Close Menu
Technology Mag

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    Save 20% With VistaPrint Coupons for July 2025

    July 1, 2025

    OpenAI Leadership Responds to Meta Offers: ‘Someone Has Broken Into Our Home’

    June 30, 2025

    Microsoft Authenticator is ending support for passwords

    June 30, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Subscribe
    Technology Mag
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    • Home
    • News
    • Business
    • Games
    • Gear
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Security
    • Trending
    • Press Release
    Technology Mag
    Home » ‘Mario Kart World’ Devs Broke Their Own Rule on Who Gets to Drive
    Games

    ‘Mario Kart World’ Devs Broke Their Own Rule on Who Gets to Drive

    News RoomBy News RoomJune 7, 20253 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Email

    Conkdor, an ostrich-like enemy that made its debut in Super Mario 3D World, should not be able to drive. First, it is a bird. Second, it has no hands. But in Mario Kart World, Conkdor can race alongside Mario on bikes, cars, and magic carpets, just like everyone else.

    This newfound ability of dozens of new characters to compete in the game is a first for the series, and a change that required the developers to rethink how they approached playable characters.

    “I have to say that in previous Mario Kart titles, we had to consider whether or not that character would be able to drive,” producer Kosuke Yabuki told WIRED during a translated interview. “My old way of thinking was, well, surely they would need to have hands and feet to be able to drive.”

    As a Switch 2 launch title, Mario Kart World heralds the next generation of the series, and it does so with a huge cast of playable racers. At least 50 characters have been confirmed so far, and many variations of those characters exist with costume changes. Yabuki says that when deciding on the game’s cast, the team first had to consider if players would like new characters and, more importantly, if they’d use them. Nintendo wants players to be surprised by who they can play as, but that’s not all: “If you’re playing a match, would it be fun to see that character alongside you,” Yabuki says.

    That may explain much of the game’s new cast, which includes several characters lacking feet, hands, or both. Yabuki mentions Goomba, the series’ iconic, grumpy fanged foes, or Pokey, a cacti character made of stacked spikey balls: “OK, sure, they can drive,” Yabuki says.

    “I probably wouldn’t be able to even explain how they drive exactly in this setting,” Yabuki adds, “but so long as we’re surprising and delighting people, I think that’s the important part.” The game’s cow character is already a huge hit with players since her reveal. Yabuki expects that other new characters will be popular as well.

    “I’m sure that we’ll see a lot of players that are choosing to race as the cow or the penguin,” Yabuki says, “but this is still a Mario Kart game. I hope that everyone remembers to play Peach and Mario as well.”

    Mario Kart World’s huge cast is necessary now that its races can accommodate up to 24 players; the most recent Switch version of the game, Mario Kart 8, allowed only 12 players per round. Yabuki says the team decided early on that it would be doubling the number of racers for this game. “We knew that with a vast world that is interconnected and covered in all of these different routes, we needed a large number of simultaneous players to give a populated and fun feeling to that big a space,” he says.

    That required some additional balancing. A race with 24 people can quickly go off the rails. “If we didn’t adjust anything else, you’d be receiving too many attacks and it would be too stressful of a gameplay experience,” Yabuki says. The same goes for crashes or spinouts, which have been adjusted so when players lose speed, they’re different depending on the event. “Certainly, we have to think about the chaos element as well,” Yabuki says. “Sometimes, a free for all is a really fun experience too.”

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleApple is on defense at WWDC
    Next Article Samsung Teases Z Fold Ultra, Bing Gets AI Video, and Nothing Sets A Date—Your Gear News of the Week

    Related Posts

    ‘Dosa Divas’ Is a ‘Spicy’ New Game About Fighting Capitalism With Food

    June 26, 2025

    How Covid-19 Changed Hideo Kojima’s Vision for ‘Death Stranding 2’

    June 17, 2025

    Review: Nintendo Switch 2 Is Recognizably Amazing

    June 16, 2025

    Shot by His Father and Left Blind—Now He’s a Hardcore Gamer

    June 15, 2025

    Microsoft Finally Gets Into the Handheld Game With ROG Xbox Ally

    June 13, 2025

    iFixit Says Switch 2 Is Harder to Repair, Probably Still Drift Prone

    June 9, 2025
    Our Picks

    OpenAI Leadership Responds to Meta Offers: ‘Someone Has Broken Into Our Home’

    June 30, 2025

    Microsoft Authenticator is ending support for passwords

    June 30, 2025

    AT&T says ‘our network’ wasn’t to blame for Trump’s troubled conference call

    June 30, 2025

    The government’s Apple antitrust lawsuit is still on

    June 30, 2025
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    Don't Miss
    News

    Apple’s AI Siri might be powered by OpenAI

    By News RoomJune 30, 2025

    Apple is considering enlisting the help of OpenAI or Anthropic to power its AI-upgraded Siri,…

    The best Switch 2 screen protector you should buy

    June 30, 2025

    The Nintendo Switch 2 will be available in-store at Best Buy on July 1st

    June 30, 2025

    Telegram Purged Chinese Crypto Scam Markets—Then Watched as They Rebuilt

    June 30, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    © 2025 Technology Mag. All Rights Reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.