The developers of Forza Horizon 4 are aiming to open up the ways in which you can progress in the game, to the point where you won’t even have to do any driving: if you’re a painter, you progress your career “without ever leaving the paint shop.”
Those are the words of Benjamin Penrose, lead artist at developer Playground Games, speaking to press at E3 2018. Where previous Forza Horizon games have been like living a dream holiday, number four will be about living your dream life. That ties in well with the new dynamic seasons – no longer is the game an endless summer – but it also raises certain questions about what you’re aiming for, and how you get there.
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“The goal for everybody is to become the Horizon Festival Superstar,” Penrose says. “But this time around, we’re not gonna prescribe to you guys how you should go about doing that. Sure, you can race your way through the campaign and gain Superstar status, but for the first time in a Horizon game you’ll be able to entirely progress your game simply by creating liveries in the paint shop, sharing them with people, tuning your car, even streaming live on Mixer with other players.”
In a hat-tip to his fellow artists among the playerbase, Penrose says: “Painters are an amazing part of our community. They do really, really good work, they create amazing art – and for the first time they’ll be able to progress their career, and become a Horizon Superstar, without ever leaving the paint shop. The whole point is you really can live this Horizon life the way you want to.”
According to a post on the forums, you become a Festival Superstar by accruing Influence. So it’s a safe bet that these activites Penrose mentions – racing, painting, tinkering, sharing, and streaming – will all pay out that currency, and Superstardom awaits however you play.
Forza Horizon 4 is set to release on October 2, 2018.