Rivalry is an upcoming ragdoll-based sword-fighting hotseat multiplayer game created by Kew McParlane. The game was released into Steam Early Access in January 2016 after being previewed as a WebGL game at PAX Australia 2015.

Rivalry
A screenshot of the game's main fight screen.
Developer(s)Kew McParlane
Publisher(s)My64K
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Windows, MacOS, Linux
Release
Genre(s)Fighting, Simulation
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Background edit

 
Creator of Rivalry, Kew McParlane, in November 2015 at PAX Australia

Rivalry was created by Kew McParlane and launched on 1 November 2015 at PAX Australia.[1][3] Rivalry was a surprise hit [4][5][6][7] of the show.

Kew came up with the idea of the game when he was a 12[8] year old, leading him to build a prototype using Little Big Planet. He took the idea to his father, who encouraged Kew by teaching him how to program.[9] He then ran a successful Kickstarter to raise $2000 to get himself an Indie Developer stand at PAX 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.[10]

Gameplay and reception edit

In Rivalry, two players take turns at moving their ragdoll character’s limbs and weapons until one is victorious. While the beginning stages of each game captures the strategic essence of swordplay,[11] as damage and limbs are taken, the endgame turns rather Pythonesque.[citation needed]

Rivalry's Steam Greenlight campaign launched a few days before PAX Australia 2015, and received mostly negative comments due to the primitive graphics of the game.[12] During and after PAX, Rivalry began to receive almost exclusively positive comments from people who had attended PAX and experienced the game first-hand.[citation needed]

The game was green-lit by Steam on 16 December 2015.[13]

Rivalry was released under Steam Early Access on 22 January 2016.[14] It gained some popularity amongst gamers when Kim Richards from The Yogscast published two playthrough videos on the 16th[15] and 19th[16] of March 2016.

On 14 June 2016, Kew was interviewed by ABC TV's Good Game about Rivalry and his development experience.[17]

Development edit

The game is currently in alpha development and many more features, including online multiplayer, are planned before the game's full release.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Nick, Hudson (6 November 2015). "PAX Rising: The Indie Overview". SaveGame. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Rivalry on Steam". Steam. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  3. ^ Lime, Aaron (5 November 2015). "The Action Points Podcast! Episode 110A – PAXceptional Indie Video Games". The Action Points Podcast. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  4. ^ Gollan, Stuart (10 November 2015). "Meet the 14 year old behind one of the best games of PAX Australia". Stevivor. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  5. ^ Worsley, Richard (11 November 2015). "PAX AU 2015: 'Rivalry' Interview". Another Castle. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  6. ^ Starr, Michelle (12 November 2015). "Rivalry: The most hilarious dueling game you'll ever play". CNET. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Fighting Your Friends to Get Ahead – Interview with Kew McParlane about Rivalry". www.hittincrits.com. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  8. ^ "MultiPAX: Multiplayer mayhem at PAX Australia (pictures) - Page 2 - CNET". CNET. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Games Night Episode 8: Pax-Wing | Games Night". www.gamesnightau.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Rivalry needs a stand for PAX Australia 2015". Kickstarter. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  11. ^ Reilly, Luke (3 November 2015). "A Quick Look at the Insanity of Rivalry - PAX AU". IGN. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Steam Community :: Rivalry :: Comments". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Steam Greenlight :: Rivalry". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Rivalry on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  15. ^ YOGSCAST Kim (16 March 2016), RIVALRY! Bloody Mess!, retrieved 11 April 2016
  16. ^ YOGSCAST Kim (19 March 2016), RIVALRY! Just Like Deadpool!, retrieved 11 April 2016
  17. ^ "Good Game - Video". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 4 October 2016.

External links edit