| Platform Racing 2 | |
|---|---|
| Developers | Jiggmin |
| Publishers | Armor Games, BubbleBox,
Kongregate, Newgrounds |
| Rating | T |
| Genres | Racing, platformer |
| Release Date |
2008-04-02 2008-05-02 (K) 2008-05-12 (BB) 2008-05-13 (N) 2009-04-22 (AG) |
Platform Racing 2 (commonly abbreviated PR2) is an Adobe Flash online multiplayer racing video game developed by Jacob Grahn that was released on 2008-04-02.
The game went on to become Jiggmin's most successful project, receiving over 32 million plays on Kongregate alone and becoming one of the most popular Flash games of all time when it was released, having over 2 thousand users playing online simultaneously at its peak. Platform Racing 2 's popularity lead to it being nominated for multiple awards and receiving a sequel two years later.
Pre-Release History
Interest in a sequel to Platform Racing was first revealed a few months after its release in a Kongregate forum post by Jiggmin dated 2007-09-27, where he gave a tentative release date of 2008-01-01 for it.[1] While the date passed without word, Jiggmin officially announced on Newgrounds that a sequel was in the works on 2008-01-15.[2]
A preview of the game was later posted on Jiggmin's website in February[3]. To prevent users from impersonating each other, Volly-Bounce accounts were transferred over so members could login with the same password from the start. The same also applied for accounts created on PR2, and this link between the two games continued until late 2011-early 2012 when it was quietly discontinued. This build only included the level editor, as a contest was also held for players to create their best level to potentially get it on the campaign before the full game was released. The selection process lasted several weeks, with multiplayer servers being set up by the end of the month. The game then remained in open beta for the next two months while updates continued to be added.
Gameplay
Users racing in the campaign level, Mario Bros remix v.1.3(time attack).
Like its predecessor, Platform Racing 2 is an online racing game where users race and battle against each other with their own customizable avatar. Item blocks provide a player with an item when they're bumped, which can give them an advantage over other users depending on the map. Gameplay is overall much faster paced than the original, allowing for more lively matches that require greater skill in order to emerge victorious.
The game features numerous improvements over the first game, including players now being able to create an account with a unique username and password, which no longer causes them to lose their progress whenever their browser's cookies are cleared. The ranking system has also been overhauled; instead of levels specifically being awarded to them after every match, an experience point system has been added where racers will receive an amount depending on how well they placed, the ranks of their opponents, and how long they were in the map among other requirements. Once they've collected a set amount that increasingly gets higher, then they will rank up and gain one additional stat point. As such, ranks are much lower overall than in the previous game.
Communicating with users has been expanded; along with being able to create a custom chat room on the lobby, an in-game chat has been added so players can talk while in a match. As the account system from Volly-Bounce has been brought over, users can now send private messages to one another along with permanently add someone to their ignored and new friends lists.
The new level editor.
The most notable new feature in the game is the level editor, which allows any user to create their own maps (though they must have an account to save them) using a variety of premade blocks, some brought over from the original game with minor changes and others that are brand new. Several pre-drawn backgrounds are available for the player to choose from, though they can also draw their own using one of the 5 layers. The editor also provides the ability to type text, set the level's song, minimum rank requirement, time limit, and game mode among others. Pressing the "test" button allows users to play their map, where they can use any stats and hat. They can save their course at any moment, though they must check "publish" for it to show up for players in the lobby. After completing or forfeiting a level, users can also rate the map via a 1-5 star system. Courses 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/Hats
See also: Platform Racing 2/Body Parts
In addition to the first game's set returning, players are now able to choose from multiple different body parts to style their avatar, with some being prizes exclusive to campaign levels while others require them to log in on a certain date to automatically receive them. Hats are also introduced, each providing the player with an added ability in matches.
Updates
See also: Motley Monday
See also: Platform Racing 2/Update History
Badges
Main article: List of Achievements
Kongregate badges were added to the game on 2008-07-11 following a week of discussions with users on the website.[4]
| Badge | Name | Requirements | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Newbieland Conqueror | Complete 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, or 420 seconds. | 30 |
|
Bird Brain | Enter a match wearing the full Giant Bird set. | 30 |
Awards
Platform Racing 2 won the "People's Choice" award at the 2009 Flash Gaming Summit Awards.[5][6][7] The game was also runner-up for "Best Multiplayer Game" at the same event.[8][9]
Trivia
- The server names are taken from an abandoned game of Jiggmin's called Destroyers of Planets. While the main characters, Derron, Carina, Grayan, and Fitz were playable and have known personalities, none of the other characters were seen and their roles in the story remain unknown.
- Despite the added game modes, most in-game messages were never updated and only reference races, including the "Race Complete!" pop-up seen at the end of every match.
- This is the only game of Jiggmin's to feature advertisements for BubbleBox, though they only appear when users are playing on the website.
- Attempting to use the "Forgot Password" feature with Jiggmin's account and any email address will result in an error reading: "The password to Jiggmin's luggage is 12345.", which is a reference to the 1987 film Spaceballs where President Skroob states that he has the same combination on his luggage.
References
- â http://www.kongregate.com/forums/19-platform-racing-2/topics/1915-platform-racing-or-platform-racing-2?page=1#posts-34184
- â http://jiggmin.newgrounds.com/news/post/69401
- â http://web.archive.org/web/20080220051545/http://www.jiggmin.com/
- â http://www.kongregate.com/forums/19-platform-racing-2/topics/12777-platform-racing-2-badges
- â http://web.archive.org/web/20100314012224/http://mochiland.com/articles/the-flash-gaming-summit-re-cap-and-round-up
- â http://s2.photobucket.com/user/MrJiggmin/media/IMG_1470.jpg.html?sort=3&o=64
- â http://web.archive.org/web/20090314021138/http://jiggmin.com/forum/blog.php?b=214
- â http://web.archive.org/web/20100102121602/http://jiggmin.com/forum/blog.php?tag=redxwings+wuz+here&u=1
- â http://web.archive.org/web/20090308055243/http://www.flashgamingsummit.com/the-mochis.html