The first day of Sora’s arrival, like a storm, has passed.
The next day, I formally introduced Sora to everyone gathered in the meeting room.
“Let me introduce her again. This is Sora, who will be joining our Irene School to create games together.”
“I’m Sora Otuz! I look forward to working with you all!!”
Sora greeted everyone with a cheerful voice.
The others welcomed her with applause, and I continued speaking.
“Sora is a key developer behind Speed Rabbit and Unreal Fighter.”
“Speed Rabbit and Unreal Fighter!?”
“That’s amazing!”
At my words, Jiren, who enjoyed Speed Rabbit, and Noirin, who loved Unreal Fighter, turned their gazes toward Sora.
Embarrassed by their attention, Sora perked up her ears, which looked adorable like a cat.
“Um… it’s not that great. It was all thanks to everyone’s help.”
“What did you do in Speed Rabbit, Sora?”
At Karen’s question, Sora stared into space, organizing her thoughts.
“Um… I handled [basic system design and development], [character and monster rune stone creations], and the fun element of the game, [speed acceleration system].”
Sora counted her tasks on her fingers as if they were trivial.
Despite her modesty, Noirin and Jiren looked astonished at how challenging each task was.
“Um… so that means…”
“Doesn’t that mean you did almost everything?”
At their words, Sora seemed genuinely flustered as she waved her hands in protest.
“No, it’s not like that. My colleagues from the Magus Society did a lot of the heavy lifting, cooked, and encouraged me, so I could do those things. It’s all thanks to everyone’s help.”
Sora’s words, whether praising or criticizing her fellow colleagues, left both Jiren and Noirin, as well as myself, feeling bewildered.
I was confident I’d seen a variety of people in this other world, but this was a new character altogether.
“So, what kind of game are you going to create with Sora, Master?”
With a proper introduction completed, Jiren got right to the point.
I flashed a confident smile at Jiren and replied.
“Actually, Sora has already created a game.”
“A game?”
To build suspense, I intentionally left out details about the game Sora made.
I signaled to Sora.
“Sora!”
“Yes! Yuren-nim!”
At my call, Sora brought a small blue crystal ball before everyone.
And with enthusiasm, she presented it.
“This is the game I made. I’m calling it Project SmallSpeed for now. Everyone, give it a try!”
Sora’s excitement drew everyone to the crystal ball as they began to play the game.
“This… this is!?”
Everyone was familiar with the racing minigame from Eternal Fantasy.
But Sora’s kart racing was different.
It was easy for anyone to play while allowing free movement controls like drifting, and the fun of competing against others drew everyone in instantly.
“Whoa! Master! This is pretty good!”
“It’s fun! Sora, my apprentice!”
Even though Jiren was losing by half a lap to his master, he seemed to enjoy the kart racing game.
Sylvia, who had been observing with the sharp eyes of a cold-hearted businesswoman, asked me.
“Yuren, so you plan to just add graphics and release it as is?”
Currently, the prototype Sora had made had white boxes racing each other.
Graphics were needed, and it seemed Sylvia anticipated I’d just add some suitable graphics to release it.
I gave Sylvia a sly smile and said.
“Not just adding graphics; I’ll also include characters that people absolutely love.”
At my words, Sora, Sylvia, and Julia looked at me with curious expressions.
“Characters?”
“Characters?”
“What kind of characters are you planning to add?”
“Just wait and see.”
I didn’t reveal everything right away and kept a meaningful smile on my face.
Seeing my smile, Jiren and Noirin sighed.
“Here comes the Master’s quiz show again.”
“Yeah, it seems to have gotten worse since he started making games.”
The two said, turning their focus back to the racing game with our Master.
*
This game was released on August 27, 1992.
Following the single-player racing game F1, it began under the direction of the rookie Miyamoto Ageru to create a two-player racing game; it wasn’t initially a game featuring Super Mario.
At first, it had the concept of men in suspenders racing karts, but since they all looked the same, and in a racing game, only the back of the characters was visible, it became hard to tell who was who.
So, when the character everyone knew, Mario, was added, it became clear at a glance, paving the way for the original kart racing game featuring many characters of Super Mario.
The game, released without high expectations, ended up selling a staggering 8.7 million copies at once.
Subsequently, a total of 12 titles were released, selling a combined total of 160 million copies, surpassing even most AAA game series to become the best-selling racing game in the world.
The most significant feature of Mario Kart was its simplicity.
With straightforward controls manageable even by a five-year-old, the fun was immense, making it a perfect game for family bonding.
In my previous life, I remembered having a great time playing this game with friends while drinking.
That memory drove me to want to create a kart racing game for my sake and for the peaceful families in this world.
Yet, someone had already completed such a game at the far end of this foreign land.
It became natural to contract for a considerable sum, especially considering the sales achieved by Mario Kart, making it not a huge expenditure.
“Yuren-nim, look! Thomas is racing in a little carriage—uh, kart!”
Days later, Thomas began speeding around the track with his mustache, thanks to our graphic team at the Irene School.
Since the term “kart” didn’t exist in this world, I decided to create it myself.
I named the small riding magical device a “kart,” and since Thomas was playing in it, I titled the game “Thomas Kart.”
“So, are we now ready for release, Yuren-nim?”
“No, the most crucial fun element in Thomas Kart is still missing.”
“The crucial fun element?”
I showed Sora a rune stone with a bomb drawn on it.
“Items.”
The most enjoyable core element of Mario Kart was indeed the items.
With various items to hinder racing, such as turtle shells, bombs, and bananas, introducing entertaining situations was the game’s primary joy point.
Without items, Thomas Kart would be like a red bean bun without the red beans, or to put it in this world’s terms, a sausage bread without lamb sausage.
For days, Sora and I created various items to be included in the game.
“Yuren-nim! How about this item?”
Sora brought over her implemented item rune stone, displaying a green seed illustration.
“A seed? What item is this?”
“If you plant the seed, a carnivorous plant appears and eats the kart! And it sends you back to the starting point!!”
As Thomas used Sora’s item rune stone, seeds were scattered on the ground.
And the carnivorous plant that emerged devoured the apple princess following behind!
Oh my… it even chewed on her!
“How could such a terrible thing… — Accepted!”
“I knew you’d like it!”
Using the game Sora had created as a foundation, we built up the game elements of Thomas Kart with characters and items.
Within just two weeks, the game that would become an asset for the Irene School was completed: “Thomas Kart.”
To celebrate its completion, I decided to hold a tournament with a prize.
An eight-person tournament?
If it were such a dull competition, I wouldn’t have held it.
It was a [60-player battle royale tournament] where all participants raced simultaneously!
Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!
As over 60 karts gathered at the starting point, it was a magnificent sight.
Everyone was revving their engines, ready to launch at a moment’s notice.
And then…
“Beep… beep!… BEEP!!!!!”
As the starting signal rang, chaos erupted.
“DIE!!!”
Boom! Crash!!!
“AAAHHH! My apprentices!!! That crazy plant ate my kart!!!”
“AHHHH!!! What is that? A turtle shell!?”
“AHHH!!! A banana in the road!!!”
In the item zone, 60 karts tangled up, with bombs, bananas, and giant carnivorous plants causing utter havoc, preventing anyone from moving forward!
I felt confident in my success, watching the chaos unfold.
“Well… what a mess.”
And that was the moment Thomas Kart was completed.
