Game developer Gameloft is uniquely positioned to tell a new story in the canon of popular Australian children’s TV series Bluey. Not only is the studio filled with franchise fans, including parents with kids eager to contribute, it also operates locally out of Brisbane.
Developing Bluey’s Happy Snaps, a new photography-inspired adventure game adapting the series for a new and returning audience, meant going for a walk down to Southbank, or admiring the scenery in New Farm Park and Mount Coot-tha.
‘We would have lunch and everyone brings cameras, just to notice what animals are in the locations, what birds … to make sure that’s authentic,’ Karl von der Lühe, Game Manager at Gameloft Brisbane, tells me.
‘I often have breakfast just in one of the cafés, and look out, and see what bird life is there. It always puts a smile on my face to know that’s authentically represented in the game.’
Bluey’s Happy Snaps interview – quick links
Creating the world of Bluey’s Happy Snaps
Gameloft was approached by the BBC to develop Happy Snaps, with a view to creating an authentic and meaningful new chapter in the world of Bluey. The idea of bringing photography into the gameplay was part of Gameloft’s pitch, inspired by a desire to expand Bluey’s world while also encouraging young players to pick up a new hobby.
As players begin the game, they will take control of Bluey and Bingo as they roam around Brisbane, taking photos of colourful and interesting sights.
‘There’s a lot of different ways of imagining play within the Bluey universe and we really wanted to celebrate the locations that you can go around in the game, which also exist in real life,’ von der Lühe says.
‘We wanted to come up with gameplay that was new and different, some sort of core pillar to the experience, that was suitable for our younger audience, but also slightly older players.’
As von der Lühe says, photography is featured within the Bluey series, in an episode where Bandit’s old camera is rediscovered, so there was a nice bit of synergy between finding an approachable style of gameplay and adapting the beloved franchise.
‘Having a strong universe to work from is really powerful, and really a joy.’
As an added bonus, the photography angle allowed for a form of virtual tourism, with the Gameloft team able to show off their home city and its surrounds, in a way that remains both authentic and true to the real-life city as well as its cartoon depiction in Bluey.
To further nail down the tone of the game and bring it into line with the signature style of series developer Ludo Studio, Gameloft worked closely with the Ludo team, visiting their offices, just a 20-minute walk away.
‘Especially early on, we had a lot of interactions with [Ludo], in terms of showing our intentions,’ von der Lühe says.
The teams worked closely to determine which locations they wanted to explore in Happy Snaps and how they would expand the Bluey universe. One of the bigger questions they worked on, von der Lühe says, was ‘what does [the world] look like beyond where the episode ends?’
It wasn’t only about depicting the established landscapes of Bluey, but creating a fully explorable space where players could see ‘beyond’ the screen.
‘Beyond the end of New Farm Park, there’s a playground, so let’s incorporate that,’ von der Lühe says. ‘It’s not in the show, but it’s just around the corner in real life. A playground can add a lot of fun to the location.’
He adds, ‘There was definitely a bit of creative license we’d use, in terms of basing it on the real life location.’
ScreenHub: First look at The Bluey Movie’s new 3D art style
Ludo Studio also helped to refine the 2D animated art style of the game, which does differ slightly from the original animated series, as it incorporates 3D environments.
‘It’s a remarkable technical challenge, because we have these 3D environments that these 2D characters are running around in, and that’s actually rather complex because each time the character rotates a bit, you need to make sure they’re never looking flat. You always need to represent how they look in the show,’ von der Lühe says.
To create an authentic Bluey experience required a process of refining elements like how elbows and shoulders work, as well as eyebrows and certain expressions.
The benefit of working with parents and their kids
Ahead of launch and its recent public showings, the authenticity of Bluey’s Happy Snaps was put to the test in play sessions with both parents and kids attached to the studio. As von der Lühe says, many team members were fans of Bluey prior to their work on Happy Snaps.
‘We have a lot of team members that are in that phase of life. Our floor producer, he’s got two girls that are basically exactly the same age as Bingo and Bluey. He was one our experts. When we got to the project, there were some people already that we could just go to and say, “Is there any episode where this happens?” and they would know straight away.’
For every team milestone where a meaningful new version of the game was delivered, the Gameloft team would bring in kids – children of developers, nieces, nephews and friends – for a ‘kid’s play day’ where they could explore new levels and test out features.
‘We made sure to give them a lot of freedom, of course. They’re young kids. But at the same time, we do also ask questions and observe how they’re playing, where they’re getting stuck and what they’re getting frustrated by,’ von der Lühe says.
The feedback helped shape the game. As von der Lühe says, creating impactful and exciting games for kids is a challenge because there are so many factors that can influence the enjoyment of play.
‘[Designing an approachable game for kids] has been one of our biggest design challenges,’ von der Lühe says.
‘One of our key tenets is to make sure there’s no progression blocker for the youngest of kids – to make sure there’s nothing that’s too confusing – while also making sure that the older siblings or maybe even the young adults that are Bluey fans, that there’s a game they will also enjoy.’
Through play testing sessions, both casual and formally structured, Gameloft spoke with parents and kids alike to learn more about how the progression of the game felt to players, and particularly for those who were new to games.
‘If this can be the first game that introduces children to that, that’s very exciting to us.’
Gameloft’s previous work on fellow kid-friendly licensed titles Carmen Sandiego and My Little Pony: Mane Merge also helped to inform the approach, particularly in designing puzzles that were approachable for all ages – experiences for those with attention spans of all lengths, and that also considered the learning capacity of younger kids.
Playing for real life as a salve to screen play
Another major feature developed with a view to better serve a young audience is Bluey Happy Snaps‘ ‘play for real life’ elements. While the game is a screen experience, the Gameloft team wanted the game to encourage exploration and play in the real world, giving kids ideas they could also take off-screen.
Gameloft’s Marketing Director Mark Fordham says the team had ‘an incredible vision’ that understood the value of screen time but also introduced ‘Play For Real Life moments’. He adds, ‘You end up collecting these as you complete the game – really enticing you or encouraging you to turn the screen off and go outside and do things in the real world.’
With Bluey’s Happy Snaps, the Gameloft team aimed to create a positive screen experience, with a particular focus on creating nourishing and educational activities that lead to real-world activity.
Should kids find the photo-taking gameplay of Happy Snaps enticing, its application in the real world isn’t so different. And by discovering photography, they might also find a new appreciation for nature, or animals, or outdoor play.
According to Fordham, the game has already had its intended impact in early playing sessions, with anecdotes from parents revealing that some kids have asked to go outside and take photos of animals as a result of enjoying Happy Snaps and what it offers.
‘We encourage you to turn the console off,’ Fordham says. ‘Play the game for a while, then go outside and do things in your own backyard.’
He adds, ‘Building for a global audience, obviously not everyone’s as fortunate as us to have the Brisbane River just here, and parks everywhere. We really wanted to make sure the experience is driven by what kinds of things you can see where you live … and using your imagination.’
It’s a noble goal, and one that should serve the young audience of Bluey very well, particularly in a world where screenplay has come to dominate free time overall.
