The Australian Government has acknowledged that a horrible goose and classical music are a match made in heaven.
Laying out its cultural policy as part of Revive, a five-year plan to renew and revise Australia's arts, entertainment, and cultural sector, the government explained that a recent live performance of Untiled Goose Game showed how video games can help engage new audiences in existing sectors. Now, it wants to offer more support to developers in the region.
As spotted by Untitled Goose Game composer Dan Golding, the government said the show—which saw Melbourne-based developer House House partner with Orchestra Victoria and ACMI to create an audio-sensory-goosey experience—"brought together multiple genres and art forms and new audiences."
"This collaboration saw the [video game] projected onto ACMI’s cinema screen, alongside a live accompaniment by musicians from Orchestra Victoria. ACMI is Australia’s national museum of screen culture, based in Federation Square, Melbourne, and Orchestra Victoria is a world-class opera and ballet orchestra," reads the report.
"Audiences were entertained as the game’s horrible goose created chaos, calamity and hilarity in a small village, accompanied by a new arrangement of Dr Dan Golding’s soundtrack created exclusively for the event, featuring works by classical French composer Claude Debussy. During the performance, the musicians reacted live to the actions of the player, making for a one-of-a-kind experience for fans of the hit video game."
The event sounds like a honking good time, but according to the Australian Government is also a solid case study that highlights the far-reaching benefits of supporting local game development.
Outlining how it intends to do precisely that moving forward, the government said it will introduce a Digital Games Tax Offset to support growth in large-scale development studios in Australia. It also intends to increase investment to support devs at small and medium indie studios through Screen Australia.
You can check out the full Revive support on the Australian Government website.