How Features in Symphonia were Designed with Speed Runners in Mind

From its inception, Symphonia was envisioned as a game that rewarded control and timing mastery. Initially designed as a game to bring classical music to the world, it quickly became apparent that its fluid mechanics and open-ended level design also made it a natural fit for the speedrunning community. After many hours spent perfecting the optimal character controls, our goal was clearly set on creating a game that would feel rewarding whether played casually or competitively, with extra layers of depth for those willing to explore them. This vision became the foundation for Symphonia’s mechanics and collectibles.

There are a few things in Symphonia that we baked in, to up the ante of the challenge for those who enjoy it. The protagonist, Philemon, is a violinist who traverses the world of the quiet and sleeping Symphonia with one goal: to reunite the prodigies of all orchestral sections. His greatest tool in the game is his violin bow. As you play through the game, you unlock mechanics that allow you to bounce through levels in different ways. The bow can be used as a pogo stick, a catapult, or a grapple, and this feeling of moving through the air at just the right time is difficult to master but extremely satisfying once you do. Precision in the timing to make every pixel count is something that lends itself very well to the speedrunning mindset of pushing yourself frame by frame.

Some of our team members have their own personal history with speedrunning, ranging from enjoying being a spectator, all the way to completing their own runs for Celeste and Katana Zero. Even in Symphonia’s earlier iteration as a student project back in 2020, our team would speedrun the game, compare times and some folks even hid glitches they found to use them as an advantage! This enthusiasm also reached members of the public. We released a free small demo online which received 500,000 downloads and saw some players submitting entries on speedrun.net.  We knew that we were onto something special with this project so after university we decided to start a studio and pitch to work on the full vision of our game. It took us another four years to bring the game to full release. 

It wasn’t just the precision platforming subgenre that attracted speed runners, we also deliberately wanted to keep the speedrunning spirit in mind when developing new features and even in the level design. Sometimes moving a block or a collider by just a few pixels can create an entirely new path with some creativity. Another game feature is the collectible music notes that are placed in hard-to-reach areas of the platforming challenge, rewarding you for risk, experimentation and unlocking different areas in the game. A close comparison would be the strawberries in Celeste. Once you complete a whole playthrough of the levels, you unlock a Shadow Philemon. This is a copy of your character who trails closely behind you with a small delay, waiting for you to slip up and be caught. The player is also able to tinker with unlockable abilities like double jumping, transforming all surfaces into cushions or game speed. These abilities were initially designed to be accessibility options, but some have proved useful in allowing players to experiment and create new challenges.

When the game released in December, we were really thrilled to see a sustained level of interest with speed runners and made sure to facilitate discussions and brainstorming with a dedicated channel in our community Discord.

In general, it’s amazing to see how speedrunning has grown from a niche hobby into a global phenomenon. Over the last two decades, we have watched speedruns of first-person shooters, platformers and even in genres where one would least expect it, such as roleplaying or strategy games. Thanks to the accessibility of platforms like Twitch and YouTube, speedrunning has been able to engage millions of players and raise millions of dollars for charity through Games Done Quick (GDQ). GDQ hosts two large charity events a year, and weekly Hotfix episodes to keep viewers engaged. 

It’s clear to see the passion driving the creation of such experiences, when I asked Queuety, showrunner of GDQ, why speedrunning is meaningful to him, he answered, 

“Speedrunning turns any game into both a puzzle and a competitive performance, something which fascinates me and keeps me coming back.”

Our publisher has been enthusiastic about the speedrunning elements of the game, with the CEO Dieter Schoeller coming from a speedrunning background himself with Quake 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog in the 1990s.  Dieter says he loves speedrunning because “the person to beat is no one but yourself.” Due to this shared passion, and visible community engagement, our publishing partners reached out to GDQ for a collaboration. We are all super happy that the showrunners were drawn in by the visuals and premise of Symphonia. We then arranged to participate in a segment of the most recent GDQ Hotfix episode. This was really rewarding and a memory we’ll never forget. I personally got to provide commentary, and the dedicated members of our community supported us by running the game live. You can check out the episode here. 

If this article has given you a speedrunning itch, the community is still relatively new so you can add a lot just by trying it out or by conversing with other runners and developers. We would delighted if you wanted to give Symphonia a run and check out our Discord speedrunning discussions. 

Speedrunner or not, we hope you will take a chance on us and enjoy the glorious world of Symphonia in your own way.

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In the realm of Symphonia, music acts as a source of life and energy. But since the founders and their orchestra vanished the inhabitants are divided, and the world slowly falls into silence. What if there was a way to gather a new orchestra? That’s the question Philemon, the mysterious musician in Symphonia, will have to answer.

Embody a mysterious violinist, brought back to life in a declining world. Your violin and bow are both your instrument and a means of transport. Catapult yourself through the world, and complete levels by solving exciting platforming challenges while re-activating the machinery that brings life and energy back to this world.

Discover a musical world, based on the symphonic orchestra, and filled with colourful characters. Each area in Symphonia has its own distinct feel and characters, and each room is hand-crafted. Meet prodigious musicians and try to convince them to join the orchestra.

A unique soundtrack, based on the romantic musical period, crafted by composer Olivier Esman. Enjoy the performance of the Scoring Orchestra Paris, recorded specifically for Symphonia and written by composer Olivier Esman and his partners Alexandre Bucas-Français and Lou Corroyer. Play engrossing concerts, each centred around one of the families of instruments – Strings, Brass and Woodwinds.

Explore, navigate, play the violin, gather musicians. Awaken Symphonia.

Features
– Experience and overcome great platforming challenges with all of Philemon’s abilities

– Discover various environments which combine music and machinery

– Play the violin to activate level elements and bring life to the realm

-Gather musical Prodigies and play breathtaking concerts to bring music, joy, and glory, back to the land

The post How Features in Symphonia were Designed with Speed Runners in Mind appeared first on Xbox Wire.