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Boss Fight Books #35
Untitled Goose Game
It's a beautiful day in the village, and you are a horrible goose, ready to wreak charming havoc on the weary locals. You'll ruin their gardens, invade their pub, and terrorize their children. What kind of scoundrels would make such a devious game?
Before the critical acclaim, the tweets from celebrities, the major awards, the memes, the fan art, and the legion of players, Untitled Goose Game was just the goofy dream of House House, four friends in Melbourne, Australia. What began with a photo of a goose and the joking caption "Let's make a game about this" transformed into one of the wittiest and most stylish games of its generation.
Through interviews with the creators and their co-conspirators, journalist and developer James O'Connor tells the story of how this indie megahit came to be, revealing how the team succeeded by evolving their friendship into an art practice, contributing to the wider Australian game development scene, trusting their own good taste, and never, ever naming their game. Honk!!
Before the critical acclaim, the tweets from celebrities, the major awards, the memes, the fan art, and the legion of players, Untitled Goose Game was just the goofy dream of House House, four friends in Melbourne, Australia. What began with a photo of a goose and the joking caption "Let's make a game about this" transformed into one of the wittiest and most stylish games of its generation.
Through interviews with the creators and their co-conspirators, journalist and developer James O'Connor tells the story of how this indie megahit came to be, revealing how the team succeeded by evolving their friendship into an art practice, contributing to the wider Australian game development scene, trusting their own good taste, and never, ever naming their game. Honk!!
- GenresNonfiction
200 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 28, 2025
For once, a charming story of a group of best friends who work together so well that they produced a project out of love and dedication and fun that got every single ounce of attention that it deserved. An excellent read, and especially enjoyed the part about the music. HONK!
December 24, 2024
I am not much of a gamer but I enjoyed the hell out of this book. It's one of those success stories where the subjects (and the author) just seem like real sweethearts.
April 1, 2026
Disclaimer: I worked alongside James at two Australian gaming magazines in a previous life, but I bought this book myself.
The story of Untitled Goose Game is, as O'Connor mentions early on, not one of high drama and high stakes. The decision to therefore attach the book to a more wide-ranging consideration of the Australian industry at large is a wise one, as it gives the narrative a wider remit to wander genially around various topics before meandering back towards a solid guiding throughline - much in the same way the Goose wanders through the quaint English village at the heart of the game.
I much enjoyed the tone and extensive research applied throughout the work, which can roll from personal anecdote to serious academic consideration to in-depth exploration of the Melbourne indie scene all without feeling too forced or contrived, while remaining eminently readable.
The story of Untitled Goose Game is, as O'Connor mentions early on, not one of high drama and high stakes. The decision to therefore attach the book to a more wide-ranging consideration of the Australian industry at large is a wise one, as it gives the narrative a wider remit to wander genially around various topics before meandering back towards a solid guiding throughline - much in the same way the Goose wanders through the quaint English village at the heart of the game.
I much enjoyed the tone and extensive research applied throughout the work, which can roll from personal anecdote to serious academic consideration to in-depth exploration of the Melbourne indie scene all without feeling too forced or contrived, while remaining eminently readable.
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January 21, 2025Bunch of disclaimers here: I'm pals with the author. I was a backer of this book on Kickstarter. I've met a few of the people in the book, having hung around the Melbourne indie games scene in the late 00's/early '10s (I miss Bar SK). You definitely can't take my opinion on this all that seriously, hence the lack of rating. Wouldn't be right.
Having that said, James O'Connor does a fantastic job documenting the development of Untitled Goose Game and the history of its developer House House, whilst also serving as a history of the Australian game development scene. The latter point is especially important, considering how often it gets ignored by international audiences.
It's a story ultimately about friendship, and how everything mostly went right. Incredible. You never see this!
Having that said, James O'Connor does a fantastic job documenting the development of Untitled Goose Game and the history of its developer House House, whilst also serving as a history of the Australian game development scene. The latter point is especially important, considering how often it gets ignored by international audiences.
It's a story ultimately about friendship, and how everything mostly went right. Incredible. You never see this!
April 6, 2026
This book looks at the developers behind the game Untitled Goose Game, the creation of the game itself, and aspects of the Australian game development scene.
This is probably the most "feel good" game development book I've ever read. The author and basically everyone he interviewed while creating this book had nothing but good things to say about the four guys who make up House House, the developer behind Untitled Goose Game and Push Me Pull You (also covered somewhat in this book). They're a solid friend group that gets along, enjoys spending time together, and communicates with each other really effectively, with little-to-no drama or competing egos. If there was anything about this book that was a bit repetitive, it was all the mentions of how great these guys were and how well they got along together. That said, I genuinely hope it was all true.
The book covers how the guys of House House first met and became friends, the development of their first game (Push Me Pull You), and the ideas that came together and eventually spawned Untitled Goose Game. There were a bunch of details I found interesting, like the location scouting they did using Google Maps Street View, and the process for making the game music reactive to player/goose behavior.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read about a fun little game.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
This is probably the most "feel good" game development book I've ever read. The author and basically everyone he interviewed while creating this book had nothing but good things to say about the four guys who make up House House, the developer behind Untitled Goose Game and Push Me Pull You (also covered somewhat in this book). They're a solid friend group that gets along, enjoys spending time together, and communicates with each other really effectively, with little-to-no drama or competing egos. If there was anything about this book that was a bit repetitive, it was all the mentions of how great these guys were and how well they got along together. That said, I genuinely hope it was all true.
The book covers how the guys of House House first met and became friends, the development of their first game (Push Me Pull You), and the ideas that came together and eventually spawned Untitled Goose Game. There were a bunch of details I found interesting, like the location scouting they did using Google Maps Street View, and the process for making the game music reactive to player/goose behavior.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read about a fun little game.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
December 12, 2024
A very nice story about a very nice game. Doesn’t overstay its welcome.
February 20, 2025
A nice book that covers the game creation and release well. There's nothing crazy exciting, no wild ups and downs, it's just a nice story. Similarly, this book isn't crazy exciting, with wild ups and downs, its just a nice book.
May 30, 2025
James O'Connor explores Untitled Goose Game by exploring the unique story of its developers. As you read, you'll learn more about the unique studio culture and mindset that led to one of the most successful indie games of the past 10 years. James interviews with the developers, their collaborators, and friends paints a full picture of what it took to create Untitled Goose Game all the way back to the formation of House House and through the meteoric success of Goose Game.
It's a really charming story that is told with appropriate levels of silliness. It's informative, cute, and short. If you loved Untitled Goose Game or video games, then you should definitely check this out. Boss Fight Books continues to be stellar.
It's a really charming story that is told with appropriate levels of silliness. It's informative, cute, and short. If you loved Untitled Goose Game or video games, then you should definitely check this out. Boss Fight Books continues to be stellar.
January 15, 2025
As charming as the game that inspired it, Untitled Goose Game delightfully tells the story about how one of Australia’s most popular games came to be.
James is a talented writer and interviewer, who sweetly balances technical game speak with fun development anecdotes. This is an essential read for fans of The Goose and anyone who wants a primer on the diverse Australian game development industry.
Like the game, the book is concise, only needing a brief amount of time to leave a lasting impression.
HONK!
James is a talented writer and interviewer, who sweetly balances technical game speak with fun development anecdotes. This is an essential read for fans of The Goose and anyone who wants a primer on the diverse Australian game development industry.
Like the game, the book is concise, only needing a brief amount of time to leave a lasting impression.
HONK!
September 20, 2025
This was a fantastic read that gave insight into the Aussie game dev industry I didn't know I wanted. After reading stories of how terrible game dev can be it was nice to just have a fun story about how a game about a goose came to be
...honk!
...honk!
April 27, 2025
Not perfect, but great. 4.5 stars for this one!
A really easy, light read but full of colour. If you write about games in Australia, this should be required reading.
A really easy, light read but full of colour. If you write about games in Australia, this should be required reading.
July 2, 2025
interesting lens into the Aussie game industry. and a nice comfort read about a project that works out *because* they stuck to their guns
March 22, 2026
Gran libro. No solo aprendí sobre el desarrollo del juego, sino sobre las condiciones de la industria en Australia. Honk!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews