Animation VERSUS is an upcoming fighting game created by Alan Becker and DJ Welch, in collaboration with prominent Rivals of Aether modder Muno. It is currently projected to release in June 2028.

This game is a hybrid of classic and platform fighters, combining HP bars and enclosed stages with no bottomless pits with robust movement, simple controls, and the ability to knock opponents out of the blast lines. It features characters from the Animator vs. Animation Franchise, including Orange (The Second Coming), the Color Gang, Purple, and more. It will also contain interactive online lobbies (with pets, hats, and customizable profiles and avatars), a roguelite mode (which supports co-op gameplay), and a story mode (containing animated cutscenes and an original storyline set in the AvA universe). More info will be published in the newsletter.

Gameplay

Animation VERSUS matches take place in enclosed areas with no bottomless pits and a variety of platform layouts, and uses a "best of five" format; whoever first wins three rounds—or "files," as the game calls them—wins the match. To win a file, players must KO their opponent by reducing their HP to 0. Alternatively, when a player's HP is low enough (approximately 1/4 of their maximum HP), they will enter a "Danger" state, where any attack that knocks them into the wall at a high enough velocity will result in a KO. When a KO is achieved by any means, the next file begins in another area of the stage, containing a new platform layout. This new area depends on the wall the opponent was knocked into, and is consistent for each area.

Characters automatically face each other during matches. Dashes can be done in multiple directions both on the ground and in the air, and each character also gets at least one midair jump. It is also possible to wall jump off of the walls of the area and to quick fall. Each of these techniques can be done once in the same airtime, and the momentum-based physics make it possible to make long jumps (dash before jumping) or to enter an aerial state close to the ground (air dash and jump around the same time).

Each character has 10 Normal Attacks and 10 Special Attacks, based on a combination of character positioning (aerial or grounded) and control stick direction (neutral attacks and up, down, forward, and back tilts). Normal Attacks can be comboed into each other, or canceled into Special Attacks. Special Attacks, alongside being used at base level, can be charged to deal more damage and/or cause additional effects (such as Yellow's pop-up projectile being delayed).

Blocking can be used to nullify the damage of all attacks either to the left or right of a character, depending on what direction it's angled. However, blocking cannot be used in the air or to defend against Overhead attacks, which attack the target from above. Some Overhead attacks can be activated from the ground, including Orange's hammer attack.

The Node Meter is the game's super meter, filled by attacking opponents. A third of it can be spent to immediately charge Special Attacks. Alternatively, it can be drained over time to use the Node Guard, which partially retains momentum, can be used in the air, and can be angled to block attacks from the left, right, or Overhead. Successfully blocking an attack this way will grant the defender temporary invincibility (as well as knock the attacker back if it was a melee attack), allowing them to break out of combos.

Each player also has a Stun Meter that can be filled by damaging them. Filling a player's the Stun Meter to its maximum causes them to enter the Stun state, which prevents them from using Node Guards, dashes, and double jumps until the meter finishes draining, and thus makes it easier to combo them. Alternatively, an opponent can attack a player who has their Node Guard up from a direction it isn't angled towards to Counter them, causing them to enter the Stun state early. A player's Stun Meter begins to drain if they go more than a few seconds without being hit or when they enter the Stun state, and is instantly depleted if they land an attack.

Characters

The Kickstarter development build contains six characters. All of them currently lack some of their Special Attacks, though Orange has the most completed with Red as a second.

Stages

Stages in Animation VERSUS consist of four distinct areas, each with their own platforms and features. When a file is ended, the next file begins in a different area.

As of the Kickstarter development build, ALANSPC appears to be fully complete, while Lake and City currently contain two areas with no features.

• ALANSPC (A Windows 10 desktop, with areas taking the form of different applications)

  • An empty desktop (no platforms)

  • sticksfight.com[1] (a Google Chrome window displaying the location where the animation takes place. Contains one large, stationary platform as the second floor.)

  • Adobe Animate (An unfinished nature scene. Contains two small, stationary platforms, out of leaves on the left and wood on the right.)

  • File Explorer (constantly scrolling sideways, with the horizontal scroll bar taking the form of a small, moving platform.)

• Lake (The lake in the Outernet previously seen in The Showdown)

  • A forest at a cliff overlooking the lake.

  • A shallow area at the far end of the lake.

  • The Dark Lord's bunker (WIP)

• City (an Outernet city at nighttime)

  • A sidewalk at ground level, close to an intersection. A coffee shop and corn dog stand can be seen on the other end.

  • A rooftop area, from which multiple billboards can be seen, including one depicting Rocket Corp.

• 6 more

Staff

DJ Welch: Executive Producer, Creative Director

DJ Welch is Alan’s longtime creative partner, close friend, and co-host of the YouTube channel Animators VS Games. His multiple-industry entertainment career spans gaming, animation, and tech, with positions at companies like Lucasfilm, Instagram, and Cartoon Network. On the Animation VERSUS team, he uses this experience to keep the team on a straight course and lead much of the creative and business work behind-the-scenes.

Muno: Lead Developer, Game Design Lead, Art Director

Muno is a game developer best known for making mods for the fighting game Rivals of Aether - one of which inspired the creation of Animation VERSUS. Near the start of the game’s development, he was the only developer working on the project, contributing both code and animation as well as creating the gameplay design. As the team has expanded to include dedicated artists, he continues to lead the engineering and design / vision of the project - the game truly is his brainchild at the end of the day.

Bar: Animator, Production Artist

Bar is another well-known Rivals of Aether modder with several impressive projects under his belt. On the Animation VERSUS team, he currently handles all of the animation work - character animation, particle effects, and even the pixel art intro sequence for our Kickstarter trailer!

Egor: Sound Designer

Egor is a sound designer from the Animator vs. Animation production team, with a knack for punchy, impactful combat sounds. He’s created all of the sound effects so far for Animation VERSUS, giving each character a distinct feel and sense of life.

Fabi: Environment Artist

Fabi is a pixel environment artist with amazing talent at creating vibrant, detailed backgrounds. Their work on Animation VERSUS (and in their art portfolio) speaks for itself!

Skim: Trailer Director, Writer, Creative Consultant

Skim is a writer and editor on Alan’s video team, and is responsible for the scripting, editing, and overall direction of our trailers for Animation VERSUS. He knows better than anyone how to make a video punchy, exciting, and accurate to the web series.

Charlie: Producer, Game Designer

Charlie is an AWESOME producer on the Animators VS Games channel, and has helped us craft and share Animation VERSUS in a way that feels right at home for fans. He's also helped us develop some of the best ideas for our gameplay.

Anya: Kickstarter Marketing Director

Anya is the former Director of Games at Kickstarter, and she’s been an invaluable asset to the Animation VERSUS team in creating this crowdfunding campaign. Without her know-how, this project wouldn’t be able to go nearly as far as it has.

Trivia

• Animation VERSUS was funded via a Kickstarter that began on March 26th, 2025, and reached its $130k goal five hours later. By the end of the Kickstarter on April 23, 2025 at 12pm EDT, 11,221 backers had pledged $998,386 to fund the game; the game exceeded $1 million pledged later on the same day due to late pledges.

  • Late pledges will be accepted until May 23, 2025. As of writing (April 25, 2025), 11,477 backers have pledged $1,013,813.

  • The Kickstarter reached its final stretch goal of $760k on April 19, 2025. The stretch goals, in order, were The Chosen One ($150k), a sixth stage ($170k), The Dark Lord ($190k), a seventh stage ($210k), victim ($230k), an eighth stage ($250k), King Orange ($270k), a ninth stage ($290k), the roguelite mode ($400k), "White" ($420k), the story mode ($600k), "Conductor" ($620k), an extra level for the roguelite ($650k), interactive online lobbies ($670k), and three more extra roguelite levels ($700k, $730k, and $760k).

• Muno, the creator of the mod Yellow, King's Bastion, Home Run Contest and SSL Euler's Identity for Rivals of Aether, is one of the developers of Animation VERSUS team, as a Lead Developer, Game Design Lead, and Art Director.

  • Animation VERSUS was inspired by Rivals of Aether.

• The Second Coming, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and Purple are currently the only six characters we have seen gameplay of.

• There is a new character, presumably called "White", which has never been seen in any episode nor in the game, but it can be seen in one of the Kickstarter images, covering King, The Chosen One, and The Dark Lord in a very dark purple goop.

• Each character has something distinct, either in appearance or weaponry, to differentiate them from their peers.

  • Red wears his yellow headband from Monster School.

  • The Second Coming uses his pencil.

  • Yellow uses his laptop.

  • Green wields a fishing rod.

  • Blue can throw potions.

  • Purple flies with gray wings that resemble his iconic elytra.

• Yellow's laptop GUI design is a similar aspect to Muno's Wes mod.

• Interestingly, on both the Kickstarter page and in-game, The Second Coming is only ever referred to as Orange.

  • However, in an AvG video showing him and Red fighting, the title refers to him as TSC, which is short for The Second Coming.

• A comment by the creators in an AvG Video showcasing Purple vs. Green tells that the characters will get Super moves. It is unknown how they will work or what they will entail, but it seems safe to assume that if they land, they will deal huge damage to the opponent.

• Despite not having a cape in Season 3, King Orange is visibly shown wearing one.