Interviews

Talking FlatOut: Head On PSP details with Empire

And why the publisher believes this is one of the most technically impressive handheld games yet

Talking FlatOut: Head On PSP details with Empire

Sure, sure, the PSP isn't short of games featuring cars moving at speed. And even when you get to the sub-genre of car-based carnage, the parking lot isn't exactly empty.

But we've been impressed with FlatOut: Head On. Not necessarily initially, it's true, when all we had to go on were the usual promises of a press release, but once we saw the game in motion we were pleasantly surprised to discover what seems to have great potential.

So, it didn't take us long to decide we should talk to the necessary people. James Nicholas, the game's producer at Empire Interactive, has been good enough to answer our questions.

Pocket Gamer: Mention 'racing carnage' and most people will predominantly think of the Burnout franchise. But on console, FlatOut has always maintained a very distinct identity. For the benefit of those who may only be familiar with the former, how would you characterise the FlatOut experience?

James Nicholas: Despite comparisons the two games are actually different in many ways. Unlike Burnout (apart from the fast cars and big smashes), FlatOut mixes the best elements of arcade racing and simulation.

The FlatOut experience has always been about the instant thrills and gratifying destruction of an arcade racer, combined with some of the most advanced driving physics ever seen in a game. With over 4,000 persistent objects on every track, the environment is also totally destructible – a unique offering for the racing genre and one of the things that sets FlatOut apart from the competitors.

And that's before you even get to the fantastic Ragdoll Stunts and Destruction Derby game modes, with some sick through-the-windscreen body-crunching action and smash-'em-up multiplayer social gaming. We really do think that FlatOut is out there on its own as a game.

Technically, the game looks impressively solid. What has the ability to use the full 'power' of PSP enabled the team to achieve that it wouldn't necessarily have managed to include otherwise?

FlatOut is a game based upon a very real physics engine which effectively iterates a certain number of times per second, which is very CPU intensive. A key challenge for any FlatOut game is maintaining a high enough number of iterations of the physics engine so that objects in the FlatOut universe behave in a 'real-world manner' whilst keeping a smooth frame rate.

The PSP upgrades that allow the CPU to run at 333MHz have allowed us to maintain a higher sweet point, which means that not only have we not had to compromise on the core physics but we are also able to handle a comparable number of objects to the previous Xbox and PlayStation2 versions of the FlatOut series.

Related to the above question, but dealing specifically with the heavy physics-reliant essence of the FlatOut experience, presumably it's been a considerable challenge to try and recreate that on PSP? How close has the team managed this and what have been the necessary adjustments in translating it to handheld?

With some tight coding and some fine tuning, alongside the heritage of the previous FlatOut series, the physics engine handles real-world physics as well as the console versions. [Developer] Bugbear has a long history as a racing game studio (since 2000) and it has constantly improved upon the FlatOut game engine with each title, so honing it for the PSP was that much easier.

Our aim has always been to ensure that we have a PSP experience that is comparable to the previous PS2 and Xbox versions. Obviously a great deal of work has been done to optimise the engine to ensure maximum performance for the PSP.

Beyond this, we looked very carefully at how physics objects behave and which elements of that behaviour directly affect the player's experience.

For example, because the FlatOut physics system is in essence a real-world simulation, collisions are accurately modelled both off- and onscreen. For the PSP version, we have maintained this for all collisions onscreen but where necessary have allowed graceful degrading of the accuracy of collisions off-screen.

Overall, what would you say has been the hardest element to implement to date?

To be honest, the hardest thing has not been so much the technical challenge of taking FlatOut to the PSP but maintaining a FlatOut feel to the game whilst making it fun and suitable for a portable platform.

Getting the handling and difficulty balancing right is the single most important factor in ensuring that the player has an enjoyable experience as this is different on a handheld platform than it is on a home console. FlatOut is a big game so iterating between changing both the handling and the balancing then testing these changes has been a huge job involving a large team.

To end on a positive, which aspect of the game are you happiest with and what do you think will please gamers the most?

We've produced a game that is true to the FlatOut universe, technically strong on the PSP and above all, fun to play.

If you want me to single out one part of the game, then I would say that the ragdoll stunts have found their true home on the PSP!

Our thanks to James for his time. FlatOut: Head On is out early next year.
Joao Diniz Sanches
Joao Diniz Sanches
With three boys under the age of 10, former Edge editor Joao has given up his dream of making it to F1 and instead spends his time being shot at with Nerf darts. When in work mode, he looks after editorial projects associated with the Pocket Gamer and Steel Media brands.