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Friday Night Funkin'

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Friday Night Funkin' is an upcoming rhythm video game developed by Funkin' Crew Inc. and released on Newgrounds in 2020.[4] The game is developed by a small group called The Funkin' Crew Inc., which consists primarily of Cameron "ninjamuffin99" Taylor, David "PhantomArcade" Brown, Isaac "Kawai Sprite" Garcia, and evilsk8r. The game is also open-source.[a] It shares some gameplay features with Dance Dance Revolution, PaRappa the Rapper, and the "Dance Contest" minigame from Club Penguin, and borrows aesthetic influences from Flash games.[5] The game has been credited with driving users back to Newgrounds, a site that rose in popularity in the early 2000s.[6][7][8]

Friday Night Funkin'
The Friday Night Funkin' logo. It has a blue outline with splatter-like shapes in several areas. The text "Friday Night Funkin'" is further outlined in black, and the shiny magenta-pink words "Friday Night" are above the off-white word "Funkin'". In the word "Friday", the dot in the letter i is diamond-shaped and divided with two vertical and two horizontal lines. The text has graffiti-style letters with paint dripping down the bottom of the word "Funkin'" and onto the extended black outline.
Developer(s)The Funkin' Crew Inc.
Director(s)PhantomArcade[1]
Designer(s)
  • PhantomArcade
  • evilsk8r
Programmer(s)
  • ninjamuffin99
  • EliteMasterEric[2]
  • fabs
Artist(s)
  • PhantomArcade
  • evilsk8r
Writer(s)PhantomArcade
Composer(s)
  • Kawai Sprite[3]
  • Saruky
  • Saster
EngineHaxeFlixel (OpenFL, Haxe)
Platform(s)
ReleaseTBA
Genre(s)Rhythm
Mode(s)Single-player

The game revolves around the player character, Boyfriend, who must defeat a variety of opponents in singing and rapping contests in order to continue dating his love interest, Girlfriend. Gameplay involves hitting notes with timed inputs while avoiding running out of health for the duration of the song.[9][10]

The game was initially created for the Ludum Dare 47 game jam on October 5, 2020.[11] An expanded demo was released on November 1, 2020, with updates continually released in the following months. A full version of the game backed by Kickstarter, titled Friday Night Funkin': The Full Ass Game, is in development.[12]

Gameplay

 
The game's main playable character, Boyfriend

Friday Night Funkin' is a rhythm game in which the player controls a character called Boyfriend, who must defeat a series of opponents to continue dating his significant other, Girlfriend. The player must pass multiple levels, referred to as "Weeks" in-game, containing three songs each. Each week, the player faces a different opponent, though some deviate in structure from this via the inclusion of multiple opponents. During gameplay, the opponent will sing a pattern of notes represented as arrows, which the player must then mirror by using their set keybinds, by default the arrow keys (↑, ↓, ←, →) and W, A, S, and D keys on a keyboard. Some songs introduce more complicated patterns, with the player's pattern sometimes varying from the opponent's or both singers engaging in a duet.

For each week, the player has the option to select one of three difficulties: Easy, Normal, or Hard. As the difficulty increases, the speed of incoming arrows increases, and the patterns of arrows become more complex. The player's high score for each week on each difficulty is tracked and shown in the top corner of the week selection screen.[3][9] The game contains two different modes of play: a story campaign in which songs are played linearly, and a "freeplay" mode which allows for free selection of any of the game's music tracks.[9] Selected songs also have harder remixes under the "Erect" and "Nightmare" difficulties.

Development

 
Programmer Cameron Taylor in 2024

In October 2020, video game programmer ninjamuffin99 began work on a game for the Ludum Dare 47 game jam. He asked artists evilsk8r and PhantomArcade to help him with the project, as both had experience in game development as well. A composer known as Kawai Sprite was also added to the team in order to create the songs featured in the game. The game was quickly assembled using a pre-made flash-to-haxe pipeline.

The prototype contained only a handful of music tracks and lacked menus. Despite its rudimentary design, the prototype received unexpected success, leading to many requests for a full game. In response, ninjamuffin99 stated that he had plans to expand the game.[11]

The team would later update this demo on November 1, 2020, which added several additional menus and options as well as Week 2, a new level. Interest in the game increased, with it quickly growing in notoriety on Newgrounds as it had received significant attention via platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and Twitch.

Week 7 was released as a timed exclusive on Newgrounds.[13] Due to the increase in traffic on Newgrounds, the site crashed.[14] After Week 7, the developers shifted focus on the full game, titled Friday Night Funkin': The Full Ass Game.[15] Its soundtrack has been made available on Bandcamp and Spotify.[16]

On April 30, 2024, the ninth level of the game, titled "WeekEnd 1", was released. This major update to the game featured characters from the Pico's School series: Pico, Nene, and Darnell.[17] The update also featured the addition of "Erect Remixes", or remixed versions of the in-game songs intended to be more challenging. Guest composers Kohta Takahashi and Saster provided remixes alongside Saruky, a new addition to the full-time crew. The game received a UI overhaul as well.

On June 6, 2024, a minor update was released, featuring 2 new Erect Remixes and an update to the Results screen. On September 12, 2024, a new update was released featuring "Pico Remixes", where the player plays as Pico through nine remixed tracks, alongside three other remixes.

Kickstarter

In April 2021, the developers announced plans to launch a Kickstarter project later in the month to turn the demo into a full game.[12] On April 18, a Kickstarter project for the full version of the game was released under the name Friday Night Funkin': The Full Ass Game and reached its goal of $60,000 within hours.[18] The Kickstarter ultimately raised over $2 million.[19] In February 2022, IGN reported that Friday Night Funkin': The Full Ass Game was one of the most funded Kickstarter projects of 2021.[20] The full game is planned to include a mobile version for Android[21] and iOS, remixes of the songs intended to be more difficult to play, online multiplayer, and multiple new levels.[22]

Reception

Friday Night Funkin' gained popularity after its second demo update in November 2020. The game became popular due to its catchy music, unique art style, and engaging gameplay, appealing to both casual gamers and rhythm game enthusiasts. Friday Night Funkin' also has an active modding community due to its open-source release, allowing for the implementation of fan-made content.[5][23][24] As a result, the full game will receive mod support using the Polymod framework.[25][26][27]

Notes

  1. ^ Friday Night Funkin' is licensed under the Apache License 2.0, per the game's license file. The repository's readme file used to state, "IF YOU MAKE A MOD AND DISTRIBUTE A MODIFIED / RECOMPILED VERSION, YOU MUST OPEN SOURCE YOUR MOD AS WELL", implying a copyleft requirement. From May to August 2021, the license file simply stated "if u make mods, open source them, lol!"; the Apache License 2.0 was used prior to May. In a tweet, ninjamuffin99 stated that it gets "iffy" when non-code assets are used commercially. From January 2023 to April 2024, the license file simply read "SORTING OUT LICENSE STUFF!!! BRB LOL!". In May 2024, the license was changed back to the Apache License 2.0, with the assets under a separate, closed license.

References

  1. ^ "WEEK OF 2023/03/06: FONKING..." Funkin.me. March 6, 2023.
  2. ^ "WEEK OF 2024/02/23 - Charting a Course From Frustration to Delight". Funkin.me. February 3, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Sears-Allen, Diamond (May 17, 2021). "Bust A Move On Your Keyboard In Friday Night Funkin'". StudyBreaks. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  4. ^ Watts, Rachel (July 15, 2021). "Friday Night Funkin' is the DDR beatboxing game driving players back to Newgrounds". PC Gamer.
  5. ^ a b Wery, Jackson (January 29, 2021). "Friday Night Funkin' Fondly Recalls Flash Games". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Arellano, Patrick (December 22, 2021). "10 Most Beloved Flash Games, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  7. ^ West, Evangeline (March 9, 2022). "Is Newgrounds' Friday Night Funkin' worthy of the hype?". Softonic.
  8. ^ Watts, Rachel (July 15, 2021). "Friday Night Funkin' is the DDR beatboxing game driving players back to Newgrounds". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Cheeda, Saim (April 27, 2021). "10 Things You Need To Know Before Starting Friday Night Funkin'". Game Rant.
  10. ^ Williams, Leah J. (May 13, 2021). "Friday Night Funkin' Is The Internet's Latest Toe-Tapping Obsession". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Friday Night Funkin". ldjam.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Davies, Patrick (April 2, 2021). "Kickstarter launched for Friday Night Funkin'". 100 Mile House Free Press. Black Press. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Knight, Kyle (April 19, 2021). "How To Play Week 7 Of Friday Night Funkin' – FNF Guide". Dual Shockers. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  14. ^ Cohen, Skylar (April 19, 2021). "Friday Night Funkin' Week 7 Reveal Crashes Newgrounds". Game Rant. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  15. ^ Ranta, Chris (April 22, 2021). "When is Friday Night Funkin Week 8?". The Click. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  16. ^ Castillo, Alejandro (March 4, 2021). "Friday Night Funkin: cómo jugar y descargar gratis en PC el juego musical de moda". MeriStation (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  17. ^ @FNF_Developers (May 1, 2024). "FIRST UPDATE OF NEW RETURN" (Tweet). Retrieved April 20, 2024 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Wery, Jackson (April 18, 2021). "Friday Night Funkin' Drops Week 7". TechRaptor. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  19. ^ Barnewall, Chris (May 18, 2021). "Newgrounds Demo 'Friday Night Funkin' Raised $2 Million On Kickstarter". UPROXX. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  20. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (February 24, 2022). "Kickstarter Funded a Record Number of Games Projects in 2021". IGN. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  21. ^ ninja_muffin99 (February 16, 2021). FNF MOBILE? – via Twitch.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Davies, Patrick (February 2, 2022). "100 Mile House developer, 22, raises millions for Friday Night Funkin' video game". Vancouver Island Free Daily.
  23. ^ Davies, Patrick (November 21, 2020). "South Cariboo game designer reaps success". 100 Mile House Free Press. Black Press. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  24. ^ Holland, Naquan (February 26, 2021). "Iconic PaRappa the Rapper Level Modded Into Friday Night Funkin'". Game Rant. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  25. ^ Allen, Joseph (April 8, 2021). "Friday Night Funkin' Is Getting Polymod Support Soon". TechRaptor. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  26. ^ Lee, Julia (January 8, 2021). "TikTok's algorithm led me to an amazing rhythm game". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  27. ^ Costa, Thomas Schulze (February 26, 2021). "Conheça Friday Night Funkin', jogo de música que virou febre!" [Discover Friday Night Funkin', a music game that has become a rage!]. TecMundo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
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