One aspect of Mario Kart World which feels really accomplished is its controls, and in a new interview with Famitsu (thanks, Automaton Media), producer Kosuke Yabuki has shed some more light on why that's the case.
Backing up a previous comment by designer Shintaro Jikumaru, Yabuki reveals that many of the staff who worked on the Switch 2 launch title spent a lot of time experimenting with real-world modes of transport in order to nail the controls:
“We even have some staff members who go skateboarding or ride their bikes outside of the development team’s office building during lunch breaks.”
Yabuki adds that the programmer responsible for vehicle controls in the game is a fan of cars, skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing, and his experience in these pursuits has allowed the team to create truly convincing controls.
In the same discussion, Yabuki says he was surprised that so many players have figured out the perfect spots to exploit these new controls, but he believes there's a lot more longevity left in the game for many players:
“Most of the gimmicks in the game’s stages have already been discovered, but we’ve also prepared many different gimmicks that are in between the courses, and I get the impression that there are still not many people who have practiced or fully played through them, especially considering there are many different courses and variations."