Creators of superb free racing game Nitronic Rush take to Kickstarter for follow-up

Last year a team of DigiPen students released the outrageously fun Tron-inspired Nitronic Rush. Set in a hyper-stylised neon world, you controlled an indomitable blue beast of a car capable of such maneuvers as boosting, jumping, flipping around, riding along walls and ceilings, as well as even flying. It can be downloaded here for absolutely free.

Now that some of its team has graduated they've formed an indie outfit called Refract Studios and have put up a Kickstarter for a spiritual successor to Nitronic Rush called Distance, due for PC and Mac next August.

Like Nitronic Rush, Distance is billed as a "survival/racing game," in which you plow through long, hazardous tracks with plenty of checkpoints ala Trials HD, rather than merely retrace your steps through multiple laps.

Distance will add several new features to Nitronic Rush's template including a level editor, a greater degree of exploration, improved sound and visuals, and both LAN and online multiplayer for Classic Race mode, Tag, Capture The Flag, and Stunt mode.

Cliff Bleszinski was a fan of Nitronic Rush and noted his support for Distance. "I think it's going to be a fantastic game," said Bleszinski. "They're very talented guys and they deserve your support."

Backer rewards include the complete game when its ready and early beta access for $15, the same plus a digital artbook and soundtrack for $25, and big spenders can receive a custom built arcade machine of the game for $10,000.

In two days Refract has made $25,025 towards its $125,000 goal with 28 days to go before the 16th November deadline.

And in case you never played Nitronic Rush, here's a trailer for that game, which should give you a good idea of what to expect from its successor.