Video games are well-suited for promoting a more extensive product in the sports industry, especially among the younger demographic. For example, Formula 1 uses official F1 games to introduce young fans to the sport (Walker, 2017). This decision is seemingly paying off, as Formula 1 steadily takes the younger audience away from NASCAR (Moriello, 2021). The following project management plan adapted from Verzuh (2021) describes the development stages of a NASCAR video game. The plan attempts to draw the features and gameplay mechanics by replicating the thought process of a potential player.
Initiation
The game would feature three NASCAR divisions: Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series. The optimal genre is a combination of a racing simulator and an arcade. Children and teenagers, the core audience, should be able to have fun at an average difficulty level. Finally, the game would be released on PC and consoles, the two main gaming platforms.
Preproduction
The feature list would include several game modes, such as single race, championship, career, and multiplayer. An immersive career mode where a player would be able to create their own team and rise through the ranks to win the Cup championship would be a priority. The gameplay would be neither too realistic nor too simplistic. A top-level car should let players compete for wins even on harder difficulties.
Production
Designers and artists would create immersive, realistic-looking models of tracks and cars. The programmers would make a moderately challenging and aggressive AI that would become brutal only on the hardest difficulty. The list of core mechanics would include stage racing, timely cautions, a semi-realistic damage model, and a rival mechanic when AI drivers would try to retaliate if a player races them too aggressively.
Testing
Before release, the game should be adequately tested and well-optimized for consoles and medium- and high-end PCs. The testers should play the game on all difficulties and race length percentages and examine all career modes. Evaluating AI behavior at various racetracks and circumstances would be a priority.
Release
The marketing campaign would go on for several months before release to the public. At this stage, the game should be well-advertised and ready for release. Bug fixing and patching would continue following the release, according to feedback from the player base.
Post Mortem
At the final stage, the team would assess the feedback and draw a list of potential improvements for the next installment in the series.
References
Moriello, J. (2021). Formula 1 is winning over a key audience after a $4.4 billion gamble while the NFL and NASCAR struggle. Web.
Verzuh, E. (2021). The fast-forward MBA in project management (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley
Walker, K. (2017). F1 turns its attention to Esports and its younger fans.The New York Times. Web.