Highlights
- Forza Motorsport's innovative approach to player progression allows racers to focus on upgrading their dream car without worrying about their bankroll.
- The introduction of Car Points as a separate currency for vehicle upgrades sets Forza Motorsport apart from other racing games and rewards players for spending more time with their favorite vehicles.
- Decoupling the currencies used for upgrades and purchases in Forza Motorsport eliminates the need for players to choose between upgrading their car or saving for a new one, setting a new standard for the sim racing genre.
Pre-release marketing for Forza Motorsport focused heavily on the technical advancements that led to such a polished graphical and gameplay experience for players, but one of the game’s biggest innovations hasn’t received nearly as much fanfare. Rather than simply handing players a collection of high-end cars and real-world tracks to enjoy and calling it a day, developer Turn 10 Studios also made a radical change to player progression. By rethinking the way players pay for vehicle upgrades and unlocks, Forza Motorsport makes it easy for racers to focus on fixing up their dream car rather than building up their bankroll.
Forza Motorsport’s changes to its in-game currency are meant to give more power to players. By using Car Points to upgrade vehicles rather than forcing players to dip into the credits they’ve earned from racing, Forza Motorsport lives up to Turn 10’s frequent refrain that the game’s cars are “built not bought.” This decision to decouple the in-game currency used to upgrade cars from the one used to purchase them lets Forza Motorsport players focus on customizing their car rather than scrimping and saving, and it offers a blueprint for other sim racing games moving forward.
Forza Motorsport’s Car Points Make the Upgrade Process Feel More Personalized
In a break from past entries in the series, Forza Motorsport players collect two different types of currency as they complete races. Credits in Forza Motorsport are earned by winning races and, like in most racing games, can be used by players to purchase their favorites from a selection of high-end cars. Where Forza Motorsport differs from its competitors is with its introduction of Car Points which, while still earned by finishing races, are tied to a specific vehicle. It’s the Car Points, rather than credits, that players will use to upgrade their rides as they make their way through the game.
This seemingly small change makes a huge difference in how players approach their car collection in Forza Motorsport. Since it’s now possible to upgrade cars without dipping into the same funds used to purchase new rides, the game actively rewards racers for spending more time with their favorite vehicles. This makes the unlock and upgrade process for each car feel more personal, as the more races players win with a particular car the more options they will have for improving it. This unique approach to player progression eliminates the need to put off upgrades while saving for a new car and should become a standard in the sim racing genre.
The Vehicle Upgrade and Unlock Mechanics in Forza Motorsport Set a New Standard
Decoupling the currencies used for upgrades and purchases isn’t just a new addition to the Forza Motorsport franchise, it’s also an about-face from the way progression is typically handled in the sim racing genre. Typically, most sim racers give players a single pool of in-game currency that they rely on for both vehicle upgrades and purchasing new cars. While this can come in handy at times, letting those with a big bankroll buy and instantly upgrade their dream car, it can also lead players to agonize unnecessarily over whether to save or spend their winnings.
This can become particularly problematic in titles where in-game currency can be purchased with real-world money. In racing games like Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 7 that focus heavily on microtransactions, players can be forced to choose between upgrading their favorite car or saving a bit more to grab the next vehicle on their bucket list. With ever-present prompts urging gamers to open their wallets to top off their balance, this can sap the fun out of player progression by focusing more on careful accounting than the thrill of the race.
By letting players make upgrades without putting their next car purchase out of reach, Forza Motorsport provides a refreshing new take on typical racing game progression. By following this two-tiered model other developers can help improve players’ experiences in not just their own titles, but also the sim racing genre as a whole.
Forza Motorsport is available for PC and Xbox Series X/S.