Untitled Goose Game
GameBy House House
Documents about Untitled Goose Game
Jason Schreier20 min
How COVID Led To Big Walk, One of This Year’s Best Video Games
The development of the cooperative game Big Walk serves as a case study in how the social isolation of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed creative innovation within the Australian studio House House.
- Big Walk, developed by the five-person Australian studio House House, has sold over 2 million copies since its August 2026 release.
- The game's core mechanic is proximity-based voice chat, which forces players to communicate in unorthodox ways to solve puzzles and discourages the use of external voice platforms like Discord.
- Development of Big Walk spanned six years, driven by a commitment to a consistent original vision rather than scaling the studio's headcount beyond its five core members.
Jason SchreierSep 2026
Game Developers Conference30 min
Google Maps, Not Greyboxes: Digital Location Scouting for 'Untitled Goose Game'
The development of Untitled Goose Game relied on a shift from abstract, conceptual level design toward a methodology rooted in digital location scouting.
- To achieve spatial authenticity for 'Untitled Goose Game,' the developers abandoned traditional 'greybox' level design in favor of digital location scouting using Google Maps and Street View to study real-world British villages.
- The team used specific real-world locations like the village of Orford to inform level layouts, finding that basing designs on actual geography provided a logical, consistent, and 'grounded' world that enhanced the game's comedic tone.
- By treating real locations as primary source material, the developers could quickly populate levels with authentic props and geometry, such as fruit stands, hand trucks, and benches, sourced from historical Street View imagery dating back to 2009.
Game Developers ConferenceOct 2021
PocketGamer.biz29 min
Game Narratives for Diverse Audiences | PGC Digital #1
The gaming industry faces a critical need to evolve its narrative strategies to better reflect and attract diverse global audiences.
- The industry must move beyond the 'everyman' white male hero archetype to reach untapped global demographics and reduce toxic gatekeeping within player communities.
- Adopting 'hopepunk' narrative themes—which prioritize empathy, vulnerability, and collective action—allows developers to move away from stagnant 'grimdark' tropes.
- Gameplay mechanics should be realigned with narrative themes by incorporating non-traditional verbs, such as the mischievous exploration in 'Untitled Goose Game' or the delivery-focused tasks in 'Death Stranding'.
PocketGamer.bizMay 2020
Game Developers Conference77 min
2020 Independent Games Festival & Game Developers Choice Awards
The 2020 Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards served as a vital celebration of creative achievement during a year defined by the global pandemic.
- Untitled Goose Game won the 2020 Game of the Year award, while A Short Hike received the Seamus McNally Grand Prize, signaling a strong industry shift toward valuing smaller-scale, unique independent experiences.
- Control dominated the technical categories, securing awards for its achievements in technology, audio, and visual art.
- Disco Elysium was recognized for its excellence in debut development and narrative storytelling.
Game Developers ConferenceMar 2020