Star Wars: Galactic Racer, the recently reviewed racing title, began its development journey as a board game. Developer Fuse Games opted for this unconventional approach to rapidly prototype and test gameplay ideas, particularly its upgrade and meta-progression systems.
"What's the fastest way we can get ideas down and then talk about them?" Fuse Games CEO Matt Webster explained to Eurogamer. "Modern engines are so capable that you can do a lot of it in-software, but there's still something [about that which is] not as fast as getting a written idea down."
Creative director Kieran Crimmins elaborated on this philosophy, stating that the chosen prototyping tool should always be the one that allows the quickest path to validating the core emotional experience of the game. For Galactic Racer, this meant using a tabletop setup, which he described as "a lot of Post-Its and a scribble and some dice."
This method allowed the team to quickly map out concepts and test their viability. The emphasis was on rapid iteration and getting playable prototypes into the hands of testers to gauge their emotional response to the gameplay.
"You can't know if you've got game-feel. You can't know if you can feel the system until you can play the system," Crimmins said. "So we just try and get into [the] prototype [stage], get it into our players' hands. See if they're feeling those emotions."
Star Wars: Galactic Racer has been praised for its ability to blend modern game design elements, such as unlockables and roguelite traits, with classic racing game sensibilities. Christian Donlan, in Eurogamer's five-star review, noted the game's "ceaseless full-ahead pelt" reminiscent of the Burnout series, where each corner serves as a set-piece moment.