Fan trust in “Gran Turismo” has been put to the test lately as the most recent installment in the franchise failed to live up to expectations that people had for it. While the game was good as a whole and it definitely had its strong points, many players noted that it felt a bit rushed and not quite as solid as previous installments in the series. Because of this, “Gran Turismo 7” is going to be a very important game for the company.
It’s the studio’s last chance to earn back their fans’ trust after “Gran Turismo 6”, and if this game succeeds then it can definitely shoot the franchise back into the spotlight. Polyphony Digital have been very confident in their progress on the game as well, claiming that work on the game has been coming along very well, and they have been excited about their progress.
From what we’ve been able to tell before, the main problem with “Gran Turismo 6” was that the game had to be developed with tools that weren’t quite comfortable to work with, leading to a fast, cumbersome workflow and a lot of issues among developers.
On the other hand, work on “Gran Turismo 7” has been coming along great, and the game is being built with some very reliable technology thanks to the development tools for the PlayStation 4. Its developers are apparently going to really try and get the most out of the hardware’s capabilities and make this a proper next-gen game.
And we’ve been hearing various rumors about extra features and improvements in the new game, developments that should definitely make even the most disappointed fan reconsider. Combined with the great hardware capabilities that the PlayStation 4 offers, we can expect this to be a truly spectacular title, even just in the visual department.
The game is likely going to feature a nice selection of cars as well – this has always been a major point for its fans, as the diversity of car models is one of the most important things in a good “Gran Turismo” game. We’re going to see plenty of modern models, including some quite advanced cars that are going to put the driver’s skills to the test.
We will also see a lot of improvement in the way physics are handled, with a new engine handling collisions and other events that should make the game look a lot more realistic and smoother than its predecessors. All in all, it looks like Polyphony are aiming at making the experience more immersive and captivating for gamers.
Which is good, because there really isn’t much else that a racing game can capitalize on right now. Graphics and immersion are what sells, and this trend is likely going to become even more prominent once VR hardware starts to get used by the mainstream consumer. There’s certainly nothing bad about that anyway, as racing games can offer a lot to their players when it comes to making them feel like they’re right behind the wheel.
At this point, we can just wait and hope that the development of the game is going to come along smoothly, without any unexpected problems. But thanks to the improved hardware and development pipeline of the PS4, this should be the case all the way until the end of the development cycle. From then on, we will just have to see how well Polyphony’s developers have handled the production of the title in technological and aesthetic terms.