Drunk Driving Improves Mario Kart Performance

[Logan Frederick]

Drunk Driving Improves Mario Kart Performance

One semi-scientific experiment has found drinking alcohol actually improves driving skills - in videogames, anyway.

Drunk driving is typically frowned upon, whether it's part of Grand Theft Auto IV [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/83597], its own inebriated gaming experience [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/77609] or a feeble attempt to steer home from a wild weekend. However, one website refused to let the law limit its exploration into trashed vehicle operation.

With death and jail as effective deterrents against actually driving drunk, a group of gamers drank some alcohol before playing Mario Kart Wii time trials to test whether or not being buzzed behind the wheel would improve driving performance.

Three different gamers raced around Mario Kart Wii's "Mall" level in time trial mode three times, each at varying blood alcohol content levels (.02, .04, .08). The experiment found to drinkers' delight that the more inebriated a racer was, the faster the course was run. All competitors had experience with the game beforehand, leaving the alcohol as the only main variable. Therefore, a loosely controlled scientific study has (sort of) confirmed that drunk driving improves speed, navigation and control in a car.

The Escapist doesn't condone drunk driving, unless perhaps you're of legal age and in need of an edge in Need for Speed.

Source: Hip as Fuck [http://www.hipasfuck.com/2008/07/26/the-dui-mario-kart-experiment/] via Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5039418/does-playing-mario-kart-drunk-help-your-performance], Kottke [http://www.kottke.org/08/08/drunken-mario-kart]

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[xMacx]

Someone get those fools a control group and teach them how to counterbalance an experiment.

Otherwise, this should just be called "Driving the same track multiple times improves performance - even when you're trying to impair yours."

and the N of 4 sucks to make any conclusions - even with repeated measures, it's not enough.

Now that I got my haterade out, I admit laughing at it.

 

[Lt. Sera]

I play every game way better when I'm drunk, or it looks that way to me anyway.

 

[Hawkzor]

A few times at LAN parties we've brought beer into the mix. It never improved my skills in Goldeneye, Unreal Tournament or Mario Kart 64 The sober guy always ended up dominating by the end of the night.
On a side note, while I never drove a car drunk, I did drive a golf cart wasted and all I could think about was 'if this was a car I would be dead. Don't drive home, don't drive home'.

 

[HobbesMkii]

If they did it all in one night, this isn't even anything close to proving drunk Mario-Karting works. It just shows they got better at time trials after doing it multiple times in a row.

 

[stompy]

So, for all we know, this could've happened in some guy's house, with them just swearing that they completed the test as stated... I don't trust it.

 

[Surreysmith]

I may never been drunk while playing this for the DS but me and seven friends all ran a half marathon while playing and as fun as it was it wasn't easy.