Burnout Dominator - The Maniac Interview
The game's executive producer answers our questions about the series' most skill-testing mode to date.
by Chris Roper
February 2, 2007 - The biggest and best arcade racing franchise on the planet is soon making its return to the PlayStation 2 and PSP in the form of Burnout Dominator. The game is something of a mix between most every iteration of the series that we've seen thus far, with its newest mode, Maniac, highlighting its focus on skillful (but crazy) driving. To find out more about what makes Maniac tick, we penned executive producer Nick Channon for a few answers.
IGN: Maniac sounds like the big new mode in Burnout Dominator. Can you give us an overview of what it's all about?
Nick Channon: Maniac mode is all about pushing your dangerous driving skills to the limit. The user earns points for driving into oncoming traffic, doing drifts, near misses etc, and the goal is to score as many points as you can, and thus drive as dangerously as you can. The big kicker in the mode is Burnouts - by chaining Burnouts you earn score multipliers which in turn give you massive scores, which you will need in the later levels of the game.
IGN: Burnouts play a large part in Dominator, but especially Maniac mode. What prompted their return?
Channon: The idea behind Dominator was to create a game around the core of the entire series, which is dangerous, skilful driving at absolutely ridiculous speeds. We felt Burnouts were fundamental to this experience, given they are all about driving at full speed and rewarding you for driving as dangerously as you can.
IGN: The setup to Maniac looks to have been largely borrowed from Burnout Revenge's Traffic Attack mode. Is this merely a coincidence, or did it simply provide the perfect starting point for design?
Channon: I'm not sure I agree. We have taken the idea that you extend time by achieving certain thresholds, however aside from that the modes are very different. Traffic Attack was all about destroying everything on the road, whereas Maniac is about testing your skills and avoiding the crash.
IGN: Was Maniac always intended to be in the game from the get-go, or was it added to fill in the gap that Traffic Attack and especially Crash mode have left behind in their absence?
Channon: Absolutely. The concept for Dominator was to create a game that tested the user's dangerous driving skills, and was about driving as dangerously as you can whilst avoiding the crash. We wanted to create a mode that tested the user in all the dangerous driving skills, and hence Maniac mode was born.
IGN: What's the most important technique or skill to master for doing well at Maniac? What earns you the most points?
Channon: First of all wait for the boost bar to turn Blue. The key is to chain Burnouts to gain a big score. To keep the score ticking up stay in oncoming as much as you can, this way you can maximize your score when you get near misses or drift. The key though is to get as long a chain as you can.
IGN: Thanks for your time. We appreciate it.
The game's executive producer answers our questions about the series' most skill-testing mode to date.
by Chris Roper
February 2, 2007 - The biggest and best arcade racing franchise on the planet is soon making its return to the PlayStation 2 and PSP in the form of Burnout Dominator. The game is something of a mix between most every iteration of the series that we've seen thus far, with its newest mode, Maniac, highlighting its focus on skillful (but crazy) driving. To find out more about what makes Maniac tick, we penned executive producer Nick Channon for a few answers.
IGN: Maniac sounds like the big new mode in Burnout Dominator. Can you give us an overview of what it's all about?
Nick Channon: Maniac mode is all about pushing your dangerous driving skills to the limit. The user earns points for driving into oncoming traffic, doing drifts, near misses etc, and the goal is to score as many points as you can, and thus drive as dangerously as you can. The big kicker in the mode is Burnouts - by chaining Burnouts you earn score multipliers which in turn give you massive scores, which you will need in the later levels of the game.
IGN: Burnouts play a large part in Dominator, but especially Maniac mode. What prompted their return? Channon: The idea behind Dominator was to create a game around the core of the entire series, which is dangerous, skilful driving at absolutely ridiculous speeds. We felt Burnouts were fundamental to this experience, given they are all about driving at full speed and rewarding you for driving as dangerously as you can.
IGN: The setup to Maniac looks to have been largely borrowed from Burnout Revenge's Traffic Attack mode. Is this merely a coincidence, or did it simply provide the perfect starting point for design?
Channon: I'm not sure I agree. We have taken the idea that you extend time by achieving certain thresholds, however aside from that the modes are very different. Traffic Attack was all about destroying everything on the road, whereas Maniac is about testing your skills and avoiding the crash.
IGN: Was Maniac always intended to be in the game from the get-go, or was it added to fill in the gap that Traffic Attack and especially Crash mode have left behind in their absence?
Channon: Absolutely. The concept for Dominator was to create a game that tested the user's dangerous driving skills, and was about driving as dangerously as you can whilst avoiding the crash. We wanted to create a mode that tested the user in all the dangerous driving skills, and hence Maniac mode was born.
IGN: What's the most important technique or skill to master for doing well at Maniac? What earns you the most points? Channon: First of all wait for the boost bar to turn Blue. The key is to chain Burnouts to gain a big score. To keep the score ticking up stay in oncoming as much as you can, this way you can maximize your score when you get near misses or drift. The key though is to get as long a chain as you can.
IGN: Thanks for your time. We appreciate it.
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