On my recent trip to GDC (Game Developers Conference) Canada I had the opportunity to sit down with John Doyle, senior producer of Need for Speed World (NFSW) at the EA offices in Vancouver, British Columbia. Read on to find out more about NFSW.
What is NFSW?
[JD] NFSW is a massively multiplayer Need for Speed (NFS) racing game.A massively multiplayer NFS game? What makes this game a MMO?
The game has a huge, persistent world where thousands of connected players can interact, explore and race.
So besides being a MMO, what else is new in NFSW?
NFS World sports an RPG style driver progression system and power ups that can be used in races and pursuits to dramatically affect opponents, both real and AI.
What about the long-time NFS fans, what can they expect from NFSW?
They’re a familiar set of worlds (we’ve combined the worlds of Most Wanted and Carbon), with similar racing and pursuits and the same NFS adrenaline-fueled excitement.
And newcomers – why will they want to play?
It’s free! The price is right and the client has been specifically designed to run smoothly on entry level hardware and look great on higher end gear.
Can you give us an idea of how big this world will be? What about cars?
The world is about 2x the size of any previous NFS. Our car list is about 250 cars that we will be introducing over time.
Delivered through content updates? So this game will always be evolving?
Monthly patches and frequent content updates. We plan for this game to be around and supported for years.
Sounds great! So I have to ask about peripherals – will NFSW be supported by any peripherals?
Of course! All manner of wheels and game controllers are planned to be supported. We also intend to integrate a VoIP solution and will then support headsets. Custom keyboard support (such as the Logitech G15) is certainly worth chatting about.
