Blur is ‘an adult Mario Kart’

Project Gotham dev Bizarre explains what its next title Blur can take, and leave, from Nintendo’s iconic kart series

After nearly a decade of developing the Project Gotham Racing series for Microsoft, Liverpool based developer Bizarre Creations is turning to something it has always dreamed of; an adult Mario Kart.

“The PR people don't really let me say this but Blur is like an adult Mario Kart,” said Blur executive producer Ben Ward, speaking to Develop in an interview published today.

“It's want you want from the next-generation of karting games.”

Blur is quite a departure from what Bizarre creations is known for. Authentic tracks are replaced by busier, alternate reality race courses based on cities across the world.

As part of wider plans to level the playing field, Bizarre will scatter a variety of weapons around the game’s race tracks, striking a resemblance to Nintendo’s longstanding kart racer.

“There’s a lot of stuff that people growing up with Mario Kart wish those game had done,” said Ward, who added that Blur has been given a Fall 2009 release window by publishers Activision.


“We wanted to take things that are good about Mario Kart but mix that with what we’re good at: more realistic handling, have power-ups based on skills that you use,” he added.

While the team want to capture the spirit of Mario Kart’s scrappy racing, they stated that nuisances found Nintendo’s lucrative racer – such as excessive rubber-banding and unbalanced weapons – would not be replicated.

“That is something that Martyn [Chudley – Bizarre Creative Director] is very keen on; there's not like a big Blue Shell, or a Golden Mushroom or a Bullet Bill,” said Ward.

http://www.developmag.com/news/32151...ult-Mario-Kart