Do you have ears? Have you ever listened to music? Maybe you even play an instrument, such as the piano. Whatever the case is, you may have heard a certain, famous 10-note sequence. A 10-note sequence that has circulated the internet for years. A 10-note sequence so iconic it was played for Pope Francis himself. A revolutionary song that generated tens of thousands of fan-made variations, yet plagues the dreams of countless musicians: Megalovania. 

But Megalovania didn’t just appear—it was created for a video game character. Specifically, Sans, Sans the skeleton. More than the song itself, this anatomically dead-wrong human skeleton in a blue hoodie and pink slippers is recognizable anywhere, even if the game it actually comes from, Undertale, is not. But as the skeleton, the song, and the videogame all reach their tenth anniversary, there is a lot to reflect upon.

Undertale is an indie game developed by American composer and game developer Toby Fox. While Fox handled nearly every aspect of the game himself, he worked with artist Temmie Chang to bring the characters to life through spritework. 

Undertale tells the story of a human that falls into the depths of a mountain, discovering a hidden world known as the “Underground”, where a unique culture of monsters and personalities have developed over the course of centuries. By the choice of the player, one can take the ruthless path of slaughter, neutrality, or pacifism to save the world. The game was first launched through a kickstarter campaign in 2013, raising over $51,000 for development. Despite the kickstarter occurring in 2013, the game’s anniversary is based on the date of the full game release, September 15th, 2015. 

Upon release, it quickly became one of the most successful games of its time, selling millions of copies in months and rating extremely high among video games. Its success motivated Toby Fox to continue with game development, creating an extension and alternate universe of the game, Deltarune. 

However, it was the millions of fans—perhaps even more so than Toby Fox—who kept Undertale in the spotlight. Through the development of thousands of reimaginings of characters, storylines and overarching themes, the community ensured the game’s lasting presence in mainstream culture. By far, Undertale is a game with the most “alternate universes” and fanmade interpretations of the base world. The game united a global community of composers, artists, animators, theorists, developers—past and present—all who worked towards expanding Undertale’s narrative universe.

What motivates people to do so? The game brings a unique perspective on Roleplay Games. Rather than being a small part of the image, interpersonal relationships are instead at the heart of the story. Rather than endless grinding or roaming that may dim attachment to a game or character, it is in truth very interactive. Beneath the surface of even a singular playthrough lies boundless potential for literary analysis in your English class. Moreover, the concept of killing characters takes on new weight, and your actions even during moments of intermission can influence the kind of ending you get. In addition, it was one of the first modern games to actively tackle the idea of crossing beyond the fourth wall, and what it means to the characters for a person to play a videogame. The weight of consequences ties into this remarkably well and permeates every aspect of the game, which makes it replayable. 

Undertale marked a new golden era of RPGs that have either directly or indirectly drawn from these lessons to send player interactivity and character relatability to a whole new level.

So how did they celebrate the game in the past?

For the first anniversary, Undertale released an official Q&A blog, where fans could submit questions they had for all the characters. Humorously, the only question asked and answered in all the Q&A posts was, “Papyrus, what’s your favorite food?”, repeated a total of ten times to different characters by fans after the Undertale team themselves released the question as merely an example for fans to follow. Ironically, we learned a lot about each character from the same question not even directed to them, including the time Sans Undertale tried lunchables. 

For the second anniversary, Undertale announced an Alarm Clock App that featured exclusive dialogue and stories from characters. Although this app was never released, the dialogues are still featured on Undertale’s website, and contain many interesting stories from characters for theory-crafters. 

Over the next few years, Sans was added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, an official Undertale Concert was held at which they played all 101 songs of the soundtrack over the course of three hours, Toby Fox himself plays Deltarune, and more behind-the-scenes insights into his game development process were shared with the public. 

This year, however, was much more eventful. In June, there was a one-night exclusive in London known as the Determination Symphony, where both Undertale and its soundtrack was played by an orchestra. In August, there was a concert called the Hopes and Dreams concert in Florida, where multiple musicians performed selections from the Undertale soundtrack. As for official content, Toby Fox posted a website memories.undertale.com (currently closed) in which fans could share their memories playing Undertale. As of the moment, there is no knowledge of what it will be used for, however, one can always expect something interesting if it’s from Toby Fox. Moreover, he played Undertale on a livestream over the course of two days, September 20th and 21st. The game was modified to feature lots of new content and insight into characters fans may have only heard of in name. 

Of course, we can’t forget the celebration of Undertale’s 10th Anniversary by fans across the globe, who created amazing remixes and animations for the occasion. Without the people who continue to be interested in Undertale since its inception a decade ago, both this game, its sequel, Deltarune, and indie games as a whole would never have garnered as much support as they have now. The creation of Undertale marked the start of an internet sensation, of memes that have made up most of the 2010s, of the lives of inspired artists that have been changed for the better, of the childhoods that were shaped when they first sat down and glimpsed into the vast world behind the screen, the tale of a civilization forgotten by time–the story of Undertale.

So give it a try, won’t you?