A bowl made of washers welded together doesn’t produce the best container (because, you know, holes), but it has successfully inspired a brand new twist on platforming gameplay. After a simple moment of creative dishwashing three years ago, Uruguay-based developer Kalio has leapt from bowl to brainstorm to fully fleshed-out “ringformer” with their latest project, Ring Run Circus.
A bowl made of washers welded together doesn’t produce the best container (because, you know, holes), but it has successfully inspired a brand new twist on platforming gameplay. After a simple moment of creative dishwashing three years ago, Uruguay-based developer Kalio has leapt from bowl to brainstorm to fully fleshed-out “ringformer” with their latest project, Ring Run Circus.
Ring Run Circus pits performers Nina, Ned, and Grandpa Nelson against a bevy of interlocking rings that act as both their stage and opposition. While our acrobatic heroes roll their way around the rings indefinitely, it will be up to players to utilize each characters’ strengths to collect items, beat baddies, and open doors to the next level. Each character can alternate skating between inner and outer rings, but other skills are based on the individual: Ned can slap away living blockades like lions and bears on bikes, Nelson can activate puzzle elements like signs that rearrange ring locations, and Nina can speed along rings faster than the other two, ideal for completing levels quickly and under the time limit.
Characters are switched between by rolling through their personal changing tent stationed in the level, requiring a combination of planning ahead and speedy implementation in order to make it through the puzzle-like rings to the end goal. These stages-slash-performances are located anywhere from fiery volcanoes to frozen mountains, which act as the gorgeous backdrops to the N-team’s cheerfully fast-paced rolling.
More than just luscious visuals, these backgrounds are part of the connective tissue of the entire Ring Run Circus, which utilizes its setting, characters (good and bad), and theme to tell a story. That exact story is unknown at this point, but does involve slapping clowns, so it’s sure to be a masterpiece.
After nearly three years of loving development—including learning to “speak Ringruese fluently” in order to perfect level design—Kalio is looking to release Ring Run Circus officially in mid-2013. Their attention to details and updates since the game’s initial appearance at IndieCade 2011 promise a highly polished experience that will be easy to pick up, challenging to master, and dizzyingly fun.
