Burnout
An arcade racing game series built around spectacular crashes.
Where Burnout comes up2 episodes and tests
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testHow the Nemesis System Creates Stories
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testHow Game Designers Protect Players From ThemselvesBurnout built an arcade racer around spectacular crashes and rewarded risk instead of punishing it. Boost is earned through near misses and driving into oncoming traffic, so the behavior you want is the one that pays. One source cites it as inspiration for treating player death as story, not failure. Lesson: tie key resources to the risky play you want, and make failure interesting. The sources give no numbers.
- 1Drive dangerouslyNear misses, oncoming traffic, close to cars
- 2Earn boostBoost is the resource players need most
- 3Win the raceRisk is what wins, unprompted
From Mark Brown on Burnout
What was said about Burnout
Burnout treats a crash as a story beat, not a failure. In Burnout, being wrecked is not failure and instead sets up a rematch with the rival who did it. Monolith drew on this for the Nemesis System in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, where Talion's death fuels revenge instead of forcing a reload.
Monolith also drew on the Call of Duty killcam, and much of the design tried to recreate multiplayer rivalry with AI characters. Mark Brown's quote: "It's only because crashing is not considered a failure in Burnout that this sort of story can happen."
Burnout ties boost to dangerous driving, so players take risks unprompted. Boost is earned through near misses, driving close to cars and driving into oncoming traffic. Because boost is the resource players need most, risky driving is what wins.
Mark Brown's summary: "You've gotta drive dangerously to win." The lesson is to tie key resources to the risky behaviour you want to see, so players choose it without being told.
How the Nemesis System Creates Stories
Inspired the idea that player death is not failure. Being wrecked sets up a rematch with the rival who did it.
Burnout treats a crash as a story beat, not a failure. In Burnout, being wrecked is not failure and instead sets up a rematch with the rival who did it. Monolith drew on this for the Nemesis System in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, where Talion's death fuels revenge instead of forcing a reload.
Monolith also drew on the Call of Duty killcam, and much of the design tried to recreate multiplayer rivalry with AI characters. Mark Brown's quote: "It's only because crashing is not considered a failure in Burnout that this sort of story can happen."
How Game Designers Protect Players From Themselves
Boost is earned through near misses and driving into oncoming traffic, so risky driving is rewarded.
Burnout ties boost to dangerous driving, so players take risks unprompted. Boost is earned through near misses, driving close to cars and driving into oncoming traffic. Because boost is the resource players need most, risky driving is what wins.
Mark Brown's summary: "You've gotta drive dangerously to win." The lesson is to tie key resources to the risky behaviour you want to see, so players choose it without being told.
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