I was browsing TikTok last night, attempting to distract myself from the sticky heat of Nova Scotia by peeking through into other people's lives, when I stumbled across this TikTok, by developer Stephen Ddungu:
TikTok is not huge for video games yet, but that's starting to change. The algorithm that determines what's on your front page is very perceptive; the stuff I get shown is pretty accurate to my interests. Yet I rarely see game stuff on there, and what I do see is tailored towards relatively new or young gamers with specific interests: the best "wholesome" games, "cosy" games, that sort of thing. It's almost always Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, or other games that are just the tip of the cottagecore iceberg.
Recently, though, I've been seeing an increase in actual game development content. Developer Mochitoki has been showing off the behind-the-scenes of their game Loddlenaut; gh0st.punk has been explaining how mechanics actually work in video games; even Among Us is in on it, with 2.2 million followers — almost twice as many as they have on Twitter.
So, yes, developers have been coming to TikTok a little late, but that hasn't affected their popularity — and Stephen Ddungu's game is a fantastic sign of the power of this (relatively) new social media. I would never have seen this game if it wasn't for TikTok; other social media falls short when it comes to discoverability. Twitter only shows me what other people have seen, and Reddit only shows me content from the subreddits I already follow.
But enough about the power of social media! Just look at Sword of Symphony, and appreciate how clever it is. Ddungu has only posted two videos to TikTok so far, but he already has 2 million views and nearly 150,000 followers — a testament to how intriguing his game idea is. And he's only 22!
In Sword of Symphony, you play a young Black protagonist, Stefan, with the power of music baked into a weapon, and rhythmic orchestral music will play diegetically as he beats up villains. The animations are impressively intricate and dance-like, with swirling accidentals and staves accenting the character's movement.
It's not entirely clear whether the voidlike backdrop seen in these clips is what the final game will look like, or if Ddungu is simply refining and honing the mechanics in a greybox world — a standard game dev testing world with no distractions — but there's so much to be blown away by even without backgrounds.
It's not surprising that Stephen Ddungu's project has won the hearts of so many already, but it does open up the possibility that the next big hit that goes viral might be driven by the likes and comments of Gen Z on TikTok.
What do you think of Sword of Symphony? Would you like to see it come to Switch? Let us know in the comments!
[source tiktok.com]
Comments 22
Please don't come into the comments with the usual "TikTok bad" stuff — read the piece and see what it can do for young, brilliant developers and creatives.
Trust me, I know TikTok is not the best for a lot of reasons but it's super boring reading the same comments over and over!
I saw that Ashton from Triple Jump was talking about seeing an indie game in development on Tik Tok and the others were baffled that it was a thing. If it helps devs get their work out there then it’s all fine by me.
I see you are capitalizing the B in black when it comes to race. Why?
Kate! Thanks for getting this game on my radar... I don't know how or why the brain works the way it does but those combos and orchestra music gives a sense of immersion like no other. It's on a whole other level.
That combo/orchestra thing is such a cool mechanic and I cannot wait to play this when it comes out. Right at the top of my list next to TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, Metroid Dread, and Metal Slug Tactics.
@KateGray,
If only we had the same initial comment disclaimers on Nintendo Switch sales, Pokemon, and Animal crossing comment sections.
I actually found out about this first on Twitter then when i log onto TikTok this video so it's up! So glad it's getting traction
This game looks like so much fun!
@Clarice That’s how grammar works. You use it for Caucasian too.
TikTok that's like a Ke$ha song from ten years ago right?
@nessisonett ok I did not know that word. So I looked it up on wikipedia. It says: "First introduced in the 1780s by members of the Göttingen school of history,[b] the term denoted one of three purported major races of humankind (those three being Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and Negroid)."
@Clarice Didn’t know its origin but it’s commonly used as in White Caucasian on the census and stuff. With capital letters.
@nessisonett well ok then. I always remember it being written without the capital first letter so black, white and so on. Must have remembered wrong then.
@Clarice Your memory is correct. The capitalization is a recent style change that media outlets have been using within the last couple of years. Style guides get revised and updated over time.
@Tandy255 oh thanks for clarifying!
This looks interesting! I hope it's a Switch game!
@johnvboy I never get to the comments quick enough on those ones!
@KateGray,
Yes, you would have to be very quick for those ones Kate.
@Tandy255 Actually it's not a new thing. People have been capitalizing Black intermittently for decades, except people can never agree on whether it should or shouldn't be capitalized. My 1997 M-W dictionary says "often capitalized" when used as "of or relating to various population groups having dark pigmentation of the skin".
@JasmineDragon Interesting. The Associated Press just made their style change official in 2020.
I like the look of this game it seems like an original concept. I may have to download tiktok if it's helping new and original games gain exposure.
TikTok bad
TikTok is not the best for a lot of reasons
Besides the negativity that comes from the platform. It could gain potentially fans of those games and promote them. Also i don't have issues with this game. It looks like one of the best ideas that could revolutionize the rhythm music genre.
Sold on the concept and trailer. Will buy if it releases.
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