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Broken Roads: a turn-based, "philosophical" CRPG set in post-apocalyptic Australian outback from former CCP/Ubisoft/Riot devs (2022 release)
- Thread starter SFLUFAN
- Start date
Neat. I've long been saying we need more games set in the Australian outback. Hopefully this pans out well.
I will happily play any game set in Australia, Outback or otherwise, but I'm a little concerned about this being a heavily white washed Australia made by a bunch of city kids who have never so much as spoken to an Aboriginal person.
It's frustrating enough how much white settlement is valourised here and how often I media forgets Aboriginal people even exist. I hope this game doesn't fall into the same trap
It's frustrating enough how much white settlement is valourised here and how often I media forgets Aboriginal people even exist. I hope this game doesn't fall into the same trap
You know Max, we really are a prison colony now. ;P
Seriously though:
1. It is wonderful to see ambitious RPGs return to their isometric roots and now with stylized art aesthetic no less.
2. Thank fuck it is not set in America but more importantly in a place that has seldom been used as the backdrop.
3. I did not know what drop bears were until last year, despite having lived in Sydney for whole year in 98.
I do wonder how the devs will incorporate aboriginals into the fictional history as well as PCs & NPCs.
Seriously though:
1. It is wonderful to see ambitious RPGs return to their isometric roots and now with stylized art aesthetic no less.
2. Thank fuck it is not set in America but more importantly in a place that has seldom been used as the backdrop.
3. I did not know what drop bears were until last year, despite having lived in Sydney for whole year in 98.
I do wonder how the devs will incorporate aboriginals into the fictional history as well as PCs & NPCs.
More post-apocalyptic CRPG is always welcome. It does look a little rough though, but it's still far away from release so I'll keep my eyes on it.
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Just a note, many Aboriginal people have Caucasian presenting features. I for one, have several co-workers who identify and are recognised as Aboriginal, who could easily be mistaken as white by people who don't know them.
It's actually both a practical hurdle and a cultural insult that many people still have trouble proving their Aboriginal identity, especially when accessing government or community services.
I'm aware of this and acknowledge that my initial post in this thread was rather abrupt, but I guess by 'white' I didn't necessarily mean light-skinned. Having a game set in the outback without featuring Indigenous culture of any kind seems like a huge missed opportunity.
I also wasn't exclusively referring to Indigenous characters, Australia is so diverse it would just seem dishonest to not feature any characters of colour.
Finally an australia crpg!
just a reminder necrobarista is coming out soon, a melbourne necromacer/barista VN game
https://www.necrobarista.com/
if people are looking for more australian story games
just a reminder necrobarista is coming out soon, a melbourne necromacer/barista VN game
https://www.necrobarista.com/
if people are looking for more australian story games
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Hi all. Drop Bear Bytes founder and Broken Roads lead dev checking in as this thread popped up on my radar and I wanted to respond earlier rather than later.
We have a number of dev blogs lined up to follow this reveal trailer, PAX Australia showing etc. The second is a lengthy look at the indigenous representation in the game, and what we have been doing on that side of things.
In brief: I have been working for more than 6 months with a range of indigenous cultural educators, elders, and game developers. I've spent many hours asking questions, learning, working hard to do this correctly. We have a writer of Aboriginal descent on the team and I have interviewed a second, who will be joining pending certain outcomes. I have a letter of approval from a nearby cultural centre that basically says I am approaching this in a respectful way (acquired for some government funding we applied for) and I have interest from an indigenous, Western Australian-based professor who has looked at the project and what we are up to, but as he is not officially on board I don't want to mention too much more.
I knew from the outset that this was going to be a sensitive topic and a challenge for myself and the team. I have not taken a single step to include any Aboriginal content, symbolism, cultural practices or indigenous playable characters without consent, approval and discussion from my advisors. As an earlier poster already mentioned, many Aboriginal people and those of indigenous descent are not immediately recognisable as such. This may include characters in videogames and their marketing collateral.
I'd rather save all the information for the blog post, which my advisor will be reading and approving before publishing, but felt I had to post this before conjecture and assumptions regarding Drop Bear Bytes and our work on Broken Roads went off the rails too far.
Thanks for your interest in the game - sincerely. We're doing all we can to ensure we handle this side of Broken Roads' content correctly.
We have a number of dev blogs lined up to follow this reveal trailer, PAX Australia showing etc. The second is a lengthy look at the indigenous representation in the game, and what we have been doing on that side of things.
In brief: I have been working for more than 6 months with a range of indigenous cultural educators, elders, and game developers. I've spent many hours asking questions, learning, working hard to do this correctly. We have a writer of Aboriginal descent on the team and I have interviewed a second, who will be joining pending certain outcomes. I have a letter of approval from a nearby cultural centre that basically says I am approaching this in a respectful way (acquired for some government funding we applied for) and I have interest from an indigenous, Western Australian-based professor who has looked at the project and what we are up to, but as he is not officially on board I don't want to mention too much more.
I knew from the outset that this was going to be a sensitive topic and a challenge for myself and the team. I have not taken a single step to include any Aboriginal content, symbolism, cultural practices or indigenous playable characters without consent, approval and discussion from my advisors. As an earlier poster already mentioned, many Aboriginal people and those of indigenous descent are not immediately recognisable as such. This may include characters in videogames and their marketing collateral.
I'd rather save all the information for the blog post, which my advisor will be reading and approving before publishing, but felt I had to post this before conjecture and assumptions regarding Drop Bear Bytes and our work on Broken Roads went off the rails too far.
Thanks for your interest in the game - sincerely. We're doing all we can to ensure we handle this side of Broken Roads' content correctly.
Well, that's rad to hear (and similar to the process I had to go through when working with ScreenWest). I appreciate you chiming in.
Just a reminder Australia isn't real and anyone who claims to have visited is part of the conspiracy. Sincerely an 'Australian'.
Will be keen to check this out at PAX 'Aus' next week!
Fuck yeah, this is really exciting to hear, thanks for reaching out.
Hahaha, that's a right good one. A bloody ripper mate!
"Gazza, get the ninja drop bears ready, we have another leaker."
Really interested in this game, can't wait to hear more.
Edit: Oh damn, just noticed it's a 2021 release. Well I can wait, I'm not going anywhere (hopefully).
Edit: Oh damn, just noticed it's a 2021 release. Well I can wait, I'm not going anywhere (hopefully).
Thanks a lot for dropping by! It's great to hear that you and the team have taken such respectful and considerate approach to this, very much appreciated. Looking forward to hearing more.
Good! Glad to hear you have taken these things seriously. Really interested in this game.
Will it have any elements of Aboriginal culture in it? Very fascinating culture that has been neglected in the realm of games (FFX had an enemy based on the Bunyip but that's all I can recall).
Thank you very much for putting in the work to do the right thing 😊
Really interested. Seem like they're following a similar trend as Disco Elysium in turning motives and ideals of characters into something they represent statistically in the gameplay.
Just hearing about Necrobarista now thanks to you! One more for the wishlist pile.
Understandable. As a fan of Spiderweb Software's output where their games visually at times look like they could have been on school computers I was using decades ago back in middle school, I personally put a lot of weight in writing and storytelling in RPGs like these. As such, their thematic goal they've set up carries a lot of sway with me. As long as the game isn't outright broken I can put up with a lot graphically.
Finally an australia crpg!
just a reminder necrobarista is coming out soon, a melbourne necromacer/barista VN game
https://www.necrobarista.com/
if people are looking for more australian story games
Just hearing about Necrobarista now thanks to you! One more for the wishlist pile.
This is rad! Love hearing from new Australian game projects, and I feel like our landscape is so often - bizarrely - overlooked for game settings. This country has everything.
Can't wait to see more!
Can't wait to see more!
Colin McComb (Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment and the current inXile RPGs) is joining the project:
www.gamasutra.com
Press Release recent news | page 1 of 586 | Game Developer
Can't believe I haven't heard of this one yet. Definitely keeping an eye on this one.
Played it at PAX Australia and loved it, can't wait for full release.
+1
Played it at PAX Australia and loved it, can't wait for full release.
Ooooh. Cautiously interested. The narration in the trailer didn't really give me confidence, hopefully this will help.Colin McComb (Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment and the current inXile RPGs) is joining the project:
Press Release recent news | page 1 of 586 | Game Developer
Also, the post by the dev above is reassuring.
Oh my God this looks incredible. I completely missed its reveal and subsequent updates, this is right up my alley.
Preview:
www.gamerspack.com
Gamescom B-roll:
Broken Roads promises deep role-playing in a post-apocalyptic Australia
Broken Roads is an upcoming narrative-driven RPG inspired by classics such as Fallout and Baldur’s Gate, with a touch of Disco Elysium’s intelligent edge.
www.gamerspack.com
Gamescom B-roll:
