The cream of Nintendo's development team speaks out on this long awaited 'Cube title
19:00 The Mario Kart series started on the SNES with the manna from heaven that was, uh, Mario Kart, a title which arrived out of the blue and created a new genre all by itself, which has subsequently been flooded from all corners of the market. Since then we've had the ace but just not quite ace enough Mario Kart 64, and a great GBA version. But now, at last on GameCube, it's
nearly Double Dash time.
The title garnered some surprisingly hostile press when it appeared at E3, and despite an overwhelmingly positive reaction from people who have played the finished version of the game,
[That's us, folks - Ed.] some people are still suspicious.
Is Mario Kart: Double Dash!! the karting title we're all hoping for? Nintendo bigwigs Mr. Sugiyama, Mr. Takahashi and Mr. Mizuki were on hand to answer our queries...
Before we begin the interview, would you like to introduce yourselves?
Sugiyama: I'm the deputy manager at EAD, Software Designing Section, Analysis and Development Department at Nintendo, and I have worked on many projects since I joined Nintendo, starting off with Zelda II: The Adventures of Link on the SNES, Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64 and F-Zero GX and also for the Nintendo GameCube, Luigi's Mansion is one of the titles I have worked on.
As for Mario Kart: Double Dash!! that we are going to talk to you about today, I was one of the producers. Thank you.
Takahashi: Hello everybody. I was the game designer for Wave Race 64 on Nintendo 64. I was in Paris for Pokémon Stadium and also was one of the producers for Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Thank you.
Mizuki: My official title is the title section manager at EAD and I generally work as one of the planners. I have worked on several titles in the past, including Pokémon Stadium 2 for Nintendo 64 and Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo GameCube as an assistant game designer, and now I am the director for Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Thank you.
Okay. Creating a new Mario Kart must be very difficult. Is it hard to find the perfect equilibrium between creating a classic game which reassures the fans, and creating a completely new one which could disrupt the series?
Mizuki: It was a very difficult task; it was never very easy for us to come up with a gameplay feature that would cater to the old fans of the existing Mario Kart series, as well as adding some new features so that fans of classic Mario Kart titles could enjoy it too.
Even harder than that was trying to attract those people that have never played with the series in the past. So I wanted to make it as simple as possible where the gameplay nature is concerned. That was one of the most difficult tasks that I was assigned.
Did the bright colours and simple graphical universe of Mr. Miyamoto limit you at all? Graphically speaking did you feel like bringing something new to this game?
Takahashi: First of all I really don't think that Mr. Miyamoto likes, or forces us to use colourful, simplistic graphics at all. Mr. Miyamoto gives us lots of opinions and accordingly we have to think about the best way to accommodate these different opinions.
In other words, as far as the graphics are concerned, no, there have never been any limitations that Mr. Miyamoto or anybody else has ever put on us. Actually we are given perfect freedom in whatever graphics we want to use.
As the LAN game is an excellent way of playing, have you ever considered the possibility of producing an online mode or else some connectivity with the GBA?
Sugiyama: As you know, the local area network technology is implemented in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Nintendo will never stop studying and working on the newly emerging technologies. On the other hand, however, current online infrastructures do not allow such rapid-speed gaming to a satisfactory level.
As a matter of fact we have talked about adapting the connectivity with the GBA from a variety of possibilities. However, in the end we came to the conclusion that Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is not suited to any connectivity ideas and we decided not to include that kind of option for the game.
Regarding Mario Kart, could you tell us why Nintendo doesn't innovate more concerning the tracks, and only releases improvements of the existing tracks, which are excellent, but may seem a little monotonous for the old gamers?
Mizuki:Well of course we are coming up with a variety of different courses for Mario Kart. But more importantly we have added the feature so that many people can fight and run against each other in the enjoyable modes.
There have been many new gameplay additions in Mario Kart, but some have also been taken out, for example, the ability to escape the banana and the use of a feather. We'd like to ask how it was decided which gameplay features were kept in and which were removed in Double Dash.
Mr Mizuki: If you are the best veteran Mario Kart driver, you can easily dodge the banana effect all the time. However, it is pretty hard for a novice player to dodge the effect of the banana, and they can easily creep away from the courses.
In other words, the existence of the banana can widen the gap between the ability of the veteran player and the novice player. For Mario Kart: Double Dash!! we wanted to narrow this down and so we removed that element.
And likewise, whenever we think about the ideas for the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! in terms of the ideas aand functions we have implemented in the past games, we have carefully selected the items or features so that the gap between the novice players and veteran players can be narrowed down.
Of course, as you become more familiar with Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, there is room for improvement, but we wanted to narrow down the gap so that even when the novice players and veteran players are playing and fighting against each other, we really wanted both of them to enjoy themselves.
That is the kind of standard we set when we were deciding upon which features to be removed and which features to remain.
After playing the finished game, some Western gamers have suggested that perhaps even the 150cc tracks are too slow. What do you think about this, and how has the reaction been to Double Dash from the Japanese Press?
Sugiyama: First of all, in making Mario Kart, we are not pursuing only the speed, but rather our focus is more on the features so that Mario Kart can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.
Of course whenever you want more speed, you can play games such as F-Zero GX from Nintendo, and I'm sure you are already enjoying this.
And another question that is very interesting, you were asking how the Japanese gaming media are reacting to the speed nature of this specific game. As a matter of fact, I have never heard any complaint from them as far as the speed of the Mario Kart series is concerned.
Have you actually made any changes to Mario Kart in response to the feedback at E3 that was received after its initial showing, or were the improvements that have been found in the final game always intended from the start? And we're referring specifically to the increase in speed and the addition of powersliding.
Mizuki:The feedback we got from this exhibition was very helpful and we took it into consideration. More specifically I was navigating the online news after we had shown Mario Kart at the exhibition and we considered this information.
However, one thing we have to remind ourselves of all the time is the fact that Mario Kart is a game that is not only enjoyed by the adult audiences who are mostly writing their opinions onto the 'Net, but also by those who are too young to subscribe to the online game magazines and so forth.
So while we were keenly listening to these opinions online and some others, we were also having to monitor the system so that we never forgot to get access to the feedback from our younger audience.
We did not only take on the opinions from the online media and the people from the gaming media in general, but also we have had a similar impression from many other monitors we have taken, and that is the reason why speed is actually up in the final version in comparison with the initial version shown at the exhibitions.
As far as the additions are concerned, actually from the beginning we were thinking about implementing some of these features before we had shown the initial version at some of the exhibitions.
But after the show the final analysis was made, not only by listening to the feedback from the exhibition, but also by having the opinions from the monitors, and also we were working on many possible ideas among ourselves, the team members.
Can you tell us precisely what Mr. Miyamoto's role has been in the development of the game?
Takahashi: Mr. Miyamoto is the comprehensive producer or overall producer. In other words he looks at the very big picture of this product. And his responsibilities this time included the decision to implement the local area network ability and also some of the marketing activities like the decision to introduce the game, almost simultaneously, around the world.
Obviously Nintendo had the perfect opportunity to make its mark on the online market by making Mario Kart online, but you didn't. You've already said that was because the game wasn't suited and it was more preferable to do the LAN network.
Does the fact that you decided not to make Mario Kart online say something more about your own personal stance and the company stance on the state of the online market in general?
Sugiyama: Clearly this has nothing to do with company decisions whatsoever. We have thought carefully in terms of the nature of the gameplay and we thought it best not to include the online ability for the Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.
At Nintendo it is the game designers who actually decide the company policy. So it is always the designers' intention and clearly from the play ability consideration that those kind of decision are always made.
When we've spoken to Mr. Miyamoto in the past he mentioned that it was taking a lot of work to decide which direction to take Mario Kart in.
How much decision making did it take for you to decide upon the final idea of having two racers to a kart and were there any other concepts that you threw around before you finally decided upon that one?
Takahashi: The options were either we went ahead with the two characters riding one kart mode, or we went ahead and stuck to the old, existing mode of one character riding on the one kart mode. Actually that kind of discussion was very heated and went on until the last minute.
After the very many heated discussions we decided on number one, the enjoyable look of the tandem mode. And number two, that the playability of the game made it a kind of party game, that a group of people can join together and enjoy themselves.
We took much into consideration and finally we decided that Mario Kart: Double Dash!! should go ahead with a tandem feature.
Which are your favourite characters, site locations and vehicles in Double Dash?
Sugiyama: First of all my favourite character is Yoshi and I like the DK mountain track and I love the Kooper King Kart.
Takahashi: I like Mario and Baby Park Track and I like the Red Fire karts.
Mizuki: I like Daisy, and I like Baby Park Track and I also like the Red Fire Kart.
You already talked about the speed but we'd also like to know about the battle modes?
Mizuki: As far as battle mode is concerned, actually from the very beginning we were thinking about implementing it.
What is your favourite Mario Kart game - the Super Famicom, the N64 or the GBA version?
Sugiyama: I like the Super NES version of Mario Kart best as it is the original Mario Kart game.
Takahashi: I love the Super NES version of Mario Kart too and I have to share the same opinion as Mr. Sugiyama to the reasons why I like it best.
Mizuki: I am also fond of the Super NES version of Mario Kart best. When I look back, that was when I was still starting at college and I played Mario Kart a lot, especially when it came to the battle mode of SNES Mario Kart.
For the split-screen battle, a widescreen video option would have been really useful. Have you ever considered adding a 16:9 video option in the game?
Mr Takahashi: We have taken some consideration into the possibility of a 16:9 video option. However, we thought it best to opt for the best possible way to enjoy the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! in the 4:3 screen size.
You already explained to us about the banana escape move that was removed. I would like to know if it was for the same reason that being able to hold a shell at the rear of the kart was removed, too?
Mizuki: The answer is similar to the one I was referring to regarding the Banana Slip. The veteran player can easily dodge the shell if they can implement it in the back side of the kart, and once again, that can contribute to widening the gap between the veteran players and the novice players.
On the other hand, however, you can manipulate the shell on the banana, then you can actually make a difference by throwing them into the red shell that is thrown by the other kart. All in all we really wanted to create gameplay whereby the novice players and veteran players can enjoy themselves.
Is the broadband link up something that Nintendo is testing with Mario Kart: Double Dash?
Takahashi: Yes, we have actually tested the possibility of broadband.
Did you decide to include Toad at an early stage, or was it because of popular demand?
Mizuki: Actually I wanted to make Toad one of the selectable characters from the beginning but after thinking about Toad's own partner, we couldn't come up with any specific one suitable as a partner for this sort of tandem ride.
What can you tell us about the secret stuff, which can be unlocked in the game?
Mizuki: Of course there are secrets in Mario Kart: Double Dash, but since we have not launched it yet, I have to refrain from mentioning anything specific. Although I have already mentioned something about Toad!
Do you think that the new option for two players, where one shoots and the other one drives, will be welcomed by players who were used to doing both things in the previous game?
Mizuki: This time specifically referring to Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, what we wanted to create was the situation where we can cater to the existing veteran Mario Kart players' needs to a high level.
And at the same time we wanted to introduce interesting features not only to the novice games player, but also to those who have never played any kind of videogames before whatsoever.
More specifically, we did this by introducing them to this kind of tandem mode. If you are the veteran player, or at least if you have ever played a videogame, you can drive the kart by sitting on the front seat of any kart in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.
And if you are the amateur player who is not confident enough in driving the game, or if you have never played a videogame whatsoever, then you can sit on the rear seat of the kart and all you have to do, it's very simple, just press the button, and you can attack the other karts or other characters.
Even if everybody involved is a veteran player, I really wish, for example, you would engage in the two people versus two people battle. In other words, having kart racing between two karts, by riding on the front and rear seats together.
And then you are going to realise that you are enjoying yourselves, the conversation among yourselves, the ones on the front side and the ones on the rear side are great and I really hope you can try and enjoy yourself, too.
We have all heard that we could play Mario Kart eight-player simultaneously. How does this work?
Mr Sugiyama: We are taking advantage of the local access network mode, or LAN mode offered by GameCube in this specific feature.
More specifically, if you have two 'Cube consoles and if you have two TV systems in your house, in the same room, if these two systems are connected with the LAN, then up to eight players can engage in simultaneous kart racing by splitting the one TV screen into four parts.
That's not the end of the LAN mode. If you use eight GameCubes and eight TVs, by taking advantage of the HUB system and the LAN system too, then up to sixteen players can engage in the so-called attack mode of Double Dash. But please note, 16 players can only play simultaneously when there are two players controlling each cart co-operatively.
What do you think are the best new additions to the Mario Kart universe? And what is your favourite one?
Mizuki:I think I should mention the new battle modes. We have added a couple of the battle modes as new features. One is the new battle mode called Bob-omb Blast! and another one is called Shine Thief. These two new battle modes are very interesting. Fundamentally the rules to these battle modes are pretty simple.
How hard is it to develop a game under the pressure of it being a big name like Mario Kart?
Mizuki: When we were thinking about some of the specific features and specifications for Double Dash, I thought about that myself quite often so that, for example, I had to stay about one hour or so within the Men's Room, just thinking about the new features! [laughs]
Is Mario Kart: Double Dash!! everything you wanted it to be, or were there certain aspects you could not include in the final game?
Sugiyama: I can say that we have been able to put everything we wanted into the game. We left some things out when we finished Mario Kart for the N64, but all these features are now included in Double Dash.
Some things that we could not do with Mario Kart for N64 and have now included in Double Dash are the full polygon graphics for the karts and characters.
And also we have implemented almost perfect dynamism for the car movements. So these kind of features that we wanted to do on N64 are now all realised in Double Dash.
I'm not sure if this is something that we left out for Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, but one of the most asked questions is about the online feature. That kind of online feature was not included in this game, but may be something that we may tackle in future Mario Kart games.
Tell us about the special items.
Sugiyama:Well, depending on which character you are going to use to manipulate your kart, each one of them has special items. Only that character can manipulate these items.
Unlike the previous games, sometimes the items you have got may actually split away from you and also you can grab the opponent's item so that you can take advantage of it in your favour.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! seems to lean more toward the first part of the series in terms of driving physics. Why is that? And is it a key aspect of Mario Kart for you?
Sugiyama: Some of the key qualities which makes Mario Kart the game it is are that you can take advantage of a variety of different items, and these can be used to decide whether you can win the race or not.
And then you can play with your opponents, head-to-head, by taking advantage of these items. That is one feature that makes Mario Kart special. Another feature is just as was explained earlier, that Mario Kart is a game where veteran players and novice players can both enjoy themselves.
What is your personal relationship towards the different characters in the game and who is your favourite character and why?
Sugiyama: Actually I have a personal attachment to the character of Birdo and another one, which is not the main character, so I'm not aware of the English translation and these two characters were actually the characters that I drew myself, in the days when we were working on the development of the Super Mario Bros. 2.
Takahashi: The character which I feel some personal attachment to is the one and only Mario. You may not notice this, but the new Mario character is the identical character, working wise, as the Mario Golf and Mario Party 5, the very latest Mario Party Game.
And the team, including me, was actually responsible for making this specific character appear in Mario Golf and Mario Party. That is the reason why I have some personal attachment to Mario in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.
Mizuki: In my case I drew the character 'Peach' appearing in Paper Mario, so that is the reason I like Peach.
Some considered the single chain mode of Mario Kart 64 as a little boring. Do you agree with that, and what have you done to improve this experience in Double Dash? For example, you have now included a lot of unlockable secrets and said you can set your time after the Grand Prix races.
Mizuki: Well we have come up with sixteen tracks but as a matter of fact we considered adding several more courses. But this time we really wanted each one of the courses to become very, very unique and different from all the other courses.
So we have deliberately eliminated those courses which may sound or look like any other courses. Each course is a very special one, different from the other. And when we are looking up other racing games even though some of them may boast a number of different tracks, actually when it comes to the actual background scenery and variety of race tracks, there are many courses which look the same.
We really didn't want that and that is the reason why we have settled with sixteen tracks. And once again, that is because we really wanted to have very unique courses.
Some considered the single-player mode of Mario Kart 64 a little boring. Do you agree with that, and what have you done to improve the single player experience in Double Dash?
Sugiyama: First of all we were working on the N64 to make it a more beefed-up version and as a matter of fact I have never felt that the single-player mode was monotonous at all.
If anybody has ever had a problem with the N64 version, I really don't think that can be a problem with Double Dash now that we are incorporating the more enjoyable tandem mode. So I hope that everybody is going to enjoy themselves.
Could you talk about further plans for the Mario Kart series. Are there going to be other titles on the GCN, or the GBA? And in which way will they differ from what we have seen now?
Takahashi: Now that we have received so many online related questions, I would like to supplement a little bit. First of all, of course all the necessary elements of technology are already there with Double Dash.
Having said that however, no company - including Nintendo - could make a perfect version of Double Dash's gameplay in an online version. We have reached a high level in terms of the headto-head mode and the single-player mode, and those kind of interesting features could never be reproduced if they were put online.
So that's what I wanted to add about the online nature of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! now. In other words, if the infrastructure for online gaming can reach the stage where we can reproduce the perfect joy of Double Dash in head-to-head and single-player online, the would be the time that Mario Kart: Double Dash!! can be played online.
Other than that we cannot comment upon further Mario Kart secrets right now, now that we are just about to release Mario Kart: Double Dash!!and the European people have not yet played it.
OK, but anything more on GameCube, or have we got to wait for the next console?
Mizuki: Everybody has put so much energy into Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and now is the time to take some rest. And after the rest they are going to think about a sequel.
There Werent Really 88 Of Them
Originally Posted by Doc Holliday
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