Hello Forza Street players,
2020 has been an incredibly challenging year for many. With COVID-19 disrupting daily routines, livelihoods, personal and family relationships, and in some cases the very lives of loved ones, we wanted to take a moment to recognize those who have met hardship in this most unusual time. The thoughts of the Forza team are with you and we wish all of you the very best.
Today I will be touching briefly on the game’s development over the past few months, the team’s current focus, some areas the team will be investigating in the future. I’ll also be sharing some upcoming game additions based on player feedback.
Development Areas of Focus
Recently we announced we are working with a new development partner in running live operations for Forza Street. Frima, located in Québec City, Canada, has been onboarding to the project over the past few months and, starting with the Alfa Romeo event, is now fully up and running in support of making great Forza Street experiences. This incredibly talented team of designers, artists, engineers, and producers has been hard at work getting to know the game, listening to feedback, and planning out a development roadmap that will continue to improve Forza street for our players. We are excited to see the game evolve under their watch. Today I would like to share their current areas of focus, where the team will be dedicating design and development efforts over the next few months.
- Enhancing Car Collection: Cars are the heart of Forza and our players. The team is looking into feature changes and new features that will further reward you for collecting both a wide array of cars and the cars you love the most.
- Collector Level: Collector Level is a representation of your time and investment in Forza Street. The team would like to make increasing collector level more rewarding and meaningful.
- Themed Events: Themed events (McLaren Takeover, Alfa Romeo Series) are a great way to change up the play routine while providing new and exiting rewards. The team will be creating new events, of varying sizes, themes, and durations, to ensure Forza Street remains fresh and rewarding over time.
- Economy Audit: Forza Street has been globally available on mobile since early this year, which has given us lots of data on what works and what doesn't. The team is doing a deep audit of our economy to identify where it is working as intended and where it is not. Coming out of this work we expect several economy balance improvements. We expect to begin rolling these out in the first half of 2021. While we have not yet identified specifics, the goals are clear – make collecting and upgrading the cars you love fun and rewarding for all our players over time.
Upcoming Changes
Beyond the general areas of focus above, the team is ready to share a few specifics that will be release in the next couple of months:
- Speedometer: We have heard from you, our players, that having a speedometer in-game would be a welcome addition. While originally left out to create a more cinematic presentation, we agree it is something fundamental that should be added back in. Look for this to show up soon.
- Collector Level Presentation: The team will be adding functionality to help increase visibility around collector level, what its rewards are, and what actions boost collector level. This is the first step in working to increase the value of raising collector level.
- UX Improvements: Several improvements to readability of various screens are underway. Although these largely target increasing understanding for new players, we expect these to be welcome improvements for our more engaged players as well.
- New Partner Event: Although we are not yet announcing who, we do have another special series being developed now. We expect to release it before the end of the year, and it will feature new cars from a new brand.
- Additional Events: We are also planning some smaller events to pop up from time to time (during holidays, etc.) These events will be shorter term opportunities for players to earn bonus rewards in fun new ways. Keep an eye out for these!
Additional Notes
I’d like to speak briefly to some points on player feedback.
- New Car Brands: We have heard you ask for more car brands to be added to the game. We are working with our brand partners and have lined up a few more brands that will be joining the game over time. Alfa Romeo was one of those brands, and we have more coming at a regular cadence over time.
- New Tracks: We have heard some player requests for adding additional tracks to the game. This has been a topic of discussion internally for some time. While this is on our radar, given the resource requirements of adding tracks to the game, at this time it is a lower priority as we focus on the areas highlighted above. We expect to revisit this topic next year. We will however be ensuring that for the existing tracks the vehicle you chose, your skill, and your upgrades really make a difference in the experience.
- Surveys: We regularly send out surveys through in-game messages to get a sense of what you like, what you don’t, and how we can make the game better. Some of the additions called out above (speedometer for example) are a direct result of this feedback. We thank those of you who have answered them so far and encourage you all to do so if you see an invite!
I would like to leave you with a quick final note. With a new team with new ideas working on Street, and a desire to continue to add great new experiences as quickly as possible, the team expects to try some new things. Some may work out great, and some may not, and we may hit some bumps along the way, but we absolutely dedicated to continue to grow and expand Forza Street in a way that delights you - our players. We ask you to continue to let us know what you love, what you don’t, and how we can make your time in Forza Street as enjoyable as possible.
Thanks, as always, for playing Forza Street!
Talk again soon,
Andy Beaudoin
Design Director, Turn 10 Studios