Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was released for the Switch recently, and though some players haven't gotten their copies quite yet, those who did have noticed an interesting feature: Smart Steering.
While most players have turned the feature off for more competitive racing sessions, smart steering was exactly what allowed Molly, a 4-year-old girl who suffered a stroke after being born, to play the game.
Little Girl Is Able To Play 'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe' Thanks To Smart Steering
Molly, because of her stroke, lacks the coordination with her right hand to accelerate while steering with her other hand. Smart Steering, however, fixes that issue completely, letting her focus on doing one thing while Smart steering takes care of the rest.
Keith, Molly's father, posted about it on the Nintendo Switch subreddit, thanking Nintendo for allowing his whole family to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Without Smart Steering, this experience would have been completely impossible, or less efficient otherwise.
Here is the post in full:
"I have 3 kids ages 7, 4 and 3. The 7-year-old is capable of playing the game normally and the 3 year can't really play, but likes to hold the controller and push the buttons. However, my 4-year-old had a stroke just after she was born and her right side is not coordinated enough to hold the controller in a way that really allows her to play with us. Well, thanks to Mario Kart's new Auto-Drive feature, she can now steer with her left hand and let the game drive for her or vice versa. I'm sure this feature will be an annoyance to many, but for my daughter, who would otherwise not really be able to participate, it is the best feature ever added to a Mario Kart game. She is currently sitting in my living with my other 2 kids and my wife and all of them are playing Mario Kart and laughing their heads off. This is truly a day I won't forget thanks to Nintendo."
People with disabilities are, unfortunately, often exempt from video game experiences. Not because they can't enjoy playing video games, but because the way these games are designed makes them largely inaccessible for disabled people.
How Developers Design Their Games For People With Disabilities
There are times, however, when developers take note of this and make their games compatible for some people with disabilities. Some games which rely on color-matching, for instance, feature a specialized mode for those who are color-blind.
At times when some games have no specific features for the disabled, they would often find unique workarounds themselves.
But Molly didn't have to find a workaround with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. With Smart Steering and Auto-Accelerate options, she is able to play the game with her family despite the complications from her stroke.
This is a godsend for Keith who, in an email to Kotaku, noted the difficulty in finding games which both him and Molly could play together.
"My daughter's stroke made finding games that her and I could enjoy together different primarily in that it just limited what games we could play," he said. "She loves [Super] Mario Maker, but she could never participate in that game because of the complexity of the controls."
In Keith's own experience and observations of Molly's gaming preferences, she basically wants games where she can move the character around and not mess up too much. Watching the character move by pushing buttons, or seeing them respond or do actions, is enough for a satisfying gaming experience. Keith sought smartphone games to fulfill this, but he hasn't found any titles that were compelling enough for Molly.
In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, however, not only can Molly perform in-game actions without the need for makeshift workarounds, she can also do every major control using a single Joy-Con in one hand only. On top of everything, she can also participate in gaming sessions with the whole family, making it a communal experience everyone can enjoy.
"Being told that my daughter had had a stroke was the scariest moment of my life," Keith posted on Reddit. Molly will likely always have a disability on her right side, according to Keith, but that hasn't stopped Molly from walking, learning to read, and doing other "kid stuff." She can add playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on that list.
The Case Of 'Overwatch' And Players With Disabilities
Earlier this year, Overwatch had to deal with an issue where some players were using alternative input methods while playing console versions of the game to have a leg up on the competition. Jeff Kaplan, the game's director, called for Sony and Microsoft to restrict input methods such as keyboards and mice as a result. What he didn't realize, however, was in doing so, an entire demographic would have been unable to play the game completely.
"While I have a lot of love for Jeff Kaplan, requesting manufacturers BAN the ability to use alternative input devices is dangerous for us," said Steven Spohn, COO of AbleGamers, a charity focused on improving gameplay experiences for people with disabilities.
It turned out players with disabilities were actually using alternative input methods to play Overwatch, and Kaplan's suggestion to restrict alternative input methods would have rendered them unable to participate.
The game design focused on allowing people with disabilities to play is still pretty much lacking. It's a crucial element that makes for a diverse gaming audience, and it appears Nintendo went the extra mile and thought about this carefully.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was released on April 28. It's a slightly revamped re-release of the Wii U title released back in 2014. Like its Wii U counterpart, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has won the hearts of critics for its solid gameplay and race track design, and it'll also inevitably win the hearts of disabled individuals for its Smart Steering and Auto-Accelerate features.
