communicated to the consumer, ideally on the front of the box, and cited in reviews.

I propose we do away with the generic and ambiguous simulation label and strive to clarify the level of depth to the control mechanics, either with text descriptors or even on a simple scale of depth.

[Note that I do recognize the term "physics" could have negative connotations and may be considered undesirable by marketing, as it implies math and complexity. So we should focus on communicating the depth of the control mechanics, with the understanding that we are assuming all mechanics related to the vehicle control.]

PGR has clearly blurred the line between fantasy and real-world motor sports simulation.

An example of a relatively deep model of mechanics would include more controls and nuances that allow precision adjustment and management of turns, slides, jumps and possibly more complex areas such as suspension weighting (traction/sliding) and torque.

An example of shallow depth of mechanics would be a game with controls only for throttle, brake and steering with little to no control over sliding.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the most shallow depth of control and 10 being the greatest depth, I would rate OutRun at a 2, Ridge Racer at a 3, Road Rash at a 7, Need for Speed at a 7, PGR at a 9 and Gran Turismo at a 10 (including all the tuning/balancing access).

[Note that although OutRun and Road Rash are not modern, I include them to demonstrate the range. One could also correctly argue that each franchise version has a different mix of control depth. But I am treating all versions as a single entity since most readers will not have played every one. In the case where the model has varied or evolved greatly, I am considering the franchise in its heyday.]

While there is often a strong correlation between Mechanics Depth and simulation titles, this need not always be the case. A team could create a game with deep control mechanics that are easy to with only a few controls required but a lot of optional control depth.

Also I would say that most of the AAA racing games of today measure in the upper end of the scale on Mechanics Depth. Yet many would be classified as arcade racing games under our current archaic and inadequate terminology.

Note also that mechanics depth does not always translate to an increase in difficulty or accessibility. A team could develop a deep set of mechanics that are easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master, or a relatively shallow physics model that is still hard to learn or play.

I believe that difficulty and accessibility are actually much more components of the Racing Style -- see next section. In the case that the learning curve or difficulty are not obvious, either could also be called out as a separate scale on the back of the box (like how we sometimes see learning duration called out on PC titles).