Screen Australia’s Games: Expansion Pack was announced last year, and distributed over $4 million to 31 games made by Australian developers. Now they’re back, and have announced another $1.5 million to be distributed across 11 different Aussie made titles.
This comes after the announcement of the new National Cultural Policy in Australia titled ‘Revive‘, a policy that includes the return of the Australian Interactive Games Fund. Said fund had previously been cut by the Abbott Government ten years prior.
The CEO of Screen Australia Graeme Mason said in a press release regarding the games announcement:
“There are huge opportunities for growth in the local games sector. The Government’s $12 million investment to support digital games developers and small and medium independent games studios will enable Screen Australia to support more Australian developers to create original games, build sustainable businesses and attract local and global audiences.”
As the Screen Australia Games: Expansion Pack is targeted at “emerging or small to medium independent games studios” with budgets below $500,000, that means that the little guys are getting a chance to bring their games into the light. I love to see this, and I hope that you love to see this.
So why don’t we have a look at which games have gotten some cash, huh? You can even give a few of them a try right now!
Bilkins’ Folly
Webbysoft (TAS)
Bilkins’ Folly is a narrative adventure game where you play Percival “Percy” Bilkins, a treasure hunter on a mission to find his missing mother and grandmother with his beloved dog Drayton. Everything about this game just looks like a treat. I’ve never seen pixel art move so fluidly. It’s the first game from Webbysoft, so I can’t wait to see what comes next. You can wishlist it here.
Call of the Golden Valley
O’Saurus Studios (VIC)
Call of the Golden Valley is a narrative detective game set in Australia that mixes the traditional act of detective work with the modern-age act of internet stalking. Look at that pub. You just know that’s an old as hell pub in the middle of nowhere. You’re plopped in the middle of nowhere to find your lost childhood friend who has seemingly vanished into the bush out of thin air. You can wishlist it here.
CONSCRIPT
Catchweight Studio (VIC)
CONSCRIPT is a survival horror inspired by “classics of the genre”, and is essentially a World War I Eldritch horror. You play as a French soldier searching for his brother during the Battle of Verdun, and must navigate the trenches, scavenge for supplies, and solve puzzles while trying to survive. The graphics of CONSCRIPT are incredibly sick, and it looks like a real treat. You can wishlist it and try out the demo here.
Copycat
Spoonful of Wonder (NSW)
Copycat is a narrative-driven adventure came where you play a newly-adopted shelter cat that has fallen victim to a scheme which sees her replaced by a stray imposter. I know it’s cheap to liken every cat game to Stray, but this really does look like another game that truly embodies the physicality of being a cat, and I love that. When I read the About page of this game, it made me very emotional. You can wishlist it here.
Diets and Deities
Larrikin Interactive (NT)
Diets and Deities is a rhythm cooking game that describes itself as “Guitar Hero meets Master Chef”. In it, you are tasked with helping the Deities in the game remember their culture by cooking dishes along to the music. On top of that, the recipes that you find in the game are actual recipes, so you can even cook them for yourself when you’re done mashing your keyboard. You can join the mailing list here.
GHOST CAM
ARCH REBELS (WA)
GHOST CAM is a spoopy VR exploration game where you’re taking all sorts of piccies of ghosts. If you haven’t got a VR headset don’t worry, it’ll also be available on standard PC. In it, you are tasked with uncovering the mystery of an abandoned bedroom that unfolds into a labyrinth. You’ll be solving puzzles, following clues, and encountering all sorts of spirits as you go. You can wishlist it here.
Janet DeMornay Is A Slumlord (and a witch)
Fuzzy Ghost (NSW)
Janet DeMornay Is A Slumlord (and a witch) is a horror-comedy set in an inner-Sydney terrace house (god, who can relate) developed by the creators of a personal favourite of mine, Queer Man Peering Into A Rock Pool.jpg. It’s a first-person, story-driven horror experience where you’ll work with your queer housemates to solve puzzles and attempt to escape the house and its curse-toting landlord. You can wishlist it here.
Misc. A Tiny Tale
Tinyware Games (WA)
Misc. A Tiny Tale is a 3D platforming adventure where you play a sweet little robot akin to Chibi-Robo. In it, you’ll explore a world filled with oil and cogs, and must run around and clean the place up, all while helping new friends along the way. I actually gave this game a go a while ago and god, it’s fun. It really fills that Chibi-Robo void in my heart, and then some. You can wishlist it and try out the demo here.
Pasture: The Livestock Simulator
Salty Games (NT)
Pasture: The Livestock Simulator is a hyper-realistic farming simulator. It’s set in the Australian Outback, and tasks players with leading the life of a humble pastoralist. You’ll be dealing with weather, markets, and Mother Nature in your journey to build a vast cattle empire based on the Northern Territory’s cattle industry. If you’d like to learn more, the ABC actually did a feature on this one last year! You can join the mailing list here.
The Sacred Acorn
A Few Dragons (SA)
The Sacred Acorn is a top-down Metroidvania adventure where you are the one squirrel capable of saving the entire world. In this game, you’ll explore the land of Tansira and meet all sorts of other cute critters to help you in your noble quest, solve puzzles, and defeat corrupted enemies like evil trees and spikey blobs. This game looks like an interactive old-school Disney movie, and I just think that’s lovely. You can wishlist it and try out the demo here.
Trash
Bin Chicken Studios (VIC)
Trash is a co-op open-world survival craft game where you play as a robot made of trash in a world filled with trash. The game is filled with procedurally-generated puzzles for you and your friends to complete, as well as many upgrades for you to add to your robot (these upgrades are also built from trash). I had a chat with the creative director of Trash at the end of 2021, so you can check that out if you’d like to get a deeper look. You can wishlist it and try out the demo here.
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