Interviews// F1 2009: David Croft and Anthony Davidson

SPOnG: I would imagine that you’d appreciate all the tuning options under the hood as well. How does that reflect how you tackle the courses?

Anthony Davidson: The tuning can make a bad car a little bit more comfortable to drive, and can make a great car win races. But whatever you do, you can’t make a bad car able to win races. That’s what comes through in F1 2009. Basically, tuning is like re-arranging your office desk. It’s not really going to change everything dramatically, but it might make you feel like you can work a bit better. That’s what the tuning setup does for each race.

You can’t polish a turd, ultimately, and I think that’s something that this game teaches you. Just grabbing any old car from the select screen and expecting to win on your driving skill alone just won’t work - the car is everything in this sport. And we’ve seen it this year from Lewis (Hamilton) to Jenson (Button) - back-to-back World Champions just because the right car was there one moment and wasn’t in the next.


SPOnG: I have to admit, I’m pretty bad at driving games myself---

David Croft: Do you want to come round my house and play a game then? (laughs) Seriously, you are just the man I’m looking for!

Anthony Davidson: You’ve found a gaming buddy!


SPOnG: I would totally drive like a geezer though. Even you could beat me David. But at the same time, I quite liked that level of accessibility that the game offered, playing it just now, without worrying too much about how to make a bad car good...

David Croft: Well, what I would say is that this is the first time I’ve played the game in a few days. So I’ve had a bit of a break, but I’ve somehow gone from playing really bad to playing a little bit bad. You start to subconsciously learn the ropes as you go through it, and it won’t take you long for a complete novice to get it.

The worst thing about computer games is (when) you buy something, you look forward to it, you’re rubbish at it straight away and then you never go back to it. I’d say you should keep persisting in this one, because you’ll be amazed at how much you improve week-on-week.

Anthony Davidson: There’s also driver aids in this game, which when turned on even enable Crofty to beat me when I have mine turned off. So there’s a fantastic handicap system in this game, which I really love because nobody really tends to be good competition for me. My career’s in racing, I know all the courses, and I know what I’m doing behind the wheel in real life so it makes it easy in the simulation world as well.

But with this game, finally I can sit with my mates and have a great race, and they’re none the wiser that I have no driver aids on and they have them all active (laughs). But it’s brilliant. It’s like golf in a way. You can take someone who’s utterly terrible and have him beat a semi-pro.


SPOnG: Can we expect that same level of accessibility in the upcoming 2010 game too?

Anthony Davidson: Yeah, I hope so! 2010’s obviously going to be a bit more of a ‘hardcore’ game, but this one on the Wii and PSP is more for the family and the casual fan or gamer. F1 2009 is a great stepping stone for someone learning Formula 1, and as a hardcore gamer myself, I have a PSP and this will give me great bursts of fun on the go as well.

David Croft: Can’t say too much about the Xbox and PS3 version, but from what we’ve seen and Codemasters are developing, I’d say it’s getting even closer to the F1 Weekend experience from a driver’s perspective. I’m quite excited about what the studio’s going to come out with.


SPOnG: Finally, Codemasters has a history of racing games. Excepting this game, obviously, which Codies racer would you say is your favourite?

Anthony Davidson: TOCA 2. Always has been my favourite. I had it on the original PlayStation, and now I have it on the PSP as well. Brilliant game, I loved it back then and I love how the series has evolved as the years have gone by. For the time, when the original came out, it was the game that made me open my eyes to Codemasters.

David Croft: Can I say DiRT?

SPOnG: Course you can. It’s a fine game.

David Croft: Well, only because it keeps my teenage boy really quiet! From a parent’s point of view, I want to thank Codemasters from the bottom of my heart, for shutting him up! (laughs)

SPOnG: Do you think F1 2009 will do the same to keep him locked away?

David Croft: No, because it’s on the Wii and he’ll come and play it with his dad. And he’ll teach him everything he needs to know (laughs). This one’s a family title, but when the 2010 game comes next year, he’ll no doubt be back up in his room again. In the meantime, we’ll actually be a family playing F1.