As a YouTube partner I started to look for a fresh approach to involving my subscribers. I’ve been both an illustrator and web developer in the past, so it made sense to play to my strengths and use these as key factors. 8 months later of working solo on this project and RatsClan.com is now a fully featured community site with a built in unique Playing Card system. Members can unlock achievements, go up ranks, grow their card collection, battle against one another, earn medals and much more.

The site is built upon the latest WordPress, with the bbPress forum plugin installed. The simple and tactile user interface is consistent throughout each aspect, with large (seasonal changing) illustrations when playing cards. This is all brought to life with animated elements and sound effects.

Games are created as custom posts, and become published when another user has accepting to challenge them. This allows users to share their experiences or look for opponents through social networks. Experience points and currency is also stored as custom meta, which is all cached to help load time.

The feedback from our members has been phenomenal, and I’m excited to see how far I can push the boundaries of browser based gaming.

Please feel free to browse the site: http://www.ratsclan.com/

Also, here’s a replay of one of my recent games: http://www.ratsclan.com/game/ba6b6a4e/

This is also my first ever work on a WordPress or bbPress site, so any feedback is much appreciated!

[@johnjamesjacoby Keymaster 12 years, 1 month ago]

This.

This is dope. Thanks for sharing!

[@netweb Keymaster 12 years, 1 month ago]

This.

Indeed, I have pimped it up a level… https://bbpress.org/about/examples/

[@darren1981 Participant 11 years, 10 months ago]

Mate Awesome JOB !!!

By far the best BBpress install / modifications ive seen to date.

I am currently developing my project REMOVED URL and my forums section will certainly be influenced by the work you have done on your site.. If by any chance you would like help me out with a few mods i would really appreciate it.. I am mainly looking to modify the users profile box / section like what you have done.

Regards, Darren

[@rewindcaz Participant 11 years, 9 months ago]

This is spectacular, props!

Could you clue me in on how you were able to provide a list of avatars for users to choose from? This kind of avatar system is something I would *love* to do myself.

[@mech24 Participant 11 years, 9 months ago]

@rewindcaz I actually disabled all of the default avatar systems that WordPress provides and created my own with a few small functions. I needed a custom made plugin because each avatar on the site is unlocked when you receive a new card to your collection.  Users can also customize their chosen avatar with nine alternative colours, which helps provide individuality.

As I’ve received a ton of feedback from the Rats Clan bbPress forum I’m going to start blogging about my code – I’ll make sure this is one of my posts! 🙂

[@netweb Keymaster 11 years, 9 months ago]

Make sure you drop a link in here once you have written something so I don’t miss it 🙂

[@aaclayton Participant 11 years, 6 months ago]

@mech24 your site is one of the most aesthetically pleasing forums I’ve ever seen, major kudos. I first saw it a couple months ago when I was reworking the theme for my own site, and I was inspired by your setup to transition to a more “boundary-less” layout. I would love to read any tips/tricks that you are interested to share.

[@macpresss Participant 11 years, 6 months ago]

It’s been down for maintenance 2 days?
I can’t visit this site.