www.versionZ.com Barry Bankhead's spot on the net

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Intro Animation Clip
Car Selection
Car Setup
Ingame Footage.
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A fresh look at Drift Jam, the original version.
 
Background:
Back in 2001, when the word "Drift" was misconfused with "Fishtailing" or "Skidding" I had an idea, that is just now hitting the market. Drift Jam is not a "band wagon" jumping idea, it is a well thought out, and purposeful idea, it is not a racing game with drifting added in for value or to reach a larger audience. Lacking the resources to create a real demo, I decided to animate a non-playable demo, an extended attract mode, if you will, to see how it is received. One responce I was always proud of was "he'd never be doing all this, he's doing too much, interface, modeling, design, he'd never do this much stuff" something like that. I received that after my job placement counselor showed my reel to a local game company, (not naming names). That was the most annoying critisim I've ever recived. Now I'm trying it again, Its not so much I expect to do everything, but I do expect to have my fingers in everything, because the outcome could be perfection, rather than dissapointment.

Drift Jam was, and still is, one of my favorite game concepts. I designed this game back in 2001, and used this as my single strongest point in my demo reel. Drift Jam is more than a mere racing game, it pertains to a culture which until recently has remained hidden and unspoiled. Not to be confused with the current offerings from companies who have the money but not the time to invest into a real racing game of this nature, this game was, by design, intended to appeal to a sophisticated and seasoned racer, and cheifly, one who desired more than anything, a unique racing environment, filled with interesting elements that challenge the player to become the best.

Drift Jam is my own original concept. Looking back, several drifting games emerged in Japan, as early as the Super NES, one in particular, featuring a Mode7 engine,(F-Zero), which played less than stellar, I was able to obtain a copy of this via E-bay. The fundamentals weren't quite grasped, and the game was more of a marketing tool, branded by the Drift King, most respectably, Keiichi Tsuchiya. Subsequent "drifting" games had similar short commings, nice box, great endorsements by 'the man' and extremely bad game play, don't blame the hardware, because in F-Zero, you drifted often, by nature, not by force (hovercrafts tend to be drifty). Moving along, the Saturn received two famous drifting games. Enter "Touge, King the Spirits", and its less than stellar Sequal, both of which I own, and have played to death. The original, had a great deal of learning, and once mastered, was actually quite enjoyable, but a very mistaken tuning and handling system, not quite grasping true physics (by a long shot). Number two, had all the new graphics, weather, tuning, but horrid handling, and gameplay lacked sorely especially in what I call "feel" that is, when playing some games, the attitude of the car is apparent by all manner of indications: tire squeal, rpm, roll angle, yaw, and pitch, as well as thoughtful camera movement, all provide better feedback to what the car is doing. This game had none of that, where its predacessor, began to, if you payed close enough attention. 

In the comming months I will be re-designing Drift Jam, tentativly named "Drift Jam Spec II". What you will find will be: a more up-to-date look and feel, with new effects, and better models, a re-modeled track with many new details previously absent from the original, a glimpse into an advanced tuning system, and ofcourse new models and effects to make it look more like a ps2 or new generation PC game.

If you are seeing this site, you either have stumbled apon my domain name, or more than likley the information was given to you specifically. I ask that if you find this appealing, please don't try to emulate my idea, it won't be re-created or executed as well without having a passion for this stuff, as well as basic information, or experience relating to the game itself.

Now without further ado, its time to start DRIFTING!