Announcing Rumble Kong League's Pre-Alpha

Everybody get up, it's time to rumble.

TLDR: We got a real jam goin' down.

• Rumble Kong League Pre-Alpha is officially kicking off.

• Spread over multiple testing periods.

• Pre-Alpha #1 (PA#1) will focus on the core game loop and basic team management.

• Open to Kong and Rookie holders.

• First Focus Groups with selected people, followed by a larger testing pool.

• Focus Groups to kick off December, a larger Pre-Alpha in early 2023.

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The year is coming to a close, which means that it’s time to rumble. You might remember that some time ago we talked a bit more about our development progress - which teased gameplay and abilities. We wanted to be transparent throughout our development progress, but also stress the fact that we don’t ever want to rush things.

We couldn’t be more excited to let our community experience the very first version of the game, and want to share a little bit about what to expect. The way we are building RKL is to create a connection between players, and one of the greatest sports in the world, basketball. We are now entering the next chapter!

PRE-ALPHA #1

Soon, the team is releasing the Pre-Alpha version of RKL into the hands of an initial group of players — called Pre-Alpha #1. While we want to roll this out to a larger group in the future, a smaller group of Kongs and Rookies first will allow us to test and iterate faster, ensuring that the final product gets into the hands of the rest of you sooner.

Over the coming months, we will be running several Alpha-phases, each one with a specific goal in mind. In this first iteration, we will be letting all phase participants play the Core Loop and get an idea of how the actual gameplay will work. If you aren’t familiar with the term, we’ll save you from having to google it.

“The core loop is essentially the very heartbeat of your game. It is a series or chain of actions that are repeated over and over as the primary flow of your players' experience. It’s the core essence of why we return to play games over and over again.” - Kevin Wolstenholme

We really want to emphasize that THIS IS A PRE-ALPHA. There will be bugs, there will be missing animations, and there will be pain. But pain makes you stronger. Pain pushes you forward.

We have been working on the game for some time now, and we still have a lot of parts that need work but we aim to collect feedback as efficiently as possible, involving our early supporters.

WHAT ARE WE TESTING?

So in the context of our game, the team has prepared a rather basic version of the game, focusing on only the core gameplay, playing 3v3 basketball with your Kongs. To overly simplify, you’ll be able to do the following:

• Select the Kongs that you want in your team

  • Basic team management - whose playing, managing stamina, pre-selecting abilities

  • Simple visual customization shown based on the Kongs in your wallet

• Play 3v3 quick games

  • Experience PvE matches in our Ranked Arena

  • Use a small selection of abilities we’re currently testing

  • Dunk on your opponents!

To summarize, you will be able to play the very core of RKL - 3v3 basketball games against other people’s teams.

WHAT ISN’T INCLUDED?

Metagame / League Gameplay

In this version, we will not be focusing on meta gameplay - which is the parts of the game that wrap around the core gameplay and allow you to progress over time. 

“The parts of gameplay such as systems, mechanics, and loops that a player repeats to make progress. Oftentimes, the strategies transcend the rules of the game, mostly derived from player interaction [like competitions].” - Applovin

In the context of RKL, this will be the leaderboards, seasons, and clubs. These parts of the game are as important as the core loop, and we will have a specific test for these soon. 

Economy (game or otherwise)

In general, a game's economy is intricately tied to the metagame. This is amplified when you include items that have real-world value like NFTs. Because we are focusing on making sure the core gameplay is fun, we are not including any of the following

• Soft-Currency

• $LEAGUE Token

• Customizable Vanity NFTs

• Ability Upgrade Cards 

• Rookie Avatars

You might see icons for currency, but they will function as a placeholder. Future tests will have the soft currency working closer to how it will ultimately work. 

We are excited to get the game on-chain but want to make sure everything works before we turn on the web3 parts of the economy.

Synchronous gameplay

While ultimately we will deliver a real-time experience, the Alpha will be focusing on a-synchronous gameplay. This ensures zero wait time, and instant matchmaking and gives everyone the opportunity to focus on the core loop.

IT’S EARLY AND WE NEED FEEDBACK!

This will be a closed test. It will run for a limited time, and initially, only RKL community members will be able to participate. If you want to participate, there are two ways to do so. We’ll be splitting the Pre-Alpha into two phases:

1. December will kick off a round of initial Focus Groups, giving selected users the opportunity to test the game, provide feedback, and assist in fixing the last bugs we might discover before a larger rollout.

2. Early next year we’ll be following up with a larger Community Testing where Kongs and Rookies will have a chance to try out the first version of the game, and provide their feedback.

For the initial Pre-Alpha Focus Groups, we are looking for a small number of interested testers, who will be the first to try the current game version, and attend a Q&A with the team about their experience. We will also host some fun contests to get you involved in this phase!

If you are interested in participating, simply sign up via this link: Focus Group Signup

For the Community Pre-Alpha Testing early next year, we’ll be sharing more info once we get closer to the date but it will be more accessible, and more open to the entire rumble family. In short, we want as many of you as possible to play the game!

IGNITE YOUR GREATNESS

Our focus on this test will be moment-to-moment fun. Is it meaningful to manage your team? Is it fun and engaging to use the abilities? Do you want to play “just one more” round?

Getting real player feedback is a key milestone in game development. The best games out there were only successful because people outside the process played them and provided feedback, reported issues, and gave ideas. This game is no different, and we expect a lot from the best community in web3. WEAREKONG!

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P.S. This is a test, which means that all progress and records will be wiped when the test ends. This is a normal part of game development. However, we will be airdropping something special for everyone who participates.