STACK #157 Nov 2017

GAMES FEATURE

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It’s nearly summer and that can only mean one thing… cricket.We visited Big Ant Studios in Melbourne for a look at Ashes Cricket, where gamers can compete in both the men’s and women’s Ashes. Words Paul Jones and Alesha Kolbe

From the Ashes

Development director Mike Merren outlines a strategy he is confident will cater for all player types. and batting are each as rich as possible, ensuring players will want to try all elements and play as the entire team. Although the Ashes officially began in 1882, 14 years earlier, an Aboriginal team toured England performing admirably. They won 14, lost 14, and had 19 draws. During the 1882 series, the captains from both Australia and England agreed to play each innings of a game on a separate pitch. Not a great idea, and one that hasn’t been applied since. Although English captain Ivo Bligh said he would “recover those Ashes” in Australia over the summer of 1882-83, the term the Ashes didn’t actually become an accepted name for the contest until 20 years later. In the 1930 tour to England, Bradman, playing in the opening Test, made a first innings score of 334. Incredibly, 309 of those were scored on the first day, with the legendary cricketer bringing up a century before lunch! The first cricket match between England and Australia female teams was in Australia during the 1934-5 summer. The English team entirely self-financed the tour. England won the first two games and drew the first to win the Ashes. “We’ve ensured that each part of the game, pace bowling, spin bowling,

T here was a point this year where the very future of the forthcoming Ashes series was in jeopardy. Cricket Australia (CA) and Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) were locked in a pay dispute and as each month passed, speculation was rife that the only competition in cricket that matters would be cancelled. However, according to the CEO of Big Ant Studios, Ross Symons (a man with a lot at stake if it didn’t happen, given his studio were working on the officially licensed Ashes game), that was never going to happen. “Who wanted to be the person who cancelled the

“The relationship started with our production of the smash hit mobile title, Big Bash 16 ; Cricket Australia and the English Cricket Board then offered us the opportunity to move onto a full Ashes title, which of course we took with both hands.” With the job in the bag, the studio looked to all the lessons learned from working on the Donald Bradman Cricket series and decided that they would place a greater emphasis on accessibility. Symons explains: “Our previous games were

simulation and very technical; we have been very mindful to ensure casual gamers can get into the game and be able to have fun from the outset. “That said, we’ve also been mindful of our heritage and

We have been very mindful to ensure casual gamers can get into the game

Ashes?” asks Symons during our recent trip to the studio located in Melbourne. He had a point.

ensured that we keep the controls and attention to detail that our fans are familiar with and love.” Some sports lend themselves well to video games: football (soccer) and basketball are

Big Ant is the studio behind Rugby League Live and Don Bradman Cricket 17 . Established back

in 2001, racing and sporting titles have been the backbone of its development projects. With an Ashes title up for grabs, the studio, with its prior experience on cricket sims, was perfectly placed to pitch for the game. “Thankfully, Cricket Australia and the English Cricket Board recognised the quality of our past cricket games and the hard work we’d put in to promote the sport,” says Symons of how Big Ant became involved with the title.

the obvious examples. Cricket has always provided developers with a conundrum of challenges. The complexity, action and mechanics of batting and bowling couldn’t be more different, and players of cricket

games generally prefer one or the other. For this gamer, bowling has always been part of the process that is skipped.

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