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Tech Tv : Videogame Art Imitaties Life
Videogame Art Imitates Life
Couple's 1962 Buick hot rod wins way into upcoming 'Gran Turismo 4' game.
Watch tomorrow at 8 p.m. and Wednesday 11/12 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern.
By Melanie Kim, Tech Live
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It takes a lot to make a car the stuff of legends. But now, car buffs have discovered that digital immortality could be the best thing since a shot with a bikini model on the cover of Lowrider Magazine.
One man's passion for restoring cars has earned his ride the honor. And get this: His ride is a Buick.
Yeah, Buicks used to be cool. But take one look at Ted and Sue Richardson's pride and joy tonight on "Tech Live" and you'll see that a Buick can still kick ass. What's more, Ted Richardson and his machine won "Best in Show" at the inaugural GT4 Awards during the recent SEMA Show 2003 in Las Vegas.
His car, a tricked-out 1962 Buick Skylark Special, smoked the competition. As part of the award, the car will be inserted into the upcoming, much-anticipated version of the popular racing game "Gran Turismo 4." It's the first time a competition has been held to include a real car in the "Gran Turismo" series.
One wicked Buick
Ted Richardson, of Grants Pass, Ore., calls his Buick "Bu'Wicked," and that's certainly what his green machine is. Even the license plate lets people know that "BU WIKD" is on the road.
"It's got a 455-cubic-inch Buick big block motor in it, thoroughly massaged," Richardson says as he rattles off the car's impressive features. "A full chassis car. Big brakes. Six-speed transmission. And an obscene amount of horsepower."
Now gamers who play the upcoming GT4 will get to drive and race Bu'Wicked. You can bet that Richardson would never let anyone drive his car the way they can in the game -- not even his son.
"My son, when he hears about this, is going to be blown away," he says.
Good thing it's going to be in the game.
Grand 'Gran Turismo'
On hand to congratulate Richardson was "Gran Turismo" creator Kazunori Yamauchi. Yamauchi picked the winner at the GT4 Awards, held at the Palms Hotel. There, fans of the popular racing simulation game got the best sneak peek yet at GT4. The car cockpits used for the game demos were fitted with everything a real hot rod needs, right down to fire extinguishers.
Ron Eagle, spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment America, promises that GT4 is going to be unlike any racing game ever seen.
"The game's so hot, it's going to burn up on its own," Eagle says. "The team goes into painstaking detail. In some instances more than 40,000 digital images are taken of the environment so that everything is in its place. You'll never find the level of realism anywhere else."
Gamers seemed equally excited about the game. One even told us, "Just when you think 'Gran Turismo' can't get any better, it does."
Even non-gamers, such as two-time Indy 500 champ Arie Luyendyk, were impressed with the game's features.
"The images are so real -- not like what I've seen in the past," he says.
Indeed, it seems that about the only thing missing is the smell of burning rubber.
The thrill of victory
And to think, Richardson's Bu'Wicked gets to be part of a legendary game.
"We knew it was something different, something extraordinary," he says. "But I never in my wildest dreams thought anything like this would be possible."
GT4 will ship next summer and will feature about 500 cars, including Bu'Wicked. Racers will be able to drive the cars on 50 different tracks.
Though it'll probably sell a ton of copies, Richardson won't get any royalties. He does get the honor, however, and a new PlayStation 2 from Sony.
Posted November 10, 2003
Modified November 11, 2003
Nick
Tech Tv : Videogame Art Imitaties Life
Videogame Art Imitates Life
Couple's 1962 Buick hot rod wins way into upcoming 'Gran Turismo 4' game.
Watch tomorrow at 8 p.m. and Wednesday 11/12 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern.
By Melanie Kim, Tech Live
Printer-friendly format
Email this story
It takes a lot to make a car the stuff of legends. But now, car buffs have discovered that digital immortality could be the best thing since a shot with a bikini model on the cover of Lowrider Magazine.
One man's passion for restoring cars has earned his ride the honor. And get this: His ride is a Buick.
Yeah, Buicks used to be cool. But take one look at Ted and Sue Richardson's pride and joy tonight on "Tech Live" and you'll see that a Buick can still kick ass. What's more, Ted Richardson and his machine won "Best in Show" at the inaugural GT4 Awards during the recent SEMA Show 2003 in Las Vegas.
His car, a tricked-out 1962 Buick Skylark Special, smoked the competition. As part of the award, the car will be inserted into the upcoming, much-anticipated version of the popular racing game "Gran Turismo 4." It's the first time a competition has been held to include a real car in the "Gran Turismo" series.
One wicked Buick
Ted Richardson, of Grants Pass, Ore., calls his Buick "Bu'Wicked," and that's certainly what his green machine is. Even the license plate lets people know that "BU WIKD" is on the road.
"It's got a 455-cubic-inch Buick big block motor in it, thoroughly massaged," Richardson says as he rattles off the car's impressive features. "A full chassis car. Big brakes. Six-speed transmission. And an obscene amount of horsepower."
Now gamers who play the upcoming GT4 will get to drive and race Bu'Wicked. You can bet that Richardson would never let anyone drive his car the way they can in the game -- not even his son.
"My son, when he hears about this, is going to be blown away," he says.
Good thing it's going to be in the game.
Grand 'Gran Turismo'
On hand to congratulate Richardson was "Gran Turismo" creator Kazunori Yamauchi. Yamauchi picked the winner at the GT4 Awards, held at the Palms Hotel. There, fans of the popular racing simulation game got the best sneak peek yet at GT4. The car cockpits used for the game demos were fitted with everything a real hot rod needs, right down to fire extinguishers.
Ron Eagle, spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment America, promises that GT4 is going to be unlike any racing game ever seen.
"The game's so hot, it's going to burn up on its own," Eagle says. "The team goes into painstaking detail. In some instances more than 40,000 digital images are taken of the environment so that everything is in its place. You'll never find the level of realism anywhere else."
Gamers seemed equally excited about the game. One even told us, "Just when you think 'Gran Turismo' can't get any better, it does."
Even non-gamers, such as two-time Indy 500 champ Arie Luyendyk, were impressed with the game's features.
"The images are so real -- not like what I've seen in the past," he says.
Indeed, it seems that about the only thing missing is the smell of burning rubber.
The thrill of victory
And to think, Richardson's Bu'Wicked gets to be part of a legendary game.
"We knew it was something different, something extraordinary," he says. "But I never in my wildest dreams thought anything like this would be possible."
GT4 will ship next summer and will feature about 500 cars, including Bu'Wicked. Racers will be able to drive the cars on 50 different tracks.
Though it'll probably sell a ton of copies, Richardson won't get any royalties. He does get the honor, however, and a new PlayStation 2 from Sony.
Posted November 10, 2003
Modified November 11, 2003
Nick
