Research - Nicky-Nice-Games/UnityProject GitHub Wiki
Obviously, at its core. This game is an RIT IGM-themed Mario Kart. The Mario Kart series is a large inspiration. While each game in the series and the series as a whole provides inspiration, specifically, we will look at Mario Kart 64 for the following reasons.
Mario Kart 64
- Arguably the simplest most basic iteration of the game.
- (Sans Super Mario Kart with its SNES 2D implementation.)
- Simple single kart design that only changes color, but not the model.
- There are no “varying karts”, or other sub kart parts that can affect “kart attributes”.
- While this game has playable characters that are divided into three weight classes, which determine characteristics such as speed, acceleration, and handling. We will not be doing this. Character choice will be purely aesthetic for our game and have no effect on stats.
Example gameplay footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmHiQJy4oRw
We are here to goof around and have fun. While things might get competitive, being serious is secondary. So we lean into the Go-Karting and Bumper Cars sort of vibe. Rather than the Formula 1 and Simulation Racing vibe.
Some big things here are the physical and social aspects of our product space. Our end product will most likely be a desktop computer hidden behind some wooden walls to make it look like an arcade cabinet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look at existing arcade cabinets for aesthetic, ergonomic, and functional design.
There is also something to be said about a big eye-catching installation. It grabs the attention of everyone around it, especially if someone is using it. People will walk up to watch what is going on. We should also design for the experience of someone watching someone else play.
“In addition to this formal and informal training, Miyamoto learned to design arcade cabinet games first. Good arcades support both the player and the spectator, the assumption being that people would crowd around the game, watch, and comment.”
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut dictum dolor risus, ut posuere nisl mollis sit amet. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Nulla rutrum malesuada odio, eu eleifend lectus porta non. Vestibulum aliquet turpis urna, in volutpat dui facilisis eu. Praesent ut auctor lacus. Proin sed facilisis ex. Curabitur sed molestie ex. Vivamus hendrerit mattis orci, sit amet dictum orci. Nam lectus orci, auctor sed felis ac, pretium pellentesque metus.
I like this art style vibe of low fidelity. It also helps that in theory, anyone on our team could contribute an art asset on this project.
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Another Kart Racer, but more so here for its power-up and item system as inspiration.
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Possible Related Games
- Mario Kart
- CTR
- F-Zero
- Garfield Kart
- Lego Racing
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One of our direct competitors is the Mario Kart franchise which has their newest iteration, Mario Kart World, releasing on June 5th, 2025. The success of previous Mario Kart games tells us that there will likely be an overall positive reception to the release of this game, however its high price point of $80 has some fans more skeptical. Mario Kart Tour is the only free game in the series and it was released to mobile app stores in 2019 and has accumulated 267 million downloads.
While it’s difficult to find statistics on the kart racing genre, the overall racing genre has been growing and is expected to continue to do so in the next few years. This growth is mostly attributed to improvements in gaming hardware like VR headsets that make games more immersive and software like improved physics systems that make handling a vehicle more realistic. These technologies help create more true to life experiences, but as the kart racing genre doesn’t make use of these features it is difficult to use forecasts of the overall racing game market to make predictions for the kart racing market.
This is good developer onboarding information. What should a developer of this project need to know before starting work on day 1?
What is our genre?
“Kart Racers” is a subcategory of the “Racing” genre of video games. They are a fast paced racing game that mimics go-carts rather than racing cars. The carts are humorously subject to the whims of extreme physics, providing the player a racing experience more akin to a Warner Bros Looney Tunes cartoon rather than a Formula 1 Grand Prix simulation.
What are the games we should know about in our genre?
| Game | Release | Developer | Publisher | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Kart | 2025 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo |
| 2 | Crash Team Racing | 1999 | Naughty Dog | Sony |
| 3 | Diddy Kong Racing | 1997 | Rare | Rare, Nintendo |
| 4 | LEGO Racers | 1999 | High Voltage Software | LEGO Media |
| 5 | Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed | 2012 | Sumo Digital Ltd. | Sega |
| 6 | ModNation Racers | 2010 | United Front Games | Sony |
| 7 | Super Indie Karts | 2015 | One Legged Seagull | One Legged Seagull |
| 8 | NASCAR Arcade Rush | 2023 | Team6 Game Studios | GameMill Entertainment |
| 9 | DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing | 2023 | BamTang Games | GameMill Entertainment |
| 10 | Mickey Speedway USA | 2000 | Rare | Nintendo |
- Kart Racers - Designing Fun for Everyone ~ Design Doc
- Ep 2? - Experimental Kart Racers - Sonic, Kirby, Snowboard Kids & More
- What is a kart racer? And what are some examples?
- What's the BEST Kart Racing Game?
- https://youtu.be/tk_IFN7sCo0
- Mario Kart over time
- The Evolution of Mario Kart Tracks
- https://youtu.be/dOeKp-FzlO8
- Items
- The Evolution of Mario Kart Items
- https://youtu.be/RJg8ka9bwRI
- Level Design - tracks?
- Lessons learned from a first mod
- How I Made My First Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Custom Track
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU4oyP0xHys
- Lessons learned from a first mod
Videos to watch later
- https://youtu.be/tZ-FBlIO5u8
- https://youtu.be/tHQhQWxYfRw
- https://youtu.be/0ooVR2ghIpk
- https://youtu.be/HUcO5-5o1nE
- https://youtu.be/Dv8bMuW1jeM
- https://youtu.be/hIaSx09q6CM
- https://youtu.be/xtqFDg1lwkY
- https://youtu.be/D0bii4jNWbY
- https://youtu.be/raN9TEDLh2Q
- https://youtu.be/Qm5O2eCW8Ck
- https://youtu.be/NDHZKYETDyU
- https://youtu.be/jS4gypv-pac
- https://youtu.be/eiXouqTADsE
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut dictum dolor risus, ut posuere nisl mollis sit amet. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Nulla rutrum malesuada odio, eu eleifend lectus porta non. Vestibulum aliquet turpis urna, in volutpat dui facilisis eu. Praesent ut auctor lacus. Proin sed facilisis ex. Curabitur sed molestie ex. Vivamus hendrerit mattis orci, sit amet dictum orci. Nam lectus orci, auctor sed felis ac, pretium pellentesque metus.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut dictum dolor risus, ut posuere nisl mollis sit amet. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Nulla rutrum malesuada odio, eu eleifend lectus porta non. Vestibulum aliquet turpis urna, in volutpat dui facilisis eu. Praesent ut auctor lacus. Proin sed facilisis ex. Curabitur sed molestie ex. Vivamus hendrerit mattis orci, sit amet dictum orci. Nam lectus orci, auctor sed felis ac, pretium pellentesque metus.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut dictum dolor risus, ut posuere nisl mollis sit amet. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Nulla rutrum malesuada odio, eu eleifend lectus porta non. Vestibulum aliquet turpis urna, in volutpat dui facilisis eu. Praesent ut auctor lacus. Proin sed facilisis ex. Curabitur sed molestie ex. Vivamus hendrerit mattis orci, sit amet dictum orci. Nam lectus orci, auctor sed felis ac, pretium pellentesque metus.