The Digital Culture Public Sphere

International publishers are increasingly risk-averse. They are less likely to invest in unproven studios (which any new Australian developer would be) and in unproven content. This has already led to a gradually homogenizing focus on established franchises such as Call of Duty, Gran Turismo, Assassin’s Creed, or Warcraft for example. In the Australian context, then, there is a need and opportunity to develop a less risk-averse, local publisher with an interest in the Australian perspective and industry. Several versions of this were discussed at the live event:The IMI and Macquarie University could act as publisher. Our new games development undergraduate degrees will offer students the opportunity to, as part of a degree, build videogames. The best of these could be produced and published with the University (or Faculty, or Departments) absorbing the fees associated with publishing to the various digital distribution channels. These costs are not generally very high, but can be prohibitive for hobbyists and students. A profit-sharing model would have to be defined, and the rights of the students carefully protected. Again, the interests of the University will likely be much less commercially-driven, like the above suggestion. Some combination of the above two, whereby a governmental funding body (such as Screen Australia or the Australian Research Council) collaborates with a University to produce interactive digital content. This could be extended to honours and post-graduate work as well, which would increase the research focus of the videogame products. For example, the academic and creative work of Peter Doyle at Macquarie University would provide compelling content for a videogame experience in the vein of (Sydney-produced) L.A. Noire. The recent popularity of the Underbelly television series suggests an interest in this kind of material, but a foreign investor is unlikely to be impressed. (For comparison, see The Witcher, a Polish fantasy RPG inspired by the novels of a Polish writer.) A genre of interactive documentary could produce a range of compelling educational experiences by placing ‘players’ in the midst of important historical moments.