True, but Forza would have to deal with the age-old question of "what to do with the pedestrian that crosses the street at the wrong moment". GTA never had such problems, and wasn't afraid to let you shred people with a combine harvester, as it wasn't going to bump up its rating anyways. Other games essentially turned the weakest users of the road into ghosts, but that solution would be as immersive-breaking as the absence of pedestrians. And then you have to consider that GTA cars are to this day a very low-poly affair, compared to Forza's... It is very possible that adding in fully-animated, 3d people to the scenery could push the old XB1 past the breaking point.
Also, I personally find Barn Finds to be a fun occasion to do some off-road exploring, so on this one YMMV.
I think if they were simply 'ghosts' with no collision detection, it would be fine. Either that or have them do some sort of token juke move (accompanied by a PG 'hey, watch it!) so they at least respond to the player....but still no collision detection. You couldn't hit pedestrians in driver 2 (don't remember the others) and i never found it particularly immersion breaking. The only reason for that to be immersion breaking is if somebody really wants to run them over, otherwise, the likelihood of actually running into them would be slim. And who cares about the immersion for those types of players in a racing game?
They could set the game in Dallas....there wouldn't be any pedestrians in the first place.
"Why are you walking? Are you poor or something?"
Just because I want to get it out, my ideal open world driving game would be this:
-Period set. There, I said it. I've rarely seen this done in a racing game, but I think it could be really great. 1995ish - Tokyo, Japan. Open world with a lot of attention to the urban fabric of Tokyo. I think setting the game in period would allow for a few things:
-Car selections can be less nebulous without feeling contrived. Less of an emphasis on the ever-increasing amount of hypercars in the post-great recession contemporary world, which would seem conspicuously absent if the game was set in 2018.
-Art design, music, and other design choices can be tailored to the setting, creating an evocative atmosphere.
-Maybe it's just me, but I think the nostalgia of a period-set game could be very compelling.
-Split focus on disciplines: Touge, Drift, Wangan. There could be others, but these seem most in keeping with the period.
-Purchaseable garages with a realistic amount of storage. Not too far down the rabbit hole of RPG, but limiting your fleet size will naturally make each car feel more special, and at the same create a reward/incentive for upgrading your garage. There should be enough of them, and enough customization to feel like you are making a choice and making it your own, but not so much that it feels like a distraction (looking at you Fallout 4 settlements).
-Dealerships with rotating selections. Condition may vary.
-Car list more similar to GT series....lots of cheaper vehicles and different trim levels of each. It should be rare for two players to have the exact same car.
-Parking areas - Like the
Daikoku Futo parking area. This would be the hub for initiating races, possibly trading vehicles, parts, etc.
-Clubs. Similar to the adversaries in the TXR series. These could be either AI or player filled, depending on mode (online vs offline).
-If I was writing the gameplay, I would make it kind of a meta or self-aware racing game. I think an open world game needs some kind of narrative framework to hold it together, but racing games thus far have been way too contrived (dumbass Horizon festival) in this respect. Here's how I would do it: The characters are very serious and earnest about racing, but are a little more self aware than you'd typically expect: they understand that it's meaningless but do it anyways. A little existential. I feel like Initial D had a little bit of this in it's writing (especially the older characters, which may or may not have influenced a lot of dialogue in F&F Tokyo Drift, but I digress).
Alright that's it....for now.