Dean Walshe is the 3D art lead for Wild Bastards, a first-person shooter developed by Canberra studio Blue Manchu. Photo: Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, Craylux Media.
Canberra has again proved its merit as an innovation hub on the national stage, this time in the world of video games.
Local indie studio Blue Manchu recently took home Best in Gameplay at the 2024 Australian Game Developer Awards for its exhilarating first-person tactical shooter, Wild Bastards.
A ‘spiritual successor’ to the team’s award-winning Void Bastards, Wild Bastards sees players travel from planet to planet to resurrect, recruit, manage and gun sling with a team of 13 deadly outlaws.
The sci-fi/western was released simultaneously on PC, Playstation 5, Xbox series X/S and Nintendo Switch in early September, almost immediately attracting hundreds of positive reviews for its unique art, diverse characters, engaging storyline and challenging gameplay.
Headed up by industry veteran Jonathan Chey, Blue Manchu is a small developer with a penchant for bold, offbeat games with strategic twists. 3D art lead Dean Walshe has worked on Blue Manchu projects since 2016.
“Wild Bastards is a grand testament to the sort of games our team enjoys playing,” he says.
“I love that all 13 playable characters are wildly different. They all have unique looks, weapons, abilities, personalities and relationships with each other.
“Spike has an awesome cockney accent and uses crystal knives to fight their battles and Roswell is cool too, with their raygun. Different characters have unique attacks and abilities, but they all have a special place in my heart.”
A panel of more than 80 industry experts judged the awards hosted by the Australia/New Zealand Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) at the Forum in Melbourne.
“As the Australian game developer scene grows, so does the calibre of games produced by Australian studios,” IGEA’s CEO, Ron Curry, says.
“The past year has been challenging for our local industry, but the overall attitude we are seeing across Australian studios is one of hope, support and determination.
“Australia produces games of international acclaim. We punch above our weight on a global stage and will continue to innovate and create in a way that only we know how.”
Dean says even though indie games have smaller budgets, they remain of great value to players from all walks of life.
“When you play an indie game, it’s usually presenting a new idea or giving you a taste of something the devs are super passionate about,” he says.
“AAA studios may have huge budgets, but they don’t necessarily take as many risks, so some blockbusters can come across as a little safe. We’re always trying new things and our players are really invested in what we’re doing which is really encouraging.
“We are keen to continue doing what we do best – creating niche titles that are wonderfully weird, explore unusual combinations of game mechanics and tell immersive stories that really make the player think.”
Wild Bastards has just been nominated on the global scale for the music category at the Indie Game Awards in late December. Follow the team’s success at Wild Bastards.
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