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Design and race a rocketship. Upload new race tracks. Compete against each other for prizes. Also a fun way to explore physics.

Hello, my name is Ilya Tolchinsky.  I have dreamed of writing games for a living throughout my career as an aerodynamicist and a software engineer.  The more I try to shut this dream out, the more game ideas keep popping into my head.  The time has never been better to make it as an indie and this is my latest attempt to break free.

RocketRally is inspired by my engineering studies, it is an embodiment of Newton's Laws of Motion and gives a taste of what it is like to design spaceship propulsion systems.  It is also the result of me trying come up with a game that I would want to play on a phone.  I hope that you will enjoy playing it too :)

Try the game.

An initial version of RocketRally is now available for free for Windows Vista and 7 from the game website.  There is also a free Windows Phone version on Windows Phone Marketplace.

Future Development.

I have developed the game so far in my spare time over the last 4 months.  It is in a state where if I were to play it myself I would not need to do anymore coding.  I can change ship and track designs in the code and easily deploy to my phone.

If I see that there is interest in this project and I manage to secure some funding, the following are the next steps along with cost estimates.  The plan is to implement as much as the secured funding will allow.

Stage 1:  Finish ship editor and provide a selection of race tracks ($2000). 
This is the minimum amount I am looking for.  When this stage is complete, it will be possible to create and save new ship designs.  The player will be able to add/remove thrusters, modify their position, orientation and power.  The game will provide a selection of 8 race tracks and record your high scores.  Right now my plan is to keep the regular Windows version completely free, this will allow schools and universities to use the game as a fun way to explore physics and engineering.  The Windows phone version will be available as a free download with ads or ad-free with a price of $1.

Stage 2:  Create a race track editor and provide a way of sharing new tracks online ($4000).
It will be possible to create new race tracks, upload them to a server, and compete against each others' ship designs and race strategies.

Stage 3:  Reward best finish times and popular track designs ($2000).
Reward racing and design skills with monthly prizes.  Racing points can be earned by breaking track records.  The more popular the track, the more points are earned.  Players who earn the most racing points each month will earn a monetary reward.  Creators of most popular tracks will also earn montly monetary prizes.  The idea is that there is an incentive for people to keep improving their designs which will lead the game to continuously evolve.  I don't know what the ships, tracks, and racing strategies will be like, but I would love to find out :)

Stage 4:  Add more operating systems ($8000)
I will make the game available on more devices (IOS, Android, and XBox Kinect).  You will be able to use your account on any of the devices.  I will use the Unity game engine to simultaneously implement the game for IOS and Android.  It will be straight forward to add Kinect controls to the game as it is already written in Microsoft's XNA Framework.  If I get to this stage I will ask the Founders which operating systems they are interested in.

Stage 5:  Continous improvement
Respond to feedback from players and implement some of the features that were left as nice to have.  On my current list of ideas is a feature to allow players to create and share their own graphic and sound elements with rewards for most popular.

Thank you for your time.  Please help me make this a reality.

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3
Backers
$35.00
pledged of $2,000 goal
0
seconds to go

Funding Unsuccessful This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on May 21, 2012.

Funding period
Apr 21, 2012 - May 21, 2012 (30 days)

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  • Pledge $1 or more

    3 backers

    Your name in credits under Founders. Founders will be able to contribute ideas and discuss project priorities. Founders will also have early access to Beta versions of upcoming releases.

    Estimated delivery: Jun 2012
  • Pledge $15 or more

    0 backers Limited (8 of 8 left)

    A skype call with Ilya up to 15min to discuss anything you like. This could be aspects of the game, engineering design, software development, etc.

    Estimated delivery: Jun 2012
  • Pledge $30 or more

    0 backers Limited (4 of 4 left)

    Up to 30min Skype call.

    Estimated delivery: Jun 2012
  • Pledge $60 or more

    0 backers Limited (2 of 2 left)

    Up to 1hr Skype call.

    Estimated delivery: Jun 2012
  • Pledge $200 or more

    0 backers Limited (8 of 8 left)

    One of the original 8 race tracks will be named after you, or a name of your choosing. Plus up to 1hr skype call.

    Estimated delivery: Jun 2012