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[Shizza]

I saw this pop up in my Twitter feed today via Emily Rogers.

It looks like this month's Retro Gamer has a lengthy feature on Super Mario Kart, but the link in the Nintendo Everything site isn't working for me, so here is a link and excerpt's from NE's article.

I love Mario Kart, and have been playing it (and F-Zero) since the SNES days, so I found this article pretty interesting, and hopefully you guys do too!


Intro:

They explained the game’s F-Zero roots, how the team settled on Mario characters, including power-ups and the Battle Mode, and much more. If you have any interest in Mario Kart at all, chances are you’ll find these insights very interesting as many of the ideas set the standard for the series

On the F-Zero Roots:

“Our original plan didn’t include Mario or karts. The game’s roots lie in one of the launch titles for the SNES: F-Zero.

The game was designed for single-player gameplay because of our focus on getting across the sense of speed and the size of the courses. It was a prototype for a multiplayer version of F-Zero that ended up being the starting point for Super Mario Kart, and from there we went through a period of trial and error to find what worked.

You could say that Mario was added to the racing game as a result of this trial and error. F-Zero displays the layer for the course over an area of 100 screens in order to create a feeling of speed and scale. However, because of hardware limitations, splitting the screen for multiplayer required the courses be displayed within an area no more than four TV screens wide by four screens high, i.e. 16 screens.

We tried creating an F-Zero style circuit within that limitation, but found it too difficult to race in with an F1-type vehicle, making it impossible to create a course that could give you a feeling of speed.

In a last-ditch attempt, we came up with what we felt was our only choice: kart racing. Karts were a great fit for these compact courses. However, with the drivers wearing helmets and racing suits, they all looked the same from behind and lacked individuality. It’s hard to tell who is who, so we ran into another problem there.” – Konno and Sugiyama

On including Mario and how the roster was formed:

“We thought about what kind of character would be instantly recognizable when seen from behind, and decided to try Mario. Mario certainly is a recognizable character, even from behind, and it was instantly clear that it’s him. For the other racers, we chose more characters from the Mario franchise who could also be clearly recognized from behind. This was the first step in the creation of Super Mario Kart. Without this hardware limitation we might have ended up with a different racing game. – Konno and Sugiyama

On creating the courses:

“Due to the hardware limitations at the time, we couldn’t place actual 3D objects. So we divided the ground into different types: asphalt, dirt, wood, stone, and water and created differences between them by changing the values for their resistance. For the backgrounds we picked things that fit in with the Mario setting. The course difficulties were adjusted as we played them, and things like the breakable barriers were added later to make the game more thrilling.” – Sugiyama

And there is a bunch more on their site.

It looks like this was published over the weekend, but I haven't seen it pop up on GAF yet, but blue shell me if old

 

[RRockman]

So we came full circle with 8 eh?

 

[DecoReturns]

Time to add Captain Falcon in Mario Kart

 

[shockdude]

Mario Kart GX. Kart racing at 1000km/h

 

[Shizza]

So we came full circle with 8 eh?

Yup!

Time to add Captain Falcon in Mario Kart

I'd love for Nintendo to add DLC to the Switch version, and it would be great if that included the Captain and another F-Zero track or two.

 

[PtM]

So we came full Moebius with 8 eh?

fixed

 

[ryushe]

I... did not know this and yet, it makes so much sense now that I do.

 

[Twiforce]

It's fascinating to see how the kart racing concept was born entirely out of technical limitations that restricted their original idea. It makes me wonder how many unique ideas we've missed out on in the modern age of high-fidelity graphics.

 

[Oblivion]

That totally makes sense considering Sugiyama was the director of F-Zero.

 

[Chittagong]

Ha, and you lot have been bitching about not getting a new F-Zero. You got 8!

 

[WonderzL]

that's so cool

limited specs made one of the most loved gaming franchises

good things come out of bad times etc. love it

 

[Oblivion]

This actually also makes sense when you see Nintendo's history and that many Mario spinoffs started off as original ideas that Miyamoto wanted to cram Mario in cause he thought it would do better.

 

[Madao]

Mario Kart 9 needs an F-Zero mode as a true homage to its origin. there's no chance we'll ever get a new F-Zero so this is the best we could hope.

oh also, a track editor in Mario Kart to bring to like F-Zero-like tracks.