Project Powder

Project Powder is a free online multiplayer snowboarding game developed by Studio Bluecat and hosted by Outspark in the international English market. It is the fourth online game published by Outspark, and includes many MMORPG elements, including persistent characters, leveling up, and quests.

Graphically, Project Powder features an over-the-top style similar to Electronic Arts’ SSX series with realistically proportioned characters and items and exaggerated terrain and abilities.
The game is currently in closed beta.

Setting/Story
The game is set in the year 2146 AD, after global warming has melted all of Earth’s polar ice caps, making snowboarding just a memory. Eager to revitalize winter sports, humanity begins the titular Project Powder to find new sources of pristine, untouched powder in the distance corners of the universe.

The mission proves successful with the discovery of the planet Delphinus in the Rendisis system. Using recently-invented Warp Gate technology, a new generation of snowboarders travels to the alien world and begin an extreme snowboarding championship like nothing ever seen on Earth.

Characters
Initially, Project Powder players can choose from one of four playable characters, three of which are currently available in the beta. As they earn money on the track, players can purchase additional characters and can buy new items that improve their characters’ statistics and racing abilities.

Like in many role-playing games, characters in Project Powder earn experience points and level up, allowing them to move faster and jump higher. A trick tree similar to Diablo 2’s skill trees allows players to beat difficult license tests to customize their available moves.

The three playable characters currently in Project Powder are:

Max

Galaxy Patrol Rookie
With a big heart to match his broad shoulders, Max is as kind as he is tough. While he may be just a rookie in the Galaxy Patrol, his quick-thinking and accurate judgment keeps everyone around him out of trouble.

Ross

The 7th Rendisis University Freshman
Ross is a young prodigy with a mind for machines. This kid genius has skipped a couple of grades and is now a freshman at The 7th Rendisis University, just like his older sister, Beth.

Beth

The 7th Rendisis University Freshman
Don’t be fooled by her laidback attitude and quiet demeanor, Beth has the snowboarding skills and isn’t afraid to use them. She’s one of the best snowboarders on Delphinus, and she knows she doesn’t have to brag about it.

Gameplay
Players initially connect to a menu modeled after a PC desktop. From here they can chat with friends, visit the in-game store, or join a race. While players wait for a game to start, they control their characters in a snow-filled lobby where they can initiate snowball fights, chat, or use any of the game’s pre-programmed emoticons.

Once the game starts, up to eight players race down the slope to the finish. Successfully performing tricks fills players’ boost meter, allowing them to temporarily move faster than normal. The winner receives the most experience points, with the remaining players earning less experience based on their position.

Project Powder has thirty-three tracks, each of which is playable in either team or free-for-all variants of any of the game’s three modes.

Gameplay Modes
Race Mode

In Race Mode, players go head-to-head with other racers and try to be the first to cross the finish line.

Battle Mode

Battle Mode builds on race mode by adding seven usable items. Players still compete to be the first to reach the finish, but the usable items add an additional combative element.

Coin Mode

It doesn’t matter who is first to the finish line in Coin Mode. Instead, players collect coins as they race down the course, and the player with the most coins at the end of the race wins. All coins players acquire during the run will convert into Luv (Project Powder’s in-game currency).

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu