Google Celebrates the Savoy Ballroom with a Swingin’ Rhythm Game!
/
Happy World Lindy Hop Day! We hope that wherever you are, whatever health guidelines you are following, you are celebrating lindy hop today. Google has provided another fun way to mark the day: a musical game on the front page of Google commemorating the Savoy Ballroom of Harlem!
Players can enjoy this swingin’ rhythm game either solo or with a friend, clicking in time to classic swing songs like “Bei Mir Bust Du Schoen” and “Solid as a Rock” as an animated couple dances. Full disclosure: I typically hate these DDR-type rhythm games. But this one kept me occupied for many, many plays.
One fun and historically-accurate feature of the game: you can choose a man or a woman to be in the lead and follow roles! It’s a subtle but welcome option. Which helps me forgive the fact that the dancers don’t dance in time to the song.
For more about how this game was created, check out the Google blog post and this cute “making of” video:
The Google Doodle game will be live on the Google home page for the United States and 19 other countries until May 28. So get as many plays in as you can!
This is not the first time a Google Doodle has been dedicated to lindy hop. In 2016, they created a fun animation on Frankie Manning’s birthday, which we wrote about here.
Congrats to all the folks involved in this Google Doodle’s creation:
Art | Nate Swinehart, Kevin Laughlin
Engineering | Conner Lane, Stephanie Gu, Jacob Howcroft, Audrey Lovan and David Lu
UX Design | Anthony Irwin
Producers | Colin Duffy & Greg Capuano
Marketing | Perla Campos, Sierra Menzies
Business Affairs & Partnerships | Madeline Belliveau
Music Legal Manager | Joy Edgar
Doodle Team Leads | Jessica Yu, Brian Kaas, Tom Tabanao
Shout-outs as well to the collaborators including:
The Spirit Moves | Eiko Otake, Sally Sommer P.H.D
Dancetime Publications | Yauri Dalencour
Sugar Sullivan
