Racing Game Level Design Research- Appalachian Frenzy

"Some good ole boys up in the Appalachian Mountains got wind of some guys down in Hazzard County, Georgia runnin all over the place in their car called the General Lee, or somethin. Well, they've decided it's time to have some fun in their neck of the woods too. Watch out, cause they're gettin rowdy."

I've had the itch to get back to my roots and make a concept around a tiny secluded town in Kentucky, so a preliminary level design for a racing game seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so. 

I love this video of the "Dukes of Hazzard" with a car chase through the woods on some back country roads.

And I also thought this video was really cool too. It's from a game in development called "Next Car Game". All the different traps caught my interest. 

I decided to combine these two things in a couple of ways. You can see those ideas in the sketches below: 

The first is an old water mill up the creek from town. The boys have added some giant spikes so they have to jump through them. What happens if they land on one? Well, I'm sure you can imagine.
Second is the gas station that's fallen in the process of the boys having a good time, so why not use it as a ramp to jump over some barrels of gasoline?

This mean trap is for the drivers who can handle the messiest of roads after a storm. But today the trees are falling because of the boys, and not a tornado. 

The level itself would take place during mid-afternoon on a clear day in Summer, after all, that's when boys get the most bored. As stated before this would take place in the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Kentucky. The color palette would look something like this: 

I want the setting just to feel natural with pretty green trees, some nice water, and the brown of the dirt road and trees. 

Here's the map I came up with: 

As the level progresses a couple things will happen. On the first lap around players will be directed to the gas station which will fall over as they exit, creating a ramp for the next lap around. As they pass the local fire station the second time firetrucks and police cars will come out to chase them. On the first lap around the players won't experience the boys cutting down trees with chainsaw, but on the second lap they'll start cutting, and on the third lap players will have to dodge previously fallen trees. 

The players have a couple landmarks running through the level. On the map you can see "Old Man's Hill" which looks like a bald man's head that players can see during all parts of the level. They'll also pass through the town and see the courthouse, fire station, and crowd/bleachers of people watching. The dirt road will guide the players around the town and woods. 

The level will be a fast paced and rough and tumblin' time. Gotta love wreckin cars in the country.