Buru and The Old People, the debut title from Indigenous-led game development team Elfcat Studio, has received its first trailer, revealing a glimpse at its colourful world and Dungeons & Dragons-inspired action.
In this game you play as Bururrgan, also known as Buru, a white ibis and former thief who returns to his previous haunts in the town of Pincher’s Cove for ‘one last job’. But it appears there’s more to Buru’s travels, and there’s a hidden truth to be uncovered about his journey.
Buru and The Old People – quick links
Inspired by Indigenous storytelling
As shared by the Elfcat Studio team, Buru and The Old People is inspired by Indigenous storytelling, with a particular focus on connection to land.
‘Buru and The Old People is a story that is close to my heart,’ said Wiradjuri man Ben Armstrong, lead developer on the game and a winner of AGDAs Rising Star award.
‘Buru is a character that started off as a bit of a cheeky take on the D&D Aarakocra, but I soon realised that a story about Buru can be a parallel to Indigenous stories because like Indigenous people, the Ibis is of this country.’
The story of Buru evolved from a session of Dungeons & Dragons in 2021, before it was adapted for an anthology of poetry and story, The Rocks Remain.
From there, and inspired by the storytelling of fellow anthropomorphic adventure Zootopia, Buru’s tale evolved to become a video game featuring a variety of native Australian animals and tackling themes of ‘culture, ignorance, colonisation and exploitation’.
Elfcat Studio is led by Indigenous talents
To realise the vision for Buru and The Old People, Armstrong developed Elfcat Studio, hiring Indigenous people in all key creative roles. Naarm-based illustrator Emma Sjaan Beukers is on art duties, refining the game’s bright, early-internet style.
Kungarakan, Gurindji, Wardaman and Yanyuwa artist Letoya Muraru is responsible for the native Australian characters, informed by work on the award-winning Wylde Flowers from Studio Drydock.
Working together, with a shared love of Dungeons & Dragons and deep storytelling, the team has developed Buru and The Old People as an homage to culture, connection and storytelling.
‘I hope that people all over the globe find a connection with the world, characters and story in Buru and The Old People that makes them realise how important Indigenous stories are.’
Development has been supported by Screen NSW and Screen Australia. For now, the game does not have a firm release date, but those keen to keep an eye on progress can now wishlist Buru and The Old People on Steam.
Also on ScreenHub: Aussie game Delverium gets early access release in September
Australian-made sandbox survival game Delverium from Sagestone Games will officially launch in Steam Early Access for PC on 22 September. With over 80,000 wishlists and plenty of support for the upcoming game, the team has high hopes for what comes next, and the impact Deliverium could have on the ever-popular survival genre.
‘Delverium began as a passion project for my family and me to play together due to our shared love of co-op gaming,’ said primary developer Scott Lowther.
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