Platform Racing 2

Platform Racing 2
Developer	Jiggmin
Publishers	Armor Games, BubbleBox, Kongregate, Newgrounds
Genres	Racing, platformer
Release	February 15, 2008 (beta) May 2, 2008
Links	Play Platform Racing 2 Download (Windows/macOS)

Platform Racing 2 (commonly abbreviated PR2) is a 2008 online multiplayer racing Flash game developed by Jacob Grahn.

The game was his most successful project, receiving over 33 million plays on Kongregate alone and at least 53 million verified plays overall. It went on to become one of the most popular independent online Flash games of all time when it was released, having 2 thousand people online simultaneously at its peak.

Platform Racing 2's popularity led to its nomination for awards and a sequel being released 2 years later.

Pre-Release

A follow-up to Platform Racing was first mentioned by Jiggmin in a September 2007 post where he gave a tentative release date of New Year's Day. While the holiday passed without word, he announced on Newgrounds that a sequel was in the works on January 15th.

A preview of the game was posted on jiggmin.com in February 2008. This build only included the level editor and was held alongside a contest for players to get their level on the campaign. Multiplayer servers were set up within a few weeks and PR2 remained in open beta until May while updates continued being added. Accounts were shared with Volly-Bounce to prevent people from impersonating each other, which continued into the full game.

Gameplay

Platform Racing 2 is an online side-scrolling racing game where players compete against each other on foot in community-made levels.

Racers in the campaign level "Mario Bros remix v.1.3(time attack)".

Item blocks are available in maps that provide players with a random item when bumped, which can give them an advantage or hinder their opponents.

Players receive experience points at the end of matches that eventually let them rank up. This will unlock more levels and give them an extra stat point to enhance their speed, acceleration or jumping height. The amount of experience they receive depends on how well they place, the ranks of their opponents and how long it took them to finish among other factors. Prizes in the form of body parts and hats have a chance of appearing as well, which are given to the winner.

The maximum attainable speed has also drastically increased, making gameplay faster paced overall compared to PR1.

PR2's lobby with the account and campaign tabs active.

The game introduces numerous changes to the series. The most consequential lets players create an account with a unique username and password they can access from anywhere.

Members are able to communicate most prominently through the chatroom on the lobby. New features allow them to create custom chatrooms and use an in-game chat so they can talk while playing levels. The account system also lets them exchange private messages and permanently add someone to their friends or ignored lists.

The new level editor.

The most notable inclusion is the level editor, which allows anyone to create their own map and save it if they have an account. 

Around 30 blocks are available to use, with over half being brand new to the series. Players can draw in their levels using several art layers, each having a different depth setting for unique effects. A number of pre-drawn backgrounds are included as well. Other options let them set their map's items, gravity and time limit among others. Players can test their course using any stat or hat combination before publishing it for others to play.

Maps are rated via a 1-5 star system. The ones with the highest score by number of ratings are featured on either "All Time Best" or "Today's Best" depending on when they were published.

Customization

See also: Platform Racing 2/Body Parts

See also: Platform Racing 2/Hats

Players can style their avatar using a variety of different body parts. All members start with 9 default parts each for their head, body and feet, and more can be obtained through playing. Some serve as prizes exclusive to campaign levels while others may require them to login on a certain date to receive them.

The game also introduces hats to the series, which provide players with an extra ability when worn.

Campaigns

Main article: Platform Racing 2/Campaigns

The game has several campaigns that new players are intended to play through, each made of 9 levels. The first stage acts as a tutorial, while the last is a challenging level that awards a hat to those who finish it. The other maps also have a unique prize when played with 4 people.

Originally PR2 only had one campaign. More were added between 2011 and 2013, each based around a certain theme (speed, space exploration, etc.). The last one features a fan-chosen set of levels that changes monthly.

Blocks

All blocks from PR1 return and 17 new types have been added as well.

Block	Name	Description
	Start	Spawn point for a player.
	Basic 1	Normal blocks you can stand on.
	Basic 2
	Basic 3
	Basic 4
	Brick	Poorly made material that shatters if bumped from below.
	Finish	Marks the end of a level when bumped.
	Ice	Makes players slide around.
	Item	Gives out 1 random item.
	Infinite Item	Never runs out of items.
	Left	Pushes players to the left.
	Right	Forces players to the right.
	Up	Pushes players upwards.
	Down	Holds players down.
	Mine	Explodes when touched.
	Crumble	Breaks if hit too hard.
	Vanish	Disappears for 2 seconds when touched.
	Move	Moves around in random directions.
	Water	Swim!
	Rotate Right	Rotates the level 90° clockwise.
	Rotate Left	Rotates maps 90° counterclockwise.
	Push	Can be pushed around.
	Happy	Boosts stats by 5.
	Sad	Lowers stats by 5.
	Safety Net	Teleports players to their last safe area.
	Heart	Grants invincibility for 5 seconds and awards an extra heart in deathmatches.
	Time	Adds 10 seconds to the time limit.
	Egg Minion	Attacks when approached.

Items

Every item from the first game returns along with the addition of 2 new ones.

Item	Name	Ability
	Ice Wave	Briefly freezes nearby blocks and players.
	Jet Pack	Fly!
	Laser Gun	Fires long-ranged lasers.
	Lightning	Stuns opponents on the map.
	Mine	Places a mine that explodes when touched.
	Speed Burst	Briefly increases the user's speed.
	Super Jump	Portable super jump that's usable anywhere.
	Sword	Short-range sword that can slash others.
	Teleport	Teleports the player 4 block-spaces ahead.

Music

Main article: Songs

PR2's soundtrack is primarily comprised of popular songs on Newgrounds, with most being taken from Jiggmin's earlier game Musical Evenizer. Two remixes of the series theme Noodle Town were also composed that form a single, longer rendition.

Confusion has surrounded the authorship of some tracks since PR2 came out. The first happened soon after release when Dwindled Bible was found to be stolen from .hack//Roots, causing its replacement with Instrumental #4.

Newgrounds users long suspected Miniature Fantasy of being stolen as well. Dreamscaper denied it, though in 2020 it was confirmed as Space Planet's song "Orbital Trance". It also came to light in 2009 that Andrew Parker stole Under Fire and the rest of his music. Its origin remained unknown for a decade until it was discovered to be "Code" by Stefano Maccarelli.

Crying Soul's is more of a misconception. While the credits correctly identify Pyroific, the in-game song list named the original track's composer B0UNC3. Similarly Switchblade was performed by Detective Jabsco but their saxophonist SKAzini was credited. All have since been corrected.

Audio	Song	Length
	Thanks – Jiggmin	2:00
	Noodle Town 2 – Jiggmin	0:24
	Noodle Town 3 – Jiggmin
	Orbital Trance – Space Planet	2:35
	Code – Stefano Maccarelli	0:52
	Paradise on E – API	2:00
	Crying Soul – Pyroific	3:36
	My Vision – MrMaestro	4:57
	Switchblade – Detective Jabsco	2:32
	The Wires – Cheez-R-Us	0:49
	Before Mydnite – F-777	2:34
	Broked It – SWiTCH	1:12
	Hello? – TMM43	0:27
	Pyrokinesis – Sean Tucker	1:33
	Flowerz 'n' Herbz – Brunzolaitis	2:45
	Instrumental #4 – Reasoner	4:21
	Prismatic – Lunanova	2:16
	We are Loud – Dynamedion	2:02

Removed

These songs were in the beta, but later removed.

Audio	Song	Length
	Desert Rose – Metalcan	1:44
	Just an Indie Piece of Mine – MJTTOMB	1:11
	Dwindled Bible – Ali Project	2:22

Updates

See also: Platform Racing 2/Update History

See also: List of Motley Monday Episodes

Badges

Main article: Achievements

Kongregate badges are available for the game, with "New York Minute" being featured in the site's "Best of 2008" quest.

Badge	Name	Requirements	Points
	Newbieland Conqueror	Beat "Newbieland 2" in under 90 seconds.	5
	New York Minute	Finish "Its New York!" in under 75 seconds.	15
	Mad Hatter	Complete "Hat Factory" in under 7 minutes.	30
	Bird Brain	Enter a match wearing the full Giant Bird set.

Reception

Platform Racing 2 received widespread acclaim for its addicting gameplay and innovative multiplayer for a Flash game, with specific praise directed at its level editor. IGN dubbed it "a great lesson on how to mix old with new", writing:

"Platform Racing 2 is exactly what it sounds like - it's a game that uses platforming mechanics while timing your run on a given stage. Think of the old school Super Mario Bros., but throw in some crazy power ups like swords or jet packs, along with an experience system and you'll have an idea of what it has to offer. It brings some classic gameplay to the table and mixes it with some contemporary elements, creating something that is incredibly appealing.

[...] Along with all of this comes a fairly versatile level editor, allowing you to create your own stages that can be uploaded to the PR2 community, granting players hours upon hours of fun."

Its multiplayer was lauded enough that Jiggmin released an open source version of its server called Blossom Server for other developers to use with their games.

It became Kongregate's most played game in December 2009, a title it held for over 2 years until Tyrant surpassed it in early 2012. It remained in their top 10 as of 2023 at over 33 million plays, being the oldest game on the list. Their community voted it best game of the week and runner-up for best of the month when it was released, while the site's staff included it among their best games of 2008. During their "Fatal Flaws in Flash Games" panel at Casual Connect 2009, Kongregrate revealed 38% of people who played PR2 on the site converted to regular players (5x plays), while a further 27% of those converted to addicts (20x plays). It had the highest conversion rates among the games covered, with them noting its long legs. Kongregate's community later voted it among the site's "Kongregate Classics" in 2015.

Members of Newgrounds voted it one of the best submissions of the day and among the top 15 games of the month.

Several publications have named PR2 one of the best Flash games of all time. TechCult cited it as one of the best multiplayer Flash games when including it on their "150 best online flash games" list. From the Intercom later named PR2 one of their "5 Flash Games You Should (Have) Play(ed)" following Flash's end of life in 2021.

The game also attracted mainstream coverage in the BBC's 2011 study on internet filter bubbles, where they used the word "platform" to test the phenomenon on Google. While not mentioned in the prose, the game's shown in photos as the top autocomplete suggestion (with PR3 in 3rd place) and one of the top results.

Awards

Platform Racing 2 won the "People's Choice" award at the 2009 Flash Gaming Summit. The game was also runner-up for the event's "Best Multiplayer Game".

Trivia

• The servers are named after characters in various stories by Jiggmin. The only known ones come from his cancelled game Destroyers of Planets, where Derron, Carina, Grayan and Fitz were main characters.
• The Ice Wave was chosen by fans via a Motley Monday poll over the Triple Bow by 10 votes. The Triple Bow would've let them fire 3 arrows at once, with their distance depending on how long they charged their shot.

• Similarly, the text tool beat block skins in a poll, which let players upload images onto blocks to give them custom designs.

• This is Jiggmin's only game to have ads for BubbleBox.
• Using "Forgot Password" on Jiggmin's account results in the error: "The password to Jiggmin's luggage is 12345.", a reference to Spaceballs.
• The happy and sad blocks are the only ones drawn by someone other than Jiggmin, credited to Jacob K..
• Several blocks had different appearances during the beta as seen in a now deleted YouTube video, some reminiscent to their PR1 designs, including:
  • Ice was semi-transparent.
  • Vanish lacked its dot and swooshes.
  • Mine was directly ported from PR1.
  • Crumble wasn't a square.
  • Water was always transparent and lacked any depth outside the level editor.

Links

• Play Platform Racing 2
• Full Screen Link
• Downloadable Versions of Platform Racing 2 (Windows/macOS)
• Platform Racing 2's Multiplayer Server on GitHub