IGDA Sydney

When I decided to go to the Indie Game Dev show and tell in the city of Sydney on Tuesday the 26^th of July, I knew I was going to have a ton of fun. When I told a friend I was going to drag her with me, however, she was not of the same opinion.

“Why do I want to spend my Tuesday night in some pub with a bunch of game nerds?”

 

I think the photo says it all.

In my usual fashion, I walked in late, making a total ass of myself and interrupting somebody’s presentation. To make it all the more awkward, the room was so full that I had to walk through a crowd of people in my bright red “I hope people notice me” (because I’m a MORON) coat while my friend hissed in my ear “I hate you so much”.

Once that presentation was finished, the event hit a snag when a bunch of technical difficulties were encountered. Firstly, the people at the back couldn’t hear what was going on down in the front, then the mic stopped working, and then I got hungry and needed a drink so I nicked off for a little while to grab a jug of beer. (Because I’m a real professional, you know?)

Finally, everything got back under way and I managed to find a seat and still be able to watch the presentations and drink my beer at the same time, and that’s when the night really began for me.

Many of the indie game developers who showed their work on the night were either students still studying their game dev course or start-up companies testing the indie game waters. The night itself (apart from being amazingly fun) was also an excellent opportunity for these developers to showcase some of their work to people within the industry. The Australian Game Industry is quite an incestuous little group where everybody knows everyone else, so being able to show off work to just one member of the media or one PR person instantly connects these up and coming developers to a whole spider web of networks to use to their advantage.

Over the course of the night there were a few projects in particular that stood out to me. The first one was called ‘Tag Town’ and this is a game being developed for iOS and Android systems by Mod Productions. The aim of this game is to get players in touch with their city or town. The app consists of gamers being sent photos of a location that they must then find by travelling to that place in real life. You can race against the clock, or against your friends in a never ending challenge. This game appealed to me because it not only gets you moving around your own city, but also promotes tourism within a town or country. Good work, guys!

Next game I particularly liked was called Little Space Heroes by a company called Bubble Gum Interactive. This one creates a whole new virtual world for kiddies aimed at 5-12 year olds. Not only does this world look colourful, interactive and a whole stack of fun (even for someone my age… shhh 12 is just 21 backwards) but I particularly liked how much attention Bubblegum Interactive paid to keeping parents happy as well as children. There’s no doubt the world of cyber space can be a dangerous one (even an awesome world IN SPACE) so the fact that they’ve taken this so closely into account speaks volumes not only for the company itself, but also for the quality of the world they are going to introduce.

Lastly, I want to talk about Rainbow Harvest, a quirky little game by the crew at Mesh Addicts. This hilarious title draws on inspiration from Suicide Bunnies, which you’ll notice once you play it. Basically, the aim is to look at the cute little bunny on the screen, and navigate a cannonball through a level of obstacles to kill it dead. Once you’ve destroyed this harmless little bunny, you harvest all the rainbow particles and accumulate your score. Currently, it’s only in a prototype stage, however even in the early days I’m having a lot of fun playing it (even if I am against killing cute little bunnies).

Overall, the entire night was a massive hit. Not only was it incredibly pleasing to see a room packed full of people interested in Aussie Indie Game Development, but everybody was incredibly lovely and up for a good time (just ask me about our after party antics!)  Below I have included the websites of the various projects I spoke about, so be sure to check them out for beta testing, prototype playing and release date information!

Company: Mod Productions
Game: Tag Town
Website: http://modprods.com/

Company: Bubble Gum Interactive
Game: Little Space Heroes
Website: http://www.littlespaceheroes.com/

Company: MeshAddicts
Game: Rainbow Harvest
Website: http://meshaddicts.weebly.com/index.html

IGDA Sydney, 3.5 out of 5 based on 2 ratings