Forza series inspired by Pokemon

Turn 10's Forza Motorsport racing series draws inspiration from unexpected sources. Speaking to Spong, studio creative director Dan Greenwalt said "the worst place to look for inspiration is in your own genre," revealing the company was deeply inspired by Pokemon, among other franchises.

"I knew that I wanted this car-collecting element to be implemented into the game," Greenwalt said. "What game, especially back in 2002, had inspired collecting more than Pokémon?"

Greenwalt added that in the original Forza, cars had a "rarity meter," and players had to choose a region, which made vehicles more or less rare in the game. He said this was directly inspired by Pokemon Sapphire or Ruby.

The developer also said the Forza series, over the years, has been inspired and influenced by World of Warcraft, as well as open world titles like Red Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The next entry in the Forza series is Forza Horizon, which is due out exclusively for the Xbox 360 on October 23. The game is in development at United Kingdom-based startup Playground Games. The new company has not yet shipped a game, but it has a formidable racing pedigree.

Founded by former Codemasters (F1 series) alums, Playground Games is staffed also by veterans from now-defunct studios Black Rock and Bizarre Creations. Those two studios created Split/Second and Blur, respectively, before being shut down.