Interview: Chatting with Dinkum developer James Bendon

Solo developer James Bendon discovered himself on the centre of consideration when he launched Dinkum into early entry in 2022 following 5 years of growth. The survival sandbox sport took parts from video games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley and introduced them with a distinctly Australian twist. It was an immediate hit, with gamers the world over leaping into the sport and experiencing Aussie flora, fauna, and meals for the primary time as they constructed up their little villages and tried to outlive within the outback. 

Within the years since, Dinkum has grown right into a behemoth, choosing up a writer in Korean large Krafton, being ported to the Nintendo Change late final 12 months, and in only a few days, seeing a bodily launch on Change — a dream come true for lifelong Nintendo fan James. 

Dinkum is about to be launched bodily on Change this Friday, on January 30, 2026. It’s presently accessible to preorder at EB Video games, JB Hello-Fi, The Gamesmen, Large W, and Amazon. 

Earlier this month I received to sit down down with James in a video chat to debate the event of Dinkum, the Nintendo Change launch and bodily version, and what makes a fishing minigame nice. It took a bit to get going, due to basic Australian web points, however after saying an previous Australian incantation (“Let me swap to 4G”), we had been on our manner. 

How has your life modified because you began growth on Dinkum? You’ve been at it for some time now, I think about issues had been very completely different to start with in comparison with now. 

Sure, undoubtedly. So, it’s at all times simply been a solo challenge, simply me. I used to be a hobbyist, and I’ve at all times needed to be a sport developer. So, I feel the largest change in my life is that now I’m a superb sport developer. I can truly say that, as an alternative of simply being a hobbyist. 

In any other case, the largest change has been… My spouse supported me for five years, whereas I pursued this pipe dream, and I used to be fortunate sufficient that the end result allowed me to present that again in flip. So now she will pursue her pursuits and her targets, in order that’s a very good feeling as effectively. 

What impressed you to create Dinkum within the first place? 

Clearly, you may inform that I’m a giant fan of the Animal Crossing collection and Nintendo typically, I like every little thing Nintendo. I began making video games for the net a protracted, very long time in the past as a youngster — Flash video games had been my bread and butter. Finally I moved on to Unity, when Flash type of disappeared from the web. 

I simply at all times loved making video games, so I needed to create an Animal Crossing-inspired sport that I felt had all of the options that Animal Crossing on the time was lacking. I began in 2017, after which someplace in there they introduced New Horizons. And I believed, you understand, “my sport’s so distinctive, it’s set on an island, and you may construct the city from scratch, and you may place pathing, and that is all of the stuff Animal Crossing followers need.”

After which they introduced New Horizons, and I’m like “Oh, it’s set on an island and you may arrange your personal city, simply the best way you need.”

Although I feel in the long run they’re very completely different video games. Dinkum’s I feel is extra like a survival sport that turns right into a city sim type of factor. There’s undoubtedly crossovers, however I really feel like Dinkum has its personal id, and I needed to present gamers increasingly choices, so I prefer to develop it in that course. 

Given you’re such a giant Nintendo fan, how does it really feel to have a sport on a Nintendo console?

It’s a dream, you understand? Once I began making video games as a child, Nintendo was the height, it nonetheless is to me. I like every little thing they do. I don’t suppose they will make a foul sport, I don’t suppose it’s attainable. 

However to have my sport on the identical console, or any Nintendo console is sort of a lifelong dream that has come true. For those who’d requested me even 5 years in the past, I by no means would have thought that I’d get to, particularly even having the field copy. I’m out of style and out of favor, however it means a lot to me that I can see my sport on the shelf in a retailer, identical to I used to dream as a child. 

Are you going to be heading to EB Video games to select up a replica on launch day? 

Yeah, I’ve one pre-ordered, only one copy. I’m not gonna make it a giant factor, I’m simply gonna stroll in after which get my sport after which stroll out. However I’m very excited. I’ve pre-ordered a replica of my very own sport, I imply that’s fairly enjoyable. 

Why do you suppose Australian indie builders have made such a giant splash on the worldwide scene lately?

I feel it may need one thing to do with all of our large AAA studios closing down just a few years in the past. I feel Australian indies are doing very well, and I’m positive there are greater studios nonetheless doing effectively, however typically, I really feel like indie video games are essentially the most fascinating video games in the mean time. 

So I feel it’s a bit, you understand, the folks which can be left right here that need to make video games. They’re passionate, they usually’re pushed, to allow them to make the sport that they need, fairly than the sport they suppose will promote effectively. I feel that simply has an impact on the ensuing sport, so, I feel it’s not simply Australian video games, it’s Australian indies. 

If you launched Dinkum into early entry, was it an instantaneous hit, or did it take some time to construct up? 

To me it was an instantaneous hit, sure, quite a bit quicker than I anticipated. I bear in mind, I feel within the first 4 or 5 months, I’d bought 200,000 copies, and that was what number of copies I needed to promote, like that was my purpose. That was what number of copies I anticipated to promote over the lifetime of the sport for it to be financially viable for me to create the following sport. 

I didn’t suppose it could maintain promoting the identical because it did. 

Clearly it’s gotten quite a bit greater since then. There’s 15,000 evaluations on Steam, clearly doing effectively on Change, how for much longer do you suppose you’ll keep on with Dinkum?

I feel it’s simple to assist one thing that you understand folks love, so I feel so long as there are folks taking part in Dinkum I will probably be impressed to proceed including to and tweaking the sport. Typically I end an replace after which I simply want a bit little bit of time away from Dinkum, and I mess around in different tasks. However as soon as I’ve had sufficient relaxation, I’m studying the entire suggestions and ideas that the group offers, it simply makes me wanna dive again in. So I feel there’s nonetheless a little bit of Dinkum left in me. 

You probably did an AMA on Reddit a few months in the past and lots of people had been asking for particular options — what number of of these are you want, rattling, I really want to try this?

That’s the laborious half. I at all times love studying the ideas as a result of typically folks will know what a part of the sport is missing, they usually’ll give like a suggestion to repair what’s missing, however I prefer to discover a steadiness the place I may give them what they need, whereas introducing new gameplay parts, and holding true to what I feel Dinkum is. 

So I feel that type of collaboration is… I feel that’s what makes a number of these video games, which have a group which can be so passionate, they usually can work collectively. Typically I’ll get a suggestion for a characteristic that’s simply in one other sport, and I feel they’re wonderful ideas, however I’d choose to discover a strategy to incorporate it that also matches true. 

Like one of many ideas for a very long time was to have the ability to choose up chests or switch them, and I feel that’s one among my most proud options I added. I added a dolly trolley, or a hand trolley you can choose up chests and transfer them round. So I actually like that, the gamers felt that this sure characteristic was missing, so I received to implement it in a manner that felt like a enjoyable gameplay component. 

And naturally the group, in flip, finds methods to not exploit, however use the brand new factor that I’ve added, unexpectedly. That type of backwards and forwards is what I like. 

What’s essentially the most surprising factor that you just discovered that gamers had been ready to try this you didn’t intend to occur? 

There’s so many who I can’t even bear in mind a selected one. And a few of them had been so egregious that I needed to patch them, so yeah, there’s too many. I feel it comes with the sport being a sandbox — as a result of the participant can affect features of the sport, it’s simple to seek out these sorts of tacky techniques. So even one thing like constructing. Constructing helps you to defeat bosses very simply, as a result of I can’t guess what their terrain seems like or what objects are there, in order that’s a very frequent technique, to basically stack a bunch of fish tanks on prime of one another, in an effort to beat a boss with out it supplying you with injury. 

However I feel most of these are OK, like, those which can be nonetheless within the sport. If the participant appears like they’ve discovered an answer, like that type of exploit, I feel that’s okay. However one other one which I can bear in mind was that if you happen to introduced a windmill down into the mines, you could possibly glitch via the partitions and open up treasure chests with none keys. These sorts of ones, I really feel like, “oh no, that one needx to be mounted.”

So it’s extra about letting gamers have their enjoyable throughout the bounds of what you need gamers to be doing, however not simply breaking issues altogether?

Yeah, I imply, clearly something that stops the participant from progressing, that undoubtedly must be mounted. And that was a priority with the windmills within the mines, you could possibly get trapped and it could mushy lock the participant. 

Has there been any particular piece of suggestions that you just’ve gotten that’s actually caught in your head? 

Sure, and I nonetheless grapple with it. So, Dinkum does have fight, and that’s how I needed the sport to be. There are some harmful areas the participant can discover, however there’s a massive subset of the group that doesn’t need to interact with that. And I perceive, like they like the city constructing and adorning fairly than the dungeon exploring and preventing, so I’ve been grappling with that for the reason that begin of the sport. Attempting to supply the objects and treasures to gamers who don’t need to interact with that facet, whereas additionally not giving them every little thing different gamers that do need to interact with it have earned. Preserving that sense of feat, whereas additionally providing the prizes to different gamers, I feel is admittedly tough, however it’s one thing I need to proceed working with. 

I added a wishing effectively into the sport that may allow you to type of change the foundations or problem of the sport, however I feel there’s extra to be performed. 

Fishing minigames have change into extraordinarily in style, they usually could make or break a sport — how did you go about making Dinkum’s fishing minigame distinctive?

It’s been tweaked quite a bit, even via early entry, and it’s laborious to get proper. You need it to be laborious sufficient that it appears like a problem, however simple sufficient that it’s not losing the participant’s time, or making them pissed off. From the suggestions I’ve learn, that’s nonetheless not [entirely] mounted, however what I feel makes Dinkum’s fishing completely different is the truth that the participant can see the fish within the water. I feel that was wanted to make the fishing really feel completely different, it couldn’t be like a gacha machine. The fish you see within the water is the fish you get, and leveling or balancing the excessive worth fish with the participant’s fishing talent stage was difficult as effectively. 

However I do imagine that fishing mini video games do make all video games higher. 

Dinkum exists on this type of sphere of what folks name cosy video games. Why do you suppose the style has taken off as a lot because it has?

That’s a superb query. I’ve thought of it, and I don’t know if I may give a superb reply. I feel having the ability to obtain issues shortly, after which seeing the outcomes of your achievements, I feel that’s human nature. It’s a bit bit addictive, you get up within the morning, in case your day’s 20 minutes lengthy, you may get quite a bit performed in 2 hours. So I feel there’s a component of that. 

I feel there’s additionally a component of individuals being overwhelmed with how the world is in the mean time, and it’s a pleasant place to retreat or calm down. For me, I’m getting bored with video games the place the entire objective is competitors or violence, taking pictures folks. It isn’t the type of sport I like — I’ve performed a number of video games the place I do this however that’s not the type of sport I’m on the lookout for anymore. However yeah, I don’t know the reply to the query. 

I don’t know the precise causes, I simply know that folks appear to like it. However perhaps these folks had been at all times there, and individuals are simply cracking on to “oh wait, there are people who need these video games. I feel there is likely to be that as effectively. 

Dinkum is a really Australian sport. How do you go about balancing together with Australian tradition with out alienating abroad audiences? 

I don’t suppose it is advisable to do it. I feel it feels unique, or I hope it feels unique, identical to the mundanity of things like a sausage roll, or on the finish of the 12 months, you get a snag, like a sausage on bread. That’s regular. And even just like the vegetation, I’ve wattles and bottle brushes, and bush limes or finger limes. I feel, if you happen to had been taking part in a sport set on an alien world, you’ll perceive what this stuff are, and I feel gamers like that type of digital tourism, the place they type of take up the tradition via osmosis. So I feel, for essentially the most half, you don’t must.

I seen within the AMA that just a few folks had been stunned to seek out out that most of the creatures featured in Dinkum aren’t made up. I believed that was a enjoyable interplay. 

Undoubtedly. Like, lots of people suppose that I made up cassowaries, as in the event that they’re not an actual animal. I imply, they’re not known as cassowaries in my sport, however they’re scared of those harmful birds, and I like imparting that, giving that to the participant. 

When Dinkum was first launched in early entry, there was a number of dialogue in regards to the lack of Aboriginal Australian illustration within the sport. What did you study from that?

I realized that everybody desires to be seen. I used to be making an attempt to create a sport that was primarily based on my childhood, rising up in a small rural bush city with tin roofs, that’s what I used to be making an attempt to present. However I feel that I type of by accident made a sport about Australia, and Australia’s a giant nation, and I feel, if I had been to do every little thing once more, I might be extra conscious of that. 

And eventually, what video games have you ever been taking part in these days?

Properly, the final sport I performed that I completely adored was Silksong, clearly. I don’t suppose I’ll ever play a sport like that once more. I preferred Hole Evening, however I cherished Silksong. The remainder of it, only a little bit of Kirby Air Riders, and I’m making an attempt to get again to ending Donkey Kong Bananza, as a result of for some motive I simply stopped taking part in it. I feel it was as a result of Silksong got here out.