4X.Scope is honoured to have Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg in the crosshairs for an interview on certain games, certain trends and the future of both local software development and Australian games journalism.
Australia can punch about its weight in most entertainment mediums, having shown great prowess in a number of films, in music, with art and with game development. Growing out of big-name titles like Super 
International Cricket and other domestically-popular games, Australia has become a burgeoning hotspot for game production. AustralianGamer.com’s PR and Creative Director Guy Blomberg has offered an in-depth insight into the brave new world of where the medium is at in Australia today.
4X.Scope: Guy, thanks for taking time out to shoot the breeze. Firstly, what was your earliest gaming memory?
Yug: Guy? Who is this Guy person you speak of?!
Earliest gaming memory would probably be playing Ghostbusters and Pitfall on my best friends Atari 2600.
4X.Scope: Thus far, where have you been stationed in the Australian gaming and development scene and in what capacity?
Yug: I’ve worked as a graphic designer for Auran Games, and a UI designer and community manager for Sega Creative Assembly. Through AustralianGamer.com I’ve managed to promote and support the local industry, reporting on national rumours that affect it, and featuring small independent developers who don’t get much publicity otherwise. I’ve also hosted and MC’d the eGames, GAME1, Supanova and GenConOz events along with Matt Burgess, and have spoken at QUT, DEVELOP, and GCAP about the gaming industry.
4X.Scope: Let’s move onto the most recent development projects you were involved in – The Creative Assembly’s science-fiction strategy Stormrise. What was the creative atmosphere like in the Brisbane studios during the development phase?
Yug: Well, we’re talking about a game that was completely innovative from the ground up, that broke the mould for console RTS on a number of fronts. The creative team, from artists to programmers to designers, included some of the most talented people I’ve had the pleasure of working with. The atmosphere tends to shift between excitement and panic fairly regularly though!
4X.Scope: Is there a particular trait or characteristic unique to an Australian developer or development team?
Yug: For better or for worse, most of the Australian studio’s I’ve visited (almost all of them now) have a more laid back approach to their international counterparts.
4X.Scope: The critical reception to Stormrise was nothing short of unkind. How did you personally feel about it and how does such an event affect an entire team. Stormrise was, for all intents and purposes, everyone’s creative baby for a long time. Is it a case of learning from experience, feeling unfairly downtrodden or perhaps a mixture of both?
Yug: It was a completely bizarre situation for me to be in – I’m used to being the one who GIVES the harsh reviews! Seeing it from the other side, being involved and working on a game then seeing the reviews come in, it’s hard not to take it personally. I remember watching the GameSpot review in particular, that gave it a 2.0 overall, and just kind of realising how much a critical review can really affect people’s lives, you know?
I thought Stormrise was a game of awesome potential, that needed the last few months of polish before release, and didn’t get the exposure or recognition it deserved for being so bold. Although not all reviews reflected this, I played enough games online against other people who could see this, and had a lot of fun.
4X.Scope: You did a remarkable job on the PR side of Stormrise, putting together a number of videos and podcasts, as well as managing Stormrisers.com and its forums. Focusing on the World Championship in-house tournament coverage prior to the release of Stormrise, were you hoping to capture the competitive edge of the strategy genre – namely the big-gun, Starcraft – and link it with the fast-paced nature of CA Australia’s title?
Yug: It was a chance to show people that Stormrise was viable as a competitive game, and especially considering we had some Warcraft III pro gamers in the QA department, we thought the opportunity was definitely there to do something fun. We just wanted people to see the multiplayer portion of the game in action, to realise the whip select system works, and see the ‘best of the best’ go for it!
4X.Scope: How was Stormrise received at Australian Gamer, and while an objective stance is always something to strive towards, was there a certain level of affection towards an Australian-developed title?
Yug: I had to take myself out of the equation. Matt actually visited the studio and previewed the game, and did an interview with the creative director Ken Turner, however if you read his preview he doesn’t hold back any punches, and voices all his concerns and criticisms.
4X.Scope: Moving on from Stormrise, it seems that Australia has a decent track-record with the real-time strategy genre. The KKND series from Melbourne House, as well as Auran’s Dark Reign franchise, are well-remembered. Dark Reign, in particular, introduced some incredibly far-sighted mechanics with unit AI that, for the most part, have not been implemented subsequently with that much force. What was your experience with Dark Reign?
Yug: I played it on launch … hell I played almost every RTS game back then, from Dark Reign, AND KKND, Total Annilation, C&C, Warcraft, Starcraft, etc. Dark Reign had a momentum the other RTS games didn’t have, and introduced some unique elements to the genre that have been copied far and wide to this day. I’m not sure, but I *think* it may have been the first RTS game to include a unit cue.
4X.Scope: More broadly, it bears worth to mention the journalistic side of the Australian games industry. There are a number of venerable long-running magazines that balance an authentic Australian irreverence with quality content and reporting. The internet has produced an Australian Kotaku and sites like PalGN and your very own AustralianGamer. For you, what defines and typifies Australian games journalism?
Yug: Reporting on gaming news that affected Australia, not just international scoops and previews. I think all the Aussie sites that don’t have an international counterpart struggle to remain unique and get the same level of exclusives that other sites have, but we’re also very lucky that the local publishers are usually so supportive of the local journalists too.
4X.Scope: Is there any particular area in both Australian games development and journalism that you’d like to see advanced, changed or strengthened?
Yug: Developers need to get to a point where they don’t under-quote themselves – we have the talent to potentially create AAA titles, but there is a hesitation now and most of them are moving back into the ‘safe’ area of licensed titles. On the flip side, I believe the small indy studios will rule over the rest of this year and next, with iphone and XNA developers Firemint and Halfbrick leading the way.
Journalism? I wish Gamespot and IGN would come out for drinks next time I’m in Sydney, you antisocial bastards!
4X.Scope: Finally, hypothetically, if there was a game to be developed locally that would typify Australia on any level in the international market – what genre and what style?
Yug: You gotta be careful there … you might get what you wish for. The Australian Film Industry suffers due to the tax benifits it enjoys thanks to locally developed films about local content – but does anyone actually WATCH these bleak, depressing, Australian dramas? The last thing I would want are developers forcing themselves to create a game based on anything to do with Australia just for the sake of it.
4X.Scope: Thank you again for your time and best of luck with future projects!
Yug: Cheers mate!
Thanks to Guy ‘ Yug’ Blomberg for a terrific interview. Guy’s views, previews, reviews and news can be found at AustralianGamer.com.
Is this yug from gamedamage?
Yes, it is the very same Yug from GameDamage.
Cool Intie, Yug.