Racing Game Research

A few examples of racing games that have an enjoyable variety of maps that are unique and successful.
A good map consists of a wide range of challenging aspects and a change of scenery around every bend, this keeps the player involved and interested on what awaits him/her around the next corner.

A good example is Dirt 3's map - Pikes Peak, which is an A-B style map.
This racing track is an excellent example for a A-B point style map, It has multiple challenging bends and stretches that could cause problems if your trying to beat the timed clock. It also has a massive amount of obstacles and a constantly evolving environment.

A video of Pikes Peak racing track.

 Racing car games that are successful and follow all the elements a racing game should have in order to be enjoyable. 

Racing car games

• Dirt 2/3
• Forza Motorsport 2/3/4
• Burnout Paradise
• Need For Speed series
• Grand Turismo series
• F1 2011 
• Driver series

Car Racing (Arcade)

• Mario Karts: Double Dash.
• Diddy Kong Racing
• Vigilante 
• Mario Kart 64
• Mod Nation
• GTI Club
• Final Freeway
• Trackmania Forever
• Ionocraft Racing (Steampunk game)
• Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart wii is another great example for looking at design elements of racing track/environment.
This is a good example because the Developers thought really hard about the racing track layout and it's unique design, many games just follow a simple track layout which is repeated and has a lack of challenge. Mario Karts however has an extreme amount of challenge from intercepting NPC's to dangerous environments such as lava or cliffs. This game is also very interactive and has a huge amount of conflict, possibly some aspects I should look into when designing my own level.

   A Mario Kart level which shows excellent level design, it also has a relevant theme to a point.

Also when pushing towards creating and interesting game, Short cuts or hidden area's make the level playable to a point where the player doesn't have to go down a certain path, it's always played through different the 2nd time.

                      Here's an example of short cuts that give the player some advantage -

When researching racing games, I discovered a game called Ionocraft Racing which is set in a steampunk world. The actual racing is quite bland, however the environments caught my eye because their kind of set around the revolutionary 19th century times.