I'm more interested in the specific technological caapbilities that are particular to Mario Kart games as opposed to 'game mechanics/balancing' things which are common amongst many video games (ie implied invincible vehicles, various common powerups etc).
So things like the military feasibility of items such as weaponization of green (dumbfire) and red (homing) koopa shells as projectiles or the capabilities of banana peels for less then lethal interdiction of vehicles and the ability of certain powerups. I could care less about the Starman invulnerability powerup as much as the potential applications of Bullet Bill rocket boosts or Golden Dash Mushrooms.
Also the capabilities of the Go-Karts themselves. Again, I'm not interested in discussing No Limits Fallacy style discussions that arise out of game mechanics/balancing but the capabilities of the Go-Karts themselves. For example the ability of the Go-Karts to deploy various gliding apparatus for short range aerial travel, or the capabilities of various wheel types, such as Monster wheels potentially providing superior off-road capabilities. One of the issues with Go-Karts of the Mario verse is how poor it seems their off road performance is, but it can be reasoned that is a similar issue in the Real World with wheeled vehicles. There's also an array of wheels that provide good traction but at the cost of speed and weight but seem to be made of relatively more common (and perhaps more easily maintained/replaced) materials such as Wood, Sponge and Cushion Wheels.
And also, don't forget to overlook the applications of environmental hazards present in this game world. For example, with the widespread condemnation of things like anti-personnel land mines as well as transnational issues such as border security, Mario Kart is rife with potential applications of technology and capabilities ranging from the deployment of the highly intelligent yet voraciously predatory Piranha Plant to Chain (or even free) Chomps as well as the threat of VBIED's like the Bob-omb Car.
So things like the military feasibility of items such as weaponization of green (dumbfire) and red (homing) koopa shells as projectiles or the capabilities of banana peels for less then lethal interdiction of vehicles and the ability of certain powerups. I could care less about the Starman invulnerability powerup as much as the potential applications of Bullet Bill rocket boosts or Golden Dash Mushrooms.
Also the capabilities of the Go-Karts themselves. Again, I'm not interested in discussing No Limits Fallacy style discussions that arise out of game mechanics/balancing but the capabilities of the Go-Karts themselves. For example the ability of the Go-Karts to deploy various gliding apparatus for short range aerial travel, or the capabilities of various wheel types, such as Monster wheels potentially providing superior off-road capabilities. One of the issues with Go-Karts of the Mario verse is how poor it seems their off road performance is, but it can be reasoned that is a similar issue in the Real World with wheeled vehicles. There's also an array of wheels that provide good traction but at the cost of speed and weight but seem to be made of relatively more common (and perhaps more easily maintained/replaced) materials such as Wood, Sponge and Cushion Wheels.
And also, don't forget to overlook the applications of environmental hazards present in this game world. For example, with the widespread condemnation of things like anti-personnel land mines as well as transnational issues such as border security, Mario Kart is rife with potential applications of technology and capabilities ranging from the deployment of the highly intelligent yet voraciously predatory Piranha Plant to Chain (or even free) Chomps as well as the threat of VBIED's like the Bob-omb Car.
