It's no grand secret that games are bettered by granting players more agency, a larger role in the flow of a game be it through story or combat or aesthetics. The likes of Infamous, Elder Scrolls and BioWare's repertoire will attest to that, and so too will the satisfaction of decking out your ride in any racer. From sheer appearance to the most technical of performance aspects, fine-tuning a vehicle can be an engrossing experience - and one of the few ways cars develop real character, a voice of their own, if you will. It's strange, then, to see part lists and options menus culled. In stark contrast to the advancement of visuals and soundscapes - perhaps even for the sake of it - creating your own car is slim pickings nowadays. A colour here, a decal there - but it's all devoid of the fine-tooth micromanagement that ate countless hours in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era. The idea of stepping back and knowing in the end that your creation is truly yours, possibly wonky suspension and all. This is compounded by the fact that racers are only becoming more social. Driveclub, for example, prides itself on its subtle multiplayer interaction, spontaneous instances where you can challenge the records of other players. Just as the platform for veritably virtual, user-generated car shows arrive, the tools needed to make them work up and vanish?
A freelance games writer, you say? Typically battling his current RPG addiction and ceaseless perfectionism? A fan of horror but too big a sissy to play for more than a couple of hours? Spends far too much time on JRPGs and gets way too angry with card games?
Well that doesn't sound anything like me.
