Events

Published on August 21st, 2024 | by Adrian Gunning

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL GAMES WEEK CELEBRATES 10 YEARS

Creative Victoria is proud to announce the full program for a bigger than ever 10th anniversary edition of Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW) – 3-13 October 2024. Celebrating a decade of connecting games, technology and culture, MIGW is the biggest games event in Asia-Pacific and a fixture on the global calendar, with a broad program for industry, educators and game enthusiasts alike.

IMAGES: Photos from Melbourne International Games Week 2023. Credit: Matto Lucas Photography.
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. The 2024 program celebrates 10 years of MIGW and 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 – offer local studios and developers an opportunity to connect with international games leaders and the community at large.

ACMI, the spiritual home of games, is once again a hub for MIGW in 2024 – with a dedicated, world premiere exhibition Honk! Untitled Goose Exhibition; an interactive commission Rotted Luck which critiques dark pattern game design; a showcase of Australia’s best new games; and lots of free opportunities to play.

Other exciting new additions to the program include the inaugural 2-day Education Symposium: Careers and Frontiers; a new exhibition Feminine Play, that celebrates femininity and subverts gendered traditions in games, plus a series of games-inspired shows presented in partnership with the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

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. To close out the week, fan favourite PAX Aus, including beloved indie showcase PAX Rising, returns bigger than ever for the ultimate celebration of all things games.

Visit gamesweek.melbourne/events for all event information, or check out the program outline below.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Creative Industries, the Hon. Colin Brooks MP:

“Melbourne International Games Week celebrates Victoria’s games industry, promotes our local talent and is a drawcard for industry leaders from around the world.”

“This year marks the 10th MIGW and the Allan Labor Government is proud to continue backing our digital games industry as it goes from strength to strength. I can’t wait to see games fans once again ‘power up’ for a brilliant week of events, education and fun!”

IMAGES: Photos from Melbourne International Games Week 2023. Credits L-R: Matto Lucas Photography & Jacinta Keefe Photography.
PROGRAM OUTLINE (BY DATE):

Education and careers in games will be in the spotlight at the 2-day Education Symposium: Careers and Frontiers (Thursday 3–Friday 4 October). This new addition to the program aims to build stronger connections and pathways between secondary and tertiary students, educators and the local industry. Highlights from the program include: the Great Debate: ‘Working in games is not a real job!’; an international keynote by George Osborn (UKIE) on games for social good; a hackathon for competing tertiary students; career mentoring and rapid fire sessions by leaders in industry; and a live session with a parallel conference in Denmark addressing global trends in games education.

MIGW Podcast (Season 2, episodes uploaded between 2–14 October) is a backstage pass to the festival. This season is packed with exclusive interviews and live-captured ‘field reports’ where podcast presenter, May Jasper, takes you along for the ride to some of MIGW’s more bombastic events. Want to know what it’s like to be in the shoes of a game developer? Curious about the latest gaming trends? Want to know about pathways into games careers and what your options are? Subscribe via your podcasting app of choice or listen on GamesHub’s channels.

MIGW 2024 Steam Page Festival (Thursday 3–Thursday 10 October) is a curated digital showcase of incredible Victorian-made games; from exciting newcomers to nostalgic favourites. Featuring playable demos, sweet discounts on a huge range of titles and a vault full of recent MIGW live streams, developer talks and game presentations; this is a celebration of the Victorian games industry in all its glory.

Games for Change Asia-Pacific Festival (G4C APAC) (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.

Melbourne Fringe Festival and Melbourne International Games Week have co-programmed an exciting series of events (3–13 October), including Mafia The Game: The Show, where comedians work through a tale of murder and deception; improvised dating game show Dating Roulette; and theatre drinking game Comedy on the Rocks, featuring six short plays by comedy writers and performers. There’s also This World of Mine, an interactive digital theatre work bridging this world and the one inside your head; performed by teenagers and Rain: an interactive exhibition for young families to dive into together. Body of Knowledge prompts intergenerational conversations on bodies, sexuality and ageing; and The Book of Divergence is a high-energy choose-your-own-adventure DJ performance.

Honk! Untitled Goose Exhibition, showing at ACMI from 17 September until February 2025, explores the making of global-hit videogame Untitled Goose Game – Victorian developer House House’s 2019 critically acclaimed game of stealth and slapstick about a naughty goose on the loose in an unsuspecting village. This playful and quirky new exhibition gives audiences fresh insights into the game’s hilariously mischievous humour and development.

Specially commissioned by ACMI for MIGW, Rotted Luck (Saturday 5–Monday 13 October) is a playful new video game by Vidya Rajan and Ian MacLarty exploring the ‘dark pattern’ game design methods that some developers use to elicit compulsive and addictive behaviour in players. Communal, non-addictive and movement-based, it pokes fun at these techniques and subverts the familiar design and symbology of slot machines.

Feminine Play (4–18 October) is a free exhibition of playable games and creative works that engage with femininity and its many interpretations. The exhibition highlights that games are not confined to boyhood culture, violence, and competition, and emphasises that femininity need not be attached to gender.

Go Live for Nature (Friday 4–Sunday 13 October) is a live-streamed fundraising campaign, hosted by WWF to raise funds and awareness for environmental conservation. By going live to protect nature, streamers from all over the globe can be part of the solution for a better living planet.

future play library. (Friday 4 October) is a day of play in libraries of the future now. Libraries are home to a quiet revolution connecting games and play to broader policy and urban development agendas. This event brings together librarians and gamers, people and place, designers and playmakers, families and communities to have a voice in social change for collective urban futures.

APRA AMCOS’s High Score (Saturday 5–Sunday 6 October) is where Australia’s game audio community gather each year to learn, network and celebrate music and sound design in video games. Curated by Tim Sheil and Amy McNickle, the program centres around the theme ‘Connection is Key’ and speakers include world-class local and international talent including BAFTA award-winning audio director Richard Lapington from Remedy Entertainment, plus Montaigne and Yon Hall (Tripod), composers on the critically acclaimed local game, Stray Gods.

Building on five years of experimental urban play, future play lab’s Reworlding: Cardigan Commons (Saturday 5–Sunday 6 October) is a story-driven live-action role playing game (LARP) where speculative fiction meets urban adventure at a village carnival. How do we live together in 2050? As Naarm Melbourne becomes a megacity during a global climate emergency, a weekend street party on Cardigan Street offers up competing visions for the future during this experiment in shared world building.

Games Week at the Table (Sunday 6 October) presented by The Australian Roleplay Community is a one-day online event all about celebrating Australian creators and achievements in the world of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). Featuring a fantastic lineup of Actual Plays, engaging panels, and more featuring local Australian creators, there’s something for anyone whether you’re a seasoned designer or new to TTRPGs.

MIGW Launch and 10th Birthday Party (Sunday 6 October), held at Fortress Melbourne, is a ‘setting of watches’ moment for the industry to come together for a relaxed social, easing into the rest of the week’s madness. Celebrating MIGW’s 10th Birthday, attendees are encouraged to raise a glass and look forward to what the next decade might hold.

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. 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. Members of the public will be able to try out nominated games at ACMI before voting for their favourite local game of the year at the AGDAs ACMI Audience Award.

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. 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.

DEVCON2024 (Thursday 10 October) is the annual gathering of Australian tabletop game designers, developers, artists, illustrators, and publishers. Attendees will partake in meet and greets, play testing, and attend informative presentations by industry experts.

Greening the Screen (Thursday 10 October) is a drop-in/drop-out playful event where participants can spend time outdoors while exploring a showcase of resources that promote play in nature. The afternoon will include participatory games and activities, citizen science application demonstrations and a chance to chat with RBGV team members and play makers from Weird Flex Studio.

Big Games Night Out (Thursday 10 October) – an immersive night of games, music, cosplay and more, from 3pm until late at Fed Square. A hero event of Melbourne International Games Week, Big Games Night Out is a free, accessible and all-ages event that welcomes games fans from all walks of life. Visitors will have the chance to play and compete in some of the most iconic games – from arcades, to esports, tabletop, and roleplay. Also returning after a successful debut in 2023 will be the Cosplay Runway, giving city-goers a glimpse into the extraordinary local cosplay community with a catwalk of fashion, fantasy, and creativity. As well as the best in games and technology, get down to Big Games Night Out to enjoy live music, performances, prizes and more!

Mario King of Kart Tournament (Friday 11 October) back again for an action-packed night at Fed Square, is set to showcase the ultimate racing skills of 32 skilled competitors as they vie for the coveted title of King of Kart Champion.

Technically Games: Lightning Talks (Saturday 12 October) is an evening for industry game developers to share knowledge on the more technical aspects of game development and design. Micro talks will platform passionate game industry workers at any stage in their career, and allow audiences to not only build their technical knowledge but access professional development opportunities within a safe and accessible space.

PAX Aus (Friday 11–Sunday 13 October) is gearing up for the ultimate celebration of gaming with major game developers already confirmed for the expo floor, the largest ever tabletop gaming area, and popular gaming talent being locked in. The jam-packed schedule features thought-provoking panels, entertainment, education, music, comedy, meet and greets, tournaments, comedy and much more.

PAX Aus Event Director, Lauren Luciani, said: “PAX Aus is proud to be part of Melbourne International Games Week and the growing Melbourne gaming scene. This year’s PAX Aus is shaping up to surpass expectations and we can’t wait to bring this show to our passionate community – we can promise you that it’s going to be a big one!”

There are also plenty of opportunities for people working in the game industry to connect and share ideas. Taking Up Space brings women and gender-diverse game developers together, while Game Workers Group Up! will welcome Game Workers Australia members and non-members alike to learn about the union movement. Interactive Narrative Social will be the first-ever MIGW social for games writers, narrative designers and interactive storytellers.

Melbourne International Games Week runs from 3-13 October 2024.

For full program details and more information visit gamesweek.melbourne

Stay connected in the lead up to and during MIGW via @gamesweekmelbs #MIGW24


About the Author

agun@impulsegamer.com'

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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