Mario Kart 64 - Development

Development

Production of the game began in 1995 under its original title Super Mario Kart R, and was intended to be a launch game for the Nintendo 64, but more resources were given to Super Mario 64's development. An early prototype of the game was showcased at the Shoshinkai Software Exhibition on November 24, 1995. The prototype featured the Feather item from Super Mario Kart and a Magikoopa as one of the eight playable characters, who was replaced with Donkey Kong in the final game.

The player's driving controls were designed to be similar to operating a radio-controlled car. While Mario Kart 64 features tracks that are fully rendered in 3D, the game uses billboarding to display the characters and items. Game director Hideki Konno stated that, while rendering the characters in 3D was not impossible, the limited processing power of the console would not have allowed all eight characters to appear on the screen at once. Instead, the characters are made up of pre-rendered sprites that show the characters from various angles to simulate a 3D appearance. Rare Ltd., developer of the Donkey Kong Country games, provided Donkey Kong's character model.

While rubberband AI was used to prevent all the racers from easily separating, the Blue Spiny Shell item, which targets and attacks the player in first place, was added in order to keep each race competitive and balanced. The item was included in all subsequent Mario Kart games.