Thanks to the work of an Italian sociologist, we can now know for sure who the best Mario Kart character is
Internet use represents a before and after stage in the world of competitive video gaming. However, there is a key concept that changes the player experience: the “metagame”. Basically, we are talking about the opportunity to play our favorite titles more efficiently. In the case of Mario Kart, Choosing our favorite character, car and wheels does not guarantee victory.
Contrary to what the average player might think, the odds of winning do not depend on the skills of those operating the controls, the key is in making the best combination. To prove this theory, Henry Henneveld took on the task of discovering the best Mario Kart character.
To everyone's surprise, neither Mario nor Luigi is the best
The most popular is not always the best
Discovering the best character in one of the best racing games for the Nintendo Switch isn't just based on knowledge gained as a fan of the franchise since childhood. Henry Heneveld is a data scientist who graduated from the University of Chicago.
Although Mario and Luigi are the two great heroes in the hearts of many players, The exercise conducted by Heneveld shows an unexpected result.
According to their data science, identifying the best player requires understanding that although some personalities share a category, none of them are the same. And in this sense for the world The characteristics that determine the winner are top speed and accelerationIt is not as heavy as many people think.
Variables that make the difference
In Mario Karts there are seven classes of characters represented by Baby Mario, Toad, Peach, Mario, Donkey Kong, Metal Mario and Wario, which are listed in ascending order, based on their weight. Hahnfeld's study focuses on testing the effect of top speed and acceleration.
While the first increases with weight gain, the second does the opposite. Due to their opposite function, these aspects do not say anything in themselves, The really interesting thing comes when the player customizes the car and wheelsfinally giving us some of the best and worst Mario Kart designs.
However, once we can combine the variables of top speed, acceleration, weight, handling and traction into the same package, the best figures scientifically emerge.
Vilfredo Pareto's solution and its limits
To support his theory, the scientist relies on the work of Vilfredo Pareto. According to the 19th-century Italian-born sociologist, there comes a point It is impossible to improve one quality without affecting the otherThis is known as the Pareto frontier.
Considering that the concept is applicable in scenarios where a limited amount of resources compete for the same goal, the work of the sociologist is the main tool for comparing within a single graph, possible combinations between figures, cars and wheels, based on speed and acceleration variables.
Through the use of data management software, Heneveld was able to analyze 149,760 possible combinationsIdentify two facts. On the one hand, only 294 options give unique final values, and on the other hand, only 15 options fit the Pareto frontier.
Numbers don't lie!
Choosing the right character will give us a huge advantage in our next race
Numerically speaking, this scientist and Mario Kart enthusiast has decided so The game has 5.1% perfect combinations.The variables of maximum speed and maximum acceleration are what determine the strongest character.
And so everything indicates that The competition for supremacy is between Baby Mario and Warioas long as the former is combined with the heavier car and lighter wheels, while the latter uses the lighter car and heavier wheels.
Likewise, Heneveld's data allow us to draw other interesting conclusions: Metal Mario is the class that lacks characters in the 15 groups that fit the Pareto frontier. Likewise, it is clear that Heavier actors have more versatility In at least 11 of the 15 configurations.
Without a doubt, from now on Everyone will look at Wario in a completely different way In the next installment of Mario Kart.
