Cactus burns rubber down the I-Way

Vancouver-based Cactus Productions hit the I-Way at speeds of over 200 kmh after beating out competitors in the bidding race to produce a new contender in the 32-bit cd-rom arena.

‘The Need For Speed,’ a racing simulation for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, was produced and developed in part by Cactus for game giant Electronic Arts and Road & Track magazine (for distribution with the publication in mid-December). The Cactus pit crew included president Scott Kennedy, director James Head, art director Ron Bignell and writers Tony Philpot and Jeff Scultz.

Footage of the Lambo Diablo VT, Ferrari, Porsche 911 and other assorted automotive bombs was captured via car mounts along Vancouver’s treacherous North Shore mountains. Fortunately, an rcmp skid pad in Boundary Bay was the scene of spin and skid shots.

Beyond learning the braking tolerance of various sports cars, producing for the video game format presented new challenges, such as dealing with video compression. Kennedy plans to work with more game developers in the near future, and for Cactus to develop some projects of its own.