Need for Speed ​​​​Vehicle designer talks about relationships with car manufacturers

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Racing series of video games Need for Speed is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, and its designers and developers took the opportunity to look back at the history of the franchise. They discussed how Need for Speed the series has influenced and been influenced by car culture, the games they personally consider the most distinctive of the series, and the relationships they've built with car manufacturers around the world as they strive to accurately create a wide variety of vehicles in each game.




During a press event attended by Game Rant, vehicle designer Bryn Alban, who has been with the series since 2009 Need for Speed: Shiftdiscussed how he has built a positive relationship with a number of car manufacturers over the years. These close relationships have allowed Albano's team to strive for authenticity in every car added to the games, featuring vehicles ranging from luxury Porsches and Ferraris to full-on racing cars.

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Need for Speed ​​​​and car culture have become fully connected

Alban explained that his research process for designing Need for Speed vehicles means fully immersing yourself in automotive culture to keep up with changing trends. In addition to the manufacturers themselves, he cited the SpeedHunters website as a valuable resource. Alban describes the process of transitioning from someone who works in car design to someone who has become an avid car fan himself:


“In terms of authenticity, it falls squarely on my shoulders. I have to be the one to bring it to the table. It's been my bread and butter in my spare time for the last 20 years. I've immersed myself in car culture and I like to think it brings authenticity
Need for Speed
anyway.”

Alban went on to say that over the years he has seen a marked shift in how Need for Speed can be seen Now games are an inherent part of car culture and many car and car enthusiasts are becoming them Need for Speed fans and vice versa. He pointed out that this led to fruitful, decades-long partnerships with some car manufacturers. In particular, Alban listed BMW and Nissan as partners with whom he worked closely throughout development Need for Speed.

Need For Speed's The car manufacturers' partnership will continue in the future


The Need for Speed the franchise does not intend to stop working with car manufacturers in the future. More recently, BMW, which Alban described as one of the series' longest-running partners, created a real-life replica of the M3 GTR from Need for Speed: Most Wanted. The team was absolutely giddy about the collaboration, with creative director John Stanley grinning from ear to ear as he discussed the “exciting new project”. The project was a “dream come true,” said the vision team Most wanted as one of the most “iconic” Need for Speed games and indeed “the emblem of the franchise as a whole”.

Ultimately, Bryn Alban explained, the relationship between Need for Speed franchising and the real life of automakers is not a stable or consistent thing — it can change on a dime “depending on who's in charge,” Alban said. But as the series becomes more and more part of the automotive world, the team is confident that it will be able to continue to work with the creators and developers of real cars to produce and design even more authentic cars. Perhaps, like the M3 GTR, Need for Speed the team will even create a few more custom vehicles that may make the jump from video games to reality in the future.


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