01 - The project so far

Last updated: 2026-04-02

Exoturbine Zero is a project that I originally started as part of an internal game jam at my place of work. They have a modern arcade machine (read: a computer in a box) set up in the canteen and wanted a slate of home-grown arcade games to play on it.

I - a serial game jam failgirl - participated because I realised that it could be a good opportunity to create a much smaller version of my Exoturbine racing game project; small enough that I might even finish it! Naturally, I did my usual trick of being too ambitious and too in love with getting lots of sleep, so I only got a basic movement prototype done by the deadline.

(I don't really mind my terrible track record in game jams. Whilst I love the sense of community that comes with developing art in parallel with other people, deadlines stress me out because I will always prefer to do things slowly and properly than adopt a quick-n-dirty approach. Also, I refuse to compromise my rest hours by working late into the night. I'm therefore happy if I manage to learn a new technique or skill, even if I never finish the project.)

I've been slowly working on the game since then. I managed to implement a system to track lap completion and display the data on the UI. I'm quite proud of this feature!

However, progress has stalled. I've not opened the project in months, which is in part because I have been recovering from surgery, but also because my motivation has deserted me. I was gearing up to launch into another new game idea - this time, a Metroid inspired exploration game - but I saw a video about the importance of finishing projects and felt a shot of indignant stubborness. I've never finished a Godot project before, so I don't know what you need to do in those late stages of development. This is my opportunity to learn.

Scope

Controls

As the game was originally intended for an arcade machine, there are some limitations imposed on the control scheme. I intend to continue working against these limitations as a way of preventing scope creep:

  • An eight-way joystick (note: arcade joysticks are usually digital inputs, unlike the analogue sticks on your modern gamepads).
  • Four action buttons.
  • A "START" button.

Gameplay

This is a hover racing game, so the physics are naturally a bit loose compared to a car racer. There is a thrust button and the player steers using left and right on the joystick. Unlike many hover racers, there is no pitch management - the camera angle would make it difficult anyway.

Gameplay depth is provided through a 'turbo boost' button. Boosting generates heat and if heat exceeds a threshold, the player takes hull damage. Wall collisions also cause hull damage. Losing all of your hull health results in the race ending with a DNF.

Each race track has a number of checkpoint gates that the player must pass through for a lap to be counted. Other than the checkpoints, there is no "off-track" system (after watching speedrun videos about Mario Kart Wii, I realised how much work would have to go into such a system!), so the player must not be able to "fall out" of the track as we will not know where to respawn them.

The main mode will be time-trials. This saves development time on implementing AI ships. Once everything else is finished, I may look into AI racers. Sooner or later, I will need to learn how to make sophisticated opponents, but if I can delay that rabbit hole until later, I will!

Content

Four levels seems like a good round number. Given my experience making race courses in the art style that I am using, four is also very achievable. Ideally, each one will have a unique environment, which will necessitate more work, but it's the sort of work that I most love.

There will be four racing teams. I'm going to borrow the stat system from Robotnik's Ring Racers: there are four stats arranged on two axes such that increasing one stat decreases the corresponding other one.

Inspirations

I am a known WipEout fan, so it should come as no surprise that I am taking inspiration from that series if I am making a hover racing game. One thing that I really want to reflect is the heavier, bouncier physics from WipEout 2097. Collisions with the walls should be punishing. A hover craft should feel like it is unstuck from the ground.

The WipEout graphic design language is also a big inspiration. The work of The Designers' Republic is legendary, particularly the clean vector art of Wip3out. If I could ever make something as stylish as that game, it would be my magnum opus.

That said, I will be aiming for a visual style that is a little more playful than WipEout. That series has its roots in the 90s UK club scene, and there's a certain hardness and grittiness about its presentation that reflects this (though later entries would gradually move to a cleaner aesthetic). I have never set foot in a club, in fact I have not even attended a party since I was like 14, so attempting to capture that same energy would come off as naive at best or disingenuous at worst.

What I have done however, is watch a bunch of anime. One anime that really stuck with me is Oban Star Racers. I love all of the fun aliens and their themed racing vehicles and the environment art is beautiful! My plan is to marry a playful cartoony tone with some nice stylish graphic design to create something that is aesthetically somewhere in the middle.

In terms of gameplay, Oban is a bit loose with its mechanics and rules, so I shan't be trying to adapt any of that, with one exception. At the start of the races in the beginning of the series, the 3-2-1 countdown was punctuated by the opening of a great gate at the starting ampitheatre. This led me to the idea of allowing the player to position themselves prior to the start of the race, with a physical barrier that prevents false starts. There would be a bit of skill in learning how to cross the start line at the highest speed as soon after the race starts as possible.

After planning this system for the main Exoturbine game, I played Robotnik's Ring Racers, which uses a very similar system. This does not count as inspiration because my idea predates it, but it was very validating to see that it could be fun in another game!

The checkpoint system is lifted wholesale from Trackmania, and I expect the finished time trial mode to be very similar to that game.

I will be using a lot of my own photos as visual reference. Though I have never travelled outside of the UK, there are plenty of beautiful landscapes here that have earned my love. The coastal environment will use my photos of the south coast. The deep forest environment will reference pictures of the New Forest.

Other environments may have fewer direct connections to my holiday snaps, but I still have a nice collection of texture references to make use of.

Current state of the game

A single racing craft implemented with placeholder stats. The physics system is mostly implemented, with finished collisions and anti-gravity hovering.

A test level with placeholder textures.

Working checkpoint and lap-completion system.

Title screen (but I am not sure if I like the design).

Finished models for the three other vehicles.

I will write a bit about the implementation of existing systems as I work on them in future devlogs.

Progress videos

What still needs to be done

Oh, a tonne! But if I have to list the big ticket items:

  • Level ends when the player finishes all three laps.
  • Minimum viable menu system, for getting back into the test level after it ends.
  • Working health system, ability to "die".
  • Boost mechanic.
  • Heat mechanic.
  • Record high scores.
  • Expanded menu system:
    • Start screen
    • Main menu
    • Level select
    • Team select
  • Other teams with different stats
  • Levels with actual graphics