BaseDrift: Let’s Drift Again...
Artist:
RWD
BaseDrift – an online driving experience with integrated interactive community – is ready to take on your next-gen consoles, FaceSpace (or whatever the latest social networking site is), and your iPod in one heavyweight hot hub. Danny Walker goes behind the scenes of what could be the next big thing...
Introdriftion
Have you ever sat on your computer needlessly loitering around the Internet? Jumping from site to shite and never really getting anything out of it. Well that’s why Thirdeye Technologies launched BaseDrift.com earlier this month. A website that battles boredom, incites interaction, and regularly gives away prizes that could rival that of the National Lottery (like up to £50,000... QUARTERLY, all expenses paid trips abroad and music contracts). Not only is BaseDrift a high speed drifting/ street racing game with integrated dating and voting but a self promotion/ networking portal for likeminded individuals, groups and crews to showcase their talent.
Game, It Is Not
The online ‘game’ utilises 3D graphics provided by Thirdeye’s HoolaNet – software renowned for state of the art PlayStation-like visuals, dynamic gameplay and high end production levels – to create an environment for users’ customised cars to race on the track, in the street, and even across rooftops. It’s aimed at those who enjoy the fun side of virtual racing but also those who’d love to get something in return for their efforts. As each heat progresses racers get to grips with the corners (the tracks have the odd shortcut to maximise sneakability), handle their opponents (up to six Drifters can duel at a time; sideswiping, outwitting and NOSing their way to the chequered flag), and master the gears (say goodbye to the big prizes if automatic gearboxes are all you know).
Of course all of your hard work, underhandedness and speedy lap times are nothing if you don’t do it in style so each car can be modded to within an inch of its rust-free life. Spoilers, setup, it’s all here and as well as adding preset decals to the automobiles – which if they were any more detailed HoolaNet’s design team to be hounded by the lawyers of Porsche, BMW and Lotus – drivers can upload their own logos to the cars too.
“We love all types of games and our first one is a driving game because we do a lot of that in real life,” Dominic Penrice (co-founder of Thirdeye-T) breaks down the passion behind the pacey racer. “We wanted to reflect the street racing scene that’s happening around us and then add our own twist, so that everyone can become part of it and change it in their own way.”
So whether you like to play by the rules or make them up as you take each turn, BaseDrift has got something for you. Smash it with the customisations, smash records on the global leaderboards, or simply smash up your mate’s favourite car... it’s all up to you. With confidence Dominic relays that this is like no other www.experience, “All sorts of games are good in their own way, but we wanted to include some things online that you would normally only see on a console game.”
Hands on with BaseDrift
A whole day was dedicated to drifting during the last week of April as we spent a lengthy amount of time at Thirdeye. All “this is just another online game” scepticism was vanquished when we saw the detailing in the fully-customisable cars, the Need For Speed-style tracks and the depth of the social side of the site. The monthly prizes for pulling off a few decent lap times wet our appetite like a bucket of the Kentucky’s finest. Prizes ranging from mobile phones and holidays to cash prizes of up to £50,000 for getting to the top of a leaderboard? It’s a lot. The gameplay and controls didn’t take too long to get the hang of and soon turned addictive once we knew what was going on we even managed to pull off the odd handbrake turn to both our and the developer’s surprise. As we shifted up and down the gears we soon started to see hidden passageways on the levels. So a quick piece of advice; make sure when you’re going for that £50,000 you find both the shortest and quickest way to the finish. In short, BaseDrift is one of the most innovative online games we’ve seen in a long while. "We wanted to overlap the virtual and real world by rewarding online activity with real world experience" explains Raphael Khalili (director at Thirdeye-T)
We’re on the Social
Just when you thought BaseDrift was too fast and too furious to appeal to everyone they have another industrial-strength magnet up their technological sleeves. The integrated online community is built for social networking. Occasional, light and heavy users each get exactly what they came for combining social networking, dating, celebrity-making, films, music, chat functions, instant messaging and an in-game comic to great effect.
“We wanted to mix good quality media like 3D multi-player gaming, exclusive music and the comic art, with social networking, so that there was a reason to get the community talking and hooking up with each other, and honestly, we were just a bit tired of random pokes and people trading off us for our advertising value online.” Vanessa Finn (co-founder of Thirdeye-T) explains, “We have built the kind of network that we wanted to be part of but could not easily find. Our intention is to create a platform through which people can promote/ monetise their talents and succeed at whatever they really want to do.”
Instead of being discretely advertised to users on BaseDrift are encouraged to do their own promotion. “Anyone that wants to build their status and take advantage of real world benefits of supporting others and putting themselves into the galleries will be attracted to the website,” Vanessa tells RWD. “People that compete in the performers galleries and win will get real world gigs at our live events and producers that get interest from the community may well be offered a deal by our music agency [Drift Music Agency] and be able to earn money directly from their music through the platform.” So it’s a one-stop-shop for profile owners who want to be noticed by the people who actually matter. “Gamers can generate their own revenue on private scoreboards and voters stand to win substantial cash prizes too,” she divulges before revealing with a grin. “It doesn’t hurt that you can feature at the top of voting lists if the person you are voting for happens to be attractive to you either.”
Drift Your Way to the Top
Your eyes didn’t deceive you when read Ms Finn’s words. They have also setup Drift Music Agency – an integrated Music Agency and Music Promotional Platform – which will help showcase new talent. As music is an integral part of the driving division of BaseDrift – each car has its own stereo and you can construct your own playlist – users can aspire to have their own tracks on rotation. Between the in-game tunes, customisable playlists, featured artist sections, beat agencies, MP3 store, streaming music subscription service and unprecedented live 3D performances, music plays a major role whether you’re drifting or not.
“Within the BaseDrift catalogue, we are looking for as varied a music catalogue as possible – our user base is very broad, so it is our responsibility at DMA to reflect that,” Jonah Wyn Pugh (Head of Music) tells RWD of the talent they seek. “However, due to the nature of the game and the community, there is a strong focus on urban and electronic music, including anything from hip hop and dubstep to grime, minimal and D&B, but at DMA we are open to all genres and will consider all artists that are doing something new or pushing the boundaries of their genre.” So how can you go from music on your PC to having your music heard by hundreds of thousands via their streaming subscription? Rest assured Jonah has the answer. “The most effective and powerful method of raising an artist or producer’s profile is in ‘The Platform’ - a remixing facility, where an artist will give us an instrumental or acapella which we make available to the user base to remix and then upload into the competition gallery. The top 10 most popular remixes are added to the DMA catalogue for sale – the artist/ producer retains 50% of the publishing on the remixes, so it’s also a potentially lucrative way to promote an album/ mixtape too.” And how will that help? He answers swiftly, ”It’s a really useful A&R tool, by letting us know who the versatile vocalists and producers are, and therefore allowing us to encourage the right collaborations.” So think of the Drift Music Agency as an A&R company, an online music store and a music PR agency all rolled into one.
So How Can Man Get Involved?
There are a number of ways – first, by uploading your music onto your profile and promoting your music organically, much like in MySpace – except with a clear retail infrastructure in place. Or alternatively, artists and labels with catalogues can contact DMA directly by sending submissions to Artists and Repertoire, Drift Music Agency, Unit 107 The Light Box, 111 Power Road, London W4 5PY. You can also email DMA at submissions@thirdeyet.com with MySpace links or MP3 submissions – remember to include a biography when sending over links as it helps them understand the artist behind the music.
Visit BaseDrift.com for more... we’ll definitely see you there
RWD Magazine
BaseDrift – an online driving experience with integrated interactive community – is ready to take on your next-gen consoles, FaceSpace (or whatever the latest social networking site is), and your iPod in one heavyweight hot hub. Danny Walker goes behind the scenes of what could be the next big thing...
Introdriftion
Have you ever sat on your computer needlessly loitering around the Internet? Jumping from site to shite and never really getting anything out of it. Well that’s why Thirdeye Technologies launched BaseDrift.com earlier this month. A website that battles boredom, incites interaction, and regularly gives away prizes that could rival that of the National Lottery (like up to £50,000... QUARTERLY, all expenses paid trips abroad and music contracts). Not only is BaseDrift a high speed drifting/ street racing game with integrated dating and voting but a self promotion/ networking portal for likeminded individuals, groups and crews to showcase their talent.
Game, It Is Not
The online ‘game’ utilises 3D graphics provided by Thirdeye’s HoolaNet – software renowned for state of the art PlayStation-like visuals, dynamic gameplay and high end production levels – to create an environment for users’ customised cars to race on the track, in the street, and even across rooftops. It’s aimed at those who enjoy the fun side of virtual racing but also those who’d love to get something in return for their efforts. As each heat progresses racers get to grips with the corners (the tracks have the odd shortcut to maximise sneakability), handle their opponents (up to six Drifters can duel at a time; sideswiping, outwitting and NOSing their way to the chequered flag), and master the gears (say goodbye to the big prizes if automatic gearboxes are all you know).
Of course all of your hard work, underhandedness and speedy lap times are nothing if you don’t do it in style so each car can be modded to within an inch of its rust-free life. Spoilers, setup, it’s all here and as well as adding preset decals to the automobiles – which if they were any more detailed HoolaNet’s design team to be hounded by the lawyers of Porsche, BMW and Lotus – drivers can upload their own logos to the cars too.
“We love all types of games and our first one is a driving game because we do a lot of that in real life,” Dominic Penrice (co-founder of Thirdeye-T) breaks down the passion behind the pacey racer. “We wanted to reflect the street racing scene that’s happening around us and then add our own twist, so that everyone can become part of it and change it in their own way.”
So whether you like to play by the rules or make them up as you take each turn, BaseDrift has got something for you. Smash it with the customisations, smash records on the global leaderboards, or simply smash up your mate’s favourite car... it’s all up to you. With confidence Dominic relays that this is like no other www.experience, “All sorts of games are good in their own way, but we wanted to include some things online that you would normally only see on a console game.”
Hands on with BaseDrift
A whole day was dedicated to drifting during the last week of April as we spent a lengthy amount of time at Thirdeye. All “this is just another online game” scepticism was vanquished when we saw the detailing in the fully-customisable cars, the Need For Speed-style tracks and the depth of the social side of the site. The monthly prizes for pulling off a few decent lap times wet our appetite like a bucket of the Kentucky’s finest. Prizes ranging from mobile phones and holidays to cash prizes of up to £50,000 for getting to the top of a leaderboard? It’s a lot. The gameplay and controls didn’t take too long to get the hang of and soon turned addictive once we knew what was going on we even managed to pull off the odd handbrake turn to both our and the developer’s surprise. As we shifted up and down the gears we soon started to see hidden passageways on the levels. So a quick piece of advice; make sure when you’re going for that £50,000 you find both the shortest and quickest way to the finish. In short, BaseDrift is one of the most innovative online games we’ve seen in a long while. "We wanted to overlap the virtual and real world by rewarding online activity with real world experience" explains Raphael Khalili (director at Thirdeye-T)
We’re on the Social
Just when you thought BaseDrift was too fast and too furious to appeal to everyone they have another industrial-strength magnet up their technological sleeves. The integrated online community is built for social networking. Occasional, light and heavy users each get exactly what they came for combining social networking, dating, celebrity-making, films, music, chat functions, instant messaging and an in-game comic to great effect.
“We wanted to mix good quality media like 3D multi-player gaming, exclusive music and the comic art, with social networking, so that there was a reason to get the community talking and hooking up with each other, and honestly, we were just a bit tired of random pokes and people trading off us for our advertising value online.” Vanessa Finn (co-founder of Thirdeye-T) explains, “We have built the kind of network that we wanted to be part of but could not easily find. Our intention is to create a platform through which people can promote/ monetise their talents and succeed at whatever they really want to do.”
Instead of being discretely advertised to users on BaseDrift are encouraged to do their own promotion. “Anyone that wants to build their status and take advantage of real world benefits of supporting others and putting themselves into the galleries will be attracted to the website,” Vanessa tells RWD. “People that compete in the performers galleries and win will get real world gigs at our live events and producers that get interest from the community may well be offered a deal by our music agency [Drift Music Agency] and be able to earn money directly from their music through the platform.” So it’s a one-stop-shop for profile owners who want to be noticed by the people who actually matter. “Gamers can generate their own revenue on private scoreboards and voters stand to win substantial cash prizes too,” she divulges before revealing with a grin. “It doesn’t hurt that you can feature at the top of voting lists if the person you are voting for happens to be attractive to you either.”
Drift Your Way to the Top
Your eyes didn’t deceive you when read Ms Finn’s words. They have also setup Drift Music Agency – an integrated Music Agency and Music Promotional Platform – which will help showcase new talent. As music is an integral part of the driving division of BaseDrift – each car has its own stereo and you can construct your own playlist – users can aspire to have their own tracks on rotation. Between the in-game tunes, customisable playlists, featured artist sections, beat agencies, MP3 store, streaming music subscription service and unprecedented live 3D performances, music plays a major role whether you’re drifting or not.
“Within the BaseDrift catalogue, we are looking for as varied a music catalogue as possible – our user base is very broad, so it is our responsibility at DMA to reflect that,” Jonah Wyn Pugh (Head of Music) tells RWD of the talent they seek. “However, due to the nature of the game and the community, there is a strong focus on urban and electronic music, including anything from hip hop and dubstep to grime, minimal and D&B, but at DMA we are open to all genres and will consider all artists that are doing something new or pushing the boundaries of their genre.” So how can you go from music on your PC to having your music heard by hundreds of thousands via their streaming subscription? Rest assured Jonah has the answer. “The most effective and powerful method of raising an artist or producer’s profile is in ‘The Platform’ - a remixing facility, where an artist will give us an instrumental or acapella which we make available to the user base to remix and then upload into the competition gallery. The top 10 most popular remixes are added to the DMA catalogue for sale – the artist/ producer retains 50% of the publishing on the remixes, so it’s also a potentially lucrative way to promote an album/ mixtape too.” And how will that help? He answers swiftly, ”It’s a really useful A&R tool, by letting us know who the versatile vocalists and producers are, and therefore allowing us to encourage the right collaborations.” So think of the Drift Music Agency as an A&R company, an online music store and a music PR agency all rolled into one.
So How Can Man Get Involved?
There are a number of ways – first, by uploading your music onto your profile and promoting your music organically, much like in MySpace – except with a clear retail infrastructure in place. Or alternatively, artists and labels with catalogues can contact DMA directly by sending submissions to Artists and Repertoire, Drift Music Agency, Unit 107 The Light Box, 111 Power Road, London W4 5PY. You can also email DMA at submissions@thirdeyet.com with MySpace links or MP3 submissions – remember to include a biography when sending over links as it helps them understand the artist behind the music.
Visit BaseDrift.com for more... we’ll definitely see you there
RWD Magazine
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