TikTok's endless video feed is littered with all kinds of content related to video games. You'll see lore analysis videos, cool tips and tricks, cosplay, and if you're lucky, a passionate compilation of characters like Leon Kennedy. The platform has become a place where people can learn about the games they love and discover new ones.Some games, e.g. wandering village, has particularly flourished thanks to TikTok, finding millions of viewers on the app. But now that may all be gone.
US President Joe Biden signed a bill in April that would ban TikTok unless its China-based parent company ByteDance exits the platform within 270 days of signing the bill. Polygon spoke to Stray Fawn Studio co-founder Philomena Schwab about how TikTok has influenced her team's game development. wandering village. If TikTok were to go away, Stray Fawn Studio would not only lose its account, but also its direct connection to gaming consumers themselves.
“we [had] There were some pretty big posts even in the early stages of development, which allowed us to continue working on the project for a long time. If I didn't have that reassurance from not only TikTok, but also the number of wishlists I have, I would have been relieved. As far as posts and things like that, we probably would have completed the early access version sooner,” Schwab said in a video chat. “I think it was good that we didn't do that, because in the end it was a pretty good release. It helped give us courage in the match.”
As of publication, Stray Fawn Studio has over 68,000 followers on TikTok and videos with over 899,000 views. Statistics such as the number of followers on social media platforms can directly impact the success of your game now and in the future. Schwab included social numbers in the pitch deck, which he said will help the studio secure funding. She found that about 55% of the Stray Fawn account's followers were American. That means if TikTok were to be banned, the team would lose more than half of its followers on the platform, and that doesn't even include Americans who simply liked or watched its videos.
in the case of wandering village, the success of the TikTok account also directly influenced the number of wishlists the game received on Steam. Schwab told Polygon that “at any given time” if a post gets more than 200,000 views, “hundreds of wishlists” are created. According to Schwab, “We could clearly see the spikes appearing over time. So it definitely made a significant contribution.”
TikTok has also helped members of our team find their voices. TikTok allows users to share video responses to comments and questions, and Schwab told Polygon that TikTok allows his team members' personalities to really shine.
“Aside from the marketing benefits, I think it also helped shape the atmosphere in the studio a little bit, because we found ourselves to be a pretty silly and funny group of people by nature. And other social I didn't think I could express that very well on the platform. And on TikTok, it definitely came out. And I think it did really well on the platform, so this. I started to embrace the idea of a seed studio more,” Schwab said.
wandering village is not a huge viral hit, but that's why TikTok is so valuable to the team. TikTok and its algorithm allow posts from any person or profile to go viral, regardless of the size of their following. Thomas Schulenberg, CEO of his marketing platform called Gamesight, spoke to his Polygon about TikTok's unique strengths in connecting fans with games.
“I think one of the things we're seeing in indies that makes TikTok really unique is that the content creators are not restricted.” [the number of followers] in the same way [they are on] Almost every other platform,” Schulenberg said in a video chat. And we've seen some amazing, amazing success stories on TikTok, but they're not really paid marketing because they're usually not like running a ton of ads. ”
Regardless of TikTok, there have always been indie stars and surprise video game hits. But TikTok is playing a key role in enabling even more indie creators to create hit games that go viral within days. In the past two years alone, the following surprises have occurred: pal world, Lethal Companyand sons of the forest It gained a huge audience. All make their presence felt on his TikTok, as the game is full of catchy and cut-out moments.
“The ability to go from nothing to something doesn't really exist.” [on other platforms]. Therefore, you might consider a game like this: Lethal Company, sons of the forestor Content warning, all of these games have over 1 billion game views on TikTok, which is an absolutely ridiculous number. How would you compare it to something like Twitch? Who knows, in a million years,” Schulenberg said.
TikTok helped create viral hit games and supports game developers, but its demise will also have a huge impact on everyone who loves those games.
“For many players, a big part of what they get out of the gaming experience is community. We broadly refer to it as community, and community is a very general term. But we're in the game, and TikTok is certainly one of them.'' That's what we do in those places,'' Schulenberg said.
If the US bans TikTok, it will affect the creators of these games. It will also affect the app's millions of users and those who prefer video game content. The videos that bring fresh eyes to games and help developers grow their games' wishlists are also the ones that drive excitement among groups of players online. Jokes and memes surrounding games can often be just as fun as the content itself, as they can make people feel like they're part of something bigger. For now, game developers and gamers alike will have to wait and see if they'll be forced to rush to the next platform.
