![]() The more that Aussie-made games succeed, particularly on a global scale with the support of big companies like Microsoft, the bigger and better the local industry will become. It’s certainly great that there’s a healthy community of creators in Australia, and even better to hear that there’s no rivalry between them. “Because it’s so small we take care of each other more and we’re close-knit, I feel like everyone wants each other to succeed.” “ Ken Wong who did Monument Valley a few years ago reached out and said ‘hey, let me show you around, let me show you the community’.” “Everyone in the small community, in Melbourne at least, has been nothing but kind to me and very welcoming,” he said. While the Aussie game development scene might be small compared to other parts of the world, Anthony says the community has been amazing to him from the very beginning. “With the support of Xbox, I can do this full-time and I can safely concentrate on the game,” he said. Making the game is now a full-time venture for the young developer, who has been working with an animator and composer for the project. “A few months later, E3’s coming up and they’re like ‘you wanna be a part of it?’” ![]() That journey was, to me, the spark for the whole game.”Īnthony had been working on Way to the Woods on his own up until 2018, but after dropping the first trailer, Sarah Conde from the Xbox ID team reached out to him, at which point, “one thing just led to another,” he said. “It all seems so unknown and so scary and that’s really how to find the joy and the spark of optimism and happiness. “That journey from 16 to 20 and everything in between,” he said. Eventually, it was the feelings experienced during his own journey to adulthood which would serve as the inspiration for Way to the Woods’ story. “I was 16, I didn’t have any stories to tell because I’m just a kid,” he said. While Anthony was always keen on making a story-based game, he says it took a little time to develop a narrative he was comfortable with. That vibe certainly comes across in the trailers, particularly the latest one, which is the most comprehensive look at the game so far. “I feel like I’m a better person for having watched or seen or read those, and I just wanted to do the same, to try and make people feel the same way.” I always love work that leaves me feeling this like, awe-inspiring feeling of goosebumps.” “Especially movies like Spirited Away which are kinda scary and dark, but carries this light throughout the whole movie. “They’re so endearingly genuine and their work all carries the same positive spirit and optimism,” he said. As for the inspiration behind Way to the Woods itself, he says it mostly comes from creators like Studio Ghibli, Rebecca Sugar and more. In other words, Anthony is completely self-taught, using online resources readily and freely available to anyone with an internet connection. “In terms of how I learnt to make games, I can’t really pinpoint a specific moment, but it’s been probably a decade of YouTube tutorials and Googling and just asking people and hitting up everyone’s DMs or emails.” “It’s been a life long journey, but probably really picked up around 16 or so when I did the screenshots and posted them.” After an overwhelmingly positive response from the Reddit community, he decided that it was a venture worth pursuing, even if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing. While you’d be forgiven for thinking Anthony has been making games for some time, or has come from some kind of tech background, he’s actually 20 years old and released the first screenshots from Way to the Woods when he was just 16. “I was definitely just blown away, it felt surreal, it felt like a dream,” he said. Seeing his game amongst so many massive titles like Gears 5, Halo Infinite, and the bonkers Cyberpunk 2077 trailer featuring actual Keanu Reeves, was an incredible moment for him. “When I actually came here and I walked in and I saw the stage and I saw the screens and the lights and looked into the crowd and saw all these Xbox fans, my heart was like, BOOM BOOM,” he told PEDESTRIAN.TV. ![]() This year, Xbox‘s pre- E3 showcase featured Way to the Woods’ gorgeous new trailer, showing off its full potential on one of the gaming world’s biggest stages, and the reception has been next-level for the young game maker. Officially announced a few years ago, Anthony more recently gained the support of Microsoft‘s program, which provides much-needed resources to indie devs trying to get their games off the ground. ![]()
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