The History of RobotRage
In this article, I will describe the history of the creation, development, and decline of all versions of the game RobotRage.I will focus on the original releases of the game, omitting the topic of unofficial remakes and revival efforts.
I will not focus on technical details, rather on gameplay and user-side of things.
Additionally, wherever possible, I will enrich the article with screenshots and other materials I managed to find.
The entire article is based on fragments of information, incomplete archives, and individual files, but I will do my best to make it as comprehensive as possible.
RobotKampen
In 1999, Robot Wars Season 3 was aired. It was the first season broadcast on Sweden's TV4. Season 3 was aired in its original form with Swedish subtitles. The next season, Season 4, was broadcast partially with Swedish commentary and partially in English with Swedish subtitles [1].
Robot Wars logo as seen on TV
This is where our adventure with RobotKampen begins. During Heat E (the 5th episode of the series), an advertisement was aired, which you can watch below.
RobotKampen commercial
As far as we know, the ad aired only once. If you speak Swedish and want to verify it, you can watch the entire season here.
I couldn't get through several hours of a program I don't understand.
RobotKampen logo
As for the timeline, we know the ad aired between February and October 2002, based on the broadcast dates of Season 4 [1].
From the commercial we got the most important thing: the address where the original game was hosted: spel.tv4.se
After thoroughly examining the site in every possible way using archive.org, I managed to find some screenshots of the original RobotKampen.
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Additionally, by browsing Raketspel's portfolio from that time, we can find this screenshot:
RobotKampen screenshot from Raketspel portfolio
Interestingly, RobotKampen originally appeared on spel.tv4.se on December 13, 2001, so several months before the commercial aired.
We cannot be sure, but from the description on Raketspel's website and the presence of the "Läktaren" button on the screenshots above, it can be inferred that the original version of RobotKampen had a spectator mode that allowed players to watch others' battles.
Unfortunately, we don't know how this mode worked.
Raketspel website, 01.04.2004
RobotRage
The first recorded instance of RobotRage on Miniclip was on October 28, 2004. Between November 6 and 12, the game appeared on the homepage and started being promoted.This was the first version of the game in English with a redesigned arena, "Roof of Destruction." The change in the arena was likely due to licensing issues. The game's graphics were also updated.
Around the same time, RobotKampen (now hosted on blip.se owned by TV4) was updated and was essentially the same game as RobotRage, but in Swedish. Noticeable changes include a different logo in the menu and on the arena. Moreover, the Miniclip and Raketspel logos are absent on the RobotKampen arena.
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RobotRage 2: Rearmed
Between September 23 and 30, 2005, the name on the game's Miniclip page was changed from RobotRage to RobotRage 2: Rearmed.Between October 1 and 4 of the same year, the name was updated on the homepage and game list on Miniclip.
I wasn't able to pinpoint the exact release date of RobotRage 2: Rearmed, but it likely happened in the second half of September 2005.
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The most significant changes in this version include an expanded arsenal of weapons. Apart from SuperPack 2, the following were added:
- Kamikaze Bomb
- Armour Regenerator
- Rear-View Camera
- Spear Gun
- Flash Bombs
- Razor-Discs
Logos positioning
Minor changes include a drop-down list of categories in the shop instead of the "accordion" style and redesigned icons for some weapons (note the strange appearance of the flamethrower in the original RobotRage screenshot).
Weapons UI change
The logo on the arena was not changed to include Rearmed subtitle. It still contained XTR3000 above the RobotRage title. If you know what XTR3000 stands for, please let me know - I was not able to find anything.
Logo as seen on arena
Between December 9 and 11, 2008, the game was removed from Miniclip's game list. However, it was still accessible if you knew the direct URL. For an undocumented period, although the game client was available, the lobby was offline, making it impossible to play [2].
Between June 23 and August 19, 2012, the game was removed from the site.
RobotRage 3
According to some sources, Miniclip lost the license for RobotRage created by Raketspel around 2010 [3].Between January 26 and March 15, 2013, Miniclip published RobotRage 3.
RobotRage 3 logo
Although the game does not feature Silent Bay Studios branding, the beta version's URL [4] and the overall design of the game, which resembles other productions by the studio, suggest that it was largely or entirely responsible for the game's development. However, the game does not appear in Silent Bay Studios' portfolio.
You can see some of promo material Miniclip released on their Facebook page around the release date.
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And below there's a trailer posted on YouTube and game page.
RobotRage 3 trailer
Already in October 2014, the creators announced on their Facebook fan page that RR3 would no longer receive updates.
The game was removed from Miniclip's website between March 24 and April 1, 2016.
For now, this is the last official stage in the existence of the RobotRage brand.
