This is the Taylor Swift video game I want to see made for Swifties

In the pop-culture world and music industry, there is no musical artist that is bigger than Taylor Swift. Her 11 studio albums and her global event, The Eras Tour, captured the hearts of many people and led to her becoming a generational sensation. The fandom that actively supports her music and various projects have come to be known as Swifties, which have generated billions of dollars for the pop superstar. But as legendary as Taylor Swift has become, she hasn't really interacted too much with one aspect of pop-culture: video games.

While some game releases have implemented Taylor Swift in some fashion, such as her appearing as a playable character in Band Hero, there has never been a full official Taylor Swift video game. Swifties haven't been able to buy a game that celebrates her music or any of the big projects that she's been involved with over the years. A free mobile title was once planned to have some involvement with Taylor Swift in 2016, but it was never released. This is something that needs to change, because fans of Taylor Swift would be willing to support a game release that focused solely on the musical artist, and not just include a few of her songs. And it's not as hard of a concept to make a reality as people may think. Here is what an official Taylor Swift video game could be like, and why Swifties would want to see it made.

The eras tour for an experience

Diverse palette of visuals

Other pop-stars over the years have been involved with a variety of different video game releases. Everyone from Michael Jackson and Aerosmith, to the Wu-Tang Clan and 50 Cent has had a game released with their names, and included parts of their music anthology. But not all of them have focused on just their music, with many often branching into other genres outside of music games. And because of that, they get away from the main reason why those artists became popular to begin with. The best example of a game based on a mega-popular musician is Michael Jackson: The Experience, which released for the PlayStation 3 in 2011. It not only had a ton of music made by Michael from over the years, but implemented tons of visuals from his different music videos, concerts, and eras that symbolized his stardom.

A game based on Taylor Swift could follow a similar premise, but would have many more visual styles to choose from and present to players. Across all eleven albums that Taylor Swift has released, the presentation of each album contains a unique look and visual theme that makes each one stand out. What you see with an album like Red isn't the same tone or look that you get from other Taylor albums like Fearless and Folklore. The songs are different, and the themes are different, making her discography look very diverse.

In a game with Taylor's music playing, these different styles can be taken to extremes and exaggerated on screen, giving Swifties many familiar visuals to look at while playing. It's exactly the same thing that Michael Jackson: The Experience did, showing a new look for Michael Jackson in a new setting each time a different song was played. On screen, Michael could sport any one of the iconic looks from his music videos or concert performances, with his music remixed to go along with the fresh presentation. Now imagine that for a Taylor Swift song from any of her albums, such as Evermore, and how visually stunning it can be. A lot of the fantasy imagery that Taylor Swift is known for having in her music videos could make for some great eye candy for fans that play through any song from that album.

Blending Taylor Swift music

Wide range of tracks to play

Of course, the real highlight of a game based on Taylor Swift would be the music. And luckily for fans, there's a ton of music to listen to. In reality, the entire set list of The Eras Tour could be the basis of a music game for the pop star. But the truth is that a solid music game experience doesn't always have an overwhelming number of music tracks, so things would have to be cut down to a solid list of Taylor Swift tracks that everyone could enjoy playing. To date, Taylor Swift has over 200 different songs across all of her albums, including re-recorded tracks given the title "Taylor's Version" on re-released albums. This is more than a single game would realistically have.

Most music games have around 20 to 50 music tracks in them, with some having more or less for a variety of reasons. Michael Jackson: The Experience included 26 songs from Michael's entire discography, while other games based on bands like Aerosmith and Metallica pushed the limit to around 40 songs. This is a much more ideal number for the number of tracks for a Taylor Swift video game, which could cover the entirety of her different eras. Popular hits like "Lavender Haze" from the Midnights album and other major hits with music videos would most likely be easy choices to look towards. But there's a lot more beyond that.

Having a group of 30 to 35 tracks could be a sweet spot to have enough Taylor tracks from each one of her albums, making sure fans get a good range of everything the musician has done up to now. The exact number of songs from each album could definitely vary, with some albums that are more popular than others having more representation, but the curated list of songs could give each era of Taylor Swift enough room to be included alongside the others. If a video game like this were to be made some time after Taylor Swift releases her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, then that would be another group of songs to include alongside everything else, and not solely just as extra downloadable content.

Singing and dancing for Swifties

More than just karaoke

Although music games like Singstar and Rock Band have implemented singing as a big part of their musical experiences, other series like Just Dance from Ubisoft have involved a more physical aspect to go with the singing. Utilizing a combination of motion controls or a smartphone app that was connected to the game, Just Dance has players mimicking the moves that show up on screen to their favorite songs, most of which are based on pop music. Michael Jackson: The Experience did the same thing by using different console accessories, including the Nintendo Wii remote and the Xbox One Kinect camera. Both approaches have their pros and cons for their own experiences, but the design choices can still be applied to a game made about Taylor Swift, and be just as successful.

If you've ever seen any of Taylor Swift's concerts or music videos, you can see the choreography that goes with some of her biggest hits. The dancing is often imitated by Swifties who resonate with her songs, and have connected legions of fans with their common appreciation of her music. These same kinds of moves can be included in a game about her music, and most likely done in the same way that current Just Dance games have been doing so for a while. Ubisoft's series is very popular among music genre fans, so it would make sense for a Taylor Swift-focused game to borrow similar gameplay elements, but apply to it Taylor Swift music.

Whether you enjoy doing moves from Taylor's "Shake It Off" from the 1989 album, or imitating her moves during The Eras Tour for songs like "22", dancing should be a part of a Taylor Swift game. Swifties love dancing to her music, and especially dancing together when they hear her songs. And there's no better way for a game that celebrates an artist like Taylor Swift than to get players dancing to all the tracks included in it.

Gaming, but Taylor's Version

It's long overdue that Swifities finally got to see a full Taylor Swift video game made and released. The pop sensation has conquered the globe with her music and amassed legions of fans that are eager to support everything she is involved with. So why hasn't a video game based on her music and star status come to fruition yet? It's something that is puzzling, but can still be done with great success. If given the same attention to detail and mindfulness as Just Dance and other music-focused games, a Taylor Swift video game could be massively successful. For now, we'll just have to wait until we can finally see what gaming (Taylor's Version) would be like. Maybe sometime after The Life of a Showgirl is finally out, a game like this could become a reality for Swifties around the world.