ZikWave Studios Is Creating A New 3D Rhythm Game
ZikWave Studios Is Creating A New 3D Rhythm Game
ZikWave Studios, a Black-Owned video game development company is creating a new rhythm and dance 3D game for PC, Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch called Musical Vibes. There are plenty of games out there like this, but what sets this apart is not only can the game interact with Hue smart lighting, but it was also developed with freelancers from all over the world!
Ronald Riquet serves as the President of ZikWave and has a background in microelectronic engineering and video game production. We asked Ronald why this project was important to them and this is what they had to say:
This project is important to me because its success will show other Black developers, and Black people in general, that they can succeed too, and not just in sports or music. It is very rare to see a successful Black person in technology.
It is very difficult for every game developer, big or small, to earn money from their work. But it requires even more energy from Black developers because they are going to be blocked at certain stages of their game’s development. But the biggest issue will be that they won’t get support from the Black community and the representation of our culture will be handled by Non-Black people. This is dangerous and we can see the results in anime, movies, music, and video games. It has been said before, but Black people need to support their artists so that they can represent the culture properly with all its nuances and subtleties. The revenue gained from the sales of Musical Vibes, and other ZikWave’s games, can also be used to help other Black developers, making the community stronger.
Ronald Riquet – President of ZikWave Studios Inc.
Original music was also produced for the game with many of the tracks being recorded by local Montreal artists:
Dance routines were created for the game with ZikWave’s own facial and body motion capture system. As you bust your moves and progress through the game, you can unlock new clothing items for your character as well as new locations.
If you would like to support Musical Vibes and ZikWave Studios, you can sign up for their newsletter here. They will be launching a Kickstarter to help with the continued funding of the game to develop even better motion capture technology.
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