Ford wants gamers to design its new race car – this won’t end well
Ford is looking to build the perfect car for racing online, and it − perhaps foolishly − wants input from gamers and its new e-sports team.
The car will be named after the Fordzilla e-sports team, for the time being it’s carrying the codename: ‘Team Fordzilla P1’. The car is set to be Ford’s first digital car that’s not based on an existing real-world model.
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Among those closely involved in designing the car will be the captains of Ford’s five Fordzilla esports teams from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
The Ford of Europe Design Team will also be actively seeking input from the wider gaming community, via Twitter polls, with those polls set to start on March 11.
?We want you to help us create an epic new race car!
Polls will appear in this THREAD?from 11th March.Feature by feature, your votes will help shape every detail.
Ford designers are standing by, ready to bring #TeamFordzillaP1 to life.
Let’s go ? pic.twitter.com/brWxOyb6vJ
— Team Fordzilla (@TeamFordzilla) March 9, 2020
Alarm bells rang immediately when Ford said that “the designers will throw open key design decisions to the wider gaming community through a series of Twitter polls”. Did the people at Ford not hear about Boaty McBoatface? Letting people democratically decide things online will not result in the cool digital race car they’re looking for.
Ford seems to be convinced otherwise though…
“Coming up with a no-holds barred race car for the virtual world is when the gloves come off and the design team can really let their imaginations fly. The expertise of gamers is crucial to ensuring that this will be the best-looking car on the grid,” said Amko Leenarts, the director of design for Ford Europe.
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So, gamers will help Ford build a virtual car, making some of the decisions by Twitter poll. We’re expecting the result to be somewhere between the Boaty McBoatface naming debacle and the car that Homer designs in The Simpsons.
If you want to be involved in the creation of the Team Fordzilla P1, then head to Fordzilla’s social media channels @Fordzilla.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
