BEYOND THE GRID EPISODE 1: RACE OFF MODES
We dive deep with Game Director Matteo Pezzotti and Lead Game Designer Stefano Talarico into the new and innovative features of MotoGP™25. Let’s start with the Race Off modes!
The release day of MotoGP™25 is just around the corner. You got a sneak peek at the new features in the Beyond the Grid video, but we know you’re itching to know more! To satisfy your hunger for knowledge, we had a chat with Game Director Matteo Pezzotti and Lead Game Designer Stefano Talarico, to dive even deeper into the innovations of this new chapter, starting from the Race Off modes.
Matteo, Stefano, thanks for being with us. The fans can’t wait to know more about the Race Off modes and the whole training aspect of the game, so let’s start with a simple question: why did you decide to include this new feature?
Hello everyone! We’re thrilled that you’ve given the training sessions such a warm welcome. We really wanted to include this mode because, over the years, we had the chance to add and adjust many features, but there was always an important part of a rider’s life that was missing: training. We have spoken with many riders of every category, and all of them told us how important it is to train and improve your physical abilities to perform best on the track. It’s not just about training, but also a sense of camaraderie, which you can see in real life when groups of riders from all classes come together for special sessions. We wanted to bring that same spirit into the game, so you will get invitations from other riders to join their training sessions, and you will see this very diverse group have fun in a different way.
[Matteo Pezzotti, Game Director]
Absolutely! MotoGP™ has always been a very simulative and challenging franchise. If you wanted to be the best and win, you had to live every race to the max up to the last tenth of the second. In MotoGP™25, we want to offer you a different gameplay experience, more relaxed and fun-oriented, so we turned to the lives of real riders for inspiration. You might know that they cannot use their official bikes to train, so, to improve their riding skills, they use different types of bikes. Don’t worry, there will still be races! But the objectives will be different. The main goal won’t be to arrive first, but to train and learn new skills.
[Stefano Talarico, Lead Game Designer]
So, I’m curious, did the choice of these bikes come from real-life inspiration too? What can the players expect from these three very different bikes?
Yes! We have made sure that bikes have their own specific physics system, which we developed by adapting our physics engine to match each bike’s size and the kinds of terrain they’re used to. We started with the Motard, and we tweaked the handling based on the particular tracks they run on. For the first time after the adoption of Unreal Engine, MotoGP™ goes off road, we had to study and work hard on the surfaces and the tires to give back the most accurate Flat Track experience possible, full of constant drifts and with a unique flow. You will have to learn how to interpret the track and find its rhythm by balancing both the throttle and the brake. These bikes are a blast to ride and it’s no surprise that they are the most popular on the Valentino Rossi ranch!
The Motards, on the other hand, have a very different handling, despite having the same body as the Flat Track. They run on smaller tarmac circuits, such as kart tracks, but they have a higher top speed and a more powerful engine than a Minibike.
Finally, Minibikes are the most different genre of bikes we’ve ever had. They are much smaller and less powerful, but they are very agile to move. They run on the same surfaces as the Motard, but you will have to react to the bike’s feedback in a completely different way. They are perfect for improving your reactions and smoothness in the corners, so I highly recommend checking out this particular but super fun type of bike!
[Stefano Talarico, Lead Game Designer]
That sounds so fun! As for the settings of these training sessions, we will have the chance to race on new and custom-made tracks set in two original environments. Where did you find the inspiration for these? Did they also draw from real life?
That’s right! We looked at where the riders train in real life, and we wanted to create a sort of ideal place that encapsulated all the ideal characteristics for the perfect training ground. Since the heart of MotoGP™ is based in Europe, we set our tracks in two environments that represent the continent: a warmer one in the Maremma’s hills in Tuscany and a colder one in the Alps.
We wanted to structure those two environments like big theme parks for riders. In both you will find central hubs where you will see the riders arriving and chatting while preparing their bike setup, conveying that camaraderie spirit that we wanted to transmit in the game. Both environments will have a tarmac and an off-road track for a total of four circuits created from scratch by our talented team.
When it came to creating new circuits, we wanted to make them realistic but not based on real-existing places. To do so, we immersed ourselves in the world of Flat Track, Minibikes and Motard tracks, observing and absorbing the characteristics that make each track unique. We drew inspiration from these studies to craft our personal circuits. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts on these new creations!
[Matteo Pezzotti, Game Director]
The training sessions won’t be accessible only from the Race Off menu, but they will be an important part of the career mode. Can you explain to us where they appear and what advantages will be given to us in our path to glory?
We have thought of them as a way to cut through the tension from the classic race weekends and have a calmer moment that will give you different but equally important rewards. Usually, they appear after double or triple headers. By participating in these sessions, for the first time in the franchise, you will boost your rider physical performance, and it will be easier to approach some situations in the next races such as handling the bike into turns. These mechanics reprise very closely what the real riders do, to give you a true and immersive experience. Besides, by participating in the sessions you will also receive exclusive liveries and accessories to customise your look while training.
You will receive three different invitations, one for the genre of bike. You will be able to choose each time which one you want to use and decide to test everything or become a master in one single discipline.
You can also decline the invitations, but mind you, you won’t receive all the performance bonuses that the training gives. The game obviously won’t be unplayable if you don’t train but you will miss an extra layer of immersion. We advise you to try out these new features and have fun in a new and innovative setting!
[Stefano Talarico, Lead Game Designer]
Guys, thank you so much. That was all the time we had for today. I know there’s still so much to explore, we can’t wait to discover all about the new career innovations and the technological improvements in the next episode!