Digital Media Concepts/Rocket League

Rocket League is a physics-based soccer game that is the sequel to Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars. The game takes place in a closed arena in which the players play as rocket powered cars. This game allows for single player against one or more bots, multiplayer including split-screen and against other people online, which includes cross-platform play, and a training mode to hone your skills. Soccer is the main game mode, however, there are others like hoops, hockey, dropshot, and rumble. Not only that but there are competitive and casual games. Both grant XP, and competitive games place you in matches with other people who are at your level of experience just as casual does, the one difference is that competitive ranks you. In Rocket League, you can customize your car as well with over 10 billion different possibilities! Changes to the car are only for aesthetics, they cannot help or degrade how you play.

= Psyonix = Psyonix is the critically acclaimed developer of Rocket League, along with other popular games such as Gears of War and Mass Effect 3. Originally based in San Diego, Psyonix was bought by Epic Games, the video-game and software developer behind the blockbuster game Fortnite.

Mechanics
The mechanics of the game are physics-based, which means that it tries to copy what would happen in real life. For example if one was to hit the ball from the bottom then it would give the ball a backwards spin making the ball appear to glide through the air. The ball as well as the player's car are both affected by gravity, and for sake of simplicity, drag was kept out of the game, meaning the ball doesn't curve due to the resistance force of the air.

Hoops
Hoops is played on a smaller arena than the soccer mode and the goals are replaced by hoops instead. This game mode is limited to 2v2s because of the compact court. The ball has different mechanics as well to fit the basketball style of play. (This game mode can only be played in competitive or in a private match. The latter grants no XP.)

Hockey
Hockey is played on the same arena as soccer, the only difference is that there’s snow on the field and the ball is replaced by a hockey puck. (This game mode can only be played in competitive or in a private match. The latter grants no XP.)

Rumble
Rumble is exactly the same as soccer with one key difference. Every ten seconds the players gets a random power-up that make the game way more dynamic and unpredictable so it’s best to always be on your toes and be ready for anything. Once the player uses the power-up, the timer starts again for the next one.(This game mode can only be played in competitive or in a private match. The latter grants no XP.)

Dropshot
Dropshot is the last game mode in Rocket League extremely different from the others. The arena is a hexagon split in half, one side per team. The goal is to break the opponents floor with the ball and get it through that breakage to score a goal. Unlike the other game modes, there is no boost to pick up. Instead you gradually gain boost as long as you aren’t using it. (This game mode can only be played in competitive or in a private match. The latter grants no XP.)

= New Updates = In terms of updates for Rocket League and what is to come in the future, Psyonix is always updating the game and sorting out all the kinks. Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce how it's suppose to off corners, so they'll go in and fix that for the next update, which happens around once every three months. With each update there is a theme, for example because Halloween is around the corner their latest update was to go with that theme, so spooky decals for the car, Halloween themed wheels, etc. In terms of the far future of Rocket League no one really knows if they'll expand to virtual reality, but as soon as the news is out there this article will be the first to know.

= Rocket Pass = The Rocket Pass is not necessary in order to play the game, it only gives the player more aesthetic choices for customization of their car. If the player wanted to buy it the can easily do so in game. What this does is it gives the player access to unlock new items, and they can do so by playing online against other players. At the end of the game, win or lose, the player receives experience points, or XP. The more games played the more XP the player gets, and in turn receiving more items every time they level up. A kind of endless loop that keeps players motivated to keep coming back to the game, with new items available in every season. Seasons last about 3 months, so the goal is to level up as much as they can before the season ends.

=Citations= 1. “Game Info.” Rocket League® - Official Site, https://www.rocketleague.com/game-info/. Accessed on 09/20/2019

2. “Homepage.” Psyonix, https://www.psyonix.com/. Accessed on 09/20/2019

3. “Psyonix.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyonix. Accessed on 09/20/2019