Particle Research

For my racing level I'd like to include a few particles.
 Just a few falling leaves:



Some water splashing/coming off the water mill:
 

And finally, for pretty-ness's sake, some little fireflies for the evening:


For practice I completed a tutorial that explained how to create dripping water. As you can see in the video below I modified it a bit to be more like a small stream of water rather than a few drips.

Barrel and Turret

Race Intro Inspiration

While this intro from Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed is pretty long (a little over 1 minute), I still found it to be a good example of what I'd like to emulate in my own racing game's trailer. It flies through each portion of the level, showing the turns and obstacles in detail. One thing that seems odd about it is that it goes through each section of the track out of order. I guess that could leave more mystery to the player, but it does seem counter-intuitive.
Otherwise, I like this fly-though for the way it frames the most interesting aspects of the level, really showcasing the variety of stunts and obstacles there are for the player just in this one track.

Barrel and Turret

So coming up with an exploding barrel and a turret for my racing level was pretty straightforward. I already have the core components of a good ole country time in my level--moonshine, big jumps, exploding things--but all it really seemed to be missing? Fireworks! My barrel, on low damage, will set off the fuses of some fireworks. At higher impact damages, or after a few seconds, the fireworks will start to take off, causing major distraction for the player.

The turret, on the other hand, will track the player as they go around the track in all its make-shift solo cup glory. It will consistently fire at the player causing more distraction while they're going through the level.

Here's are some visual targets.

This is similar to how I'd like the fireworks to be placed in the barrel, as well as how they will fly out on player impact.

But in old bourbon barrels like these.

And for the final bit of inspiration? You know it, you love it. The solo cup!