Dan Greenawalt has told CVG that he believes Forza Motorsport 2 can make you a better driver in the real world while the British School of Motoring recent said there's an indisputable link between gaming and dangerous driving.
The BSM recently surveyed 1000 young drivers and 27 percent of those questioned aged under 24 admitted they're more likely to take risks on the road after playing driving games. 34 percent went as far as saying that games made them a better driver.
BSM's road safety consultant Robin Cummins believes there's an "indisputable" link between gaming and dangerous driving: "With more than 200 young people killed each year due to speeding alone, it's crucial that they learn to 'keep it real' on the road."
When asked if he thought people could becomes better drivers if they're good at Forza 2, Greenawalt replied, "Absolutely. I think the things you learn in Forza Motorsport apply in the real world. A lot of people can play other similar racing games - there are a lot of games that are kind of in the middle of sim and arcade - and they learn that if you're at the edge of traction and you brake, you'll get more turning. Well that's just not true, and it'll get you killed on a track."
Greenawalt continued, "If you're on the edge of traction on your front tyres turning and you brake, you've now exceeded your traction and you're going to under steer straight off into a barrier. We've had people play these other games and then they play Forza and go 'wow, how come when I brake it doesn't turn more?' well, that's because it doesn't in the real world. I think we're teaching people how to drive well in a safe place. And it's less expensive than driving on a real track day."
Look out for the full interview with Dan Greenawalt on Forza 2's new decal system, how to download high-res images of your cars from the web and much more, over the long weekend.
I think what he is trying to say is that it teaches you how to drive safely and maybe how to get out of dangerous situations, like if you skid the cars in Forza will react like they would in real life.
Saying that though, i can't see it being much use because my Corsa would react totally differently to the cars in Forza.
I take exception with the statement about their being a link between racing games and dangerous driving.
I'm 27, I've been driving for 2 years and don't have any points. I mostly keep within the speed limit (mainly for fuel economy if not safety grounds) and generally don't take risks.
I've seen some absolutely attrocious driving here in Northern Ireland including some of my friends.
In fact an ex of mine is probably the worst driving I've ever seen. She took risks, she sped, drove with one hand on the window sill etc. She even had 11 points on her license.
And yet it's me who plays Burnout, Gran Turismo, Toca, Grand Theft Auto etc while she played Buzz! and other rubbish like that.
I'm all for road safety but simply blaming racing games isn't the answer. There are publications like Max Power and Red Line who are equally if not more so to blame for irresponsible driving behaviour.
I have to say that i have found myself being a bit more aggressive and driving faster straight after a session on Burnout. I also think about the best angle to hit a junctions for maximum crash multiplier.
well.... pilots are trained in flight sims, surely drivers can be trained in driving sims.
unfortunatly forza is a racing... "sim" i use the term losely until i play it.
I play a fair bit of Live For Speed as posted above, and it helps you understand weight shifts, traction, under/oversteer, great for racing, but should never be needed on the roads unless you are driving like an utter nob.
If you want a game, which can truly teach you something for the road, then play either GTR or GTR2, with a steering wheel in a c**kpit view with a racing seat in your living room as well.
However racing games cannot offer these things:
*True bumps like you get on the road.
*G-Forces, when the car is moving about and when you can feel it through a racing seat as well.
Will you be playing Forza 2 online cjw? I was playing Project Gotham last night and it just wasn't realistic enough for me.
Possibly...
I've yet to register for my gold Live subscription - still got a 1 month card kicking around too. Was kind of waiting until I get a job closer to home and can actually play on the damn thing!!!
Next on my shopping list are Viva Pinata and Crackdown though - as I can get them dirt cheap through a mate...
ala the steering wheel, do you get anything which would make you better with your feet on the clutch and start the car better? Because from what I know, learning when to leave the clutch and push the gas pedal is the hardest part for beginners.
Added to that, different cars have different types of clutches and therefore are not indicative of a real car. Furthermore, learners would miss out on elements like mirrors, signalling, control and speed.
I think what the article is more gearing towards is drivers who have been driving for sometime and driving at a degree of speed. They did mention a track day and there are track driving lessons you can take so it would more along those lines, Forza would improve driving skills.
Added to that, different cars have different types of clutches and therefore are not indicative of a real car. Furthermore, learners would miss out on elements like mirrors, signalling, control and speed.
I think what the article is more gearing towards is drivers who have been driving for sometime and driving at a degree of speed. They did mention a track day and there are track driving lessons you can take so it would more along those lines, Forza would improve driving skills.
Exactly, it's rather assuming you know the basics of clutch control and how to mirror/signal/manouvre...
I'm planning on taking a course here as soon as I can afford it - hopefully that'll improve my performance on Forza!
That Live for speed looks gr8 but i dont have a wheel
I wouldnt mind the official xbox 360 one ( can it be hooked to the pc) But i dont know if its as good as a controller
I mean do you have a manual gearbox ont he steering wheel or little flappy ones
As far as I know, all PC and console steering wheels have a sequential gearbox, either as F1 style paddles or a sequential stick - maps to gear up / gear down controls in the game. I've never seen a controller with a non-sequential manual gear lever on it, but then I can only think of 1 game where I've ever seen fully manual gearbox and clutch controls - Nascar Thunder 2004...
And I would say for driving games, *any* steering wheel p**ses all over controllers for general feel and realism...
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