SBK X Superbike World Championship

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With Moto GP failing to wow the world of Superbike racing this year, Tradewest and Black Bean have a real opportunity to pull into first place with SBK X World Superbike Championship.

In an interview with CVG, Milestone Studios Game Director Michele Celetti talks about how the fourth SBK will grab a wider audience by offering the finely tuned racing experience that hardcore fans are used to as well as no-nonesense, pick up and play thrills for newcomers to the sport.

You've said that SBK X has been your end goal for along time, that you've been working towards this game for the past four years.
We started working on the new SBK license in 2007 so it's the fourth game instalment but it's the biggest leap of the series. We always have many ideas ready for the next edition.

If you have to put out a complete game, finished, tweaked every year, you can't put in everything you're thinking about every year. So you start planning with a broader cycle and SBK X is the most complete result we have achieved up to now.

Moto GP has to be considered your biggest competitor and the reviews were perhaps a little disappointing for that game this year. Is beating Moto GP always in the back of your mind? How do you think you can capitalise this year? What will put SBK X ahead of Moto GP.
Of course we wanted to make a better game this year. We have two worlds in one game, with the arcade and full simulation mode of SBK X.

They are very different modes with different physics and different experiences. We also have all of the championships and official libraries, riders and so on, we've got the legendary roster and that is really really important for us because, although you might not know the current champions or follow current superbike racing, who doesn't know Carl Fogarty, Troy Bayliss and so on.

So it's one of our great weapons when it comes to standing out.

Tell us about the weather system and the 'Evolving Track' feature in the game.
It works in different weather in different ways. On a dry track, when you start riding, you start laying down rubber on the track. This means a darker strip on the asphalt visually and physically it means more grip when you ride there. So as long as this increases, your performances will be affected.

On a wet track, which starts drying after the rain, what happens is that it gets dry on the ideal line sooner than on the outside. So again, sticking there, you're going to have an advantage and it helps you to follow the line because you can see an opening line of dry tarmac.

Again when you're in career mode and there are sessions over several days of alternating rain and sun, you can see the interaction between both because when you get dry and you get rubber on the track then it rains down, it washes partially away and the more it rains the more it washes away. When the sun comes out you start laying down rubber again so it's the real thing, what happens in reality is taken into the game. It's very important because it's a dynamic vision of the track.

A superbike racing game will naturally have a smaller audience than a rally game or a Formula 1 game for example simply because of the sport itself. Has that been a challenge when you're making the game? Do you focus on that narrower audience or are you trying to draw new comers in as well?
This year we felt that it was important to bring in some new audiences. We could have continued making a very targeted simulation game with a fully fleshed out simulation mode only, but it doesn't take you anywhere.

At the same time we didn't want to let down that fan base because they are the core fan base that buys the game every year and they want improvements, they want perfect riders and bikes. So adding the arcade mode opens the opportunity for everyone to play a great racing game, a great bike game and maybe we'll see interaction between the two worlds because let's say someone buys the game because they've tried it and found it very interesting, very appealing, because of its arcade mode.

Maybe later on he tries the simulation mode; it's already there, you don't have to buy another game because it's already in the box. Simulation has several steps of hardness as well, which is fun. And vice versa, maybe a simulation addicted player tries the arcade mode and finds it very interesting as a way to take a break between online sessions lets say. So I think this year we have a real opportunity to catch a broader audience.

Tell us about the range of bikes on offer in the game, have you kept it to top end racing bikes exclusively?
At the top end you have you have small, high spec bikes that are highly worked for the track. Then comes the super sport bikes that are 0.6 litres, they're still very track oriented.

The superstock are almost road bikes because they have no slick tyres they have very limited things you can do on the engine, on the brakes so they are almost road bikes without certain details. So it's a wide array of bikes.

What kind of techniques are available and adaptable in the full simulation mode?
In the full simulation you can have control over, obviously, the accelerator, the brake - front and rear because it's very important to adjust the direction to have them separately.

You can work on the weight of your rider being more front or rear positioned, you can have manual gears and in full simulation it's very important to have a feel of the suspension and the track and to gain the momentum right.

For example, in the chicanes you have to understand where to prepare the next corner, anticipating the weight shift and the steering shift because you can really feel the weight of the bike. So you have to be aggressive and prepared and know the track.

If you understand and know how a real bike behaves, you are a step forward from someone who doesn't really know. We had a real superbike racer who came to play the game several times and gave us feedback. He was really really good from the start and was really really amazing. In the past years I remember we had Bayliss playing the game and he was really amazing too. And if they can feel something like in the real thing then it's a good start.

What would you say the differences are between a car racing game and a bike racing game when it comes to development?
You are targeting different kinds of people, they pay attention to different details.

For example, bike lovers appreciate not only the bikes but the riders, the position, the way they act on the bike, the way they move, so a problem that virtually doesn't exist in a car racing game explodes in a bike racing game.
There's almost twice as much to look at.

What's been your biggest achievement making this game?
Making a game that will fit a really broad audience and not disappointing anyone who has followed us in the previous editions. There's something for everyone whether they want an arcade mode or a simulation and it's a really good package overall.

Any difficulties?
Lots of difficulties! From my point of view, since I've been the game director, managing all the people involved, taking account of all the ideas, it's been a real job because we have so many game modes so many bikes so many assets, it's been really hard to find a good balance between all the features all the game modes the arcade and simulation we didn't want to give the impression that it was a simulation game with an arcade mode added or vice versa. So a really hard task was to keep the game balanced until the end.

What's next?
As a studio, as you know, we are working on the WRC licence, as for the SBK series it's a bit early but what we are planning is to have some play testing sessions to gain some feedback from the critics, from the public when the game is out and that's the starting point for the next episode because we cannot go alone with only our vision we have to get feedback because we have to see how the message was received with this edition and what people want next.

What are your thoughts on new emerging technologies such as 3D gaming and the motion controllers coming to 360 and PS3 - Natal and Move? Can they play a role in racing games and are you looking to work with them in the future?
For sure. It's hard to say if motion technologies will play a great role for a racing game in the immediate future. I think it will be more focused on some different kinds of games like shooters and family games.

Racers need very tight control and we'll have to figure out how to make it fit because it's immersive but it has to be very precise. There is no possible compromise, because if you play SBK X in full simulation there is no room for mistakes or imprecise control so we'll have to figure out how to make it fit.

3D is going to be a real blast and we are really looking forward to it. I think it will be successful in gaming because, having tried some similar applications, I can say it makes a huge difference.