What’s on this week
NINETEEN DRIVERS HAD THE CHANCE to stop Lucas di Grassi from winning the most recent Formula E race in Zurich – but the Audi ace, and the rest of his rivals in the electric championship, could soon have thousands more competitors.
The street tracks aren’t about to be jammed for real, because this opposition will be ghosts. FE has announced that it’s releasing a ‘ghost-racing’ video game that will allow fans to compete against the series’ drivers in real time during eprix events, as well as explore each track on their own.
Using telemetry from the real cars, the live racing is recreated by Virtually Live, an entertainment company that specialises in creating CGI experiences by rendering live physical action in a virtual environment. The player controls a car that ‘ghosts’ alongside the recreated real-life action.
“The ethos behind the company and our patent is around recreating live events using data in tandem with social media,” says Oliver Weingarten, director of content development. “Accordingly, CGI is the best way for us to recreate live sports events to provide fans with the most robust and realistic gaming experience.
“Many series are facing dwindling TV viewership and ageing audiences, entertainment consumption patterns are changing and it’s becoming all about engagement, sharing and ultimately participation.
“Gaming is a great way to engage younger audiences and CGI gives users the freedom to view from almost any perspective, thus increasing the value of the experience and participation across all types of viewers.”
The game, which will first be available for smartphone and PC gamers – with consoles and virtual reality set-ups scheduled for a future release – has been a long-held target for FE and its CEO and founder Alejandro Agag as a way to reach new fans. “I remember before we launched the first season of Formula E, we said that fans no longer just want to watch or follow a sport – they want to participate in it too,” says Agag.
As well as racing alongside live FE events, gamers will be able to record their exploits and share them on social media, and replicate real-life scenarios at a later stage.
“We have integrated ourselves into
FE’S data pipeline and ingest the various data streams in real time,” explains Weingarten. “We have a partnership with Magneti Marelli to provide higher accuracy in positioning data direct from the cars. There is no delay. In fact, we are quicker than the TV broadcast… that therefore allows us time to sync up with commentary from the world feed.”
Autosport sampled an early tablet version of the game at the Zurich race earlier this month. The controls were deliberately simplified – automated acceleration with only braking (thumb or finger pressed onto the screen) and turning (physically tilting the tablet) necessary to navigate the Zurich street