8 Jul, 2011
During the course of the F1 2011 preview event held in London earlier this week, GGS got the chance to speak to Lee Mather, the Games Designer on the project.
GGS: Thanks for seeing me at such short notice Lee, I’m sure today’s been very busy for you.
Lee Mather: Not a problem, but yeah, it’s certainly been quite full on.
GGS: How long have you been with the Codemasters Birmingham team?
LM: I’ve been here since the very beginning of the studio, back in November 2008. My first project with them was F1 2010, and I’m still here to continue what I started.
GGS: In a nutshell, how do you think the whole F1 2011 project has gone so far?
LM: I think it’s taken every aspect of F1 2010 and improved upon it. It’s been a great team effort, and we feel very proud of what we’ve achieved.
GGS: With this year’s instalment, you’ve had the implementation of KERS and DRS systems in Formula 1 to include in game. Did you encounter any problems in developing these?
LM: We were lucky in the sense that KERS has already been around in Formula 1 before, so we already had an eye on how to handle the system in a game scenario anyway. It was really quite an easy thing to implement, seeing as a member of the team already had a KERS solution on the table that he was able to tweak and code for this year’s game. The DRS was also quite straightforward, and they both work beautifully – as it happens, they’re both quite game-like things in nature anyway, so we’re very happy with the result.
GGS: Glad to hear it. Now, in the Q&A session earlier today, you touched upon the level of support that Formula 1 teams offered during the development stage. How co-operative were they in terms of technical information?
LM: The teams will never give you technical data. What we do get though are pieces of information in general conversations with the teams that you would never know otherwise. Its things like that that really move things along, and obviously Anthony (Davidson, former Formula 1 test driver and member of the development team behind F1 2011) has been invaluable. You wouldn’t get that kind of input anywhere else, and we’re grateful for his experience.
GGS: With relation to the way the cars handle, do you actually get to take the cars out for a spin at any point, or do you rely almost entirely on Anthony’s feedback?
LM: No, it’s purely about how we perceive the cars to handle in our minds. It’s of course based on the feedback we get from Anthony, and we regularly get told about the little things we do wrong, or where it’s not quite right. None of us could ever really know what it’s like to drive a Formula 1 car – the closest I’ve ever got is riding in the back of a 3.5 litre Formula Renault World Series car, and I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. Nothing has ever put anywhere near that level of force upon my body, and even that is nowhere near the level of force a Formula 1 car does.
GGS: In terms of the weather system – it’s been around since the first game, and it’s something both the team and critics alike are very happy with. With F1 2011, how did the improvements to the weather affect the way the cars drive?
LM: It’s more to do with the feel of each car, as opposed to what improvements we’ve made. It’s a complete overhaul of the way they handle, and that’s before the improvements we’ve made to the way they react to weather. They feel more in keeping with how you’d expect a Formula 1 car to behave, with a larger focus on mechanical grip and a generally more planted feel on the circuit. Those small changes in weather now readily affect the player’s performance, whether it’s in the improvement in grip on the drying racing line, or the lessened tyre degradation in adverse conditions. You can still be consistent, of course, but you feel yourself constantly learning to adapt to the new conditions.
GGS: Codemasters are becoming renowned for straddling the line between arcade and simulation racing in their games, particularly in both DiRT 3 and F1 2010. With the success of the first game, did you feel any pressure to make the game appeal to a wider audience, or satisfy the more hardcore amongst us?
LM: At its heart, the vision has never changed – we want to produce the best Formula 1 racing experience possible. In terms of simulation, I personally simulate everything to the nth degree. How much of this the player wants to experience is completely up to them, and that’s the beauty of it. It needed to be fun, it needed to be fast, and it needed to be exciting, and I think we’ve achieved that. We wanted more depth to the game, and that’s what we’ve achieved with the likes of the improved handling, the KERS and DRS – it’s not just a racer anymore, it’s starting to move beyond that.
GGS: It’s quite something. Moving away from the game, who do you think’ll win the Formula 1 Driver’s Championship this year?
LM: Well, Vettel’s pretty much unstoppable. Fair play to him, he’s a fantastic driver and I’m sure he’ll go on and win it again.
GGS: Of all the tracks you’ve had the chance to work on, are there any with a particular place in your heart?
LM: There’s quite a few we really enjoy working on, but Montreal is a personal favourite. It’s an old school circuit, with height changes, close walls; it’s so much fun to race around. The setting’s beautiful, and it feels like a circuit really should.
GGS: Brilliant choice, it’s a personal favourite of mine as well. Any final thoughts on the project?
LM: I just hope the fans can see that this game is far from F1 2010 with a new roster. We’ve really strived to improve on every area, and I think we’ve done just that.
GGS: I have to agree with you, it certainly seems like you’ve achieved that. Thank you very much for your time Lee, it’s been a pleasure.
LM: No problem, nice talking to you.
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