Rakete Press Kit
Info
(Remastered Edition)
Original release: 2012
Overview
Every button is a thruster. The rest is physics. Land your rocket without crashing. Play solo, or put a friend on each thruster and watch teamwork turn to chaos.
Created by Mario von Rickenbach.
Contact
Show emailAbout
Description
Control a rocket and land it on the landing pad. Touch anything else and you're dead. No autopilot, no second chances: just you, your buttons, and physics that doesn't forgive mistakes.
Fly solo with two thrusters (Minimal) or juggle five (Classic). Or bring a crowd: Rakete is massively local multiplayer. Players share control of a single rocket, each commanding one or more thrusters. Hand out controllers, divide the keyboard, or improvise. It takes communication, coordination, and a little chaos.
Features
- NEW Local co-op: share one rocket, no player cap (our record: 50 players)
- NEW Fresh hazards and obstacles to dodge
- NEW Friends leaderboards: compare best times per level
- NEW Full gamepad support
- 60 levels from forgiving to fiendish
- Simple, tactile controls
History
Rakete was originally created in 2012 for the five button competition of the Experimental Gameplay Contest at Stattbad Berlin, where it won both the jury and the audience award. Since then, it has been shown at exhibitions and festivals around the world, often played with large foot switches, and has become part of the permanent collection of the ZKM Karlsruhe.
In 2026, the game returned as a remastered and extended edition with new levels and a local co-op mode for any number of players.
Awards & Recognition
- Jury & Audience Award, Experimentalgameplay.com Contest, Berlin, 2012
- Selection, IndieCade Night Games, Los Angeles, 2012
- Permanent collection, ZKM Karlsruhe
Trailer
Video File Download
Screenshots
Remastered Edition, 3840×2160. Click to download.
Logo & Key Art
Photos
Please credit the photographer where noted.
Exhibitions
Rakete is available as an installation for exhibitions and events. It has been shown with various input methods, from large-scale foot switches to experimental Makey Makey setups. A custom controller was built for the game, with five foot switches plugged into a single box.
For exhibition requests, please get in touch.
Selected Exhibitions & Events
- Electric Op, Nantes Art Museum, Nantes, FR
- Game Design Today, Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich, CH
- Writing the History of the Future, Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju, KR
- zkm_gameplay. the next level, Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe, DE
- Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona (CCCB), Barcelona, ES
- National Video Game Museum, Sheffield, UK
- Design Biennale, Zurich, CH
- The Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen, DE
- Nam June Paik Art Center, Yongin, KR
- Swindle of Reality, Akademie der Künste, Berlin, DE
- ALT.CTRL.GDC, Game Developer’s Conference, San Francisco, US
- AMAZE Playcase, Berlin, DE
- game Z festival, Zurich, CH
- Press Start to Play, Spielzeugmuseum, Riehen, CH
- Amaze Interact, Johannesburg, ZA
- Republika Festival, Rijeka, HR
- Bits & Beasts, Villa Wenkenhof, Basel, CH
- Di-Egy Digital Arts Festival, Cario, EG
- Indiecade East, New York, US
- UAMO Festival, Munich, DE
- Playtime/gamespace.ch, dock18, Rote Fabrik, Zürich, CH
- IndieCade Night Games, Los Angeles, US
- Swiss Games Arcade, Swissnex, San Francisco, US
- Experimentalgameplay.com five button contest, Stattbad, Berlin, DE
Team
Mario von Rickenbach
Mario von Rickenbach is a Swiss game designer and developer. Being more interested in dynamics than statics, he canceled his architecture studies to study game design instead. He collaborates with other designers, artists and filmmakers to create interactive works, like the award winning projects KIDS and Plug & Play.
Playables
Playables is a production company based in Zurich, Switzerland that focuses on exploring the weirder corners of games and playful media. Known for projects like KIDS and Time Flies, Playables creates interactive experiences in digital and physical formats. Playables was founded by Mario von Rickenbach and Michael Frei.
Credits
Created by
Mario von Rickenbach
Published by
Playables
© 2012–2026 Mario von Rickenbach