GRAN TURISMO 6 : Enigma in Motion.

[photonrider]

You start out with a simple racing videogame.
You do your best, and the fans gather, bit by bit, until you start to enter homes all over the world.
You connect with them through this game, and the car-makers take notice; they want to enter those homes, too. So they help you, encourage you, and provide the stuff you need to make the game better and better . . . to the point it becomes very, very realistic when all the right components are put together.
It becomes the real driving simulator.
It allows young men and women, and some much older, too, to play out their automotive fantasies.

And some of them out there are real racers.

Then the connection with your fan-base becomes stronger - the connection is one that can instantly connect you to their performances; in essence how they're playing your game.

Suddenly you have a data overload that becomes very, very interesting to automakers.

And some of those automakers, specially the ones that helped you out, now realise that it is time you sacrificed the game and used it for the tool it really was.

To find the dream racers out there. A talent search via real-time data. Cheap, effective, and if you could get the fans to pay an entrance fee - say the price of a gaming disc (you can disguise it as a game of course) - then you're also probably laughing all the way to the bank.

In days of yore, to become a real racer - in the sense of it being actually a profession - one would have to have a lot of connections. Family helped. So did friends in the close circle that was the racing world, and others who owed favours; there was no other way to get on track.

Today all one would need was an internet connection to play your game. And let you know whether they were good enough to send off to that automaker who was not only interested in racing, but interested in the best racers worldwide.

If you did all this, you're not just laughing all the way to the bank, you've also challenged the status quo.

In fact if you did all this, your name is probably Kazunori Yamauchi.
And you know how to kick those bugs off the tree.

Just don't forget in the evolution to factor in that it was a game that started it all . . . and that to some of us it still remains only that.
You lose the game, you will also lose the players.
And the dream racers you are looking for.

 

[Darragh]

Sorry for my ignorance here, but what is GT academy? Just found it this morning when I turned it on.

 

[pyrates]

Sorry for my ignorance here, but what is GT academy? Just found it this morning when I turned it on.

It's a competition which is a first step into Nissan's drivers development program. Here you'll find some info: http://www.gran-turismo.com/gb/academy/about/

Also there is the GTA forum here on GTP.

 

[jakeBG18]

You start out with a simple racing videogame.
You do your best, and the fans gather, bit by bit, until you start to enter homes all over the world.
You connect with them through this game, and the car-makers take notice; they want to enter those homes, too. So they help you, encourage you, and provide the stuff you need to make the game better and better . . . to the point it becomes very, very realistic when all the right components are put together.
It becomes the real driving simulator.
It allows young men and women, and some much older, too, to play out their automotive fantasies.

And some of them out there are real racers.

Then the connection with your fan-base becomes stronger - the connection is one that can instantly connect you to their performances; in essence how they're playing your game.

Suddenly you have a data overload that becomes very, very interesting to automakers.

And some of those automakers, specially the ones that helped you out, now realise that it is time you sacrificed the game and used it for the tool it really was.

To find the dream racers out there. A talent search via real-time data. Cheap, effective, and if you could get the fans to pay an entrance fee - say the price of a gaming disc (you can disguise it as a game of course) - then you're also probably laughing all the way to the bank.

In days of yore, to become a real racer - in the sense of it being actually a profession - one would have to have a lot of connections. Family helped. So did friends in the close circle that was the racing world, and others who owed favours; there was no other way to get on track.

Today all one would need was an internet connection to play your game. And let you know whether they were good enough to send off to that automaker who was not only interested in racing, but interested in the best racers worldwide.

If you did all this, you're not just laughing all the way to the bank, you've also challenged the status quo.

In fact if you did all this, your name is probably Kazunori Yamauchi.
And you know how to kick those bugs off the tree.

Just don't forget in the evolution to factor in that it was a game that started it all . . . and that to some of us it still remains only that.
You lose the game, you will also lose the players.
And the dream racers you are looking for.

...So your saying Gt6 is just a huge recruiting tactic?If so,interesting view on things but no..just no

 

[eSZee]

So you're saying Half Life 3 in 2015?

 

[jakeBG18]

So you're saying Half Life 3 in 2015?

did i miss something lol

 

[Samus]

I thought this was about Riddler DLC in GT6.

 

[photonrider]

...So your saying Gt6 is just a huge recruiting tactic?If so,interesting view on things but no..just no

Yes, Oh! yes. You got it. 👍 (As for 'huge' and 'only' remains to be seen.)

However - let's look at it from a positive viewpoint.
As I said - Kaz knows how to cause the vibrations that would knock those bugs off the tree and into his lap. How many great racing drivers out there fell by the wayside in the past because they had no ticket into the sport?
Kaz is throwing a world-wide net that snares millions and he's in a position to pick the best of the best.
Take a look at Nick, for instance.
How perfect a candidate for the sport could you find?
Young, having RL racing experience already, no encumbrances, ready to fly out and get into the action . . . and he passed all Kaz's 'aptitude tests'.
The racers Kaz has recruited so far for Nissan have done astoundingly well for freshers.

But, of course, we just don't want the whole game to be nothing but a bunch of aptitude-testing Time Trials.

There are many of us not the least bit interested in actually racing in RL - we are not in a position to drop everything and take off to tracks around the world - even if we were good enough to top the Board.

Not grudging the chance for a savvy youngster out there to make it in the real world of Racing - that's a good thing.
But not good to sacrifice the game for others.

So yes - we can see through Kaz's ploy - we just hope he hasn't forgotten the bugs that are enjoying the breeze . . . and refuse to be shaken down.

 

[Darragh]

It's a competition which is a first step into Nissan's drivers development program. Here you'll find some info: http://www.gran-turismo.com/gb/academy/about/

Also there is the GTA forum here on GTP.

Since this is the first GT game of played whilst being signed in, I hope you understand my lack of knowledge lol.

 

[pyrates]

Since this is the first GT game of played whilst being signed in, I hope you understand my lack of knowledge lol.

Don't worry. That's what the forum is for, discussions and questions. 👍

 

[BrandonW77]

In fact if you did all this, your name is probably Kazunori Yamauchi.
And you know how to kick those bugs off the tree......

.......and make those bugs land squarely into the game. 👎


(Sorry, somebody had to say it)

 

[photonrider]

Well, you got to say, what you got to say - as long as it's relevant, and clean enough to read.

The 'bugs' I'm referring to are the ones he 'vibrated' off the tree in the movie that was made about him. There was a whole symbolism to that. He is metaphorically shaking the tree, spilling out the ace racers from the limbs they are out on. This is a brilliant move on the part of Nissan, tapping Kaz's passion and genius to extricate the prodigies from the fold.

As for the technical bugs . . . there will always be technical bugs. My heart bleeds.

 

[AAR_CobraJet]

GT Academy will force the delay of the next "so-called" promised additional content: The Senna update. We will go through May and into June, again without promised content or news of any kind regarding it. Be prepared for it.

 

[photonrider]

What we're hoping, of course, is that 'Gran Turismo - The real driving simulator' doesn't become 'Gran Turismo - The Nissan Racing Academy.'

There are so many things we'd like to do in the game, apart from trying out to be a world-class racer.

I have to admit that the Online Game does get attention from PD/Sony - and that's where a lot of the game is. For the majority of players.
We want to drive. We want to race. Aptitude tests should be optional - not the core game.

All those 'seasonals' are good for data (the kind that shows precisely the gaps in time between Gold, Silver and Bronze IRL - which is reflected back into the game) but some races would be nice, too. As well as other activities that are more in keeping with playing a game, and not just feeding data to PD.

Again, I have to repeat, in case I'm giving the wrong impression here - that I fully support Nissan/PD's work in looking for the best racers out there - a sort of 'American Idol' of racing - and it will surely fuel the dreams and passions of those who want to actually get behind a racing machine . . . but sometimes . . . I like to play a videogame.
One with cars. Like NFS. Or TDU. Ford Off-Road. Where you get into cars and drive, race . . . fiddle with them . . .

 

[MustangManiac]

GT Academy will force the delay of the next "so-called" promised additional content: The Senna update. We will go through May and into June, again without promised content or news of any kind regarding it. Be prepared for it.

Exactly what I thought when I saw the notice, just another excuse to be too busy to finish the game.

 

[OriginalCheezIt]

GT Academy will force the delay of the next "so-called" promised additional content: The Senna update. We will go through May and into June, again without promised content or news of any kind regarding it. Be prepared for it.

Exactly what I thought when I saw the notice, just another excuse to be too busy to finish the game.

You guys do realize that GT Academy isn't a new thing, right? They have surely scheduled the estimated update times with GT Academy in mind. And even so, the modeling/coding team have no part in GT Academy whatsoever. Specialization of labor. It's a thing.

 

[photonrider]

GT Academy will force the delay of the next "so-called" promised additional content: The Senna update. We will go through May and into June, again without promised content or news of any kind regarding it. Be prepared for it.

We hope not; though PD often shows that it bites off more than it chews. Obviously, PD has to do some work or other connected with GT Academy - as to whether it's the same resources is unknown.
They have been developing GT Academy for some time now, and the new game (GRAN TURISMO 6) seems more and more geared to fostering interest in GT Academy, in fact an enigma in motion.
But, PD can be surprising, too, on occasion; maybe they will take us to the promised land.

For now - GT6 and GT Academy seem to be fusing; a mutation that might end up making the game prehistoric.

PD has to understand that while GT Academy (actually Nissan Driver Search) and what it stands for is commendable, there are players out there who don't think it's the entire game.

 

[NICKname]

...So your saying Gt6 is just a huge recruiting tactic?If so,interesting view on things but no..just no

But yes. GT Academy is probably the closest thing to flawless for a good reason...

I don't see why GT Academy is such a big deal though. The people who win probably already topped the leaderboards of the seasonals multiple times and know they are going to win. They should just put up 3 seasonals with different cars, add up all the times and let the person with the fastest total time win. It would give PD so much more time to work on things everybody can enjoy.

 

[photonrider]

But yes. GT Academy is probably the closest thing to flawless for a good reason...

I don't see why GT Academy is such a big deal though. The people who win probably already topped the leaderboards of the seasonals multiple times and know they are going to win. They should just put up 3 seasonals with different cars, add up all the times and let the person with the fastest total time win. It would give PD so much more time to work on things everybody can enjoy.

Personally, I have no judgements on the 'time/labour' matter; I really haven't studied the Resource Pool involved in this and its financial as well as technological management. It is the creative management at question here.
I'm not sure how they should really present this concept ("We're looking for the world's best drivers for the Dream Team of All Racing History! And don't forget the name Nissan!') through the game.
Someone out there is qualified enough to draw the big bucks that are deserving of putting together that perfect ikebana; right now Heaven, Earth, and Man don't seem to be in synch.

And you're right about 'GT' Academy having way too much focus, and in an almost imperceptible way, influencing all the events that are being given us:

Dive into this and you get nothing but Time Trials (Aptitude Tests) and data that is being sent back to PD/Whomever.
At its core, when examining this issue always lies the question: How is this benefiting the Player/How is this benefiting PD/Whoever.



More hidden TTs:


And more:


And even more:


Maybe we can escape to some pleasant track . . . . nooooooo!:


Even if we leave Planet Earth and head to the Moon we don't get a chance to play a game. Got to do that Time Trial :


Hey! I wouldn't have minded a couple of Moon Missions - find a buried prize car, fight off asteroids while heading back to Base or even just tune up the Rover with some futuristic mods. This would be all too 'playful' for this game, apparently.
We get to knock over cones. (Good practise for when racing IRL, I guess.)
It's become a matter of life-and-death career strategy for wannabe racers all over the world. Or so PD would like us have believe.

Keep in mind the title of the discussion here (as per the title) applies to GT6 and its relation to 'GT' Academy.
The relationship that GT Academy had with GT5 is vastly different to what 'GT' Academy (whatever that is now) has with GT6 - which we can see is quite visibly a significant bunch of Time Trials.

This is not to say that GT6 offers nothing else. Savvy players still know where to look for the fun in the game, and the visceral realisation of their automotive passions through many areas that still exist (and that strangely enough are actually there for no benefit at all to the data stream, but merely for the pleasure of the player.)

And Online is where the 'twain meet. Which is a whole other enigma, or maybe the same one. We have to decide.

 

[Ghoa$t]

GTA? Maybe.

GT6? More like "Enema in motion"

 

[another_jakhole]

GTA? Maybe.

GT6? More like "Enema in motion"

I'm not in the same mindset, but I kind of am at the moment.

heheee enema

Well, that would actually be a good thing. Since when in reinvigorating a bad thing?

BUT as of yet, GT6 looks to be holding back that enema. :/

 

[photonrider]

GTA? Maybe.

GT6? More like "Enema in motion"

Precisely the sphincter-tightening, gut-shrinking feeling I get every time I boot up GT6 now - and I'm faced with nothing but TTs - chasing ghosts of one kind or another. If I want to test my mettle on tracks by myself I can engineer that on my own. Free car? Heck - I can buy the car - if I actually felt like it.
The game is constipated by these TTs, and needs a full-blown digital laxative in the form of driving events other than chasing a data-cut-off a.k.a. 'Bronze'.

I'm not in the same mindset, but I kind of am at the moment.

And when a guy like you - who probably loves the Series more than me (and that's saying a lot) voices concern, it's time we had a closer look at what's going on.

But, what can we do? Will voicing our concerns really work?
The forum is rampant with wish-lists, and the Feedback Forum is thick with suggestions, enough to keep PD busy for a decade. Forums all over the world may be saying the same things; no doubt the Japanese Forums (Japan is a huge video-gaming market) must be howling their own ideas.
The reality is that we have grown with a Series that we have come to trust and love as a game that gives us immense automotive-based enjoyment in many forms. The game is changing.
How can we adapt to get the best out of the game?

Let's look at one of the many things that drew us closer to Gran Turismo - stuff that is of no benefit to PD/Etc, but just for the pleasure of the players. B-Spec would be a classic example.
Micro-transactions shot down B-Spec.
If B-Spec was in the game, micro-transactions would be redundant; everybody would get their bots to grind.
So B-Spec was shut down.
I dare say B-Spec was as important to a huge amount of players - as important as Nissan Academy is important to any number of players. GT5 B-Spec Forums were not exactly quiet - and even then the quietness of a sub-forum wouldn't be a measure of how busy the players are with that particular facet of the game.
I would hazard a guess that B-Spec was quite popular with a lot of players . . . and that they miss it.
B-Spec is an opportunity as well for playing (notice the word 'playing' here, as in a 'game') crew-chief, Race Director, engineer, Driver-trainer, etc, etc - all taken away because they do not help in any way to recruit budding RL race-drivers.
Now that's just one of the things the game has suffered because of this insidious and ubiquitous recruiting campaign.

 

[eSZee]

GT Academy will force the delay of the next "so-called" promised additional content: The Senna update. We will go through May and into June, again without promised content or news of any kind regarding it. Be prepared for it.

This CAN NOT happen.

 

[Rodrigo Nunes]

This CAN NOT happen.

Its gonna be so disrespectuful when May 1st comes around and nothing, then sometime in June after everyone and all the events celebrating Senna's 20 years will have come and gone they realase something.

 

[Force-Feedback]

Its gonna be so disrespectuful when May 1st comes around and nothing, then sometime in June after everyone and all the events celebrating Senna's 20 years will have come and gone they realase something.

Or they listen to what we want, then release something else instead that's the opposite of what we want! - like joystick support... or an announcement of an announcement of vapourware approved features...

 

[Dimebolt]

Or they listen to what we want, then release something else instead that's the opposite of what we want! - like joystick support... or an announcement of an announcement of vapourware approved features...

I know you're only joking, but that's genuinely funny because PD logic dictates that joystick support is not an unreasonable suspicion on your part

 

[Rodrigo Nunes]

Or they listen to what we want, then release something else instead that's the opposite of what we want! - like joystick support... or an announcement of an announcement of vapourware approved features...

On Senna's birthday we will get more fonts for the car number tag.

 

[photonrider]

Just over a year now . . . and the identity crisis deepens.
Is this a car-collector game?
A racing game?
A driving game?
An 'American Idol' version of talent-scouting for 'racing' drivers?
A simulator that simulates 'real' driving? (As opposed to fantasy driving - though the arrival of the pod racer seems to now to attract more than drivers wishing to 'hone their racecraft'.)

There are actually players of this game that will vouch vociferously that GT6 helps them become 'better' drivers. (From whatever drivers they are IRL in the first place.)
These discusssions eat into every other discussion.
Here is where we try to figure out the enigma that Gran Turosm 6 has become.
Have at it.

I'll rebegin the discusion by saying that it was a game. A game of collecting cars and driving them. And racing them. And tuning them. And 'coloring' them.
In short - 'playing' with cars. Simulations of real cars.

I want it to be a game. If I want a simulator to teach me driving I'll be looking elsewhere believe me. An instructor would do fine. IRL.
Nor do I want to use this game as a resume for hand/eye coordination (yes, yes, the feet, too) that can be sent to Nissan.
Not everybody became a racer that way - most started racing karts, or fiddling with real engines. In fact the great majority did it that way.
Let me have my game back. Let me have GT3 or GT4 with the graphics and handling of GT6. And a better version of GT5's collecting/trading system.
There are more gamers out there than wannabe racers. That's a big market, Kaz. Bigger money than Nissan can dish out.

 

[iLex]

GT6 seems to be a Jack of all trades, master at none.

As a game it lacks a certain 'fun factor'. For example: It doesn't give you the feeling you are a race driver going through a career. It is more or less a collection of random events.

As a simulator it lacks the dedication to making the physics perfect. There are a lot of things missing in the physics model to make this comparable with today's simulators.

As a car collecting 'game' it lacks frequent updates of new real cars.

Nissan GTA is just a small part of the game, but it is the one thing that they implemented properly I guess, although there are always some glitches...

Since GT5 I've had the feeling that PD needed a new direction. They need someone next to Kaz to guide his enthusiasm, kill some of his darlings and fit the rest into a proper game/simulator/car collector game (whichever they want to make).

 

[05XR8]

Just over a year now . . . and the identity crisis deepens.
Is this a car-collector game?
A racing game?
A driving game?
An 'American Idol' version of talent-scouting for 'racing' drivers?
A simulator that simulates 'real' driving? (As opposed to fantasy driving - though the arrival of the pod racer seems to now to attract more than drivers wishing to 'hone their racecraft'.)

There are actually players of this game that will vouch vociferously that GT6 helps them become 'better' drivers. (From whatever drivers they are IRL in the first place.)
These discusssions eat into every other discussion.
Here is where we try to figure out the enigma that Gran Turosm 6 has become.
Have at it.

I'll rebegin the discusion by saying that it was a game. A game of collecting cars and driving them. And racing them. And tuning them. And 'coloring' them.
In short - 'playing' with cars. Simulations of real cars.

I want it to be a game. If I want a simulator to teach me driving I'll be looking elsewhere believe me. An instructor would do fine. IRL.
Nor do I want to use this game as a resume for hand/eye coordination (yes, yes, the feet, too) that can be sent to Nissan.
Not everybody became a racer that way - most started racing karts, or fiddling with real engines. In fact the great majority did it that way.
Let me have my game back. Let me have GT3 or GT4 with the graphics and handling of GT6. And a better version of GT5's collecting/trading system.
There are more gamers out there than wannabe racers. That's a big market, Kaz. Bigger money than Nissan can dish out.

Kaz did mention this is the Pokemon of car games.