Gaming Industry in Australia

Just been going over a few Australian game Developer sites and just wanted to post a thought on it all.

First off, lets look at..

-Torus Games-
Site - www.torusgames.com

Right off the bat you'll notice they have a very clean looking site thats pretty easy to use.
Looking over their games list I can say I have heard off them and seen them on shelves, but I can't say I have played them.

Not that they are bad games, they just don't grab my intention and have we wait in the cold night for a midnight release of the game.
They seem to have a theme going cause they have a lot of Racing games released.

They are located in Melbourne, Australia which is a good thing for me since I'm from there, who knows might end up working for them someday.

There is no real forum which is in my opinion needed so their customers have a place to either praise of complain about something in the game.
Sure they could send an email or right a letter, but because of the simplicity of a forum people would rather that.

Looking at the main page you'll notice there is a few job openings, seems they are doing well for themselves with a few games selling into the 1million mark worldwide.

I hear we will be visiting them in a few weeks which be really cool, hopefully get to ask them a few questions and check out their studio, never been to a gaming studio before.

Now moving on...

-Pandemic Studios -
Site - http://www.pandemicstudios.com/corp/

As soon as you go onto this site you can see someone sent a good deal of time fine tuning the main page, it looks pro as, I really like it, when people something like this it gives the company a good image.

Now I can say I have played one of the games this compay has developed.
Destroy all humans on the Xbox.
I remember when I first got this game it was heaps of fun.
Messing with the locals, taking over their bodies, reading their minds to hear some funny shit they say.
I haven't played the Sequel, might give it a go someday to see where they went with the series.

No job offers from Pandemic though, seems its a full house there, which is no surprise cause their line up of games is a pretty good looking one.

They have 2 projects in the works one is called Project X and no idea what it is.
The second is Saboteur which looks like its set in WWII.
Looks a little like a Stealth game, reminds me a little of Assassins Creed actually.

Just did a little google search on it, turns out it is set in WWII, but France, not Germany.
Its about one mans battle to get revenge on the Nazi thugs who killed his friends not concerned about WWII happening all around him, seems interesting might give it a go when its released.

Now you will also see Pandemic also has a Forum for its gamers, and its doing pretty well with over half a million posts arleady posted.

I can't stress how much developers should be reading forums about their games, sure some things people say are real harsh, but those people are assholes, if you look past them you'll see some great suggestions and comments.

Alright moving on..

-BigAnt Studios -
Site- www.bigant.com

Looks like BA has a new site happening, good on them, it looks real nice and clean.
And seems they too are doing well for themselves, a lot of Australian gaming companies are moving to Queensland, which you can't blame them since the gaming industry is massive up there.

But with eGames getting bigger every year I think Melbourne will take over as the place to be for game developers.

I haven't played any of the games they've made, but they have an AFL game in the making for the next gen and I'm sure my brother will get it for sure, so I'll check that out when he does.

Most of the jobs they offer though are ones where you need a lot of EXperienCe for, so no chance of getting them right out of school, but something to work for.

Again... No Forum, whats wrong with the Australian game developers?..
Heck even Nintendo Australia has no forum, Playstation AU and Xbox360 AU both have very active forums.

Though they have an awesome loctation in the heart of the Melbourne CBD, wouldn't mind checking out some day.

Moving on...

-Tantalus Games-
Site- www.tantalus.com.au

One of the nicer looking Oz game developer sites, tabs on the side are a little small though, they might want to look into that.

Located in South Melbourne, they have developed games such as Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, MX v ATV, and a racing game for the movie Cars by Pixar.

Those are some big selling names right there, but again never played any of them, not my thing.

There is no Posistions open at this point in time, but they do have a helpful FAQ.
Might be interested in a Testers job there just to see what its like to work in a place like that.

They too will be EXpanding to Queensland, but like I said, Melbourne will be the heart of gaming in Australia.

And again no Forums to discuss Tantalus related topics on.
Well I think thats it for now, we'll see where the industry goes from here.
Seeya when I seeya.