Driver: Parallel Lines Designer Diary #2

Currently scheduled for release in March, Driver: Parallel Lines is the fourth mission-based driving game in Reflections Interactive's popular Driver series. One of the game's most talked-about features is the fact that its storyline is set in both 1978 and 2006. In this, our second Driver: Parallel Lines designer diary, studio manager Gareth Edmondson discusses the thinking behind the dual era concept and the impact that the different eras have on gameplay.

Fast-Forward

By Gareth Edmondson
Studio Manager

The choice to, firstly, go for 1978 was a pretty simple one. Driver games have always been influenced by '70s car-chase movies such as Bullitt, The Driver, The French Connection, and the like, and this time we decided that we wanted to take the game back to its roots and re-create some of the feeling generated by Driver 1. So, rather than just having a nonspecific time setting influenced by the 70s, we decided to go all the way and completely immerse the players in the '70s vibe and actually set it in 1978. During conception, when we came up with the dual-eras concept, it made absolute sense for us to bring it right up to date and do 2006 as well.

With dual eras, the whole look, feel, and gameplay changes across the different decades. The first half of the game is upbeat and lighthearted; it follows the story of the young, confident, and cocky TK through his attempts to make his name and fortune in '70s NYC as a driver for hire. Essentially, the first half is all about impressing people, and we decided to light it with a slight yellow tint, to give it a bit of a summer/spring good-time feel.

Fast-forward the game to 2006, and we change everything we possibly can. Obviously, we age the characters, but we also give players a glimpse of what the key characters you met in the first half of the game have been up to. The map is different, and while the road layout is largely the same, the buildings have changed, with a lot more glass everywhere. NYC in 2006 is also a lot cleaner than in the '70s, and the cars, of course, are updated as well, so while they stay true to the Driver handling model, they are a lot faster and handle a lot tighter.

We also light the game differently in the second half, as it is all about revenge and we wanted to convey that message through the environment. Therefore, we set it in winter and light it with a slightly blue tint to give it a colder, harder edge. We've updated and upgraded the weapons, as well as all the music, characters, hairstyles, and such, and made the cops more aggressive and let them use more advanced tactics to take players down. We have also gone as far as changing things like lens and light flares, as the types of lenses and film stock used in the '70s give very different kinds of effects, and all help add to the feeling of being in different eras.

The gameplay remains interesting in the second half, as the motives have changed for TK and the player: Part one is about impressing people, and part two is about killing and revenge. The missions themselves still involve a lot of driving, but now for different reasons, which impacts the gameplay in many ways; and the addition of new vehicles, more aggressive cops, and different weapons all spice up the gameplay for the second half.