Local designers release Roblox game, "Knockout Island"

By PAMELA GRANT

Cove Leader-Press

Games aren’t just made in big cities. A talented group of individuals from Strykersoft celebrated with a release party for their first (but not last!) game, Knockout Island.

Knockout Island is a Roblox game that Strykersoft owner Jack Ward described saying “It is a love child of the ‘King of the Hill’ genre and Super Mario and Smash Bros where you try to be king of the hill, but there is a very good chance that you’ll get knocked off the mat.”

The official release party started at 2 p.m. and was streamed live for those unable to attend in person. To support the event, Domino’s Pizza donated 14 pizzas to be enjoyed by participants. Strykersoft is a veteran owned and operated business based here in Copperas Cove.

Gamers sat at one of the several computers available and set up for the event to try to gather coins and diamonds while jumping their way to the highest hill in the game, punching competitors off as they vied for the title of “king of the hill”. The game keeps a leader board which tracks the amount of time that top players are able to spend at the highest point.

Strykersoft is owned by Jack Ward who worked alongside several young team members including “Fox” who worked on coding, “Cat” who worked on the 2-D assets, Beth who worked on worldbuilding, and Syd who works with the social media aspects.

Ward said that their team began work on what would eventually become Knockout Island in early January. Ward said that he’s worked on computer coding for a long time, but wanted to make a video game and thought that Roblox would be the best game engine for him to use for their first project. Ward said that the game was originally more of a side hustle and a way to give the youngsters a launching platform that they could add to their future resumes.

“We wanted this game to be made by kids, for kids,” said Ward.

“It was through the collaboration of the kids that Knockout Island took shape and became a viable idea,” said Project Manager Jon Orman. “This team is very well-rounded.”

Orman said that none of the members of the team expected their first project to be so successful—maybe the second or third one, but not the first. He was pleasantly surprised with how well it turned out and how well it has been received so far. They had a soft-launch last Friday which saw players all the way from Brazil and Mexico who played their game, many of whom left positive comments for them. Their official launch Saturday was a big success as well with many coming out to their building to play the game alongside its creators.

Sadie (12) also known as “Cat” said that she worked on a lot of the art aspects for the game and said that she was proud about how their game turned out. She said her favorite part of playing Knockout Island was “collecting coins and going to the top and collecting diamonds”.

Sydney (14) worked on the social media side of development raising awareness and posting across various social media platforms. Sydney’s favorite part of Knockout Island was getting to punch the other players.

“I’m proud of the devs,” said Sydney. “It’s really cool to see them put it all together.”

Beth (18) worked on worldbuilding for the game, building houses and even the shop that players can rest in. She was proud of how interactive their game was. Her favorite part was the relaxing area in the game that she made where players can sit and relax and chat.

15-year-old “Fox” worked on a lot of the games coding. He said that the game keeps track of who is able to spend the most time at the highest point of the game. Characters can collect coins (and later diamonds) to earn power-ups to enhance their “punching” power and jumping height.

“My favorite part is watching the physics work and not crash like they used to,” said Fox. He said that he spent hours each week working on coding to make the game successful and was happy to see everyone playing the game and having fun. “It feels pretty good,” said Fox.

Those who want a chance to play Knockout Island can find a link to it on Strykersoft’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/strykersoft

“I’m excited to see what the next game is going to look like,” said Orman. “The sky’s the limit for these kids.”