In the lead-up to the release of Broken Roads, an upcoming isometric RPG set in the Australian outback, developers from Torquay-based studio Drop Bear Bytes reflect on their journey.
Despite an 18-month delay and multiple publisher changes, the team has remained committed to authenticity. Collaborating closely with First Nations consultants to ensure the game respectfully portrays Indigenous culture.
Drawing inspiration from post-apocalyptic classics like Fallout and Disco Elysium, Broken Roads promises players an immersive experience set against the backdrop of Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region.
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Quest Daily sat down with Drop Bear Bytes co-founder – and Game Director of Broken Roads – Craig Ritchie, to speak about the last five years of development and how it’s all come together.
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH DROP BEAR BYTES’ CRAIG RITCHIE BELOW
What is Broken Roads?
Broken Roads is an RPG where players explore a shattered world, learn intricate lore, connect with deep characters, and confront moral dilemmas that help shape the narrative. With customisable characters and diverse landscapes, players must navigate challenging scenarios and alliances.
Every decision made in Broken Roads impacts the outcome, ensuring a personalised gameplay experience.
Ritchie compares Broken Roads to the likes of Baldur’s Gate, Fallout, but more prominently Disco Elysium and Pillars of Eternity.
He says while the game can be violent, it’s all optional.
“There is combat, like most CRPGs, although we’ve put in a lot of, nonviolent, pacifist paths through the game,” Ritchie told Quest Daily.
“We’re hoping to appeal to those who liked the traditional, sort of more hardcore, CRPGs,” he said.
“We get your party together and you level up and you have to fight or bribe or talk or, you know, puzzle your way through all the different challenges,” he said.
“We’ve added more and more paths through the game that don’t involve combat.”
“But at the same time, we just want to put a warning out there, ‘Hey, don’t take a job in the game, or be a guard, and expect to have a nonviolent experience — think a little bit about what options you take,” he said.
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Every choice matters, Ritchie says, with over 150,000 ways players can complete the game.
“When we ran the full permutation calculation, according to the standard formula, it’s well over a million,” Richie explained, also stating this was taking into account different character pronouns and other factors.
This also makes testing the game close to impossible! With the team bracing for the thousands of untested outcomes set to be found by new players.
First Nations Consultation In Development
Ritchie, who’s only lived in Australia for eight years since moving here from South Africa, says Drop Bear Bytes worked heavily with First Nations consultants throughout the development of Broken Roads.
“Most of the game takes place in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. The majority of that is on Noongar country. We worked with a range of Noongar writers, narrative consultants,” Ritchie said.
“We’ve been working with Karla Hart for more than a year now as a writer, to help us through everything, talking to elders, getting feedback,” he explained, highlighting Drop Bear Bytes‘ commitment to ensuring that all dialogue and details involving First Nations were not only approved but also respectful.
“We’ve worked with indigenous artists from the area; the patterns on the ground, the clothing…
“There’s not a single character in the game that hasn’t had, the neck down to the hairstyle, the clothing, everything completely top to bottom, assessed, approved, provided feedback and so on by, people of that country,” he told Quest Daily.
Morality Compass: Shaping Philosophical Identity
Broken Roads introduces an innovative morality system known as the Morality Compass, offering players a unique approach to decision-making within the game.
Departing from traditional notions of morality centered around good and evil, the Morality Compass focuses on characters’ philosophical leanings, adding depth and complexity to their journey.
“It is a 360-degree compass with points from zero, right at the center to 100, on the periphery,” Ritchie explained.
“Each 90-degree quadrant is made up of humanist, utilitarian, nihilist, and Machiavellian, and they also border on each other,” he said.
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Richie says the Mortality Compass was designed over the last couple of years to help make the worldview less limiting.
“Every time you make a morally significant decision, depending on how far it is from the center of your worldview, it will shift you around the compass, clockwise or anti-clockwise,” he said.
“If you make multiple choices within your worldview, it actually narrows it.”
Richie compares the game’s morality system to Star Wars‘ light side and dark side, as well as Mass Effect’s Renegade and Paragon system and Dungeon and Dragon’s Nine alignments.
“You get rewarded for that consistency of character by unlocking choices that you wouldn’t otherwise,” he said.
Ritchie, alongside creative lead Collin McComb, brings a unique perspective to the development of Broken Roads, drawing on their academic backgrounds in philosophy.
With a shared passion for the subject, they meticulously ensure that the game’s themes are not only accurate but also explored with depth and nuance.
“We’ve worked with some people at other universities here to get a little bit of advice on, ‘Hey, how can we make this fit within like the realms of the what the game needs?’” Ritchie said.
When can I play Broken Roads?
“(The team) has taken a vision and they’ve made some things that, you know, ideas into the absolutely beautiful stuff that you see in the game right now and really looking forward to people playing it,” said Ritchie.
Broken Roads is out on PlayStation, Xbox and PC (via Steam) on April 10th. Drop Bear Bytes confirmed to Quest Daily the game will be released on Nintendo Switch in May. Stay tuned for an official announcement.
