Advanced track : a track with a theme
There has been a lot of questions about the idea of theme, so let me take extra time to be sure we're all on the same page. If it seems complicated, please bear with me because it's not, really. First, I plan to talk about what "theme" means. Next, I'll provide an analogy (from something that should be very familiar) that will shed much light on it. Then, I'll provide examples of good, medium and weaker themes in mtm2 tracks. And finally, I'll offer a summary of what it all means for the expo.
Dictionary.com provides several definitions for theme. While I don't want to get bogged down in technicalities, I do want to emphasize they can all be stretched to describe what we're doing. A track, after all, is a
composition and making one is a creative act. Whether or not we call it art, of course, depends on the track. So, if I take those definitions, and combine them, and apply them to mtm2, we get something like this: A theme is the main idea in a track, especially one forming the basis of a set (motif) of variations (more ideas that underscore the main idea). Let me say it another way. A theme is an idea, and everything in the track should contribute to expressing that idea. Hmm, we have a defintion but I'm sure for some we're still no closer to it.
Where else have we heard 'theme'? The plainest and most obvious example is a windows desktop theme. We all know what that is, right? A desktop theme has wallpaper, icons, sound events, mouse pointers, color schemes, and screen savers. Have I left something out? A good desktop theme will include all these things. But just because it has all those doesn't mean it's a good one. Why not? Because sometimes the icons are inappropriate, or the colors are hard on the eyes, or the screen saver is missing, or the things it does have don't match what the theme is about. For example.
A Snoopy desktop theme might have charlie brown's pitching glove as the my computer icon but it would be much more fitting to the theme to use Snoopy's doghouse. The recycle bin might be the red baren's plane but it would be more fitting to use Snoopy's food dish (it can be empty or full). Get the idea? The theme would be Snoopy, and the things used for the desktop all show things about Snoopy. If we look at it, we should be able to tell right away "hey, that's a snoopy desktop theme" and if there's something wrong, we'll see it right away. Okay, suppose we have a great wallpaper. It doesn't matter how great it is if it's just a wallpaper, by itself it's not a theme. It's just a wallpaper. In order for it to be a theme, we need all the parts of the desktop, and they all need to match or fit what the theme is about. The more things, and the better they suit the theme, the better the theme becomes. (A motif is when you use all the same kinds of things in the theme. For example, if all the pictures of snoopy show him doing his happy dance, that would be a happy dance motif. Or, if they all showed him as the red baren, it's a red baren motif. Both are a Snoopy desktop theme, but the motif is different in each version).
Making a track with a theme is exactly the same thing. But instead of desktop items, we do it with track things: art, models, terrain, the course, sounds, music, races bitmap, and maybe even the trucks we drive. Everything should contribute to the theme, or at least as much as possible.
Let's see if I can come up with a list of tracks with good/thorough themes.
Godzilla v Bigfoot - it takes place in a city (a favorite place for godzilla to hang out), there's distruction all around (zilla's hobby is destroying things), there's toppled hydro towers (a source of zilla's strength), dents in the ground where he walks (he's big and heavy, right?), the fire is emblematic of his distruction, rodan (the pterydactyl) is reminiscent of prehistoric times (zilla's age). The track name reminds us this is still mtm2, and sounds almost like a rumble, which, of course, bigfoot has lost because we see it flattened in one of zilla's footprints - a take on the zilla v bambi movie. The races bitmap shows zilla on top of the world tearing through the buildings with a fire sky behind him... which is the theme of the track. Lastly, we have the music: godzilla by B.O.C. which, of course, is the name of the track. A few extras were the billboards advertising the old and new zilla movies, and the checkpoints that are zilla's scream. An effort was made to embed godzilla into every aspect of the track. It even has a zilla truck. Even if you didn't know the name of the track, the moment you start a race, you know something big and bad has been that way. And the more you drive, the more you figure it out.
Zoon's kitchen - it takes place in a kitchen, the backdrop has been changed to look like the room of a house instead of the outdoors we're used to, we drive on the kitchen counter, over the sink, there's kitchen tables and chairs and we even drive over the remains of a meal that may have been eaten in the kitchen (the pizza boxes). To reinforce the kitchen idea, we're shown other parts of the house, and even the garage where a giant Black Stallion is parked. The idea that our monster trucks are minature is unavoidable. If it was the actual size of a kitchen, we'd squash it and move on; the trucks had to be small to make it work. The thing that makes it convincing is that the colors, things like forks and spoons and the rest of the house are proportionately sized so that everything fits, despite the inconguity of our monster trucks. We see it and right away we know where we are and have no complaints because the theme has been presented so thoroughly and convincingly.
The same kind of description might be given to any number of other tracks such as Obeone's Egyptian Adventure, Guitar Bill's Valley Of Kings, Team Death's Spiderman (leaping from building to building, spider webs), Obeone's Warehouse, HotShoe's Sandbox, Mike204's Salmon Run, Zoon's Subway, Zoon Moon (and now we begin to realize why his tracks stand out), World's Tut tracks, and just about everything from ValveJob, especially his Ralloween and Blood Dance tracks. Even the stock Torture pit (spikes, hard terrain, dungeon atmosphere and all the props that contribute to it).
I am not suggesting we have to go off the road and into some strange environment to create a good theme. Remember, we're talking about what a theme is and how they are put into a track. I chose my examples because, like desktop themes, it's easy to understand how they work.
Take, for example, Dakar. Dakar is a replica of a real place. That, in itself, is not a theme. But the terrain and textures and town, etc. are. Like, say, Deception Pass that has marshes in the low land and rocky middle ground and snowy peaks. The theme is realism. And the makers have gone to great length to create their effect. In order to create a sense of distance, Dakar takes you over many different terrains. Deception Pass creates it's environment through the use of textures that match altitudes and the appropriate use of models. Kdawg's Volcano blast develops a theme, tho perhaps Dr. Scrote would be a better example because you have the whole volcanic island. The island is the theme.
Sometimes a theme is harder to detect. For example, Yeastman's LASX and Anaheim are both supercross tracks. But SX is a style, not a theme. So, in LASX, supercross is the type of track, LA is it's setting. Anaheim is a televised competition, an event. The event is the theme, even though it's a supercross too. Anaheim has a theme, LASX does not.
Medium examples
Some of TD's space/spawn tracks, or Guitar Bill's vulture peak. Both contain elements of theme but are either underdeveloped (at least in terms of their theme) or, as in the case of VP, there's a limit as to how far a theme can be carried out. This is in no way to suggest there's anything bad about these tracks. VP is one of my all time favorite racing tracks - I think it's one of the best ever made. But "thematically" they don't contain as much as say Zoon's Kitchen.
Underdeveloped themes.
Juannes' Cartoons Valley. The cartoon images provide a motif, but beyond that there's little cartoony about it. It has great terrain, but little theme. Some of World's star trek tracks. The models provide a motif, the terrain provides good racing, but for our purposes the theme is underdeveloped.
Now, something like arctic wasteland or autumn leaves have a theme too (seasons) and they do contain elements of motif, especially the textures, in order to help convey the impression. But thematically, Kodiak would be the stronger example of a developed theme.
Bad examples.
Well, let's face it, there are no bad examples. A track either has a theme or it does not. It's not a question of good or bad, it's a question of development. The theme is either carried out to the fullest, or it is less so. However, I can think of an example of a counterfeit theme: Straight Shooter. LOL, I can say this because I know Wildcat Sue won't have a problem with it. Anyway, the idea is the music is Peter Gunn and the track name has shooter in the title. This is a play on words, it's not a theme. And a straight shooter is a slang term meaning a no-nonsense person, and this is a no-nonsense track. And of course the track is straight and the expo was for straight-a-ways. Straight was the expo's theme, and the track(s) fit that theme only as an element of the expo. Straight Shooter underscored the expo's theme almost like no other and that's why it was suggested it might win. It all seems to fit perfectly and we love it cuz it's a killer track. But it's not a theme, it's word play.
Before I leave off this topic, I want to emphasize again and again that you don't need to create something as elaborate as Anarchy In Wonderland and Da Ben King's Dreamworld in order to develop a theme in your track. But by the same token, it takes more than just placing a few barns in a track and saying it has a mid-western theme. Ideally, every aspect of your work should have some connection to your theme. And yes, the theme should be self-evident but as we've noted above there are times when it's not obvious. So, in those cases, or even if it's not, if you feel a paragraph would enhance a track's understanding and appreciation then it wouldn't be inappropriate.
Now that that's clear, the idea here is to encourage everybody who is already comfortable with track making to push it to the next level - to create the total track. To consider all aspects of the track and try to make them a reflection of every other aspect.
Of course, the choice of theme is entirely up to the maker and can be anything you want. It can be something real or something imaginary. It can be all custom, or all stock, or a combination of both. For sources of inspiration, you can work with anything from your own neighborhood to movies to music to television to settings to books, stories, myths to seasons to outer space to underground to cities. Can it be a rumble or drag? Why not. bf4x4 did a christmas drag track. Anything is possible.
As for help, you should already be competent with track making so the only thing you might need help with would be suggestions or finding images etc. Anyone on the forum should be able to help with those things, so if you get stuck, post away - you never know when somebody can give you that kick to get you moving again. It's all good.
I hope this helps.
Any questions? Just ask.
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