Zach Griffin, head of Motorsport Games’ new Australia studio, has given his perspective on the future of KartKraft.
Photo credit: Black Delta Trading Pty Ltd
Motorsport Games recently announced that it had acquired the rights to KartKraft, an indie karting simulator known for its high levels of realism and faithful representation of karting. Development of the game was moved to a new team called Motorsport Games Australia, which is based in Melbourne, but some of the game’s original developers were maintained in the acquisition.
Future Philosophies
One such individual is Zach Griffin. The force behind the initial game’s creation was kept on by Motorsport Games as the head of the new studio in Melbourne. In a recent interview with traxion.gg, Griffin had a lot to say about the direction that KartKraft will take in the coming months and years.
He stated that the developers “don’t believe in faking any forces or generating pre-canned effects” – a philosophy that comes through in the game’s realism. Griffin himself has raced real-life karts, so if something were to feel incorrect, he would be the first to know. The desire to make players feel forces “exactly as you would feel them in real life” is central to the game’s design and direction.
👌 The development of @KartKraftGame will continue at the all-new Motorsport Games Australia studio based in Melbourne! pic.twitter.com/YfXFeAQdTd
— Motorsport Games (@MSportgames) April 6, 2021
Accessible Gameplay
Often, statements such as this could suggest that this game is only for those fortunate enough to own a whole sim racing setup complete with a high-quality wheel and pedals, but Griffin is keen to avoid this. “I implemented a blanket rule for everyone at the studio working on KartKraft that we must play it with a controller”, said Griffin. This approach is no doubt refreshing to many who cannot afford the significant up-front cost of an elaborate sim racing setup.
Not only will this suit PC gamers on a budget, it may also suggest that Motorsport Games will be eyeing a console release in the not-too-distant future. Griffin also commented on this possibility, stating that Motorsport Games was “looking at things that might expand the market”. While this is not confirmation of an upcoming Xbox or PlayStation release, it hints that it could happen.
Griffin is certainly aware of potential concerns that statements such as these might raise among the hardcore fans of racing simulation. As such, he took care to assuage some of these fears by re-assuring fans that they are “not going to make a sim-cade version or dial down the physics at all”. That being said, more assists are definitely in the game’s future so as to help newer players to get to grips with the game, but the purist can always disable these without issue.
Online Play and Wet Weather
When it comes to in-game features, Griffin was forthcoming. He talked about new tracks such as the International Circuit of Genk, the inclusion of online multiplayer, and also wet weather racing. These latter two points will be particularly intriguing to fans of the game. A private beta for online gameplay has already been undertaken in 2020, and Griffin described it as being “largely successful”. Rain may be a little further away, but when it does arrive players can be sure that it will be as realistic as possible, just like the rest of the game.
What are you hoping to see in KartKraft in the future? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
