The game's concept was developed by designer/lead programmer Sean Callahan, paired with an alternate reality 1930s America setting, conceived by VP of development/creative director Bill Davis.

The player jets at high speed inside a grassy, enclosed sports arena on a rocket sled that is always in motion and chiefly steered with two grappling-hook guns mounted on its flanks.

The rocket can change speeds but always flies about three feet off the ground unless it is engaged in one of the games' frequent and often-comic collisions.

Although it was well-reviewed by critics, the game was burdened by a general lack of pre-release press coverage, steep hardware requirements, and extensive delays of a patch which added LAN play, which together led to poor sales.

As time passed it has suffered a classic example of software rot and compatibility issues have appeared, making it very difficult to install the game on modern systems.

Players control a "sled" (called a cycle in game), which is basically a rocket with small wings for directing the flight and grappling hooks mounted on the sides.

The player can tap a key to connect the left grapple line to the right one and fly free, leaving a clothesline obstruction for others.

Hence, grappling hooks serve a dual purpose: tight turns on stationary objects, and disabling competitors.

Facing an opposing "team" which ranges from one to several independently acting computer opponents, the goal is to score as many points as possible in a set amount of time.

[5][6] The development team included Ron Cobb (concept artist and character designer) and Steve Meretzky (writer and director).

Then, in March 2008, the first alpha test version of the Solar-Ray remake was released, which allows the player to walk or fly around in a small arena and attach cables to one of two posts but does not include any real game play.

[11] On September 18, 2019, Burn Ward announced on their Facebook page that development of the Rocket Jockey remake has been halted due to a lack of funding.

It is available for download in its itch.io page,[13] Rocket Jockey had very high hardware demands for 1996: at least a 90mhz "Pentium" grade CPU,[14] and recommended 120mhz or higher.

The multiplayer patch promised by inserts in the game's packaging did not appear until several months after the launch[14] and was never included in any retail version.

The custom installer with the LAN patch introduces input lag on Windows 10 which can be averted by using the executable of the original version from the CD.

Modifications using a HEX editor can be made to run the game on modern wide screen HD resolutions.

Critics applauded the inventive gameplay concept,[15][14][16][18] the unique ways in which players could humiliate their opponents,[15][14][16][18] and the music,[14][16][18] which Trent Ward called "the best soundtrack to ever bless a video game" in GameSpot.

[emphasis in original][14] Todd Vaughn of PC Gamer US wrote that "It blends a devil-may-care attitude with the crowd-pleasing violence of gladiatorial combat and the man-and-machine symbiosis of a demolition derby to create an instantly attractive and demanding would-be sport.

Critics noted that despite the box art promising LAN multiplayer, the feature was not included in the game, and that despite inserts saying that a patch to fix this problem was available on the SegaSoft website, the linked page only gave further excuses.

[22] Writing for Wired, John Alderman explained that the game and Rocket Science's Obsidian both "failed to generate the sales needed to justify costs", despite a high level of pre-release excitement.