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Australian games about Australians

Submitted by dodgyville on
Forum

Hello,

I'm researching a possible article on Australian and NZ culture as represented (or not represented) in computer games. I'm looking for serious (ie commercially released) games that can be said to be "Australian" (whatever that may mean - containing Australians, about Australians or espousing "Australian values").

So far I've got:-
Aussie Tycoon (Eureka Edutainment)
retrovirus RTS (my own indie game released last year)
Any game featuring Taz the Tasmanian Devil*
Any game featuring Crash Bandicoot

and possibly (non-commercial but vaguely related):
Escape from Woomera (old political satire mod)
Gallipoli: The Game (my old satire game)

(edit: added by other people - thanks!):
Kao the Kangaroo games
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger games
Taz the Tasmanian Devil games
Ozzie Mandrill from Escape from Monkey Island
Aussie Games by Melbourne House
AFL games by EA
Rugby games by EA
Cricket games by EA
Victoria and Hearts of Iron by Paradox Interactive
Tito: Brisbane City Hijinks
HRT Bathurst game by Torus
Dick Johnson racing game by Torus
That Aussie sheep farming (board) game (by Torus?)
Rugby League 1 and 2 by Sidhe Interactive :)
Melbourne Cup Challenge by Sidhe Interactive
The Guru in the Sly Cooper games

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated!

*fixed in editdodgyville2007-03-13 01:19:29

Submitted by dodgyville on Fri, 02/03/07 - 1:26 AM Permalink

Ah, I meant Taz the Tasmanian Devil games. But Kao the Kangaroo is good too.

"Aussie Games" is a perfect example. Very interesting I think.

I should also add the various AFL, cricket and rugby games from EA, as well as that cricket statistic "game" (man that's dredging up my memory from a while ago).

Thanks and keep 'em coming.

Submitted by TheBigJ on Fri, 02/03/07 - 5:51 AM Permalink

Well, this is probably not quite what you're looking for, but Escape from Monkey Island (the fourth and most recent installment of Monkey Island) featured a villain named Ozzie Mandrill, an Australian entrepreneur who had arrived in the Caribbean to buy out the local businesses. He's presented as a parody of Australians (and probably a reference to Rupert Murdoch) hurling around insults that no-one can comprehend, like "You've got kangaroos in your back paddock!".

This may be worth looking into, as Monkey Island is a huge franchise and Escape from Monkey Island is full of Australian-themed jokes (albeit, directed at an American audience).

Submitted by dodgyville on Fri, 02/03/07 - 5:57 AM Permalink

That's exactly the sort of stuff I'm looking for ... representations of Australians (and our culture) in computer games, preferably Australian-made but also from overseas.

The Aussie entrepreneur character is interesting because I reckon you're right that it's almost entirely due to Rupert Murdoch - it must be weird to be the template for a stereotype.

Thanks!

Submitted by DaleK on Sat, 03/03/07 - 12:46 AM Permalink

Victoria by Paradox Interactive has some early Aussie politics in the form of events which go through our Federation.

Hearts of Iron and the sequel from the same studio contains a lot of information on Aussie World War 2 leaders, and how our political situation was stuck between US and UK.

Submitted by TheBigJ on Sat, 03/03/07 - 3:35 PM Permalink

Happy to be of help. Here's a couple more that came to mind.

Firstly, Brisbane-based developer Dimsdale & Kreozot (you'll find them in the Sumea Developer listing) released Tito: Brisbane City Hijinks, apparently set in Brisbane during the late nineteenth century.

I'm pretty sure Crash Bandicoot was supposed to be an Australian character, although it's been a while since I've played one, so I can't remember if the accent made this obvious.

Aha! While writing this, I found this Wikipedia category, which I believe will be of use to you.

Submitted by Targos on Mon, 12/03/07 - 2:18 AM Permalink

Heya, I tried to email you but I am not privelidged,
I read your post on the sumea forum. We are in Chch NZ and are making a galiopoli game at school. Any chance of having a look at what you made?

Cool.Thanks.Best you email me if your into letting me have a look..
AC
remedydub@gmail.com

Submitted by Red 5 on Mon, 12/03/07 - 6:27 AM Permalink

There was a few Aussie content games dveloped by Torus... An HRT Bathurst game, Dick Johnson racing game and another (can't remember the name) that was a PC version of an Aussie sheep farming (board) game.

Submitted by Mario on Tue, 13/03/07 - 11:44 AM Permalink

[QUOTE=dodgyville] That's exactly the sort of stuff I'm looking for ... representations of Australians (and our culture) in computer games, preferably Australian-made but also from overseas.[/QUOTE]

In that case, Rugby League for PS2/Xbox/PC, Rugby League 2 for PS2/Xbox/PC, and Melbourne Cup Challenge for PS2/Xbox/PC by Sidhe Interactive :)

Forum

Hello,

I'm researching a possible article on Australian and NZ culture as represented (or not represented) in computer games. I'm looking for serious (ie commercially released) games that can be said to be "Australian" (whatever that may mean - containing Australians, about Australians or espousing "Australian values").

So far I've got:-
Aussie Tycoon (Eureka Edutainment)
retrovirus RTS (my own indie game released last year)
Any game featuring Taz the Tasmanian Devil*
Any game featuring Crash Bandicoot

and possibly (non-commercial but vaguely related):
Escape from Woomera (old political satire mod)
Gallipoli: The Game (my old satire game)

(edit: added by other people - thanks!):
Kao the Kangaroo games
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger games
Taz the Tasmanian Devil games
Ozzie Mandrill from Escape from Monkey Island
Aussie Games by Melbourne House
AFL games by EA
Rugby games by EA
Cricket games by EA
Victoria and Hearts of Iron by Paradox Interactive
Tito: Brisbane City Hijinks
HRT Bathurst game by Torus
Dick Johnson racing game by Torus
That Aussie sheep farming (board) game (by Torus?)
Rugby League 1 and 2 by Sidhe Interactive :)
Melbourne Cup Challenge by Sidhe Interactive
The Guru in the Sly Cooper games

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated!

*fixed in editdodgyville2007-03-13 01:19:29


Submitted by dodgyville on Fri, 02/03/07 - 1:26 AM Permalink

Ah, I meant Taz the Tasmanian Devil games. But Kao the Kangaroo is good too.

"Aussie Games" is a perfect example. Very interesting I think.

I should also add the various AFL, cricket and rugby games from EA, as well as that cricket statistic "game" (man that's dredging up my memory from a while ago).

Thanks and keep 'em coming.

Submitted by TheBigJ on Fri, 02/03/07 - 5:51 AM Permalink

Well, this is probably not quite what you're looking for, but Escape from Monkey Island (the fourth and most recent installment of Monkey Island) featured a villain named Ozzie Mandrill, an Australian entrepreneur who had arrived in the Caribbean to buy out the local businesses. He's presented as a parody of Australians (and probably a reference to Rupert Murdoch) hurling around insults that no-one can comprehend, like "You've got kangaroos in your back paddock!".

This may be worth looking into, as Monkey Island is a huge franchise and Escape from Monkey Island is full of Australian-themed jokes (albeit, directed at an American audience).

Submitted by dodgyville on Fri, 02/03/07 - 5:57 AM Permalink

That's exactly the sort of stuff I'm looking for ... representations of Australians (and our culture) in computer games, preferably Australian-made but also from overseas.

The Aussie entrepreneur character is interesting because I reckon you're right that it's almost entirely due to Rupert Murdoch - it must be weird to be the template for a stereotype.

Thanks!

Submitted by DaleK on Sat, 03/03/07 - 12:46 AM Permalink

Victoria by Paradox Interactive has some early Aussie politics in the form of events which go through our Federation.

Hearts of Iron and the sequel from the same studio contains a lot of information on Aussie World War 2 leaders, and how our political situation was stuck between US and UK.

Submitted by TheBigJ on Sat, 03/03/07 - 3:35 PM Permalink

Happy to be of help. Here's a couple more that came to mind.

Firstly, Brisbane-based developer Dimsdale & Kreozot (you'll find them in the Sumea Developer listing) released Tito: Brisbane City Hijinks, apparently set in Brisbane during the late nineteenth century.

I'm pretty sure Crash Bandicoot was supposed to be an Australian character, although it's been a while since I've played one, so I can't remember if the accent made this obvious.

Aha! While writing this, I found this Wikipedia category, which I believe will be of use to you.

Submitted by Targos on Mon, 12/03/07 - 2:18 AM Permalink

Heya, I tried to email you but I am not privelidged,
I read your post on the sumea forum. We are in Chch NZ and are making a galiopoli game at school. Any chance of having a look at what you made?

Cool.Thanks.Best you email me if your into letting me have a look..
AC
remedydub@gmail.com

Submitted by Red 5 on Mon, 12/03/07 - 6:27 AM Permalink

There was a few Aussie content games dveloped by Torus... An HRT Bathurst game, Dick Johnson racing game and another (can't remember the name) that was a PC version of an Aussie sheep farming (board) game.

Submitted by Mario on Tue, 13/03/07 - 11:44 AM Permalink

[QUOTE=dodgyville] That's exactly the sort of stuff I'm looking for ... representations of Australians (and our culture) in computer games, preferably Australian-made but also from overseas.[/QUOTE]

In that case, Rugby League for PS2/Xbox/PC, Rugby League 2 for PS2/Xbox/PC, and Melbourne Cup Challenge for PS2/Xbox/PC by Sidhe Interactive :)