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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 Fighting Stick Figures, 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 information 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 1/3 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 (double 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.)

Alternatively, the Node Guard can block attacks from all directions, but doing so will crack one Node on the defender's Node Meter (typically split into 4 Nodes). The Node Guard can also be angled left, right, or Overhead to block attacks in that direction without damaging the Node Meter, but attacks from other directions will crack two Nodes instead of 1.

The Node Meter will automatically repair itself during battle, but fully breaking a player's Node Meter will Stun them, which prevents them from using Node Guards, dashes, and double jumps until the meter finishes repairing itself, and thus makes it easier to combo them.

Throws bypass blocking, and cracking a Node Meter this way will prematurely Stun the defender. However, it's impossible to combo from them under normal circumstances.

The Node Meter also functions the game's super meter, filled by attacking opponents (cracked Nodes effectively reduce the maximum amount of Nodes until repaired. One Node can be spent to perform special techniques:

• Node Throw: A throw that deals more damage, has greater range, and does not end comboes.
• Node Crush: A powerful attack with invincibility frames, which automatically cracks 1 Node on the opponent's Node Meter and sends both combatants high into the air.
• Node Jump: A large jump with invincibility frames.
• Node Special: Instantly charged a Special Move, making them easier to combo with.

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.

Image	Character	Biography
	Orange (The All-Rounder)	Orange has a little bit of everything - close-range martial arts, projectiles, traveling attacks, and giant weapons. It’s all thanks to his pencil tool, which he uses to draw various cartoon props to use in combat! He’s not just your standard all-rounder, though - his standout move is his projectile, which rotates between different objects every time you use it. Good for those who like a bit of everything.
	Yellow (The Long-Range Coder)	If you want long-ranged attacks, look no further than Yellow, the game’s premier zoner. Yellow is good enough at programming that his code affects the very computer world around him - with his trusty laptop, he can create projectiles, launch opponents, and even teleport himself! In return, Yellow is vulnerable up-close, and his combos aren’t as strong as some other characters - so matches with him have a very unique flavor. Good for the people who enjoy spamming projectiles.
	Blue (The Master of Surprise)	A unique blend of zoner and combo character, Blue makes a point to be very elusive and sneaky. His long-range potion throws, clouds of mist he can hide behind, and portal teleport move will keep opponents guessing - all in service of a nasty up-close combo game with stylish, breakdance-inspired melee attacks. Good for teleporting behind someone and comboing them to death.
	Green (The Mid-Range Threat)	Green brought a fishing rod to the meeting today, and darn it, he’s going to use it. An unconventional weapon? Sure - but in Green’s skilled hand, it’s a nasty mid-range threat. Not only does it allow Green to zip-line across the stage, but on his regular attacks, the hook acts as a tipper sweet-spot that pulls enemies in for a combo! He can even attack with a shockwave by playing a sick chord on an electric guitar. Good for the ones who enjoy schmoovin'.
	Red (The Up-Close and Personal Cheetah)	The fastest character in the game and a close-range specialist, Red can cross distances in the blink of an eye and throw a punch even faster than that. When he arrives in your personal space, his suite of fighting-game-inspired, animal-spirit-empowered martial arts techniques will rock your world. Good for those who just wanna punch someone.
	Purple (The Flyer and Soarer)	Purple uses his signature wings to fly around the battlefield in ways no other character can. With an extra midair jump and a long-range glide, Purple’s air movement is expressive and incredibly versatile. Don’t worry, though - he’s happy to bring you up there by combo-ing you higher and higher with his excellent air attacks, or surprise you with a quick teleport back to the ground. Good for mid-air attacks and ground pounds.
	King Orange (The Heavyweight)	The main villain of AVM Season 3! First Appearance: Parkour - Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts 22 Wields a mighty staff with a gold block inside (no, not a Minecraft gold block) An intimidating heavyweight with ranged options Will have more HP Hard hitting but slow
	The Chosen One (The Glass Cannon)	The Chosen One is a fast, powerful character with decent ranged options. His weakness are less HP and having 1 less node meter (3 instead of 4) in exchange for more damage. One of Alan's most iconic characters! First Appearance: Animator vs. Animation 2 (2007) Has an arsenal of deadly powers including fire flight and laser vision
	The Dark Lord (The Swordfighter)	The Dark Lord is a menacing powerhouse with ranged options. Like The Chosen One, he has low HP and worse Node meter (3 instead of 4). His air dash is unique, it causes him to slowly float down to the ground afterward. A fan-favorite antagonist First Appearance: Animator vs. Animation 3 (2011) Equipped with dark energy, vira-blades, and more
	victim (The Strategist)	The FIRST character in AVA! First Appearance: Animator vs. Animation 1 (2006) Based on their appearance in AVA Season 3 (ongoing) A methodical fighter with some big surprises up their sleeve...
	" Node" (true name undisclosed)	A game-original character! (design not finalized) The main antagonist for the Animation VERSUS Story Mode Entangled with a node network More details on this ominous being will be revealed later...
	" Conductor" (true name undisclosed)	A game-original character! (design not finalized) A side character who may help the sticks in their adventure Carries a satchel of tools More details on this peculiar pink conductor will be revealed later...

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
  • A Google Chrome window displaying sticksfight.com. Contains one large, stationary platform as the second floor.
  • An unfinished nature scene in Adobe Animate. 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 clearing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the lake, to the right of The Dark Lord's bunker.
  • A shallow area at the far end of the lake. the only thing it has is splash effects
  • A rock formation about midway down the cliff to the left side of the bunker. There is a medium-sized, stationary platform in the middle.
  • A ruined version of The Dark Lord's bunker. While the walls are mostly intact, most of the roof is destroyed, and the pit that once housed the ViraBots is now an underground layer. The upper floor acts as 2 platfroms on the far left and right with a gap in the middle
• 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 Co.
  • A park in a downtown area.
  • A subway station. Players will fight on the tracks, and trains will pass through the area.
• The Rock Wall (A stage from Rivals of Aether II)
  • A suspended rock platform with two floating platforms on the left and right.
• Rocket Co. (The headquarters of the company of the same name)
  • In front of a parking lot gate.
• 4 more

Staff

DJ: 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 were accepted until May 23, 2025. By that time, 11,845 backers have pledged $1,041,430.
  • 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), Node ($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), interactive online lobbies ($670k), and three more extra roguelite levels (Free).
• Muno, the creator of the mods 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, Purple, The Chosen One, King Orange and The Dark Lord are currently the only nine characters we have seen gameplay of.
• There is a new character, presumably called Node, which has never been seen in any episode nor in the game, but it can be seen in one of the early concept arts, 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.
  • The Chosen One lights his hands on fire with his pyrokinesis.
  • The Dark Lord wields his iconic ViraBlade.
• Yellow's laptop GUI design is a similar aspect to Muno's Wes mod.^[1]
• 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.^[2]
• 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 King Orange not having a cape in Season 3, he is visibly shown wearing one.

Gallery

Concept Art
Very early concept art of the Roguelite Mode. Very early concept art of the interactive online lobbies. Early concept art of the Story Mode. Concept art of Node. Ditto.

Teasers

Teaser from Alan's channel. Teaser from the AvG channel. A showcase about Yellow and The Second Coming. Announcement for the game. Green's new fishing rod attack from the July 2025 update. Green's new guitar attack from the July update. Red's new attacks from the July update. Purple's new firework projectile and spinning attacks. The Chosen One's new flame and electricity attacks, still in early development. The Dark Lord summoning a ViraBot and slashing The Chosen One with ViraBlade attacks. Footage of a pre-finalized King Orange attacking The Chosen One. Conductor attacking Green. Yellow's updated cursor and ranged attacks. Green's updated guitar attacks.

Artworks
Removed thumbnail from the launch trailer. Ditto. Celebrational artwork.

Character Sprites

The Second Coming. Red. Green. Blue. Yellow. Purple. King Orange. King Orange's placeholder design from Kickstarter gameplay teaser. The Chosen One. TCO's placeholder design from Kickstarter gameplay teaser. The Dark Lord. The Dark Lord's Kickstarter appearance. TDL's placeholder design from Kickstarter gameplay teaser. TDL's ViraBot. victim. Node. Conductor TSC's alt color. TSC's second alt color Red's alt color. Green's alt color. Blue's alt color. Yellow's alt color. Purple's alt color. The Chosen One's alt color. The Dark Lord's alt color. Alt TDL's Virabot

Stages
ALANSPC's desktop. "Wanted" forest. "The Showdown" lake. Outernet city ground. Outernet city rooftop. The Showdown lake opposite cliff side. The Dark Lord's lab from "The Showdown". Downtown city park. Underground subway station. Outside of Rocket Co.'s building from Mercenary Tryouts.

External Link(s)

• Animation VERSUS on Steam
• Kickstarter Page
• July 2025 Update!
• August/September Update!
• October / November Update!
• December Update! Happy holidays, everyone!
• January Update
• February 2026 Update
• March 2026 Update: Rocket Corp Outside
• April 2026 update!
• The Chosen One Gameplay Reveal Showcase
• May Update!
• The Dark Lord Gameplay Reveal Showcase

References