My name is John Passfield, I'm Design Director at Krome Studios, and the co-designer on TY the Tasmanian Tiger 2 : Bush Rescue. Krome Studios is Australia's largest games developer and we're based in sunny Queensland. This year we're releasing two Triple A titles with King Arthur and TY the Tasmanian Tiger 2 : Bush Rescue.

TY the Tasmanian Tiger is an all Australian action hero - albeit an orange furry one. He made his debut in TY the Tasmanian Tiger in 2002 and sold bucket loads. He's always saving the world from the Boss Cass, an evil Cassowary with world domination issues.

Good spot there, TY the Tasmanian Tiger 2 : Bush Rescue is definitely not just a straight sequel to TY 1. We've worked really hard to make it a brand new experience. Here's just a few of the many gameplay improvements we've implemented: we've reduced the amount of collectables and introduced currency so TY can buy boomerangs and upgrades, we've changed the game model so that it uses sand box gameplay, which means you can do missions in any order, buy stuff when you want to, and go anywhere you like. We've also added in vehicles, like the fourbie, helicopter and submarine. We've added in giant mechs, called Power Bunyips, that TY can drive, and we've added in multiplayer cart racing that can be played in single player mode as well.

We're using a new version of our graphics engine, so we can do heaps more stuff than before. The game runs at 60fps, we have improved water technology that is amazing to see, we have improved particle effects, more detail in the grass and trees, a new level streaming system that all but removes any loading screens and allows us to cram in more detail than we every could before. Oh and we have cloth tech and a feature called dynamic bones which adds more life to animations. Basically it's bigger, lusher, smoother and better than before.

Yes. Apart from having almost double the original boomerangs from the first game, he also has a Battle Mortar that you can use to blow up giant robots and Boss Cass' drop ships. TY can also pilot helicopters and subs equipped with missiles and torpedoes, and he can drive the Power Bunyip mech units - each one has it's own unique attack.

You got to experience the Battle Mortar and Battle Bunyip. There's also the Sub Bunyip, Thermo Extreme Bunyip, Lifter Bunyip and the Shadow Bunyip. These are all new vehicles that Julius and the Bunyip Elders have created for TY and Bush Rescue to use in their missions.

Well, physically it's over four times the size of TY1. Data wise, it's also much larger. We've got over 50 new characters, over 50 missions and over 2,200 lines of dialogue. With our seamless loading system, you can jump in the Fourbie and drive from Burramudgee town, through the outback, up into the rainforest, down through the scrub, past wheat fields, sheep stations and mining sites, then pull up at the beach, jump out of the Fourbie and swim out to a tropical island. Did I mention that this game is huge?

The game is chock full of mini-games. TY can fly a helicopter, drive a submarine, battle hordes of enemies in the Power Bunyip mech suits and race carts on over nine different tracks.

We're very proud that parents are buying the game for their kids and that the kids love it to bits, but we've tried to make a fun game for everyone. There's some challenging stuff in the game that, if you're a kid, you don't have to do, but if you're a hardcore gamer you'll really enjoy. We never dumbed the game down for kids, we always made sure that it would be the sort of game that we, as adults, would pick up and buy.

Well, we've tuned the game to take advantage of the power of the Xbox. So what you'll see are bigger and better draw distances and a constant 60 frames per second, resulting in smoother animation and rock solid visuals.

I love the fact that you can pop the game into your Xbox straight out of the case and start playing two-player cart racing with your mates. Then, after a week of fun, you suddenly realise “Hang on, there's a whole other game here that I haven't even touched yet!" It's bloody good value.

You bet! We made sure that our fellow Aussie's would have a knowing chuckle when they see the Big Pineapple, Big Prawn and the Second Biggest Meat Pie in the World when out driving. There's also Sergeant Bluey, the police chief, Maurie who sounds a little like Maurie Fields, Professor Julius who might be inspired by a certain TV Professor and a whole host of other characters. We also have the awesome voice talents of some great Aussie actors like Terry Gill, Kym Wilson and Danny McMasters.

Being independent in Australia is very tough. Robert Walsh, our CEO, has spent more time overseas this year than he has at home. The big publishers are all based on the West Coast of the USA, so that makes things tough. But I think the future for the Aussie industry is looking extremely bright. The number of talented people making games now is increasing all the time. There are so many job opportunities now it's incredible. There will be a slowdown when the industry transitions to Xbox2 and PS3, so expect people to talk doom and gloom, but after the transition the industry will be back bigger and better.

Well, we've started work on TY3 and at some other titles that we can't talk about just yet. Don't worry; we'll let you know what we're cooking as soon as we can.