TMHE Shifts it up a Gear with Improvements to its Free Forklift Truck Driving Game
In December of 2011 Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE) unveiled its first mobile application in the material handling industry. Proving a massive success, it has since received over 450,000 downloads, a feat that exceeded all expectations.
‘Forklift Challenge’ was originally created to demonstrate the advantages of the Toyota System of Active Stability (SAS) and, in doing so, helped draw attention to safety issues surrounding forklifts.  Players drive their chosen forklift around a circuit, aiming to complete the track in the fastest time possible whilst reducing the risk of damaging goods. This gives an insight into the challenges of reducing material handling costs whilst operating at maximum productivity.
  
The game surpassed TMHE’s expectations by not only serving to educate people on the benefits of the Toyota SAS, but also appealing to ‘casual gamers’, who usually expect more from such a game. Based on the feedback and comments from players it was clear that there was still room for improvements to the application.
The game will undergo continuous improvement in the usual way, though there are a few particular aspects that will be the focus of these updates.
The first improvement will be to the functionality of the forklifts and their drivability, making them less sensitive to commands and easier to control. This will be beneficial for beginners, as will the addition of a new track, targeted at first time players and containing two SAS mini games. There will also be developments to the graphics and game flow, aiming to create an altogether more enjoyable and smooth gaming experience.
 
One of the most noticeable changes will be the new in-game events, intended to make the gaming experience more challenging and engaging. A giraffe crane will drop coloured balls or carton boxes onto the circuit, which the player will have to avoid along with oil spills, momentarily obscuring visibility on the track.
The updated version of ‘Forklift Challenge’ will be available online for both the PC and Mac from September 17th 2012 and players will be able to download it onto a handheld device from both iTunes and Google Play.