We had a “special interest” Pecha Kucha at work today as part of Neurodiversity Awareness Month (Pecha Kucha’s are short presentations with 20 slides where you spend 20 seconds per slide while presenting). I have a Pecha Kucha topics queue and folks had previously suggested I do one on Mario Kart and share some tips on improving.
I kept it basic (and I know what ‘advanced’ means because I briefly YouTube’d drifting to see how someone else explained it and there were like nine different techniques that I didn’t understand at all). My thought is that if you know enough of the basics to get better speed and car control, you start having more fun . . . because you stop getting stuck in the pack as often and start being competitive in races.
I emphasized drifting. You’ve got to learn to drift. Once you figure that out, everything is so much easier. But I also shared more about item strategy (including which items you should use as shields and which you should just use immediately), character and vehicle builds (I think it’s more important to be consistent and get used to your build rather than “optimize” each time), starting line speed boosts, and the speed you should be practicing on (150 cc — why anyone races below that is beyond me).
I had to cut a lot out to get this to fit into a presentation that was supposed to clock in under six minutes, but I can talk fast and I hit the essentials. We did a little Mario Kart at the end of the day and two of the attendees were practicing and saying drifting was already making a difference.
It’s in my interest to help people improve. Firstly, because people have more fun when they get better at it and then want to play with me more. Secondly, I can only be the best if I’m playing against the best. I have more fun with the competition — I don’t want to hoard secret strategies and tips, I want it all out on the table and then find a way to win anyway. (I know this is not the most attractive thing about me.)
With Love,
Natalie