Why you should be excited for what Space Dust Studios has planned for you!

E3 has come and gone for another year but as we look towards the future in the gaming industry that was teased out even further this June we begin to see that gap between last gen and current gen dissolve.

One of the stand outs for me this year was a little known Australian development company called Space Dust Studios.

SDS

Michael Davies, the Lead Gameplay Developer, took some time out of his busy schedule to sit down and have a chat with me about the studio, their focus, what it was like to attend E3 and the indie gaming scene.

Arm:  “For those who are not yet currently familiar with Space Dust Studios how would you describe the essence of what the studio is about and your core focus when it comes to games development?”

Michael: “We are a team of five developers based in Melbourne SDS1Australia who have worked together on and off over the last decade at a bunch of studios including EA, Crystal Dynamics and DICE. Our mission is to create independent console & PC games of the quality you’d typically see from AAA studios.”

Arm: “Can you tell us a little bit about some of the previous titles Space Dust Studios has worked on and a bit about the inspiration for your latest project: Space Dust Racers, which I can’t wait to play by the way, that looks like entirely way too much fun!”

SDS2Michael: “Previously our team has worked on Battlefield Hardline, Battlefield 4, Need For Speed: Rivals, Dead Space 1-3, Burnout Legends, Tomb Raider Legend and a stack more. Space Dust Racers will be the first independent title released under our Space Dust Studios banner.

The idea behind Space Dust Racers came from some of our favorite party games like Mashed, Micro Machines and Crash Team Racing. These are pretty old titles now but we still love digging them out regularly to play with friends and family. We saw there was an opportunity to bring these kinds of games to the current generation of gamers, but we’ve also made sure to add a few new crazy features like 16 local player support using smartphones as controllers, and online multiplayer.”

Arm: “I was actually rather excited when I saw the trailer for thisSDS3 the first time; it kind of reminds me of Mario meets current gen meets Burnout. I’m really excited to give this a go!”

Arm: The trailer for Space Dust Racers was debuted at E3 earlier this month, which must have felt like an amazing accomplishment to see your project up on the big screen at such a prestigious event. What kind of feedback have you received since the event?”

Michael: “Yes having our trailer shown at E3 was definitely a wonderful milestone. Typically when we put out a new trailer we see a wave of activity on Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/Reddit as new gamers discover our studio and follow along. One thing we’ve tried to do with our social media is be an open book: we write candidly about our game development challenges from day to day and post regular progress updates, so anyone interested can come along for a ride and get involved.

SDS4We’ve seen a lot of passionate party gamers get on board with our project and give suggestions and ideas on things we can add to the game, and we’re deeply appreciative that people will take the time to let us know what they like, it’s really useful information to us and we always try and incorporate good ideas – they come from everywhere!”
Arm: “Absolutely. I think it’s imperative that the community feel like they are a part of the creation process. It certainly gives gamers an invested interest in not only seeing the game unfold but also getting to play it for the first time too.”

Arm: “The game development industry is an extremely competitive environment, what inspired you to take that leap and jump in with your own creations?”

SDS6

Michael: “It was a scary move to throw in a regular pay-check and start our own venture, but the rewards far outweigh the negatives. Having over a decade of experience in the industry with a bunch of prior contacts helped a lot, and new technologies like the Unreal Engine and Unity have made it much easier for small teams to take that leap and produce something meaningful in a short amount of time. We wouldn’t be doing this if we had to write an engine from scratch, there just wouldn’t be enough hours in the day.

We work remotely so there are some amazing benefits to that as well. We have zero commute time, can wear whatever we like, choose our own hours, hang-out with our pets and families more. It’s a huge lifestyle gain and I think we’d all struggle to go back to an office lifestyle!”

Arm: “Wow, sign me up! I make great coffee FYI!”

Arm: “So we have PAX AUS coming up later this year and I assume since that it’s a fair bet we will see you there given that it’s being hosted in your home town. What kind of presence can we expect to see there from Space Dust Studios?”

Michael:  “Absolutely! We love doing gaming shows on our own turf – Aussie gamers always respond well to home-grown content. We’re aiming to have a fully playable build of Space Dust Racers up and running for everyone to try out, including some new maps and gameplay.”

 

So there you have it guys, a big thank you to Michael Davies from Space Dust Studios for taking the time out to have a chat to us about their upcoming title Space Dust Racers which will be coming to PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 early in 2016.

We will bring your more news from PAX AUS, and who knows maybe even some gameplay.

Below we have included a couple of videos for you to show just what Space Dust Racers is all about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYifKNG5cB4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-w_N69BSWY

 

Here’s a little bit more about Space Dust Racers from the boys themselves:

Description
Intergalactic party racing mayhem! Space Dust Racers is an award-winning party racer for up to 16 players, inspired by classics such as Micro Machines, Mashed, Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing. Race cartoon aliens on exotic planets, using weapon powerups and fast reflexes to knock out your opponents. Adventure alone, battle friends and family on the couch, or compete online. Use smartphones as controllers for up to 16 players in one room. Stragglers will be eliminated… only one alien shall prevail!

History
Space Dust Racers was an inevitable project. The studio directors SDS7grew up with couch multiplayer classics like Crash Team Racing, Mario Kart, Micro Machines and Mashed. Now with children of their own, they wanted to relive those golden gaming experiences and bring their kids along for the ride. During gaming nights with close friends, the team also noticed a distinct lack of combat racing party games that supported more than 4 players. They saw an opportunity to create a product that met the needs of both audiences, and began work on their debut party racer, allowing smartphones and laptops to be used as extra controllers. Taking reference from titles like Worms and Ratchet & Clank, they refined a “brutal cute” art style that would appeal to family gamers and core gamers alike. The studio began prototyping Space Dust Racers, leveraging their past AAA experience with multiplayer, smartphone tech, sci-fi and vehicular gameplay. They then pitched to investors within Australia and abroad. Their concept was approved by Film Victoria Australia, allowing them to produce a “vertical slice” demo which featured one track and two characters from the final game. This caught the attention of Microsoft and Sony at GDC, who registered them shortly after as developers for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. While Space Dust Racers is in production, the team are blogging candidly about their workflow and challenges.

Features

  • Use smartphones and laptops as extra controllers for up to 16 players in one room
  • Vehicular combat racing for all ages featuring gorgeous 3D cartoon characters
  • Battle friends on the couch, compete online, or adventure alone
  • Customisable party game modes with dozens of modifiers
  • Exotic extraterrestrial locations featuring absurd weapon powerups
  • Simple controls for newcomers, with advanced strategies for veterans
  • Round-based combat ensures quick respawns and allows drop-in drop-out play