At its core, Rocket League has always been a humble game about rocket-powered cars playing football. But now the rules have changed with the introduction of the new Knockout Limited Time Mode. For the first time, players will need to rethink their odds as they battle head-to-head in a free eight-player game.
In this destructive derby, new players as well as veterans will need to master new attack, block and grab mechanics to win. Knockout will be part of a new in-game event called Knockout Bash, which runs from April 27 to May 10.
Psyonix programmer Sky Breen is part of the Knockout development team. We sat down to talk about what players can expect, the introduction of new mechanics, and how the ball removal is a big change for Rocket League.
Knockout is the first game mode with no goals or walls. Is it like designing a “break the rules” mode compared to other Rocket League Modes?
Sky: Honestly, we had as much fun implementing this mode as playing it. When we started designing Knockout, we saw it as an opportunity to further develop Rocket League’s gameplay. A way to tailor Knockout to the new vehicle physics and learnable skills, to make the mode as fun as possible. At the same time, we wanted to bring a new experience to our players, one that hasn’t changed since our first release seven years ago. Definitely breaking the rules, but we hope players will really love all the new changes and additions we’ve made.
So, how does the team decide on attack, block and take as a new mechanism? Are there any other guidelines you follow before deciding on this new form of car combat?
Sky: Initially, the prototype was built around attacking other players. That’s fun, but we wanted to add more depth and variety to the player’s move set. So we tried adding a new set of moves to block to protect players from attacks, which the whole team enjoyed, but it didn’t have a weakness for other moves like Attack did. do. Some players will take advantage of this and will spam the block. We’ve come to the conclusion that many fighting games have three core sets of moves: attack, grab, and block, which I like to call the “triple” because it sounds cool haha. We thought it would be interesting if each set of moves launched a different set, like rock-paper-scissors, scissors. This way it will allow players to be smarter than others if they can predict what moves others plan to use.
How do different maps affect gameplay? Is everyone designed with a different goal in mind?
Sky: The goal that we had initially was that no matter what map we played, the gameplay itself needed to be interesting. When prototyping, we play on the most basic map we can make, which is just a platform with a kill zone underneath. We determined that if we could have fun with the most basic maps, the more complex ones would be even more fun! Once we got to that point in development and had super solid gameplay, we started to expand with new creative maps tailored to the gameplay. Next, we added new obstacles like Spikes to bring more life to the mode, making it even more enjoyable in the long run.
Did the team have any original inspiration for Knockout?
Sky: The original idea behind Knockout mode was to create a new experience for players. A place where they can go to have new fun with their friends. The team got a lot of inspiration during the development of this mode. Taking ideas from different fighting games, battle royale games, all its core ways, rock-paper-scissors.
A section of our audience thinks that clearances (when one player collides with another at supersonic speeds) are “cheap”. What does this mode mean for players who think the demos are fun, fair, and are someone who is purely intent on gaming?
Sky: Haha, it means they’ve got a place of solace! No more wondering. Come to Knockout and put those skills to good use.
And that’s the story of how Rocket League cleared the ball! If you want to learn more about Knockout’s development, check out our upcoming series called Under the Hood, where the Psyonix developers talk about the behind-the-scenes process. In the meantime, enjoy Knockout Bash from April 27 to May 10!
