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We spoke with Saber Interactive Porto's creative director Peter Mack to learn more about the upcoming simulation trucking game that is set in the American South.
"Hello everyone and welcome back to Gamereactor. Today, as you can probably tell by the lovely background we've got going here, I'm with Peter here to talk a little bit about Road Kings. So, first of all, for anyone who is unfamiliar with this game, you know, it's just been announced, it's just been revealed to the world, so give us the sort of pitch, the rundown as to what this game is. Okay, so welcome to Road Kings. We're very proud to be showing this to everyone for the first time. Road Kings is a trucking simulator to its core, with everything you've ever wanted to know and do, with the big rigs, long-haul, over-the-road trucking. We have embraced everything about trucks that we know, from down from the engines, the gears, and the models, and the brands, to the lives of truckers and all of the things that they face. Now, obviously, in Saber you guys have so much experience making these sort of really accurate vehicle games."
"How has that come into the development of Road Kings? We have a spectacular vehicle team, with a lot of experience doing this kind of work, and faithfully, accurately representing not only the visualization of the vehicles, but also the feel of them, the physics, and all of the things that you can experience when operating these monsters as you as you tootle around on the interstate. So, it's been a tremendous amount of experience that's been brought to bear for this game, and has had a wonderful result for us. And unlike some of the vehicle games that Saber have done, where the idea is kind of just figure out how to get from point A to point B, there's more of a progression in this game, right? So, how is that involved? This has an absolutely original, unique, core mechanic at work underneath it, where the player gets to engage with a lot of the systems and processes at work in operating as a independent owner-operator out in the world, looking for work, using a load board, experiencing what it's like to deal with weather conditions, and of course, facing stuff, even mundane things like hours of service, and federally mandated brake clocks, and doing resets, looking for a fast-food joint so you can safely park your truck overnight, and not, you know, wake up in the morning to a parking ticket, or a vandalized trailer. So, pretty much everything you can imagine we've tried to make it part of this game in an original, compelling way, and also to rely heavily on those game systems to include mechanics that are significant for the player. For example, over-weighting your truck, damage to your tires, damage to your brakes, using your engine brake to save money on your brake pads, all the stuff you can think of. So, it's all in there."
"So, in a way, it's the ultimate trucking experience, then. For anyone out there that is looking to hit the open road, this is the way to sort of dip your toe in the water.
A hundred percent. The most important thing for us is that it's about something."
"And I know that there's a lot of people involved in trucking throughout the world.
So, it is an industry that's experienced a lot of change, what with technology, and weather, and all the things that people face in this work. So, for us, in addition to the fantastic vehicles and all the wonderful stuff, we've got a lot of guys who put a lot of work into creating human reasons for you to be out there. Why are they doing this? What are they doing? What are they after?
So, we'll see if we've pulled it off or not, but we really tried to do that."
"And one of the big challenges of trucking is, obviously, the terrain that you have to conquer. Sometimes, it's not all about just being on the open road, right?
So, what kind of challenges are you guys imposing?
All right. Well, how much time do we have? So, okay. We have at least..."
"You know, we set this game in this part of the world, the coastal plains, southern US, Georgia, North Florida, because this is a place that gets hit very hard, as a lot of people know, with serious weather events and also have experienced a lot of various disasters, both man-made and natural."
"So, in creating those scenarios, we wanted to represent that aspect of trucking life where things happen that you don't expect. So, you know, a hurricane is going to hit or there's a flood, even something as simple as a washed-out road, but, you know, it is a long-haul trucking game."
"So, most of our efforts and features have been focused on highway, interstate driving. The things you encounter there, and then when you do run into different terrains and difficult navigation of things, it's inside depots or it's in that final mile when you're going on a local road and you hit a pothole, you got to make the decision, am I going to make it on time?
So, I'm going to take that pothole at speed and it's going to do more damage to my truck, or do I slow down, take it easy, because if I'm below 15 miles an hour, it won't hurt anything. You know, we try and bring all that stuff in there and interconnect the system so the terrain affects your tires, which affects your cargo, all that stuff."
"So, obviously now, Road Kings is going to be coming out in 2026, I believe.
So, with that being the case, with the game launching next year, for people who will eventually be getting their hands on it, what's one thing that you look at and go, that's the thing that I'm really excited for them to experience?
One thing? I don't know if I can answer that question."
"What's the one thing? Boy, I think that they...
I think we started out really wanting to create something that communicates what it's like to drive one of these things. So, if there's someone out there who feels like they finally get to experience one of these things for real in a world that lets them write their own story, make their own choices about what clients to get, what work to do, what jobs to do. If we've created this sense of immersive simulation for anyone, then I think we've managed to do it."
"Well, stay tuned for more on Road Kings. Again, launch is planned for next year, so, you know, a little bit of time to cruise and wait for it, but when it does hit, expect it to hit like a truck. So, yeah, for more on the game, be sure to stay tuned to your local Game Expo region."
