Rift Riders
Grapple across an arena, steal the core and send it through the sky. A playful Windows multiplayer experiment.
- The work
- Multiplayer game prototype
- My role
- Game systems, presentation and playtest engineering
- Year
- 2026
Rift Riders turns momentum into an arena game: grapple through the air, take the core and score through elevated hoops. Ivan / Honez Studios supplied the original Unity movement, Netcode and Relay prototype. I built on that foundation with the game-specific match systems, arena presentation and Windows playtest delivery.
The challenge.
The prototype needed a complete reason to play. Movement, possession, combat and scoring had to work as one match, while hosting, joining, practice and rematches needed a clear path from the opening menu.
Decisions that
shaped the work.
Give movement a scoring purpose
Three hoop heights offer different point values, giving vertical movement an immediate goal. Knockouts and a roaming golden objective create other opportunities within a five-minute round. A tied score leads into sudden death.
Keep the match rules in one place
The host runs the shared simulation and publishes its results. Scoring rules are separated from presentation, and fast throws are checked across the goal plane between physics steps so a core cannot skip through a hoop unnoticed.
Make the whole session playable
Offline practice supplies three bots. Private online rooms use Relay invitation codes, with readable feedback for invalid invites, full arenas and a departing host. The menu, match HUD and return path belong to the same experience.
One round in the arena
A compact loop gives the movement a clear destination.
Enter
Practice with bots or join a private room by invitation code.
Compete
Carry or throw the core, use the arena’s height and contest the golden objective.
Return
Resolve the round, enter sudden death if tied, or start a rematch.
A closer look.
The actual Windows menu brings hosting, practice and joining into one consistent entry point.
The rendered arena and HUD connect movement, possession and scoring during a practice round.
A packaged Windows playtest
The playable build includes the neon arena, scoring and combat loop, bot practice, private online sessions and rematches. A repeatable Unity test, build and packaging workflow ties the Windows delivery to its source, player guide and contributor credits.
What I take forward.
I treated the session around the match with the same attention as the match itself: entering, understanding the state, recovering from a disconnect and getting back into play.
