Why I Love is a series of guest editorials on GamesIndustry.biz intended to showcase the ways in which game developers appreciate each other's work. This entry was contributed by Mladen Bošnjak, creative director at Misfit Village, currently working on their SCP based thriller Go Home Annie for PC and Consoles.
As was the case with many households in Croatia, by 2005 we had a PlayStation 2 sitting under our CRT TV. I knew GameCube and Xbox were a thing, I'd just never seen one of them in person or in stores. For us, only PC and PlayStation existed.
Piracy was so rampant in those days that PS2 consoles came with a modchip pre-installed directly from electronics stores that were officially licensed to sell the console. I'm still curious if Sony was aware of these illicit practices.
I'd like to say that Burnout 3: Takedown's cover captivated my 12-year-old imagination with its sports car narrowly escaping a big ol' explosion front and center. Having played many a Need For Speed game beforehand, the EA Games logo on the bottom would have further convinced me I needed to play this.
This game knows what it is. You will be driving cars. Fast. You will also be crashing cars. A lot.
But the truth is my first encounter with Burnout 3: Takedown was a jewel case with a blank, white cover and a burned DVD inside, with "Burnout 3" handwritten on it in black marker.
As I was already making mods and small games by that time, and knew that actual people made these things, I had an ever-so-slight feeling of guilt when spinning up this pirate treasure. The choice was to either not play the game, or to play it pirated. And that's not much of a choice when you're a kid and don't know better.
With its pre-rendered (but using in-game assets) intro with cars racing and crashing to early 2000s punk, Burnout 3 quickly and firmly establishes the tone for the rest of the experience. This game knows what it is. You will be driving cars. Fast. You will also be crashing cars. A lot.
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