Assuming everyone got tired of spending every waking hour playing video games while socially distancing themselves from home, Nintendo last year released two IRL video game experiences that seem to be unofficially combined to create a file even better real life Mario experience.
Although a bit pricey ($ 100 for a car, plus the cost of a Nintendo Switch console for each vehicle), we found it Mario Kart live, which turns your home into a real-life Mario Kart track, almost as satisfying and fun to play as the popular racing game, while Lego Super Mario it was a great alternative for those who wanted the Mario experience though lack of eye-hand coordination to master a controller.
Both experiences are based on image recognition to bring their respective games to life, with Mario Kart Live using a camera in the car to recognize track markers such as corners and start doors, while Lego Super Mario features a scanner to read special barcodes printed on other obstacles. Both have been designed in reverse and allow anyone to create their own tracking markers (with Lego bricks in this case) and barcodes (with a normal home printer), which is what allowed the people behind it to Playfool YouTube channel to create this mashup that works so well, I would be tempted to believe that Nintendo planned it that way.
To allow the Lego Super Mario figure to go along with the RC Mario Kart, you will need to print and fold a custom paper saddle created by Playfool (the the template can be downloaded here) that has the figure hanging on the back of the vehicle so that the scanner below can read the barcodes it drives. The trickiest part may be to add a piece of tape so that the saddle doesn’t fall apart during a particularly exciting lap.
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You’ll also need to incorporate special Lego Super Mario barcode elements into the Mario Kart Live racetrack, including start and finish markers that activate the Lego Mario figure timer, starters, and even the bad ones to overcome. But this is also as easy as downloading, printing and cropping a file collection of course items that Playfool has already had trouble creating them and putting them on your track.
Keep in mind that the score and achievements you can get and unlock in Mario Kart Live and Lego Super Mario are still completely separate; the Lego Mario figure still can’t connect to his Nintendo Switch and influence his career scores, and vice versa. The hack doesn’t do much to enhance the Mario Kart Live experience, but if you’re bored of manually guiding Lego Super Mario through a Lego version of the Mushroom Kingdom you created, this mashup should breathe a little life in this toy.