Super Dragon Punch Force 3, a new fighting game based on a fictional predecessor in the filmBoy Kills World, enters open beta on Thursday, April 26. The mobile-first, live-service fighting created by theindieSouth African developer Talent Digital Art (TDA) promises to be a welcoming experience for newcomers while having enough technical depth to satisfy combo crafters and serious fighting game fans.
Game Rant recently spoke to TDA about the upcoming release, its relationship toBoy Kills World, and its pop-cultural influences. TDA CEO Tanya Brits andSDPF3creative director Judd Fitzjohn also conveyed the unique privileges, ambitions, and responsibilities they feel as a South African video game developer.
The Next Generation
Brits stated that, while TDA is not developing games with a specific African audience in mind, they want to include subtle aspects of their heritage in the game. This desire is more than amatter of personal representationor standing apart from the competition, however, with Brits explaining,
“TDA feels a big sense of responsibility in terms of doing this from this continent. We don’t necessarily want to be trendsetters, but we want to show the younger generation that it’s possible from this continent…. This is something that not a lot people are exposed to at a young age in South Africa and Africa, so we feel a strong sense of responsibility to the younger generation and showing them what is possible. "
Brtis and Fitzjohn emphasized that they hope to share more of their cultural heritage and local talent with the world as a whole, but that they also feel privileged to work on game design in Johannesburg. “We have to pinch ourselves waking up every day,” Brits said. With that sense of privilege comesan enormous sense of responsibilityfor the next generation of South African creatives—particularly for young people who have never even considered game design as a career path.
World Warriors
FollowingStreet Fighter 2’s classic exampleof an internationally focused fighting game roster, it makes good sense for TDA to have a home team representative inSDPF3.When talking about the roster, TDA was sure to give a special nod to the character SK:
“SK is a Pantsula dancer. She’s got a unique fighting style with her boombox, and I think that’s really unique to South Africa.”
SK is one ofSDPF3’s eight initial characters, which is evenly split between characters appearing and referenced inBoy Kills World, and four who are unique toSDPF3’s universe. And while SK is the most prominent nod to South African culture in the game, she is far from the only one.
“…Zanzi Town, one of our environments, has a reference to the Nelson Mandela Bridge in the background. It’s not something that’s really in your face as South African, but we know it and we feel like it’s something that sets us apart in style and art.”
TDA is also featuring local musical talent inSDPF3, courtesy of Sound Foundry, in the form of catchy tunes that Fitzjohn hopes are “annoyingly catchy.” Fighting games, andtheStreet Fighterseries in particular, are known for their addictive soundtracks, and a starring role in a popular new fighter could quickly do great things for alocal artist.
These seemingly subtle nods that help South African players feel seen can go a long way toward empowering young players to undertake their own journeys in game design, and international gamers get a glimpse at a fresh setting that has been under utilized and largely unexplored to date.
Super Dragon Punch Force 3is releasing for Mobile and PC on April 26.
