In the last few years, it’s become incredibly difficult to make games. Publishers are becoming far more selective, investment is drying up, major studios are laying off staff, and the outlook for the future is murky. But even against this backdrop, creativity may thrive – and in the Australian games industry, there remains a shared determination to continue creating cool, innovative games. To make art against all odds. For the Melbourne-based Ghoulish team, these ambitions are driving work on the studio’s debut title, and its long-term plans for the future.
Having been established in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, in a time where hardship was the norm, the eight-strong crew aim to wield lessons learned to ensure a “sustainable, equitable” environment where they can make games that brim with passion and clever ideas.
“I’ve always wanted to start my own studio,” Mickey Krekelberg, Studio Head and Creative Director told GamesHub. “It was over lockdown when it really hit me, when I was like, ‘What am I waiting for?’ So, I just went for it. Everyone [we started the studio with] was kind of feeling that, too … Because we’re all independent creatives, and we all want to be doing the thing that excites us.”
Krekelberg has been working within the local Australian games industry for years, contributing technical art, animation, and creative direction to a range of projects, including SMG’s Moving Out and Moving Out 2, Little Pink Clouds’ Letters to Arralla, and Paper House’s Wood & Weather. These experiences have shaped Krekelberg’s view of the games industry, and given them the resources and inspiration needed to create a space for other creatives.
“Working at a lot of different studios, it shows you the breadth of people out there, and the different types of personalities that are in games,” Krekelberg said. “Probably the most important thing I’ve learned is what I don’t want to do … and just trying to do something different.”
This experience gave rise to Ghoulish, and the studio’s core ambitions – to create work that inspires and excites the team, well into the future. Per Krekelberg, the team has a years-long strategy in place, with a view to grow and establish themselves as a boutique studio, working on unique, artistic projects.
A community-first approach
Ghoulish has so far been supported in this endeavour by the wider Melbourne games industry, which Krekelberg described as being very community-based, as well as funding from VicScreen. In its early days, Ghoulish managed to secure prototype funding from the inaugural Originate Games fund, with this providing AUD $50,000 to kickstart work on the studio’s debut project.
“It wasn’t just about making a prototype of a game, but also trialing how we run our business in an unconventional model, and how we work together for the first time, as this team,” Krekelberg said. “It was like a prototype of our ourselves, in a way.”
“Then, after the success of that, we applied for more funding through VicScreen, and now we’re currently in pre-production … [VicScreen] really do care about you as an artist, and the kind of things that you’re contributing to the Australian arts scene. So that makes it really easy to talk about your work … compared to a more corporate funding agreement, where it’s just about how much money you’re making.”
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This funding was essential to Ghoulish’s foundations, as was the support of others in the local games industry. The team is currently working out of Paper House (Paperbark, Wood & Weather), a studio located in Thornbury, Melbourne, with studio members splitting their time between Ghoulish and other creative endeavours. With flexible work arrangements, the team is able to continue development on their debut project without significant pressure – but having a central location gives them opportunity for collaboration and mentorship.
“We have only survived because we rely on our peers to support us, and also we support our peers as well,” Krekelberg said. “[Paper House has] been very generously sharing their studio space and their resources with us, and then likewise, we share those resources with our peers.”
“When economic times are hard, that’s the time to bring community together and share resources, share knowledge and connections, and build each other up.”
Creating defiant art
The Ghoulish team remains hyper-aware of the challenges of making video games in the modern era, but they’re driven by a veritable “compulsion” to keep creating defiant art, and to unleash cool ideas into the world.
“I couldn’t live without creating art,” Krekelberg said. “The most exciting thing, that keeps me doing it, is seeing the team, [who are] also my friends, empowered to follow what they’re excited about. Giving them the opportunity to do what they like. That’s the most important thing for me. I could be doing whatever, really … but seeing people come together and be really passionate like that is enough to keep going.”
Krekelberg described his initial entry into the games industry as being on the tail end of its relative “downfall.” There’s no shying away from the reality that the global games industry is currently in a downturn, with an array of new challenges to creating successful games. Krekelberg believes he “got a little bit of a glimpse” into how Australia’s games industry functioned prior to these rising challenges, which have inspired layoffs and studio closures, and he learned much from watching this arc.
“Watching studio after studio collapse, due to mistakes or due to bad luck, and speaking to those people … the more valuable thing is when people say, don’t be like me,” Krekelberg said. “That’s really valuable, but that only happens if people are willing to share, and willing to be part of the community.”
In this mentorship, and thanks to the openness and generosity of peers, Ghoulish has spun its own unique identity and structure, with a view to be able to weather an uncertain future. An awareness of current circumstances has been an essential part of the journey, and in pursuing the studio’s next steps.
A teaser for what’s to come
Speaking to GamesHub, Krekelberg revealed big plans for Ghoulish’s first major game release, which is set to be revealed in June 2025. For now, we’ve been given a single piece of concept of art to pore over, with this depicting a young person anxiously using a payphone on a public street, looking over their shoulder at an unseen thing.
We also know the game is inspired by Disco Elysium, Japanese horror fiction, the Sherlock Holmes games, The Forgotten City, Pentiment, Fatal Frame, Silent Hill, Koudelka, and Junji Ito’s Uzumaki – with the game’s narrative given an Australian twist.
“It’s a supernatural mystery set inside an exclusive zone, where an anomalous event has taken place,” Krekelberg said. “The game itself is all about two things. It’s about metamorphosis and connection … It’s about how we stay connected to each other, despite horrific changes happening to the world around us, and to ourselves.”
“The thing that really excites us about the game is that we feel it’s a game that only we could be telling the story of. It’s very unique to us, and our identities.”
Heading into 2025, work on this unnamed title will keep Ghoulish busy, particularly in the lead-up to its official reveal in June. The studio will also spend the year working towards its ambitions of bolstering its surrounding community, and creating an atmosphere of collaboration within and without Paper House.
“We’re trying to build up the community centre physically,” Krekelberg said. “We’re trying to get a few more indie studios in there, to build up that physical sense of community again.”
After years of economic and cultural circumstances attempting to derail the growth of the local games industry and its sense of camaraderie and connection, Ghoulish is working to aid an atmosphere of togetherness, sharing their message of connection within their debut game, and in their everyday work practice. Per Krekelberg, staying together and supporting each other is the key to surviving in increasingly tough circumstances.
To follow along with the studio’s journey, head to the Ghoulish website. We expect to see big things from the team in the coming months.
