- Not to be confused with Drafting.
A player Drifting.
Drifts are one of the ways players can earn Boost Points. Ending a drift before hitting a wall will reward players with the amount of boost points shown. Hitting a wall will cause the drift points that would have been gained to be lost. Some challenges in the Career Mode require a certain amount of Drift Points to complete.
In ModNation Racers for PS3 and ModNation Racers: Road Trip, an interface sound is played when your drift reaches 2500, 5000, 7500, 10,000, 15,000, or 20,000 points, and in ModNation Racers: Road Trip, drifting will give you boost points instantly along with the interface sound. In addition, your kart's tires start sprouting flames at 5,000 points, though this does not affect gameplay.
"Snaking" is a technique in which players repeatedly drift left and right slightly on straight paths in order to gain extra boost points. This term originated from Mario Kart DS in which snaking was used after getting a starting boost in order to drive significantly faster than normal as the original boost would be kept.
A player drifting in the PSP game.
In the PSP game, drifting is subject to bugs. Drifting too soon after taking damage from enemies that does not destroy your kart can cause your kart to suddenly drift incredibly far in that direction. In addition, sometimes landing straight into a drift can cause the kart to tilt straight forward in a slightly wrong direction while drifting. It is also possible to drift straight forward making it easier and more rewarding to drift on straight lines than snaking.