Like many other young people in Australia and around the world, Tevice Ronson, who calls himself “Device,” has grown up with video games.
“I’ve been playing since I was little,” he said.
Device lives in the remote community of Ltyentye Apurte, also known as Santa Teresa, about 80 miles southeast of Alice Springs.
He is one of the protagonists of a new web series of video games that is produced outside the community, called Checkpoint Ltyentye.
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Connection with people at a distance
A video game program with residents of a remote Indigenous community is not a common finding on the Australian gaming scene.
Executive producer Joshua Tilmouth said the program took advantage of the growing popularity of video games during the pandemic.
“We certainly saw an increase [people playing] in the community and so we thought doing a show about it would get more people in and get them out of the house again, ”he said.
The videos are posted online on Ltyentye Apurte TV, which is part of a community development program run by Catholic Care NT.
The team has created a handful of videos so far, playing and reviewing games like the 2018 God of War reboot, the latest installment of the Mortal Kombat series, and the virtual reality feel, Beat Saber.
The show is filmed in a small detachable in the remote community. (ABC News: Michael Donnelly)
Checkpoint Ltyentye is filmed in the community ‘multimedia center’, a small detachable equipped with a TV, computers to edit and space for a console or device to play.
The cast take turns playing the game of the day, or together during multiplayer games, and then talk about their experiences.
“Whatever games the boys like to play, we’ll try to get them to play them and give their opinion,” Tilmouth said.
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The Ronson device said being on camera wasn’t something that initially excited him, but he said he had become more comfortable the more they filmed.
“Have some fun, that’s the best … enjoy the game,” he said.
But playing in the middle of the desert is not without challenges.
Joshua Tilmouth says the program took advantage of an increase in people playing video games during the pandemic. (ABC News: Michael Donnelly)
“It’s hard to connect online, and obviously that’s a big part of video game culture,” Tilmouth said.
“The internet connection isn’t always great here … so we haven’t done any of these episodes [yet]. “
While the show explores the fantastic of video games, while bringing people together from the community together, team members said they also wanted to promote a healthy balance.
“You know, encourage kids to have fun, play, but you also have to go to school,” Tilmouth said.
“[Don’t] Be a midnight player, it’s not good for your brain, ”added Device Ronson.
The Ronson device says being in front of the camera was daunting at first, but now it’s enjoying the experience. (ABC News: Michael Donnelly)
Indigenous representation in the game
The team hopes to inspire other Indigenous youth in the field of games.
“I want to help other young people like me become famous for something they want to do in life,” Device Ronson said.
“We were hoping it would give a little more representation … that there are young Aborigines playing videos and they like it as much as anyone else,” Me Tilmouth Tilmouth.
He also hoped the show would encourage more Indigenous girls to participate.
“It would be great to have some Ltyentye Apurte girls playing video games, maybe someday they would make their own show.”