Meet Max: She’s the top-selling VR game on Meta, and created in Queensland
By Nick Dent
Like many great ideas, Max Mustard owes her existence to someone being told not to do something.
Richard Eastes was at a games conference in Los Angeles six years ago where an expert speaker described virtual reality (VR) games as something that “should only ever be in the first person”.
That is to say, when someone plays a VR game, they should be looking through the eyes of the main character, not watching from another viewpoint.
Max madness: Max Mustard has topped Meta’s chart for VR game sales.Credit: Toast Interactive
On the flight home, Eastes was playing Super Mario Odyssey, and found himself annoyed that he had to use the right thumb stick to turn the camera view.
“I thought, ‘This could be even better in VR. You’d be in the world, and if you need to look somewhere, you just turn your head.’”
Richard Eastes, co-founder of Toast Interactive, says VR games take “game play to the next level”.Credit: Toast Interactive
Eastes and the Gold Coast company he founded with his wife Toni, Toast Interactive, started tinkering with the idea of a platform game (or run-and-jump game) for the VR format.
“It was just a little side project, then we worked on it solid for three years,” Eastes says.
They launched Max Mustard in March 2024. In June, it topped the charts of games available for Meta Quest, Meta’s VR games headset.
“To get to the top, I couldn’t believe it. I’m incredibly proud to see it above [cult VR game] Beat Saber,” Eastes says.
Max Mustard is the adventure of a plucky scientist in rocket boots traversing the ring around a planet. An avaricious business mogul has captured cute creatures called ‘mudpups’ and Max has to rescue as many as possible while battling monsters including the fearsome ‘Roboctopus’.
The game, which will also be available on PlayStation VR2 and PC in mid-2024, will be demonstrated at Queensland Games Festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse on Saturday, June 22. Now in its 11th year, the festival is a showcase of Queensland-made games and free to the public.
Queensland Games Festival takes place at the Brisbane Powerhouse and is free to attend.Credit: Queensland Games Festival
Jed Dawson, the head of games at Screen Queensland, which sponsors the event, says the local games industry has grown rapidly in the last two years and has nearly 700 full-time developers.
“We’re the second-largest game development state after Victoria and the fastest-growing,” he says.
“Developers use this event as a chance to playtest and see how people react to what they’ve built.”
“We’re the second-largest game development state and the fastest growing.”
Jed Dawson, Screen Queensland
Ron Curry, chief executive of the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association for Australia and New Zealand, says the festival, formerly known as Game On, attracts a wide range of fans.
“We know the average age of a gamer is 35, but the fastest-growing demographic is women over 50,” he said. “We see a lot of parents and their kids, the second generation of gamers.
“They can get hands-on and play the games, and also there’ll be workshops and interviews.”
VR games immerse the player in an alternative reality.Credit: Toast Interactive
Queensland punches above its weight in the games industry. Fruit Ninja, released in 2010 by Brisbane company Halfbrick Studios, famously racked up 300 million downloads within two years. More recently indie Brisbane studio Witch Beam’s soothing game Unpacking picked up two BAFTA Game Awards.
Prior to hitting the jackpot with Max Mustard, Toast had a vertiginous VR hit with Richie’s Plank Experience, a game that makes players walk a plank on top of a tall building.
“In virtual reality you are actually inside the game and it’s 360 degrees all around you,” explains Toast senior content specialist Ben Schuster. “And it’s absolutely surreal the first time you experience that.”
Dawson says that Screen Queensland has supported the development of about 50 game titles in the last three years. Eastes estimates that 20 per cent of the world’s top-selling VR titles are made in Queensland.
“There’s Australian government assistance, and Screen Queensland too. With the unusual amount of talent here, and comparatively competitive wages, it’s the best spot in the world to be making games at the moment.”
Queensland Games Festival takes place at Brisbane Powerhouse, Saturday, June 22, 10am-8pm.