Kart racing game
{{Short description|Video game genre}}
File:SuperTuxKart in-race (2018).png is a kart racing game featuring mascots of open-source software.]]
{{VG Simulation}}
A kart racing game, also known as cart racing game or go-kart racing game, is a subgenre of racing games. Kart racing games have simplified driving mechanics while including unusual racetrack designs, obstacles, and vehicular combat. Though the genre has its roots in the 1980s, Super Mario Kart (1992) popularized the genre, with the subsequent series still being considered the foremost kart racing franchise.
Mechanics and traits
Kart racing games are known to have simplified driving mechanics while adding obstacles, over-the-top racetrack designs, a wide range of background music and various action elements. Kart racers are also known to cast fictional characters, particularly from animated media franchises, as the drivers of vehicles with unusual designs, often reflecting the distinct trait or personality of the character.{{cite book|last1=Gregory|first1=Jason|date= 2009-06-09|title=Game Engine Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=az_Oi9mSSiIC&pg=PA19 |publisher=CRC Press|page= 19|isbn=978-1439879184|access-date=2014-11-27}} Vehicle design in kart racing games range from simplistic go-karts to unique, more complex designs such as monster trucks or sports cars, depending on the game. Kart racing games are a more arcade-like experience than other racing games and usually offer over-the-top gameplay in which player characters can utilize weapons and projectiles against one another, collect power-ups to gain advantage, or perform special techniques to gain a speed boost.{{cite web| title=The Kart Racing Genre| url=http://www.gamelitist.com/2012/06/the-kart-racing-genre/| author=Adedeji, Shola| date=2012-06-14| publisher=Gamelitist| access-date=2014-12-02| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211113252/http://www.gamelitist.com/2012/06/the-kart-racing-genre/| archive-date=2014-12-11}} Typically, in such games, vehicles move more like go-karts and motor scooters, lacking anything along the lines of a gear stick and clutch pedal.{{cite book|last1=Schwab|first1=Brian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UbMLAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA192|title=AI Game Engine Programming|date=2009|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1584506287|page=192|access-date=2014-11-27}}{{cite book|last1=Rogers|first1=Scott|date= 2014-04-11|title=Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2LNaAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA502 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons|page= 502|isbn=978-1118877210|access-date=2014-11-27}}
Kart racing games are distinct from and not to be confused with kart simulators, which is a minor subgenre of racing simulator games that simulates actual kart racing without over-the-top gameplay elements.{{cite web|url=https://www.carscoops.com/2014/04/this-could-be-realistic-go-kart/|work=Carscoops|title=This Could be the Realistic Go Kart Simulator You've Been Waiting for|date=2014-04-29}}
History
The precursor of kart racing video games was Hanna-Barbera's Wacky Races franchise, featuring the concept of odd and unusual vehicles assigned to each of the characters.
Power Drift featured go-kart racing in 1988,{{cite web|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/powerdrift/powerdrift.htm|title=Power Drift|publisher=Hardcoregaming101|last=Kalata|first=Kurt|date=2012-08-26}} but Super Mario Kart (1992) is cited to have popularized the kart racing genre, being the first kart racing game to implement combat elements within races.{{cite web| title= A Brief History Of Kart Racing Games |url=http://www.modojo.com/features/a_brief_history_of_kart_racing_games| author= Masser, Jeff| date=2012| publisher=Modojo| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626232819/http://www.modojo.com/features/a_brief_history_of_kart_racing_games| archive-date=2015-06-26}} The game was also slower than other racing games of the time due to hardware limitations, prompting its developers to use a go-kart theme. Since then, many kart racing games have been released, with franchises such as Nicktoons and South Park featuring such games.{{cite book|last1=Ryan|first1=Jeff|date= 2011-08-04|title=Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1k-6ksl3uLsC&pg=PT102 |publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1101517635|access-date=2014-11-27}} The Crash Bandicoot franchise in particular (starting with Crash Team Racing in 1999) consists of numerous kart racing video games.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/crash-bandicoots-20-year-racing-career/|work=Comic Book Resources|title=From CTR to Nitro Fueled: Crash Bandicoot's 20-Year Racing Career|date=2019-09-29}}
The Mario Kart series is often considered as the pioneer of kart racing series, and is the most successful in the genre, topping other popular games such as Diddy Kong Racing.{{cite web| title= The 10 Best Kart Racing Games Of All Time| url=http://uproxx.com/gammasquad/2014/05/the-10-best-kart-racing-games-of-all-time/| author= Birch, Nathan|quote="I could just take the easy route and make this an all Mario Kart list, but I like a challenge, so this top 10 also includes pretenders to Mario’s go-karting throne."| date=2014-05-29| publisher=Uproxx|access-date=2014-11-27}}{{cite web |author=Carmichael, Stephanie |date=2014-05-29 |title=Review: Mario Kart 8 Turns the Kart-Racing World Upside Down |url=http://www.themarysue.com/review-mario-kart-8/ |access-date=2014-11-27 |publisher=The Mary Sue |quote=Mario Kart is the king of the kart racer ... it’s held that throne for a long, long time, ...}} Though the genre seems to have been the most popular among developers during the 1990s,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.develop-online.net/interview/3dclouds-reinvigorating-the-kart-racing-genre/0237455|magazine=Develop-Online|title=3DClouds - Reinvigorating the kart racing genre|last=Alexander|first=Jem|date=2017-11-16}} Mario Kart DS (2005), and Mario Kart Wii (2008) became two of the best-selling kart racing games.{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2014/5/15/5718168/mario-kart-series-sales|work=Polygon|title=Mario Kart 8 will likely be the worst-selling game in franchise history, here's why|last=Tach|first=Dave|date=2014-05-15}} In the late 2010s, Mario Kart 8 and its Deluxe port became the best-selling racing video game of all time.{{cite web|url=https://www.inputmag.com/gaming/mario-kart-8-is-the-best-selling-racing-game-ever|work=Input Magazine|title='Mario Kart 8' Has Become the Best Selling Racing-Game Ever|last=Maxwell|first=Tom|date=2021-04-17}} The kart racing mobile game GKART/QQ Speed (2010), which was heavily inspired by Mario Kart, became one of the highest-grossing mobile games.{{cite news |last1=Nakamura |first1=Yuji |last2=Amano |first2=Takashi |title=Mario Kart Tour Shows Promise of Mobile Hit for Nintendo |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-23/hands-on-with-nintendo-s-chance-for-a-1-billion-mobile-hit |access-date=30 January 2021 |work=Bloomberg.com |agency=Bloomberg News |date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523175112/www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-23/hands-on-with-nintendo-s-chance-for-a-1-billion-mobile-hit |archive-date=2019-05-23}}