While the dedicated game worlds provide plenty of opportunities for entertainment, having additional activities in the plaza itself helps to keep players invested in the lobby itself rather than just alternating between condo and game world servers from the menu (hence the Casino update is likely to bring a fair bit of activity back to the plaza later this month). With that in mind, I’d like to propose an additional gaming area within the plaza: a slot car racing arena.
Upon entering the building (perhaps decorated to resemble a car-mechanic workshop or a racetrack pit area) players would be able to queue up for three different tracks, each gradually increasing in complexity and difficulty. Using simple, click-to-accelerate controls, the players would attempt to beat each other to the finish line without falling off the track on the corners. For added interactivity, displays throughout the building could display daily, weekly, monthly and all-time records for the time taken on each track.
The obvious monetary incentive for the game would be to offer Unit rewards to the winner (and perhaps the 2nd and 3rd place entrants), and could potentially be expanded by allowing spectators to bet against one another on who they think will win the next race. The building could also feature a themed item shop for customers to decorate their condos (perhaps with some items requiring a certain number of wins, or to have a fast enough time records on each track).
I like where you’re going with that, but I feel like it might be seen as too simple of a game to earn Units off of. I personally would be a little more interested in mini R/C track racing, with full control rather than just click-to-accelerate.
While I’m personally not averse to an RC racing game in the plaza (perhaps as a tie-in to the RC car items that are planned for a later update?), I felt that it might end up too similar to the Accelerate game world (albeit on a different scale) to really pick up much traction among the player-base. While the control system of slot car racing is admittedly less advanced, suitably detailed/complex tracks can both keep players interested and require sufficient skill to traverse while still feeling like a distinct activity compared to Accelerate.
It’s a cute idea, but I feel like i’d overlook this in favour of Bumper Cars or Accelerate, where there’s a greater deal of control available and is a game that would feel more tactile and competitive.
I’m with Hunter in that if if the tracks had small environmental obstacles or details that made them challenging, or if you could switch lanes and crash into other cars that would be a nice side-attraction that could carve it’s own niche.