Interview: Tom Crago: President Game Developers Association of Australia

Mike Bantick
Tuesday, 11 August 2009 10:18

Opinion and Analysis

MB:  It does seem extremely frustrating, especially when, often times there are games that attract a bit of controversy, Grand Theft Auto and stuff, that controversy is magnified by an out of date classification system, when clearly when these kids have access to certain content, when they do because the government system is behind the times.

TC:  We are the butt of a lot of jokes; I travel, obviously a lot, talking to other developers and publishers and people cannot believe it that we still have this ridiculous system here in Australia, designed twenty or thirty years ago, and hasn’t changed since.

TC:  We need some form of classification system don’t we?  But it needs to be relevant; it needs to move with the times.  It needs to recognise that people’s leisure habits change, and people that are accessing content evolve, and we are looking at a video game industry that is very different from what it was twenty years ago.

MB:  Is it as simple as introducing an R classification?

TC:  Absolutely, that would solve the problem; it would bring us in line with the rest of the world, and it would ensure that games that are presently refused classification, or shoehorned inappropriately into the MA15+ bracket can be appropriately rated.

MB:  Perhaps they should get some Xbox 360’s and PS3’s into the cafeteria up there in Canberra, get the politicians gaming?

TC:  I played video games with Stephen Conroy, he’s a decent bloke, and he....

MB:  Did you beat him?  Is he any good?

TC:  ...He’s actually not too bad; he spent a lot of his youth playing arcade machines, put up a decent fist first time up playing one of our games, unfortunately it is not his decision on this issue...

MB:  Have you had a chance to play with the South Australian Attorney General yet? [Michael Atkinson is the AG most vehemently opposed to the introduction of a R18+ classification for interactive entertainment in Australia]

TC:  No, well, ha ha, this fellow is of course the problem, he has been interviewed whilst playing games before, but clearly this is a guy that doesn’t get it, and to be honest, I don’t think, ever will get it.  So the battle is unlikely to be won while this gentleman is the Attorney General of, I am embarrassed to say, my home state.

MB:  You mentioned you travel widely, and we are the butt of many a joke, how do other countries classify titles such as World of Warcraft, games that are on shelves but are largely an user generated content experience?

TC:  Its tough isn’t it? And it is a bit of a moving feast as to how you classify that content. And it gets more complex again when you have user generated content, where you not only have a developer that is putting out download or add-on packs with new content for a title, but you also have users generating content too.  It’s another area, I guess, where the law needs to evolve and move with the times, it’s incredibly complex.

MB:  What’s happening at Tantalus at present?

TC:  It’s a busy period; we have a bunch of titles coming out later this year.  A new instalment in our MX vs ATV series, this is the off-road bike game we have developed for DS and PSP, we are really happy with how that is tracking.  We are also doing another game based on the Pixar franchise Cars, the second game we have done in that franchise, more for younger kids, but certainly a step along for us in the racing genre.  And for kids even younger again, and specifically for girls we’ve got the sequel to our Pony Friends game, coming out, so all the joys of owning and looking after your own pony without having to clean up.

TC:  The original sold over a million copies on the DS when we released it a couple of years ago, and I guess it is an example of the changing face of gaming, here is a game that is pointed squarely at young girls, a demographic that has largely been ignored by developers, and it has done really well, we can’t ignore the fact that the goal post constantly shift in this industry, which is one of the best things about it.