Game experts are saying that the free-to-play market is set to enjoy a big boom in 2012. And - as John Hill discovers - that's good news for a Gateshead firm whose social racing game is bringing people together from around the world.
DAVE is from Oklahoma, and calls himself “The Moose”. He’s a part-time fireman who’s building a 1960s-era truck in his spare time. He’s also one of the select group worldwide who’s testing Auto Club Revolution, a free-to-play racer developed by Gateshead’s Eutechnyx.
The story goes that – one day – he drove 300 miles through the night to pick up his truck so that he didn’t have to miss his daily racing challenge. That’s generally considered a good sign for a game developer, right?
Eutechnyx is used to making driving games. Since the idea for Auto Club Revolution first popped into their heads in 2007, they’ve worked on games such as Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli, Supercar Challenge and pushed the NASCAR-licensed franchise to the second spot in the US game charts.
“Physics on the cars is very good, as are the graphics”, says Dave. “Both compare well with Gran Turismo 5, which is the standard I judge games by.
“The cars are easy for a first-timer to use, but are also very good when being pushed hard by an advanced player. The tracks are great and have amazing detail. It’s hard not to get distracted by the scenery when you are racing.”
So, yeah, users in the Auto Club Revolution beta pit are quite happy with the graphics and car physics. But there’s something else buzzing away in here.
“What we’re doing is building a social platform, where it’s about having conversations with people as well”, says Jason Collins, marketing manager of Eutechnyx.
“You can have private messaging, upload car galleries to Facebook and put videos on Youtube, so it’s more than just an avatar with a few words. We’re learning from the games industry, but there’s also something to pick up from the LinkedIns and Facebooks of the world too.
“People might not always want the eyeball-frazzling racing sessions for four hours every time. They might want to have an intensive race, or they might want to go on the internet and just relax and talk with friends.”
Auto Club Revolution allows players to race in environments such as an LA storm drain, as well as recognised tracks such as Silverstone and Spa. You can unlock badges based on achievements within the game, and gain experience points and credits from competing in races.
But you’ve also got your own front page similar to iGoogle, which you can personalise by dropping in your own widgets. You can “friend” people within the game and chat to them in public rooms or directly. You can challenge individual users to races, or compete in official events.
And, of course, you can buy and customise a range of cars in your own online garage, adding a fresh paint job or a realistic part that makes it more eye-catching or speedy.
Chief operating officer Darren Jobling says: “Its role is as a place where people can hang out, share their indulgences, discuss things and relax.
“There are plenty of car communities out there, but none of them let you race the cars on a licensed track.”
In the past, Eutechnyx has acted as a developer for boxed products that sell for $60 a time on shop shelves. However, since 2007 it’s been preparing for a dip into the free-to-play market; a market in which users get the game for free online, but pay for added features such as car upgrades.
The company first noticed the trend when it visited one of its studios in China.
“We saw the free-to-play business model going pandemic over there as a bid to get around piracy”, says Jobling. “We looked at that model and applied to what we knew people did in the west. At the time people thought we were barmy, but since then there’s been a huge step shift.”
The free-to-play model works on the basis that the 90% that pay nothing for the game are subsidised by the 10% who buy upgrades to give themselves a more personalised or detailed experience. While you can’t pay to win in Auto Club Revolution, you will be able to buy better parts and better cars. You can also play just by signing in to the website, although you’ll need to download a client to your computer to race.
Eutechnyx has been able to develop its ACR concept with funding from the North East Accelerator Fund, and has also received £6m of investment from Prime Technology Ventures in exchange for a stake in the company.
However, Darren Jobling says the priority is not to make a quick return, but to build up a community of car lovers who stay with the game for a long time.
In this vein, he brought in Jason Collins from Crown Bingo to share the expertise the online casino industry has gathered about developing and communicating with an online following. He says: “Making money will come, rather than it being essential from day one. If this place becomes a place for people to come and discuss cars, then... yes, the revenue will come.”
The first big eye-opener on Auto Club Revolution is the sense of authenticity. Eutechnyx signed up 40 car manufacturers, ranging from the Vauxhall and Hyundai to Bugatti – makers of the Veyron supercar. And then it went further, making deals to replicate products from over 100 “upgrade manufacturers” – essentially manufacturers that provide the parts that make up the vehicles.
This means you can buy specific cars and parts with game credits or cash, which upgrade performance in much the same way as you’d expect if you bought the same part from a garage.
“It’s hyper authentic”, Jobling says. “For example, if you get an AC Schnitzer part, it has the same aerodynamic effects as it would have on the real car.”
