With news this week that Aussie dev studio Tantalus is expanding with a new studio in Brisbane, GameSpot AU caught up with CEO Tom Crago to get the scoop on the move, his thoughts on the GDAA's plans for 2009, and the upcoming public consulation into the R18+ classification.

　　GameSpot AU: Why is Tantalus expanding?

　　Tom Crago: We had to make a decision between growing our Melbourne studio, and opening a new operation somewhere else. Personally, I felt that 80-90 developers was about the right size for a game studio, in terms of maintaining a culture most conducive for people enjoying their time at work. Ultimately we'd like to replicate our Melbourne model up in Brisbane.

　　GSAU: Why did you choose Brisbane as the place for the new Tantalus studio?

　　TC: Without doubt, Brisbane and Melbourne are the dual centres of game development in Australia. We already had a strong presence in Melbourne, and as we grew it felt natural to expand into Brisbane. A big motivation was having access to a different talent pool. Queensland has some fantastic educational institutions producing great graduates, and of course there is a readymade resource pool in and around the existing industry.

　　GS AU: What will the new Tantalus studio work on? Can you give us any hints of what platforms/games/publishers you'll be working on/with?

　　TC: At the moment our Brisbane studio are working on an unannounced DS project with a major publisher. They're producing that game in a very similar manner to our other DS teams in Melbourne. The technology and production processes are close to identical. Of course, our Brisbane team will add greatly to our library of tools and technology. After their current title, the team will move on to another game on one of the platforms on which we're strong. It could be DS, or equally Wii or PSP. In time we'd like to grow the studio to two teams.

　　GS AU: A lot of game development studios seem to prefer Brisbane because of its 'creative' hub and the tax breaks for game developers there. Do you think it will be a while before other capital cities seem as attractive for game developers as Brisbane and Melbourne are?

　　TC: It's a great community up in Brisbane. Obviously the lifestyle is very attractive, which is a strong selling point for bringing talent in from overseas. The educational institutions are first rate, and the Queensland Government is very supportive of the industry. It's an excellent combination. There's no reason why other Australian capital cities can't follow Brisbane and Melbourne's lead. It would be great to see some more activity in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

　　GS AU: Any news on what's happening with the proposed Australian Government tax breaks for video game developers? Can you see this happening any time soon?

　　TC: No updates unfortunately. We're still waiting on an audience with Minister Garrett.

　　GS AU: What is the Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA) up to? Any predictions for the coming year?

　　TC: This year we saw the biggest ever Australian representation at GDC, and our most successful networking function yet. The GDAA hosted a cocktail party in San Francisco for Australian developers and international publisher representatives and as always it proved the perfect forum for our smaller developers to mix and make new contacts. We're also busy planning this year's GCAP. More on that in the next few weeks.

　　GS AU: Finally, the proposed public consultation into an R18+ classification for games is finally going ahead. The deadline for people to submit their comments and opinions is now July 31st--the discussion paper will be released on the Federal Attorney General's website very soon. What your thoughts about this finally going ahead, and the fact that it's taken so long to get to this stage?

　　TC: It's great to get to this stage, although of course it's a small step on a road that has proven to be pretty hazardous. I'd encourage everybody to submit their comments, and to do so in a sensible and well argued way. It's easy to become frustrated at the fact that we need to go through this process at all, but of course we know that political wheels turn slowly, and that this is an especially thorny issue for some. We will get there in the end, and it's absolutely important that we all participate in this public consultation.

　　GS AU: Tom Craigo, thanks for your time.