PAX Aus 2017: Shooty Skies is looking pretty fabulous

In the lead up to PAX Australia we got to have a chat with Tim Best, lead designer of Shooty Skies and part of the Melbourne based development studio, Mighty Games. We played a bit of Shooty Skies alongside Tim, had a chat about the game and its upcoming updates, and also discussed the tricky topics of diversity in game development and the marriage equality debate happening in Australia right now.

Why did we talk about these topics? Because Mighty Games isn’t afraid to take a stance on the marriage equality debate with their latest update, Rainbow Riders, created specifically to support the yes vote. And we think that’s pretty fantastic.

For those who haven’t played Shooty Skies, it’s a frenetic shoot ’em up for your mobile phone where you fly the skies, dodge an onslaught of bullets, and take on a hoard of wacky characters. It’s completely free and available on both iOS and Android devices. As for the Rainbow Riders update, I think Tim said it best himself:

“We released the rainbow riders update which had a cast of very colourful rainbow themed characters which is just to support inclusiveness. We just really wanted to support the postal yes vote because it’s really important. Our studio is about inclusivity and diversity and we think any cultural product needs as many voices and points of view as possible to be relevant to a wide range of people. We wanted to be out there with our support for it.”

When asking Tim about what’s coming up next for Shooty Skies he was able to tell us a bit about the next update called Intensity. Intensity will allow players to essentially select their difficulty when playing Shooty Skies, ranging from a much more casual experience to something far more difficult. Tim mentioned that one of the driving forces behind the Intensity update is once again the notion of inclusivity.

“It’s important for accessibility so more people can play, like children or people with a motor impairment. We wanted a wider community to enjoy the game.”

For those who want to experience the kind of product you get when you combine passion, love and inclusivity – go and play Shooty Skies. It’s free on the iOS and Android stores.