Gamescom: Smash Attack Studios and Secret Lab represent Tassie

Tasmania’s representation at one of the ‘Big 3’ international games events is symptomatic of a “grassroots” culture that is just starting to snowball into something bigger, a studio boss says.

Two Tasmanian video game development studios are in Germany for this week’s Gamescom 2022, the world’s “biggest game event” and one of the ‘Big 3’ festivals, alongside E3 and the Tokyo Games Show.

Hobart-based Secret Lab and Launceston-based Smash Attack Studios will represent Tasmania within Australia’s Gamescom pavilion, which will feature 36 developers from around the country.

Smash Attack Studios co-founder Dean Baron said he would be like a sponge at the “massive” event.

“It’s about connections more than anything, publicity, friendship, the game industry is about who you know, what you play and what you support,” Mr Baron said.

“We want to be getting assistance to make the best product we can.”

Mr Baron said Smash Attack, founded by a merger of Salty Studios Australia (Mr Baron’s original studio) and Unlucky Magician in 2020, is entering a period of strong growth.

Three mobile games in the Shape series, released between 2018 – 20: Shape Rush, Shape Fly and Shape Move, were each downloaded hundreds of time, and form the nucleus of a multiplayer PC version, ShapeVS.

Nine more games will be added to the original three games to form a suite of 12 games.

Mr Baron said the demo of ShapeVS had garnered impressive buzz for the business and they would be proudly showing it off at Gamescom’s home of Cologne.

Smash Attack – best described as a digital collective which features a production house, development studio and Esports team, Down Tilt – is still a labour of love for the 10 or so people involved, many of whom still hold down day jobs.

A $10,000 grant from Screen Tasmania delivered in late 2020 was a sign of the state’s burgeoning interest in the nascent industry, Mr Baron, who is a board member at industry group Tas Game Makers, said.

“Screen Tasmania has a lot of love and support Tassie games industry,” he said.

“(The industry is) still very grassroots, we’re finding our legs, finding our sustainability, the state government is starting to recognise it a bit more.”

Mr Baron said he had a long-term goal of growing Smash Attack and the local ecosystem, such that an aspiring developer from Launceston College didn’t have to travel interstate to find work.

In a joint statement, Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Technology Minister Madeleine Ogilvie congratulated the two studios on their Gamescom debut, which is being supported by the state government.

“(They will) have the opportunity to find new markets and create new global buyer connections while demonstrating their innovative game development talents”, the pair said.

Gamescom, which will run from Tuesday to Sunday, has been held since 2009, and in 2018 it featured more than 1000 exhibitors from 56 countries.