MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL GAMES WEEK 3-13 OCT 2024
MIGW 2024 is all about fostering connections – between games enthusiasts in the community, between students and the local games industry, and between the local and international games industries. A bumper program will explore how games are opening up new opportunities and possibilities between industries – from music and fashion to health and education. It will showcase the best local talent and most exciting new games coming out of Victoria and around Australia. It will also explore the potential of games tech to make a positive impact on our lives beyond entertainment, with a focus on building community and improving social outcomes.
MIGW showcases Victoria’s thriving industry as a global leader in games, which is amplified by the Victorian Government’s ongoing support and strategic investment in the sector. Flagship industry events, including Games Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP), High Score and Play Now Melbourne, will offer local studios and developers an opportunity to connect with international games leaders and the games community at large.
ACMI, the spiritual home of games, will once again be a hub for MIGW in 2024 – with a dedicated, world premiere exhibition based on the global-hit Untitled Goose Game, a signature event celebrating Final Fantasy XIV, an interactive commission, a showcase of Australia’s best new games, and lots of free opportunities to play.
Big Games Night Out, the centrepiece of free, family-friendly events at MIGW, will transform Fed Square into a wonderland of games, music and cosplay for people of all ages to explore.
A SNEAK PEEK AT 2024 EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Education and careers in games will be in the spotlight at the 2-day Education Symposium (Thursday 3 – Friday 4 October). This new addition to the program aims to build stronger connections and pathways between secondary and tertiary students and educators and the local industry. Highlights from the program include the Great Debate on careers in games; career mentoring and rapid fire sessions by leaders in industry; a hackathon for competing tertiary students and a live session with a parallel conference in Denmark addressing global trends in games education.
Big Games Night Out (Thursday 10 October) – an immersive night of games, music, cosplay and more – returns to Fed Square from 3 pm ‘til late. Big Games Night Out is a free, accessible, and all-ages event that welcomes games fans from all walks of life to come together and celebrate amongst a spectacle of games, music, and technology. Visitors will experience free digital and tabletop game activations, the Cosplay Runway, Esports tournaments, main stage immersive dance-offs, treasure hunts, prizes, live music, and more!
APRA AMCOS’s High Score (Saturday 5 – Sunday 6 October) is where Australia’s game audio community gathers each year to learn, network and celebrate the use of music and sound in video games. In 2024, the theme is ‘Connection is Key’ and speakers include world-class local and international talent, such as composers, sound designers and audio directors from the likes of Remedy Entertainment, Summerfall Studios and Sony, to name a few.
Games Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) (Monday 7 – Wednesday 9 October) is the Australian games industry’s premier professional development and networking event, led by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA). Experienced speakers from Australia and abroad will focus on workplace culture, sustainability for studios, and adapting to changing times, alongside networking activities to connect local attendees with their global counterparts and investment opportunities.
After a knockout inaugural event last year, Australia’s pre-eminent games market Play Now Melbourne (Thursday 10 October) returns for another round in 2024. Presented by VicScreen, Play Now Melbourne brings together local game developers, publishers, platform holders and investors, providing local creatives the unique opportunity to pitch their games to the international market and sell their games to the world. Leading global publishers attending include Devolver Digital, Raw Fury, Oculus Publishing from Meta, Team17, Massive Monster, Fellow Traveller, Akupara Games, Landfall, ASTRA Logical, UltraPlayers and PlaySide Studios.
The Australian games industry’s night of nights, the Australian Game Developers Awards (AGDAs) (Wednesday 9 October) is an opportunity to celebrate the outstanding games and individual achievements of the Australian games community. The AGDAs ACMI Audience Award is a fun opportunity for the public to play and vote for their favourite local game of the year. Also at ACMI during MIGW 2024, Honk! Untitled Goose Exhibition will explore the making of Australian studio House House’s smash success Untitled Goose Game.
Freeplay: Parallels (Thursday 10 October) is a one-night-only showcase of some of the most experimental, personal, and culturally significant work being made right now. Freeplay is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Parallels, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of Freeplay – the world’s longest-running independent games festival. For the first time, Parallels will be at the Melbourne Town Hall for ‘10 talks, 10 games, 10 years of Parallels’, followed by a special after-party to keep the good times rolling.
Games for Change Asia-Pacific Festival (G4CAP) (Friday 4 October) will explore and showcase the transformative power of games to make the world a better place through positive change in education, health and social change. Hosted by ACMI, the 2024 festival touches on neurodivergence, political debate and role playing, plant and wildlife education, human relationships, and training medical rescue teams, and features guest speaker Jessica Wilson from Child Nation, an interactive platform that helps children engage imaginatively with the real world.
PAX Aus (Friday 11 – Sunday 13 October), the beloved 3-day celebration of games, culture and community, will offer thought-provoking panels, a massive expo hall filled with the best publishers and independent studios, game demos, tournaments, and more. Speakers include Julian Wilton, Creative Director at Cult of the Lamb developer Massive Monster; Canadian voice actor, Mark Meer; plus PAX Aus veteran and obnoxiously-funny comedian, John Robertson returns with his live-action video game, The Dark Room, which has seen global success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and other events around the world.
Melbourne International Games Week runs from 3-13 October 2024. The full program will be announced in August.
For more information, visit gamesweek.melbourne
About the Author
Adrian Gunning Adrian lives in Melbourne Australia and has a huge passion for gaming, technology and pop culture. He recently finished his a Bachelor of Journalism and is currently focusing on games journalism. When not writing and playing video games, Adrian can be found in Comics 'R' Us debating the pros of the DC Universe and cons of the Marvel Universe.
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