Australian rules football is a beloved national pastime, but to anyone unfamiliar with the sport, its sprawling chaotic nature can seem completely baffling. That inherent absurdity is the driving force behind Pro Jank Footy, a new retro-inspired arcade game developed by cult filmmaker David Ashby.

Ashby, the creative mind behind the 1960s-style action-comedy series Danger 5 and the viral parody Italian Spiderman, has pivoted from the screen to the game controller. His latest venture, created under his studio Powerbomb Games, is a fast-paced, 1990s-style arcade game where the rules of Australian rules football constantly shift and devolve into pure madness as you play.

Embracing the Weirdness of Aussie Culture

For Ashby, the game is a love letter to the quirks of his home state and the broader sporting landscape. "If you describe the code to somebody who's unfamiliar with it, it sounds like you're making it up on the spot," Ashby explains. "There's two teams, 18 players a side, chasing a footy, like two classrooms on a cricket oval, trying to do whatever they can to get the ball and kick it between sticks."

The game celebrates this eccentricity with a heavy dose of regional South Australian humor. Players can select from local suburban-themed teams such as the Salisbury Park Snags, the Port Noarlunga Chips, and the Ceduna Doonas. According to Ashby, the core comedy of the project lies in affectionately mocking and embracing the unique traits of Australian sports culture.

Existential Commentary and Comedic Chemistry

To bring the game's audio to life, Ashby enlisted the voice talents of Broden Kelly, a member of the acclaimed Melbourne comedy trio Aunty Donna. Kelly, who also hosts a popular football podcast, recorded thousands of lines of fast-paced, high-energy commentary for the game.

The recording process, however, proved to be an endurance test of its own. Spending hours repeating short variations of match commentary in an Adelaide Hills studio led Kelly to start improvising. One existential line of dialogue that has already amused early playtesters features Kelly dryly noting, "These are all just pixels and one day we will all die."

Despite the exhausting recording sessions, Kelly says the project perfectly marries his love of sport and comedy. He believes both communities share a unique ability to break down social barriers. "I can talk to 60-year-old blokes who I have nothing in common with, and if they say they support my team, we can chat for hours," Kelly says. "As soon as you make someone laugh, you feel like you know them deeply."

Bringing Tactility Back to Gaming

Rather than keeping the game strictly digital, the creators wanted to evoke the classic arcade culture of the 1980s and '90s. Melbourne-based game designer Louis Roots was commissioned to build two bespoke physical arcade cabinets for the game.

Constructed with wood panelling and textures that mirror the warmth of a local pub and the green grass of a footy oval, these custom machines are designed to be touched. To complete the nostalgic experience, Roots installed an FM transmitter inside the cabinets, allowing patrons across the venue to tune in to the game's commentary on a radio frequency, mimicking the experience of listening to a match on an old AM receiver.

The custom cabinets have been installed at the Great Northern Hotel in Carlton North and the Victoria Hotel in Brunswick, where locals can play the game for free.

A Dream Come True

With Pro Jank Footy officially launching on consoles, Ashby is already looking toward his next creative endeavors, which include a comedy series currently in development for Netflix. Still, the filmmaker turned game developer is thrilled to have fulfilled a childhood dream.

"This morning, I checked on PlayStation and the game is on the store," Ashby says. "That's sick, dude. My 10-year-old self would be very happy with that."