Australia Did It, the latest title from developer Rami Ismail, describes itself as a "Tactical Reverse Bullet Hell," a game that blends the careful strategy of tower defense with the white-knuckled desperation to survive that comes with the reverse bullet hell genre. In Australia Did It, players are tasked with defending a train from a wide variety of deadly monsters. When the train's at the station, players can strategically position their enemies — but, once it's moving, the chaos begins, and their objective is to survive. The game is fast-paced while also featuring heavily strategic elements, including the ability to evolve and merge units as the journey across the post-apocalyptic dried-up ocean continues.
The Best War Games spoke to Ismail about Australia Did It's unique choice of genre combination and why he decided to combine elements of tower defense and reverse bullet hell when designing the game. He revealed that much of the idea came from his own love of strategy games but frustration with standard elements of the genre, as well as his interest in exploring unique mechanics in each one of his games. And, Ismail admitted, a fondness for "big explosions" did inform his choice to add reverse bullet hell elements to Australia Did It.
Rami Ismail Wanted To See Something New In The Strategy Genre
"I loved strategy games growing up," Ismail said, "but I hated that I could make a decision in the first ten minutes and not really know that that decision lost me the game until thirty minutes in." He wanted to increase the pace of standard strategy gameplay, which is clearly emphasized in Australia Did It's loop. Decisions players make while the train is in the station will immediately benefit them — or spell their doom — as soon as the journey resumes and the monsters begin attacking.
Rami Ismail always seeks to do something new with each of his games. "It's a strategy game by someone who loves strategy games but had never done a strategy game before," he said of Australia Did It. He also cited his previous work with the game jam "F*ck This Jam," an event in which developers are challenged to work in genres they either don't know or personally dislike, as an inspiration. "To me, it felt like stagnation to try and replicate what I'd been doing for a decade."
There is absolutely nothing stagnant about Australia Did It. While Ismail had worked in the bullet hell genre with his previous title, Nuclear Throne, he found the process of making a reverse bullet hell in Australia Did It to be completely different. "It has far more in common with something like Vampire Survivors, if you controlled it a bit more like a World of Warcraft game," Ismail said of the game's combat sequences.
The Game Combines Genres, Mechanics, And More To Make Something New
Ultimately, Rami Ismail had multiple reasons for working to create something new and unique by combining elements of tactical strategy, tower defense, reverse bullet hell, and fast-paced real-time combat. He describes the creation process of Australia Did It as such:
"I think the three ingredients were trying to make something that isn't purely an arcade game, my frustration with strategy games, my fascination with genres becoming mechanics, and big explosions. I built a quick prototype within days, realized it was fun and weird and interesting, and worked my way from there until Mystic Forge saw the game and signed on."
Rami Ismail believes that developers should be consistently taking risks with each new project they work on, and Australia Did It certainly features elements of risk with its unique combination of genres. What has been created is something wild and wonderful and entirely new, and is sure to provide an entertaining challenge to veteran strategists and chaotic combat enthusiasts alike.
- Developer(s)
- Aesthetician Labs, Rami Ismail
- Publisher(s)
- Mystic Forge
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Tower Defense, Bullet Hell
