Sunday, April 30, 2017

News:: A young disabled girl can finally play Mario Kart thanks to the smart steering feature

For a lot of elitist gamers, the worst "change" in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the introduction of "Smart Steering" and "Auto Accelerate". The two options are pretty self explanatory, but they allow you to either have the game auto steer or leave the gas pedal down. It lowers the skill ceiling for new players by letting them focus more on learning the courses or using items without having to fiddle with anything else. It can definitely automate the experience a bit, but it hardly ruins it for "expert" players.

What most people fail to realize is that these options can be used as accessibility features for disabled gamers. One such example comes from Reddit where a man named Keith has described how his young daughter, Molly, is now finally able to play Mario Kart with her siblings thanks to these new features. Molly is four years old, but she had suffered a stroke just after being born. It has left her with limited mobility in her right hand, hence how these new features have helped her play Mario Kart.

"Thanks to Mario Kart’s new Auto Drive feature," Keith explains, "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."

A young disabled girl can finally play Mario Kart thanks to the smart steering feature screenshot

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