Bennett notes that, in Forza Horizon 4, winter wasn’t just an immediately recognisable visual change compared to other seasons – it also represented a profound change in car handling characteristics compared to other seasons.
“We made the decision to have the roads covered in snow and ice, and that was somewhat based on the fun that we’d enjoyed with Blizzard Mountain on Horizon 3,” says Bennett. “And I think that was pretty fun at first but, I think as we found with time, players eventually started to grow a little bit tired of all the roads being covered in snow all the time.
“So we wanted to learn from that and think, ‘Okay, how can we approach what is authentically Japanese – which is a predominantly snow-covered visual in winter in our version of Japan – yet also not penalise players that predominantly want to drive on asphalt?’ So I think we came up with a really great compromise there, where we leveraged what we saw within the reference, which is, 'Hey, the Japanese are actually pretty good at keeping the roads clear.' So, our asphalt roads, generally those are clear from snow. But, if you start to venture off road onto the gravel roads, the dirt roads, we keep a bit more snow on those.
“So if you’re someone that’s seeking that more rough and ready off-road feel, you’re going to get that more authentic snow experience in winter. And then the really cool thing that we’ve got is, because we have our new Alpine region, we’ve got snow year round up there. You go there any season and you’re experiencing Blizzard Mountain again, and that’s really cool. So, up there, all the roads are covered in snow; you can throw on some snow tyres, have a lot of fun, get in the offroaders. If that’s the experience you’re looking for, you can find it there, whatever the season. Yet, if you’re someone who doesn’t really want to spend a lot of time on snow roads in winter, you’re not going to have to go through that experience.”
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