I'm building a race against a zombie

A purple car and a beige car line up at the start on a sunny day. The zombie stands beside the purple car with one hand on its roof, while the main character and an allied zombie sit in the beige car. — Racing the car-loving zombie through town

There's a zombie in town who loves cars. He tunes up his purple car in the garage every day, and if you talk to him, you can race him.

A zombie working on a purple car in front of the main character. A beige car sits in the back. — He'll lend you the beige car in the back

How a race goes

Talk to him and pay the entry fee in teeth.

Talking to the zombie by his car. The choices are enter the race, just drive the laps, chat, or never mind. — Race him, or just drive the laps on your own

Once both cars line up at the start line, a big 3, 2, 1 counts down in the middle of the screen. First to finish three laps wins.

Win and you get prize money in teeth. Lose and you don't get your fee back. Getting out of the car or driving too far off the course also counts as a loss.

The course is one big loop around town.

The town from high above. A square of road with rounded corners wraps around the mall and its parking lots. — The course from above

Throwing things while you drive

Roll down the driver's window, lean out, and you can throw whatever you're carrying at the other car. A hit slows it down for a while. The zombie throws things back at you, too.

The beige car speeds down a sunny straight. The main character leans out of the driver's window with an arm raised, and the purple car races just ahead. — Leaning out the window to throw a tomato

The road before dawn, seen from the driver's seat. A tomato hits the taillight of the purple car alongside. — A tomato hits the purple car

If the zombie you befriended on the rooftop is nearby, it hops into the passenger seat and throws from the other window.

The beige car seen from behind. The main character and an allied zombie lean out of opposite windows, and a tomato flies toward the purple car ahead. — Your ally throws tomatoes from the passenger side

Tampering with his car at night

The night before a race, you can tamper with his car while he's away from it.

At night, under the stars and streetlights, the main character kneels and puts a wrench to a tire of the purple car. — Quietly, under cover of night

There are a few ways to do it:

Use a wrench on the tires, and his car stays slow for the whole next race.
Put water in the fuel, and his car stalls partway through the second lap.
Make friends with the town's engineer, and you can buy a part that blows up.

If anyone sees you, it fails.

If his car blows up, it catches fire partway through the second lap and you win that race. The zombie only gets knocked out, and the car is fixed by the next day.

The purple car, burned black, explodes on the road. — You win, but it's a bit much

No road, no race

The road has broken spots, and there's no racing until they're all fixed.

That's the road crew zombie's job.

A dug-up patch of road. The road crew zombie works inside the barriers and cones. — Under repair

The same spot. The barriers and cones are gone and the road is clean again. — All fixed

Help out and you'll get a few teeth for it.

By the dug-up road, the main character raises a pickaxe while the road crew zombie raises a hammer at the hole. — You can pitch in too

Keep racing and the road wears out again. Then the races stop until the repairs are done.

Where the money goes

I'm building the game so money circulates through the whole town. Part of every entry fee goes to tax, and the road crew zombie's pay comes out of it.

And when the racing is over, the car-loving zombie heads to the bar for the night.