Trombone Champ is the internet's new favorite video game. The developer never expected the toots to go viral.

Trombone Champ is the latest video game that players can’t put down – even if the people around them wanted to.

Developed by Holy Wow Studios, the rhythm-based video game resembles Guitar Hero, but swaps the guitar for the trombone. An avatar plays the trombone as the player moves their mouse up and down to synchronize with pitches on the screen. The mouse movements are reversed, which adds an extra level of difficulty.

The game, which released on September 15, went viral this week after people got online — ranging from video game reviewers to real-life trombonists – started posting recordings of themselves playing it.

The result? Lots of honking to songs like the National Anthem and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, followed by laughter from people on the Internet.

Dan Vecchito, the game’s developer, said he never expected it to become the new source of laughter on the internet. In fact, Vecchito, whose full-time job is in web design, was expecting a much smaller group of enthusiasts.

“Of course I’m super happy with it and a little relieved,” said Vecchito with a laugh. “I wasn’t quite sure what the reaction would be because…it almost always sounds bad.”

Vecchito, who said he develops video games as a hobby, doesn’t even play the trombone.

He came up with the idea for Trombone Champ four years ago, inspired by traditional arcade cabinets. Vecchito said he imagined a case that, instead of a plastic light gun, had a rubber trombone with a moving slide on it.

“I thought it would be funny to imagine someone trying to move the slide in and out on a giant rubber trombone so that it kind of matched these giant squiggly lines flying on the screen,” he said.

I wasn’t quite sure what the reaction would be because… it almost always sounds bad.

Dan Vecchito, developer of trombone Champ

Developing the game went relatively smoothly, according to Vecchito, who worked on it overnight and on weekends.

But the tricky part for Vechitto was that he wanted to find songs that the player would like without having to pay royalties. Almost all music is classical and in the public domain.

The game features one original piece by a London-based artist Max Tundracalled “Long-Tail Limbo.”

Initially, Vecchito said he was afraid that real trombonists would be offended by the game. However, he said most trombonists he’s heard of have enjoyed it.

“A GAME WHERE YOU PLAY TROMBONE?!?!? It feels like Trombone Champ was literally made for me,” G4 host and trombonist Austin Creed tweeted.

YouTuber Trombone Timo, a professional trombonist with a lot of social media following, also liked to play.

“Overall, this game is complete crap – just kidding,” he said in his video review. “It’s fantastic.”

Are any annoyances? A trombonist doesn’t move his entire body to reach certain notes like the game’s avatar does, he said.

“Also ‘tromboner?'” he added, referring to what a player is called in the game. “Come on… [it’s] trombonist!”

Many said they laughed out loud at the game.

“Trombone Champ is so funny because the sound of a false trombone and a fart is almost exactly the same and therefore almost just as funny, especially with repetition,” one person tweeted.

“Trombone Champ is unbelievable”, game writer Joseph Yaden tweeted. “Funniest game I’ve ever played.”

“saw the video from pc gamer.. my stomach hurts from laughing so hard.. bought the game in one fell swoop.. played it myself.. now my index finger hurts and my stomach hurts even more,” wrote one reviewer on Steam, the video game distribution platform.

Many tweeted requests for songs they hoped to see on ‘Trombone Champ’. Some suggested the game is an “instant” Game of the Year contender.

Vecchito said that due to the overwhelming response, he will continue to update and tweak what he believes to be the first-ever trombone-centric game.

The game, which costs $14.99, is available on PC via Steam. Vecchito said he plans to release a Mac version and eventually a version for consoles. The game is also currently only available in English, but Vecchito has plans to add other languages.

“I always knew the concept was funny,” Vecchito said. “But I’m still really amazed at how viral it has gone.”