Screentime launches Underbelly video game
The production company behind the Underbelly franchise has added a new product with mobile device game Underbelly: Skirmish.
Created by game and transmedia producers The Project Factory with game developers Epiphany Games for series producers Screentime, the game is available on iPhones, iPads, and soon to be launched on Android.
The game pits a police special task force against crime syndicate The Rough Company with the gamer either playing the role of police commander or crime boss.
Guy Gadney, of the The Project Factory told Mumbrella: “We’ve been friendly with Screentime for a while and they were realising the audience wanted a game of Underbelly. The whole thing came about organically and it built from there.
One of the aims of the game for Screentime is to increase the level of engagement of the franchise between series.
Gadney said: “When the show goes off air between seasons, how do you keep that passion alive? This is what we’re aiming for with Underbelly. While the show is between series, people remain engaged, and the brand goes 24-7.”
Gadney added: “It’s incredibly rare to get a game from Australian film or TV. We needed to make sure it was a game in which the play was difficult, we wanted it to appeal to the casual gamer and someone who just put down the X Box.”
Gadney’s business partner Jennifer Wilson said: “It is always a challenge to take an existing television or movie franchise into the world of interactive media, but the freedom that Screentime gave us to focus on gameplay has allowed the brand a new life in a new medium.”
- Gadney discusses the creation of the game in his column in the November edition of Encore, now live on the iPad.
Refresh me again as to why a drama series based on real events becomes a game.
User ID not verified.
*tumbleweed*
User ID not verified.
I think this is a real missed opportunity. I guess it’s probably easier to make a mobile based game, but the graphics and gameplay look horrendously boring. This could have been implemented in to an amazing first person shooter on additional game platforms (PS3/Xbox/PC) albiet I’m sure the cost would have been significantly more.
But the thought of running around Australian cities, with white cop cars, and our landmarks would get any Aussie gamer excited I think! The story lines throughout all of the Underbelly series have always been terrific, and morphing that into a game where would could select the criminal or law enforcement paths would provide hours of terrific game play.
For each series that is made, an expansion pack could be created (see GTA franchise) and this could have been a huge revenue stream for Underbelly franchise.
User ID not verified.
There’s already an app for running around Australian cities following an Underbelly story – see Razorhurst.com.au
User ID not verified.