Jason Hill has an article up on The Age's LiveWire with new GDAA president, Tom Crago, on how the tax benefits and funding schemes that the local film industry enjoys could triple the size of the Australian games industry, if it were available to them. Tax benefits and funding schemes would mean that local developers could develop and reap the rewards of their own I.P. From the article...
(Tom) A better investment and regulatory environment here would see more Australian-owned intellectual property, more jobs in the local industry and increased exports of Australian games. We have a wonderful comparative advantage here in Australia over many of our competitors offshore. We're not capitalising on that at present.
Is it really any wonder the SPA doesn't like it one little bit when the guy pleading for cash makes such culturally irrelevant tripe such as Pony Friends, MX vs ATV unleashed, and Spongebob Squarepants?
What do you want them to make? Kangaroo action platformer or Crocodile Dundee the first person shooter? Mainstream games or cultural cringe that has no market overseas? Hmmmm
We do have an extensive military history that hasn't really been touched by game dev. Aus is more than kangaroos and paul hogan.
Better yet, maybe with appropriate permission some of the dreamtime legends could be made into games.
Can honestly say that a game that has depiction of Australian life (in the city, out in the suburbs) would help with us being portrayed as Kangaroo herding wildmen wearing Crocodile hide.
Yes we need all games to have cultural relevance since it has been so successful for the film industry.
Has been for getting government funding at least, which is what you guys whinge and whine for all the time.
There's plenty of inspiration in Australian culture and history, if you cant find any then you're just not trying. Just the sheer mystery of the outback allows for a hell of a lot. The Proposition was an awesome movie, as I've mentioned Mad Max would be a great game, and yeah as #4 said we've got a more dramatic military history than most places JUST in the last 100 years and its completely untapped.
Just the whole "little brother to the UK and US" thing, and on the flipside the "Policeman of the pacific thing" theres a wealth of politics and self questioning that could be utilised. Not to mention we have one of best special forces and spec ops units in the world. I'd love to do some near future aussie SAS game. The fact that Aus always plays a support role though is generally always pivotal in whatever they do, perfectly places for an analytical perspective on things giving both a separate though internal account.
They're getting pulled around by the US or UK to complete side objectives or gap filling roles supporting the primary thrust, but the longer they observe the results of their actions the more they begin to question "Who's actually controlling us here?" and "Are we actually doing the right thing?" And best of all, that question doesn't even have to get answered because its out of our hands. The only time I've really had a feeling of reluctance in a game was from Shadow of the Colossus, and I'd love to have that again.
How about forking over yet more cash to IR Gurus. They'd love more hand-outs to do whatever the hell they like with :-)
#1 Do you really think games comanies in Australia have the luxury to pick and choose between the titles they make? This is the whole POINT of getting better tax benifits for investors so they will feel as comfortable putting their money into a game as they would a movie.
Many games companies ARE scrimping and saving the pathetic royalties they get from international publishers, after have recouped their initial investment, so they can put that towards a prototype for an original game to shop around to international publishers for funding. But in the meantime the bills have to be paid, and companies have to build their reputation as reliable developers, so they pretty much have to take what they can get from the scraps the international publishers throw us.
I've been in the games industry for about 3 years now, and I've seen some really brilliant ideas for games stagnate and die from lack of opportunity, and it's not for lack of wanting to do something original and not the next movie license game on the DS, PS2 or XBOX. People like the GDAA recognise this, and have been pushing for more investment in our growing and talented industry through better tax incentives.
Anyone who knows anything about the Australian games industry knows Australian games companies would rather be working on their own IP. Believe me, that's what we're trying to do.
Of course I don't, I'm very well aware it's almost a total fee for service industry, which is why it's going to be dead and gone in a very few years. But maybe instead of applying for R&D grants for developing crappy engines that send others who try to use them bankrupt (or nearly) you lot *could* try applying for grants for making decent games. And maybe even work at ditching the traditional publisher business model using the 'net- broadband has a pretty big takeup now.
If Introversion Software (look them up on wiki if you don't know about them) can do it with 3 guys in a garage still why the hell can't established studios?
But that's just too much to ask, instead the bosses go for the tried and true path of signing crap contracts for crap games with evil publishers, while knowing full well it's a path that leads to the extinction of their business in this country. Better still they whinge and whine about not getting enough taxpayer money to help trundle down the path of extinction.
I'm so glad I got the hell out.