THE FINAL STRAW 🏁

[Northadox]

It's probably going to be difficult to find someone willing to program a whole new game from scratch without being compensated for it, that being said here are the platform racing clones that I recall from the top of my head.

Grid Based Obstacle Race
Northadox Platform Racing clone
PR4 by sebastianpolak120
Platform Racing 2 in c++ 
Head Bumper Editcraft

I don't think I'm gonna be coming back to my PR2 clone anytime soon unfortunately. was a fun idea but it is a big ask

as for how to revive a platform racing-like game, idk, I don't think it's likely. i don't think a multiplayer platforming game is interesting to a lot of people, the market doesn't yearn for it. games like mario maker are as big as they are due to the brand appeal and even then discussion of that game sort of fizzled out (also mm2's multiplayer component sucked eggs).

i'm thinking about if multiplayer platformers really have much potential anyways. there's two parts of a competitive platforming game, the time attack aspect and the deathmatch.

if you're trying to get the best time on a level, other players playing at the same time as you will either make your run unoptimal (them hurting you with items) or unsatisfying (them clearing the way of some blocks/leading you in the right direction), meaning there's only so much fun to be have with playing with them (the novelty, which is raher short-lived). with a time attack game you're mostly competing against yourself, getting the fastest time, routing things for yourself, or completing the hardest levels, that's where the strength of that lies. if you're good at platforming the players will be a non-factor anyways because you'll know how to get to the end the fastest, leaving them in the dust. speedrunning does exist but they aren't playing with you at the same time.

there's also the matter of deathmatch, which some people do enjoy, but if people are yearning for the hardcore PvP experience they probably want more complex games (like 3D first person shooters) that challenge their aim, positioning and strategy much more than a more simple 2D game does. there's only so much skill that can be expressed in a 2D platformer, especially one as simple as PR2.

multiplayer games, if you're hosting centralized servers, are also going to be much more costly than just a single player game which you can just release as is and won't require any upkeep/money funneled into it all the time to keep the servers afloat and secure. 

so ultimately i don't think multiplayer platformers work too well. i think pr2 lucked out. as delphinoid explained pr2 was just kinda in the right place at the right time in terms of being an accessible MMO game kids could play on kongregate at the time, and much of its playerbase only sticks around because of intense nostalgia (or because they're psychotic enough to enjoy levels that softlock you).

would a platform racing revival really be worth it? it's not 2008 anymore unfortunately. if it did exist you might get some fleeting sense of nostalgia but I don't think it would have much legs to stand on, people who want platformers with custom levels would probably just go to the mario hacking scene or mario maker (as mario has that colossal brand recognition carrying it. hence more players/interest), and as I explained the multiplayer aspect is mildly novel at best and heavily resource-intensive at worst.

i think if you're making a platformer focusing on a high effort single player experience is going to be the best avenue. focusing on good movement, a good style, etc. there's a lot of modern platformers, 2d and 3d that have seen a lot of success (pizza tower, hat in time, pseudoregalia, etc.) and none of them have a multiplayer component, and I think there's a reason why that is