Gautier Paulin about the new MXGP Pro game
MXGP Pro will be available in stores from Friday, June 29. The new motocross simulator game uses the official GP tracks, the real riders and engine. For the development, Milestone, the makers of the game, called on top drivers such as Tony Cairoli, Tim Gajser and Gautier Paulin. We already spoke exclusively with Gautier about this new game.
Is it a childhood dream come true to be in a video game?
Gautier Paulin: “Bwaah, maybe more than I first thought. When you play with 'yourself' for the first time in the game, it's really cool! MXGP Pro just looks very realistic. It was not a childhood dream, but now I am very happy that I am in it.”
Were you a gamer yourself before?
Paulin: “I was certainly never a really avid gamer, except when we went on a skiing holiday. Then I played against my friends and stuff. The only games I played were MX games! And then things got pretty tough. (laughs) Just try to stop, all guys who can't handle losing. So that will keep you busy for a while.”
In real life, a fan or an expert can easily single you out because of your style. Have you given feedback to the developers about this, in the style of “to me it looks more like this or like that.”
Paulin: “Okay, the most striking thing I thought was that the faces still need to be worked on. But that is normal because the version of the game we played a few weeks ago still needs to be fine-tuned a bit. Actually, it's about that 1% because everything else already looks great. If I can make one more comment, it is how you play differently with a joystick than with keys. The simulation has become so lifelike that the joystick is also super sensitive. (grins) I'm pretty good in that regard oldskool and I would like the two options.”
Can such a realistic game like MXGP Pro help younger riders get better on the bike? To learn to read traces, for example.
Paulin: “Reading tracks becomes difficult because on a real circuit there are other tracks every 10 cm. So I wouldn't go that far, but it is a nice instrument to use. Suppose that as a young EMX rider you have to go to Arco di Trento where you have never ridden before, you can already get to know the track on the PlayStation. That is certainly a good form of mental training.”
Does MXGP Pro allow someone who knows nothing about motocross or MXGP to explain exactly what the sport entails?
Paulin: “Definitely, you really get a feel for the battle and the competition. The way the tracks are made is 100% realistic, stunning actually. Suppose you let someone who has never ridden in Valkenswaard first take a lap on MXGP Pro and then have them do a reconnaissance lap on the motorcycle on the real circuit… Discover exactly the same track.”
What about the differences between the different engines. Of course you know how your competitors' engines behave, is that reflected in the game? In MXGP Pro you can also tinker enormously with the setting of your motorcycle.
Paulin: “I did indeed pay attention when I played with the first public demo version, but there are so many details and nuances in the game that you have to play a lot to discover everything and to get good. For example: how the riders themselves behave and that you see that they get tired and slow down as a race progresses. That's pretty cool.”
They have done scanning of the riders at Milestone in the past, were there any innovations for MXGP Pro that you noticed in that area?
Paulin: “They are actually constantly working on improvements: the eye for detail in simulating the courses, how competition situations are displayed. There is a constant evolution in terms of technology, and it is very educational to hear the people from Milestone talk about it.”
It would be cool if you got a eurocent for every gamer who wants to be Gautier Paulin in MXGP Pro!
Paulin: “(laughs) That would definitely be fun! But even if we are not talking about money, it is excellent that young people come into contact with motocross in this way. That is fantastic for the sport and the entire industry.”
Photos: Father Swijgers
Artwork: Milestone
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