The Season 7 Kickstarter is going strong with just one book reveal left! Today, though, we're learning more about the 2nd book of the new season, Untitled Goose Game by James O'Connor. Below, EverQuest author Matthew S. Smith interviews James about the success of the game, the state of Australian game development, and what other devs could learn from Goose Game. - Gabe Durham, BFB

Matthew S. Smith: James, you wrote the review of Untitled Goose Game for Gamespot. What made you decide you wanted to follow up the review with a book?

James O’Connor: Untitled Goose Game had been on my radar since it was announced, and as an Australian critic, I always enjoyed getting to review locally-developed games (at the time GameSpot had Australian staff that were very good at making sure that local stories were being highlighted).

Around that same time I joined the GameSpot news team, and got to report a few times on the meteoric success of Untitled Goose Game, which well and truly felt like it was taking over the world in the months that followed. I gave the game an 8/10, and liked it a lot. I found that, over the months and years that followed, I'd still often think about it fondly.

When I pitched the book to Boss Fight Books, though, my angle went beyond the game itself. I wanted to discuss Untitled Goose Game in the context of game development in Australia. Launching in late 2019 meant that Untitled Goose Game landed at the end of a turbulent decade of collapse and rebirth, where the local development scene had shifted and changed dramatically. I wanted to put the game into that context, and explore the circumstances that birthed such an enormous hit. Untitled Goose Game is one of many huge Australian-developed games made since 2010, when the local industry felt like it was falling apart in the wake of the global financial crisis.

I was glad to be able to examine the game through this lens, and the more I researched, the more it became clear that Untitled Goose Game is just a perfect fit for Boss Fight Books. I had moved into game development myself since that review was published, and learning more about the process of how this game came to be was very exciting.

Matthew: Why do you think that Untitled Goose Game, in particular, became a meteoric success?

James: I think, every now and then, a game comes along that just makes immediate sense to everyone, despite being something new.

There is just something undeniable about Untitled Goose Game, and as much as I break it down and analyze it in the book, here’s what it really boils down to: a goose causing mischief is really funny. If a goose grabs a man’s keys and dunks them in a lake, I feel sorry for the man, but somehow I’m still on the goose’s side. There’s a comedic tension House House tapped into that is recognizable in a gif, in a screenshot, in a person describing the game to you out loud.

The full answer to this question is, of course, more complicated and interesting, which is why I wrote a book about it!

Matthew: What was happening in Australian game development in 2019 – why was it shifting?

James: 2019 itself isn’t necessarily a point where there was a grand shift, as much as it was a strong year for Australian game development (some other Australian games released that year: City of Brass, Void Bastards, Amid Evil, Frog Detective 2, the excellent expanded Switch version of Assault Android Cactus).

But it’s also a year that, in retrospect, feels like the end of a growth period that had seen the Australian games industry rebuild itself after the Global Financial Crisis had shuttered so many studios – and resulted in the formation of many newer, smaller teams, perfectly positioned to create games for the iPhone App Store. There’s a chapter in the book that digs into this in more detail!

Alongside the local context, game development was a field that was opening up to more people than ever. Teams no longer had to develop their own engines, indie development success stories were piling up, and new opportunities were materializing, like releasing a game on Nintendo’s hugely popular Switch console, or capitalizing on Epic’s hunger for exclusives.

Was Untitled Goose Game a reason for your decision to pursue game development?

James: No, funnily enough! I have worked primarily in games as a narrative designer.

I think Untitled Goose Game is an elegant example of wordless narrative design, but as a writer and a lover of dialogue, the big inspirations for me in the year I transitioned into game development were titles like Paradise Killer and Hades (as well as plenty of older games...Ace Attorney is a series I always point to as a huge inspiration).

Having said that, it was a game that made me excited about being a game maker in Australia and enmeshing myself further in that world. There have been some huge Australian game development success stories, and I think there will be many more in the future, too. This is the first Boss Fight Books title about a game developed in Australia, but I doubt it will be the last.

Matthew: Now that Untitled Goose Game has been out for a few years, are you aware of any newcomers you think might have been inspired by its design, or which build on it?

James: Recently Panic published Thank Goodness You're Here, which feels in many ways spiritually connected to Untitled Goose Game. It's another game about being a bit rude in a quaint English village.

There have definitely been other short games about funny animals, too. Little Kitty, Big City was a good recent example of a game that felt at least Untitled Goose Game adjacent.

But I think developers have known better than to make the "it's Untitled Goose Game but with this specific tweak" games you might expect. Maybe attempts have been made and abandoned!

Matthew: What were some of the lessons that you, personally, took away from Untitled Goose Game, and have you tried to apply them in your work?

James: A big takeaway, for me, is that you should have faith in the ideas that feel good to you.

That's not to say that the funny joke idea you threw out is going to make you wildly successful. I think the lesson here is about artistic and creative fulfillment more than it's about financial success.

But I think it takes a lot of courage, sometimes, to look at your own ideas and say "this one is really good, actually,” and then to pursue it.