Bluey is Australia’s biggest TV export in years, and also our most beloved.
The cartoon family of canines has captured the hearts of millions around the world, and now their world is opening up even more.
Bluey: The Videogame has arrived.
Three years in the making, this is Bluey’s first-ever game. And while it hasn’t been developed on home soil, the developers are confident.
“We were just so excited,” Vince Grogan, Production Director at Outright Games told Quest Daily’s Julian Price.
“To be able to bring the Heeler world, the bluey world, and Brisbane itself onto video games, onto consoles for everyone to experience,” he said.
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The Spanish and UK studios behind the game not only have the pressure of doing it justice for all of Australia, but they now have the world to worry about it.
“We really hope we’ve done it justice. We really believe we have,” Grogan said.
Designing the Heeler Home
It’s the first time we’re able to see and explore the Heeler home, as well as a few other key locations.
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“We’ve got the heeler house, we’ve got the gardens and the outside of the house, the playground, the creek and there’s a bonus at the end for completing the game,” he said, noting the detail and effort the teams went to to create the Heeler home.
“One of the great experiences we had actually was mapping out the house, and it’s the first time that Ludo (the creators of Bluey) actually had to think about how is the house laid out,” Grogan said.
So I think that’s a great surprise there for people just being like, ‘wow, that’s where that leads to’ or, and I’m sure as well, there might be some really eagle-eyed youths who will really evaluate that and look into it… It’s one of my highlights of the project,” he said.
Family fun
The game has been designed to accommodate gamers of all ages.
“We just set out to make a game that was accessible and easy to pick up,” Grogan said.
“So we’ve got very simple controls, but they allow us to do lots of different things, like exploring jumping, picking things up, putting things together to create platforms… There’s lots of things to do with these simple controls,” he said.
Families will be happy to learn the game features multiplayer.
“It’s a four-player co-op, like local couch co-op, you get to play as any of the four Heeler family: Mum, Dad, Bluey and Bingo,” Grogan said.
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One for the completionists
Achievement and Trophy hunters — brace yourselves! Vince Grogan says Bluey: The Video Game has all completionists covered.
“We’ve got some really great achievements that you can work your way through the adventure. There’s collectibles and hidden items as well,” he said.
“If you explore then there’s definitely some benefits to doing that. You can help with the tidying up like, you know, do your best study robot impression. Helping tidy up might get you some nice secrets. Playing around with the equipment in the playground and also, you know, doing your best Sam Kerr impression – that’s worthwhile trying.”
“We really hope people will enjoy that experience of exploring Bluey and the world as well as this great new adventure that we’ve got,” said Grogan.
Bluey: The Video Game is available now across consoles and PC.
This interview first appeared on 9News.com.au
