Blackout Rugby

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Blackout Rugby
A browser-based rugby union management game
Developer(s)	Blackout Entertainment Ltd
Designer(s)	Jeremy Bell & Matthew Scoble
Platform(s)	Internet browser
Release date	14 December 2007
Genre(s)	MMOMG
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	Website
System requirements	JavaScript enabled web browser

Blackout Rugby is a free Internet browser-based rugby union management game created by New Zealanders Jeremy Bell & Matthew Scoble of Blackout Entertainment Ltd. Having launched in December 2006 the game currently has over four thousand three hundred users.

1 Development
2 Features
3 External Links
- 3.1 References

[edit] Development

Scoble began developing the concept of a browser based rugby union management game in mid-2005 having been inspired by Hattrick (a Swedish football sim) & Battrick (a related British cricket game). Wishing to bring the idea to fruition Scoble brought his plan to the attention of his web developer friend Jeremy Bell.

Bell was initially not swayed by the project, resulting it being was put on hold. However once Bell completed his remaining University commitments he returned to the idea and the two gradually collaborated on the project with the support of funding from family members.

Following the site launch in 2006, the game went beta on 7 October 2007 with a second beta stage then commencing on 27 November 2007.

Finally, after many delays and over two years of development, Blackout Rugby went gold on 14 December 2007, attracting considerable attention from the New Zealand national press ^[1]^[2].

While developers initially labelled the launch a success^[3] on 8 January 2008 the game experienced a database failure which resulted in the unrecoverable loss of around half of the userbases' details.

[edit] Features

A new user joining Blackout Rugby is given a new rugby club in their chosen country complete with:

A first team squad of 30 players
A youth team squad of 22 players
A ground with a capacity of 5,000.

They also have an initial bank balance of to spend on improving training facilities, hire higher level staff, invest in their Youth Academy or spend on the transfer market.

Blackout Rugby currently includes fifteen nations: Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands (including Fiji, Samoa & Tonga), Romania, Scotland, South Africa, United States and Wales.

Within each nation teams compete in a league pyramid over seasons of fourteen Saturday games each with a knock-out cup taking place on the intervening Wednesdays. Users also have the options of arranging friendlies with any team in the BR world. Matches are played in real time with flowing match commentary and real-time statistics.

Blackout Rugby uses a unique combination training systems with team training, individual training and match training all being utilised by the user to advance their squad. Users also have to manage the financial side of their club, hiring and firing required stadium staff, expanding their ground and recruiting a financial advisor.

While the game is free to play with in-window Google advertising, users have the option to sign up for premium membership, a package which provides a wide range of additional benefits including a two-dimensional match view and training reports.