Here are some really fun games to try with your friends in Full Auto. Have other games that rock?  Share and email them to me at jade@microsoft.com.

Ultimate Single Player Games

Game Mode: Lap Knockout

Track: Turnpike

Car: Warlord

Game Mode: Circuit, 6 laps

Track: Boardwalk

Car: Any C class (e.g. Hitman, Guardian) with the AI driving Warlords.

Ultimate Multiplayer Game

Game Mode: Circuit, 6 laps

Track: Revolver

Car: A Class, Head on starts.

Ultimate Emergent Multiplayer Game

Game Mode: Unranked Play - "Pick a spot" Deathmatch:

Track: Gauntlet, everyone drives to the multi floor parking lot.

Stay within sight of the Parking lot and kill opponents for 10 minutes.

Then everyone crosses the finish line, and person with most kills, wins.

This can also be done on Turnpike near the Gas station.

Ultimate Teamplay Games

People split into two teams in the lobby.

Team 1: all take the same car and color. (e.g. Yellow Wraiths)

Team 2: all take a different car and unique color. (e.g. Bright Red Streamlines)

Race.

At the end of the race, count points for each player based on rank: 1st = 1 point, 2nd=2 points, and so on.

Team with lowest total points score wins.

People split into teams in the lobby.

Choose 6 lap circuit on Boardwalk

Team 1: One player takes the Hookzilla, all other players on team take Yellow Wraiths.

Team 2: One player takes the Limo, all other players on team take Red Streamlines.

The first team to get their C class car across the finish line wins.

A Crash Course in Physics with Full Auto Creator and Pseudo Interactive Co-Founder David Wu

One of my favourite things about being Canadian (besides the fact we have limitless access to back bacon, Smarties and Tim Horton’s coffee) is the massive pool of world-class video game talent right here in our very own backyard.  Canada is home to some of the most brilliant minds in the video game industry, and I was lucky enough to score some time with Toronto’s own David Wu, lead designer and co-founder of Pseudo Interactive, to get the inside scoop on Full Auto. 

 
David plays us a little tune, who knew he was so talented

Jade: So David, these are some pretty swanky digs here in Yorkville, nice!

David: We actually come from very humble beginnings.  The company started in my mother’s laundry room, and it was only after two very long years we were able to get ourselves into our own space. 

Jade: Good for you cutting the apron strings – more gamers should REALLY do that.  So tell me about how you got Pseudo started.

David: Well, I co-founded the company with my two partners back in 1995.  At the time, I was living in Austin, Texas and was working for Origin Systems.  And it was a very difficult decision as it would have been so much easier to start a video game development company in the U.S., but I really loved Toronto from my university days, so I made the decision to move back and start up the company here.

 
Pseudo Design team takes Full Auto on a test drive

Jade: So you tried to get out and Toronto dragged you back in!  I can completely relate.  Are you originally from Toronto then? 

David: No I was born in the U.S. but I have always considered myself more of a Canadian than anything else since I have lived here most of my life.  I have lived in a lot of different areas in the world, but Toronto is the best all around city. Exciting, convenient, safe, diverse, it’s just the most well rounded place to live. 

Jade: Well we Canadians are glad to have you!  Tell us a bit about your first game.

David: One of the things our company has been founded on has always been physics.  When I started Pseudo, our claim to fame was that we had developed this amazing physics technology. That’s what got us our first contact with Microsoft and our initial idea was to really pump up the in-game physics with one of the best applications for it – how a car handles and drives. 

Our first game concept was Inertia.  This was the original idea, and it was based on a pen and paper game I played in the 1980s.  The game grew and conversations started with Xbox in Redmond when the first console was coming together.  Microsoft wanted to get us onto Xbox really early, so ideas shifted and that’s how our first game Cell Damage came to be.

Mixin’ audio for Full Auto

Jade: So how then did Full Auto come to be?

David: When Xbox 360 was coming, we thought it would be unbelievable to use all this untapped processing power to do destruction and industrial mechanics, so we created the crash demo.  At the time, my plan was to revive Full Auto and bring the crash demo in as one of the selling points.  We created Full Auto as the most destructive game possible.  You can break and wreck anything and everything in the game.  It’s a really intense game and very empowering to smash and destroy things you can’t do in real life.

Jade: Boys smashing toys – ya, I see how that could work.  And Full Auto is your first game that supports Xbox Live.  How was that for your team?

David: Xbox Live was a hugely important part of our development and is one of the most popular features so far in Full Auto.  We integrated the online service early, and it’s a big part of the game play in the game.  There is a lot of interaction with your friends, racing them, beating them.  We have specific achievements and a number of things you can only do online.  The multiplayer experience had everything the first player experience.  I love playing online, but I have to admit, I am not that great.  There are a few guys here on our team that are so good, it’s ridiculous.

Jade: Wow, I appreciate your honesty, and knowing I actually have a chance to beat you on Xbox Live.  What are you personally most proud of with Full Auto?

David: Personally, I am really proud we have used physics to really make this game stand out.  With Full Auto, we have created something very unique and a lot of fun,  and a great deal of that is thanks to physics.  Technology doesn’t make a game, but when I look at the games currently on Xbox 360, Full Auto is without a doubt the most innovative game.  We have been first to add the Unwreck feature, the environment is completely destructible, and the overall gameplay experience is unlike anything you have ever seen before.

A little Joust break at the Pseudo office

Jade: As a Fine Arts graduate, all this talk about physics is making my head spin!  So would you recommend physics as a path for anyone wanting to make video games?

David: Well, pure physics is a bit too abstract.  I went to University of Toronto and specialized in Computer Engineering, but I have always loved physics.  Engineering is a great choice, it teaches you discipline, technical theory and ways to apply your skills in a pragmatic way.  But you have to ensure you keep a sense of adventure and creativity – not just in your ideas but in your approach to different challenges that come up.  And challenges and roadblocks always do when making video games.  

Jade: What piece of advice would you give our readers looking to get into the games industry?

David:  My best advice, if you are technically minded and you want to be a programmer, definitely focus on Computer Engineering or Computer Science.  You should constantly be creating and designing game concepts and demos.  We only look at people that have created their own games in their spare time.

But most of the jobs in the games industry aren’t in programming – they are in game art and level design.  Canada has wonderful colleges that provide amazing graphics arts and design programs, so we are really lucky. 

And QA is another great way that people who love games can break into the industry.  It teaches you many of the hard lessons you need to learn in game development.  You have to be agile in your development.  The hardest thing to admit is that an idea is flawed and that it needs to be sacrificed for the good of the game.

David Wu, International Rock Star

Thanks David for the insight into Full Auto and the games industry.  In the words of Franz Ferdinand – “What’s wrong with a little destruction?”  Absolutely nothing (as long as it's in Full Auto on Xbox Live), so I'm off to make a little destruction of my own. Want to make some destruction? I have Pseudo Interactive swag for the first three people that send me an email at jade@microsoft.com.