6–7 February, 2026
Adelaide Studios
SAGE ADVICE
Whether you’re a seasoned developer, an aspiring game creator, a passionate gamer, curious to learn more about games, or anywhere in between, our SAGE Advice program of panels and talks has something for you.
Featuring industry experts and leaders from around Australia as well as a bevy of SA developers and creatives, these fascinating panel sessions cover everything from the history of SA video games and current tech trends, to jobs and education pathways and more, with opportunities and advice for newbies to professionals.
Want to see more? All our 2025 SAGE Advice panels were recorded by SAGE Media Partner Channel 44 and can be viewed via the SAFC’s YouTube Channel.
Friday 6 February
Join us in the Main Showcase space (refer to map to find it) for the official opening of SAGE 2026 by Minister for Arts Andrea Michaels MP.
With more than 350,000 attendees every year, video game expos don’t get much bigger than Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, – and in 2025 South Australia was a star attraction. While local heroes Team Cherry launched their smash hit Hollow Knight: Silksong at the Xbox booth, six up-and-coming SA studios showcased their games to the world in the business halls as part of a special state delegation. Join members of the delegation as they debrief what it was like to be amongst the 1,500+ exhibitors at the world’s largest and most influential video games event, and what they took away from it.
The SA delegation showcased at Gamescom in partnership with the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA), supported by the SA Government through CreateSA and the SAFC.
Speakers
Chad Habel – Bad Plan Studios (SA)
Chad Habel has an academic background and has since moved into games business and production whilst keeping his teeth sharp as an educator. What he lacks in technical ability in art and programming, he makes up for in passion, drive, business skills and the willingness to do all the boring production work that other devs yawn at. He cut his business chops building Game Truck Australia, a mobile video game arcade for kids’ birthday parties. He now helps game development students learn about building their own businesses and eats all the business broccoli for Bad Plan Studios. If you suffer from insomnia, ask him what his PhD was on.
Emma Losin – Mental Jam (SA)
Emma Losin is a Co-Founder and the product Owner on Bobarista at Mentaljam as well as the Cozy Event Coordinator at the South Australian Games Association (SAGA). She has worked across 19 released titles, notably Star Trek Lower Decks (Mighty Kingdom), Phantom Galaxies (Blowfish) and Danger Days (The Red Cross and Mighty Kingdom). She has qualifications in Game Design, Psychological Sciences, Interactive Digital Media and Visual Art.
She has worked across content, narrative and encounter design, live-ops, analytics, data-driven creative processes, production pipelines and product management. Additionally, she has partnered with charities and organisations to design and facilitate game design workshops such as The Red Cross, GTCASA and Mighty Kingdom and has spoken at events such as GCAP, PAX Australia, Games For Change and more.
Emma Waters – Towerpoint Games (SA)
Emma is a senior programmer and technical artist, working on Anvilheart at Towerpoint Games. She has been developing games since high school, programming since 2019, and a woman since 2021. Emma is a firm supporter of incomplete prototypes and weird little art projects, and she would love to talk about artistic expression, existing in the indie games industry as a woman, or why you (yes, you!) should make a game in the Godot game engine.
Jacob von Appen – Royal Reign Studios (SA)
Jacob von Appen is the Co-founder and Director of Royal Reign Studios, an award-winning South Australian indie studio and multiplatform developer across Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox. He brings to the team 16+ years of leadership experience across operations, strategy, and team development. He is passionate about using collaboration to grow the local indie games industry through mentorship, community, and high-quality production.
John Millard – Two Lives Left (SA)
John Millard is a local independent game developer and founder of Two Lives Left. With more than 20 years of game development and two AGDA’s under his belt, John focuses on creating fun and authentic experiences. His latest game, Kaiju Battle Simulator has enabled him to pursue game development full time as director of a larger team.
Rupert McPharlin – The RnD Department (SA)
Rupert McPharlin is a game designer and programmer from Adelaide. He is the current Technical Director of The RnD Department working on TOYA. a minimalist puzzle game that’s always bigger than you think… TOYA. has won the SAGE 2025 Elevate Award and the 2025 GameXcellence Awards Excellence in Mini-Game award. Rupert is also a Game Programming and IT Trainer at AIE Adelaide, and passionate about making fun games.
Chair
Jens Schroeder – Industry and Member Relations Director, IGEA (QLD)
Jens joined IGEA in 2019 after working in various leadership roles in game-related education, including manager of the SAE Sydney campus and Associate Dean (Design Vertical) for Torrens University.
Combining his experience in games, business, academia, management and leadership, Jens is responsible for representing and growing the IGEA’s development members by providing them with a voice to government and industry, acting as the interface between the Australian video game development industry and IGEA and work close with state, territory and commonwealth departments and agencies to the benefit of the industry. In this capacity, he, among other things, organised Australia’s first unified presence at Gamescom, instigated the IGEA mentorship program and was the driving force behind IGEA’s producer course.
Speakers
Artemis Bishop – Composer (SA)
Artemis Bishop is an emerging screen composer, DJ, and Installation Artist living on unceded Kaurna land. Though she has been working predominantly in film, she has been involved in the local games community since 2022 and recently participated in the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) Video Game Audio Intensive. She is known for her work on the short films Buried dir. William Plant, Remember the Fairies dir. Sid Christie, and Mary in the Mirror dir. Justine Vlachoulis, and was a composing intern on Lesbian Space Princess dir. Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese,working under the supervision of Michael Darren.
Chris Norton – Composer, Producer, Performer (SA)
The first time he held a Yak Bak at 7 years old, Chris Norton knew he was a sound nerd. He’s followed his love of audio technology and piano performance through a music degree from Belmont University, a performing career with Zappa Plays Zappa and Cirque Du Soleil, and most recently to Adelaide where he writes music for local indie video games including Super Bawk Bawk Chicken, The Sacred Acorn, and TOYA among others currently in development.
Christopher Larkin – Composer (SA)
Christopher Larkin has always had a love of creativity. After discovering improvisation at the piano, and music software on the computer in his early teens, he was able to begin exploring the medium of music making as an exciting creative process. He now has a number of achievements and collaborations under his belt, including the score and sound for indie game hits Hollow Knight and Hollow Knight: Silksong, sound for Pac-Man 256, and the sweeping orchestral score for feature documentary Barbecue.
Morgan Read – Composer & Sound Designer, Mighty Kingdom (SA)
An eighteen year veteran of the games industry, Morgan Read started out as an animator at Krome Studios, then moved around various game and animation studios until landing at Mighty Kingdom in its infancy. Quickly becoming both animator and sound designer/composer, he used his solid base in game design mechanics and his background in music production from various bands and genres, to successfully create music for wide-ranging IPs like Conan the Barbarian, Lego, Gabby’s Dollhouse, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, and Star Trek, elevating the user experience and supporting the game design.
Dr Nathan Cummins – Composer, Orchestrator, Conductor, Sound Designer (SA)
Nathan Cummins is a composer, orchestrator, conductor, and sound designer based in Adelaide, South Australia. He holds a PhD in Sonic Arts and Music Composition from the Elder Conservatorium of Music, and his work spans concert music, video games, film, and interactive media. Grounded in orchestral craft and driven by technological innovation, Nathan creates vibrant, immersive audio across symphonic, choral, jazz, and electronic sound worlds. His recent work includes the warm, highly orchestral score for Dungeons and Dining Tables, alongside orchestration and score preparation for titles such as Hollow Knight: Silksong composed by Christopher Larkin and Submerged: Hidden Depths composed by Jeff van Dyck. Recognised as one of Australia’s leading conductors and advocates for video game music in live performance, Nathan is passionate about the power of music and sound to shape stories, connect communities, and transform interactive experiences.
Chair
Chair: Gianfranco di Giovanni – Executive Producer, SIFTER / Video Games Journalist, ABC (WA)
Gianni is a multi-award winning video games journalist based in Perth. Writing for ABC News he covers the artistic and culturally impactful ways video games have changed the way we experience narratives and play. Gianni is a co-founder of the independent video games website sifter.com.au and he has reported on the Australian video games scene for a decade.
Speakers
Dr Lauren Woolbright – Director of Games Research Lab & Lecturer, Flinders University (SA)
Lauren Woolbright is a Lecturer in Visual Effects and Entertainment Design and director of the Games Research Lab at Flinders University. She is a scholar of game design and environmental humanities with particular expertise in inclusive game design practices. She is interested in representation, both in the games industry and in games as media, as well as how game environments tell stories and evoke emotions in players without relying on language.
Dr Stewart Von Itzstein – Professorial Lead in IT, Adelaide University (SA)
A/Prof Stewart von Itzstein an academic at Adelaide University. He researches user experience design, game design, and visualization, with interests in human-centred design, education, and narrative visualisation. He has held a range of roles including program director, associate head of school, dean of programs, and research scientist at the DST. A dedicated educator, he has taught a wide range of computer science courses, supervised postgraduate students, and has published extensively. Most recently he co-led the development of Australia’s first degree apprenticeship in partnership with industry. He has also designed a significant range of IT programs and has consulted with a number of other universities across the world on the education of IT at the university level.
Dr Chad Habel – Head of Faculty, Graduate Programs, AIE (SA)
Chad Habel has an academic background and has since moved into games business and production whilst keeping his teeth sharp as an educator. What he lacks in technical ability in art and programming, he makes up for in passion, drive, business skills and the willingness to do all the boring production work that other devs yawn at. He cut his business chops building Game Truck Australia, a mobile video game arcade for kids’ birthday parties. He now helps game development students learn about building their own businesses and eats all the business broccoli for Bad Plan Studios. If you suffer from insomnia, ask him what his PhD was on.
Dr Jacqueline Burgess – Senior Lecturer, University of the Sunshine Coast (QLD)
Dr Jacqueline Burgess is an award-winning educator and researcher based at the University of the Sunshine Coast where she is a Senior Lecturer. Jacqueline has delivered various industry workshops and collaborated with large and small video game developers. Her favourite games are RPGs and any Mario instalment where she can play and win as Princess Peach.
Chair
Sam Marsh – Games Talent Consultant, Supaglu (NZ)
Sam Marsh is passionate about supporting the games community, helping creative talent find the right opportunities, and occasionally talking in third person. He volunteers every year at NZGDC and mentors a few younger founders in his “spare time”. A lifelong fan of games, he’s equally happy discussing deep Halo lore or getting lost in a good RTS like Age of Mythology or Anno 117.
TL;DR: Sam is good at connecting people. Which is handy, since that’s literally the job.
Five South Australian video game developers share their personal journeys, professional experiences, and the creative processes behind their work. Gain insights into some of the diverse career paths within the games industry, learn about the challenges and triumphs these developers have faced, and discover what it takes to succeed in this dynamic field. Whether you’re an aspiring game developer, a seasoned professional, or simply a gaming enthusiast, this panel promises to inspire and inform.
Speakers
Darren Cox – Big Ant Studios (SA)
Beginning from a very early age Darren Cox has had a passion for video games that has only grown as the technology and art form has advanced. While his pathway has taken the long and winding road, he eventually found his footing in 2020 and began working towards a career in the games industry. Darren is currently a Junior Environment Artist at Big Ant Studios, where he has been creating multiple stadiums and assets over the last two years.
Jacob von Appen – Royal Reign Studios (SA)
Jacob von Appen is the Co-founder and Director of Royal Reign Studios, an award-winning South Australian indie studio and multiplatform developer across Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox. He brings to the team 16+ years of leadership experience across operations, strategy, and team development. He is passionate about using collaboration to grow the local indie games industry through mentorship, community, and high-quality production.
John Millard – Two Lives Left (SA)
John Millard is a local independent game developer and founder of Two Lives Left. With more than 20 years of game development and two AGDA’s under his belt, John focuses on creating fun and authentic experiences. His latest game, Kaiju Battle Simulator has enabled him to pursue game development full time as director of a larger team.
Orlando Mee – Soft Magnets (SA)
Orlando Mee is an internationally exhibited multimedia artist and emerging indie game developer working on Nharangga land in regional South Australia. His interdisciplinary practice allows him to explore alternative worlds and experiment conceptually in an accessible mainstream medium. Orlando is a 2024 recipient of the Screen Australia Emerging Gamemakers Fund.
Tessa Touchette – Creme Purlee Games (SA)
Tessa Touchette is an Adelaide-based Consultant and Lead Game Designer with a diverse background spanning the games industry and corporate sectors. With expertise in Game Design, Product Management, UX, Business Analysis, and Human-Centered Design, she has successfully developed projects for clients like DreamWorks, Google, and the South Australian Police. Tessa combines technical expertise with data-driven insights to craft engaging, fun, player-centric experiences that meet both user needs and business goals. Currently, she is channeling her passion for games into designing and leading the creation of Dancing Hearts, her visual novel puzzle game about a troupe of lion dancers.
Chair
Chris Button – Editor, GadgetGuy (SA)
Chris is the award-nominated Editor of GadgetGuy. Coming from a video game and corporate comms background, he has also written for GamesHub, Kotaku Australia, Byteside, GameSpot, and Junkee. Based in Adelaide, Chris is an avid sports fan and has a mischievous silver tabby cat named Billie.
Speakers
Chantal Chateauneuf – Senior Marketing Manager, Epic Games (VIC)
As Senior Marketing Manager for Epic Games, Chantal handles all things events, sponsorships, and regional marketing for Unreal Engine in Australia, New Zealand, and South East Asia. Committed to empowering creatives to bring their unique stories to life, prior to joining Epic she worked in a range of areas in the film industry including sales and distribution, industry events and talent development.
Dr Jacqueline Burgess – Senior Lecturer, University of the Sunshine Coast (QLD)
Dr Jacqueline Burgess is an award-winning educator and researcher based at the University of the Sunshine Coast where she is a Senior Lecturer. Jacqueline has delivered various industry workshops and collaborated with large and small video game developers. Her favourite games are RPGs and any Mario instalment where she can play and win as Princess Peach.
Jon Cartwright – Games Business Development Consultant, Game Consulting (QLD)
Jon Cartwright has been pitching, developing, and shipping games for over 30 years. Starting out as a solo dev in the UK he’s worked on a variety of original IP and licensed games encompassing toy brands, film and TV on almost every game platform. Since moving to Australia 21 years ago he’s worked with the likes of THQ, KIXEYE, Prideful Sloth, 5 Lives Studios and more, showing and pitching games at events in the US, Europe and Asia. He now works full-time as a consultant helping indie developers with pitching, budgeting, production and more, and with publishers scouting for new games, recent titles include DREDGE, Moving Out 2, and CONSCRIPT for Team17.
Meredith Hall – Head of Marketing, WINGS Interactive (VIC)
Meredith Hall is a multi-award winning games developer, consulting across production, business development, marketing and accessibility. She is currently head of marketing for WINGS, providing project funding to games made by teams founded or cofounded by women and gender marginalized developers, and previously was Marketing and Bizdev Director at Summerfall Studios on titles like Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical.
Chair
Petra Starke – Head of Communications and Marketing, South Australian Film Corporation (SA)
Petra Starke is the SAFC’s Head of Communications and Marketing, managing the strategic promotion of the agency and South Australia’s screen sector since 2019.
With more than 20 years’ experience in media, marketing, publicity and the arts, Petra’s career includes a decade working as a journalist across a range of Australian and international publications, as well as senior publicity and marketing roles leading the strategic promotion of many of South Australia’s iconic festivals, arts companies and major events including Adelaide Festival, Feast Festival, SALA and Tasting Australia.
Petra led the launch of SAGE in 2023, and with the support of the brilliant SAGE team has steered its growth over the past three years to become one of Australia’s most exciting games events. Her video game genre of choice is ‘90s style point-and-click adventure, but she admits she is currently mostly obsessed with the mobile digital version of board game Ticket to Ride.
Are you an aspiring developer ready to make your first game? Or maybe you’ve got a prototype already that you’re ready to take to the next level but you’re not sure what support is available to you. Get invaluable advice on navigating the early stages of game development from our panel of industry experts, with topics including accessing grants, incentives and rebates, finding a publisher, and building a supportive community and team.
Speakers
Dakoda Barker – Games Investment Manager, Screen Australia (VIC)
Dakoda is an educator, writer, consultant, and independent gamemaker. As a writer and critic, his work has been published in a range of print and online publications. Dakoda has taught game design at several universities across Queensland and Victoria and has completed a doctoral thesis researching representations of chronic health conditions in videogames. Rise, one of several games developed as part of his doctoral research, won the Freeplay Micro-Game Award in 2018. In 2020, he co-authored Games as Texts, an introductory guide to examining videogames through common textual analysis lenses. Dakoda is a former director of Represent Me, a not-for-profit that championed intersectionality in the games industry, advocated for and supported marginalised gamemakers, and provided a diverse slate of consulting services for gamemakers, ranging from large studios to solo practitioners. He brings these past experiences to his role at Screen Australia as a Games Investment Manager.
Ron Curry – CEO, IGEA (NSW)
Since joining IGEA in 2008, Ron has played an instrumental role in tackling the emerging issues surrounding interactive entertainment and demonstrating the positive influence of computer and video games in the broader community particularly within the education and health sector. He has sat on many working groups and boards including as an Advisory Committee Member on the ALRC’s Classification Review and on the government’s Consultative Working Group on Cyber Safety. More recently, Ron led the merger between the GDAA and IGEA in 2020 which saw the two associations coming together, ensuring that there was a single unified voice representing the video games industry.
Ben Kirchner – Business Investment Advisor, Adelaide Economic Development Agency (SA)
Ben Kirchner is a skilled economic development professional with extensive experience in investment attraction and industry development working at the Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA) which is charged boosting business and investment in the city on behalf of the City of Adelaide. With strong connections across state and federal governments and an extensive business network, Ben plays a key role in AEDA’s Business and Investment Team, driving investment opportunities and delivering tailored support to help businesses grow. He also leads initiatives such as those to that help startups who looking to scale and to maximise the benefits of Ten Gigabit Adelaide, Australia’s first 10Gbps fibre optic network. Ben has been a champion of Adelaide’s gaming sector in the city, spearheading initiatives that have strengthened the industry over the past four years solidifying Adelaide’s reputation as an emerging hub for global game development.
Aiden Gyory – Creative Director, Catalyst Games (SA)
Aiden Gyory is the Founder and Creative Director of Catalyst Games Pty Ltd, an award-winning indie studio based in Adelaide. With recognition including the 2023 Entrepreneurial Leadership Award, the GameXcellence Award at Melbourne International Games Week 2024, and the Most Impactful Studio Award at the 2025 SA Game Industry Awards, Aiden has become a leading advocate for indie game development in South Australia. Beyond developing Dungeons and Dining Tables, Catalyst’s flagship title, Aiden has spearheaded initiatives such as the Game Plus GPS Program, Imagination: Games House, The Catalyst Launch Pad Games Incubator. Aiden has been recognised across Australia as the 2025 “Rising Star” and the Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs) for his advocacy and leadership across community programs that foster collaboration, education, and growth for emerging developers. Passionate about building sustainable studios, Aiden continues to champion opportunities that strengthen and celebrate the local games industry across South Australia.
Jon Cartwright – Games Business Development Consultant, Game Consulting (QLD)
Jon Cartwright has been pitching, developing, and shipping games for over 30 years. Starting out as a solo dev in the UK he’s worked on a variety of original IP and licensed games encompassing toy brands, film and TV on almost every game platform. Since moving to Australia 21 years ago he’s worked with the likes of THQ, KIXEYE, Prideful Sloth, 5 Lives Studios and more, showing and pitching games at events in the US, Europe and Asia. He now works full-time as a consultant helping indie developers with pitching, budgeting, production and more, and with publishers scouting for new games, recent titles include DREDGE, Moving Out 2, and CONSCRIPT for Team17.
Chair
Neil Rennison – Game Development Executive, South Australian Film Corporation (SA)
Saturday 7 February
One of Australia’s leading game development companies, Big Ant Studios opened their first Adelaide offices in 2023 and have since grown to become one of SA’s largest games sector employers. This panel sees members of the Big Ant team – ranging from junior developers to COO – reflect on their own journeys into the games development sector and share the real stories of how they got where they are.
Speakers
Mark Bracken – COO, Big Ant Studios (SA)
Mark Bracken is a pioneering video games industry veteran with more than 35 years of executive experience and over 50 years as a lifelong gamer, bringing rare end-to-end expertise across publishing, distribution, development, funding, and studio creation. A creative thinker with strong instincts for game ideas and player-focused experiences, he founded Impact Interactive in the 1990s, publishing early Australian titles such as DogDay to global markets and helped establish Australia’s console development presence.
He later joined Ratbag as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, securing major international publisher partnerships and leading the studio through its acquisition by Midway. Currently COO of Big Ant Studios, Mark has demonstrated repeated success building and scaling studios and high-performing teams across Australia and Asia, played a key role in the Nacon acquisition, and continues to shape the future of Australian game development through strategic leadership and execution.
Johnna Bollesen – Character Artist, Big Ant Studios (SA)
Johnna Bollsen is a dedicated games enthusiast with a passion for bridging art and technology to bring characters to life in the digital world. Growing up, she loved drawing creatures and animals, eventually kindling this joy into pursuing a career in the games industry. She moved from the US to Australia in 2020 where she studied 3D Art and Game Design at the University of Technology, Sydney. In 2024, she relocated to Adelaide to launch her creative career as a 3D Character Artist at Big Ant Studios. Some of her all-time favorite games include Okami, Elden Ring, and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Johnson Nguon – Environment Artist, Big Ant Studios (SA)
Johnson Nguon is an Environment Artist at Big Ant Studios, having joined the Adelaide studio at its inception in 2023. With a deep passion for both art and technology, he initially pursued industrial design before discovering his true calling in entertainment and game design, where he has contributed to the creation of many props and stadiums across multiple Big Ant Studios releases.
Chiara Bergineti – Character Artist, Big Ant Studios (SA)
Chiara Bergineti has been passionate about art, games, and film from an early age, and has been working as a 3D Character Artist in the games industry since 2023. She a graduate of the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Effects and Entertainment Design) at Flinders University/CDW Studios and is based in Adelaide, Australia. She currently works at Big Ant Studios, contributing to the development of upcoming titles across PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and PC. She specialises in character modelling and kit texturing, working closely with Art Directors and Producers to implement and support cross-department pipelines. She has credits on seven shipped titles to date, including Tiebreak, Rugby League 26, AFL 26, and Cricket 26.
Chair
James O’Connor – Freelance games consultant (SA)
James has worked in the games sector for most of his adult life as a critic, journalist, academic, developer and now Games Development Executive at the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC). In 2016 he completed a Master’s thesis on player-driven narrative experiences and in 2023 was awarded Best Games Reviewer at the Samsung IT Journalism Awards, otherwise known as The Lizzies.James O’Connor is a writer, critic, developer and consultant, as well as the former Game Development Executive at the South Australian Film Corporation. Some of his game credits include Kulebra & the Souls of Limbo, Power Rangers Mighty Force, and Ava’s Manor. He is the author of Boss Fight Books #35: Untitled Goose Game.
Five South Australian video game developers share their personal journeys, professional experiences, and the creative processes behind their work. This event offers a unique opportunity to gain insights into the diverse career paths within the games industry, learn about the challenges and triumphs these developers have faced, and discover what it takes to succeed in this dynamic field. Whether you’re an aspiring game developer, a seasoned professional, or simply a gaming enthusiast, this panel promises to inspire and inform.
Speakers
Anthony Robinson – Ship It Studios (SA)
Anthony Robinson uses his drawing as a tool to help a wider team understand ideas, and work together towards seeing those ideas function in games and film. He is currently working as Art Director on Kaiju Battle Simulator.
Georgina Owassapian – Winter Schloss Studios (SA)
Georgina Owassapian is a Swiss-Australian multidisciplinary artist, whose practice spans from video art to game development. Having graduated from RMIT with first class honours, she begun her career in the games industry after receiving funding from Screen Australia’s Emerging Gamemakers Fund and has now opened up her own games studio, Winter Schloss Studios, which focuses on creating stories about humanity in the places you least expect it.
Millie Bird – Hell Byte Studios (SA)
Millie Bird is a game developer, digital artist and musician. After graduating from the Academy of Interactive Entertainment in 2023 with advanced diplomas of Screen and Media and Game Development, she went on to become Lead Texture/Character Artist at Hell Byte Studios. She is currently working on their debut title, Blood Reaver. When she isn’t working, Millie can be found racking up victories at Res Arcana, playing horror games and rolling for 5-star hairstyles in Infinity Nikki. She lives in Adelaide with her 20-year-old cat, Max.
Nicholas Yapp – Foxie Games (SA)
With a love for story, characters, and interactive narrative, Nick has been working in the games industry for the last 8 years. In that time he’s taken on roles of designer, writer, programmer, production, and direction across a range of projects and teams both local and remote. He’s also run jams, and delivered talks and workshops at events ranging from AVCON to PAX Aus covering topics such as paper prototyping and how to navigate the games industry. Despite his range of experience, he finds himself always pulled back to the storytelling that started his journey.
Tyler Roach – Tinker Town (SA)
Tyler Roach is an experienced local game developer with over nine years in building games and leading diverse teams for global brands. Outside of his indie work at Tinker Town, he has worked with premier brands such as Mattel, Snapchat, Sony and Spin Master, along with several global partners for yet-to-be announced projects. Tyler has been fortunate to have worked on many parts of the game development pipeline. Most recently, he has worked in a technical capacity as a senior designer and independent developer, has led design and product decisions in his game lead and product management roles, and has also been at the forefront of developing and delivering pitches to high-profile brands in new business roles.
Chair
Chris Button – Editor, GadgetGuy (SA)
Chris is the award-nominated Editor of GadgetGuy. Coming from a video game and corporate comms background, he has also written for GamesHub, Kotaku Australia, Byteside, GameSpot, and Junkee. Based in Adelaide, Chris is an avid sports fan and has a mischievous silver tabby cat named Billie.
Dive into designing a game without needing to learn code or an engine! Paper prototyping is a powerful tool that developers (or aspiring developers) can use to experiment with an idea before translating it into the digital space. Our panel of industry experts will discuss how to use paper prototyping and rapid prototyping, how different game formats can be turned into a paper prototype and how to test specific mechanics.
Speakers
James O’Connor – Freelance games consultant (SA)
James has worked in the games sector for most of his adult life as a critic, journalist, academic, developer and now Games Development Executive at the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC). In 2016 he completed a Master’s thesis on player-driven narrative experiences and in 2023 was awarded Best Games Reviewer at the Samsung IT Journalism Awards, otherwise known as The Lizzies.James O’Connor is a writer, critic, developer and consultant, as well as the former Game Development Executive at the South Australian Film Corporation. Some of his game credits include Kulebra & the Souls of Limbo, Power Rangers Mighty Force, and Ava’s Manor. He is the author of Boss Fight Books #35: Untitled Goose Game.
Meredith Hall – Head of Marketing, WINGS Interactive (VIC)
Meredith Hall is a multi-award winning games developer, consulting across production, business development, marketing and accessibility. She is currently head of marketing for WINGS, providing project funding to games made by teams founded or cofounded by women and gender marginalized developers, and previously was Marketing and Bizdev Director at Summerfall Studios on titles like Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical.
Nicholas Yapp – Narrative Designer, Foxie Games (SA)
With a love for story, characters, and interactive narrative, Nick has been working in the games industry for the last 8 years. In that time he’s taken on roles of designer, writer, programmer, production, and direction across a range of projects and teams both local and remote. He’s also run jams, and delivered talks and workshops at events ranging from AVCON to PAX Aus covering topics such as paper prototyping and how to navigate the games industry. Despite his range of experience, he finds himself always pulled back to the storytelling that started his journey.
Chair
Emma Losin – Product Owner, Mental Jam (SA)
Emma Losin is a Co-Founder and the product Owner on Bobarista at Mentaljam as well as the Cozy Event Coordinator at the South Australian Games Association (SAGA). She has worked across 19 released titles, notably Star Trek Lower Decks (Mighty Kingdom), Phantom Galaxies (Blowfish) and Danger Days (The Red Cross and Mighty Kingdom). She has qualifications in Game Design, Psychological Sciences, Interactive Digital Media and Visual Art.
She has worked across content, narrative and encounter design, live-ops, analytics, data-driven creative processes, production pipelines and product management. Additionally, she has partnered with charities and organisations to design and facilitate game design workshops such as The Red Cross, GTCASA and Mighty Kingdom and has spoken at events such as GCAP, PAX Australia, Games For Change and more.
Are you an aspiring game developer looking to kickstart your career? Get a headstart with practical insights and advice from this panel of expert industry members. Learn about what sorts of jobs are available in the sector, what games industry employers are looking for in new recruits, and what credentials you need to succeed, and hear about education and training pathways to get you into a games industry career.
Speakers
Jack Condon – Senior Engineer, Epic Games (VIC)
Jack Condon is a Senior Software Engineer at Epic Games who is excited by real-time interactive installations – be it in media, entertainment, or visual arts. With over a decade of experience with these technologies in the live event and installation space, Jack has a passion for programming and integration of physical and virtual environments. His current focus is on processes & iteration to get the best outcomes quickly during production.
Kim Forrest – Head of Studio Tantalus South
Kim Forrest is a video game industry veteran with 25 years of experience leading teams and projects. He has worked with publishers including Microsoft, Warner Bros., THQ, Nintendo, and LucasArts on major IPs such as Star Wars and LEGO. His background spans racing sims, action-adventure, roguelike combat, and narrative-driven mobile games across four generations of console, PC, and mobile. Kim currently leads Tantalus South, a Keywords Studio, heading a team of 28 developers. He brings strong global insight into the present and future of the games industry across Oceania, North America, and Asia.
Shane Bevin – Lecturer in Digital Media/Screen, Flinders University (SA)
As Lecturer in Digital Media, Shane combines many years of teaching and production experience to bring an industry focus to the delivery of curriculum.
Co-founder of Adelaide animation studio Monkeystack, Shane has spent over two decades working in all areas of digital media production. Shane is a flexible digital artist and producer with clients as varied as Nickelodeon, the ABC, Schneider Electric and others. He is a multi-award winning practitioner with recognition of his work as director, art director and technical director.
Shane has experience in animation project management, render wrangling, 3d production, Virtual Reality production and software management. As the primary technical director at Monkeystack he completed animation pilots, digital games and numerous short films.
Sam Marsh – Games Talent Consultant, Supaglu (NZ)
Sam Marsh is passionate about supporting the games community, helping creative talent find the right opportunities, and occasionally talking in third person. He volunteers every year at NZGDC and mentors a few younger founders in his “spare time”. A lifelong fan of games, he’s equally happy discussing deep Halo lore or getting lost in a good RTS like Age of Mythology or Anno 117.
TL;DR: Sam is good at connecting people. Which is handy, since that’s literally the job.
James Calvert – Program Director, Illustration and Animation, Adelaide University (SA)
James Calvert is an animator, game designer and educator. With 25 years’ experience leading creative teams across a variety of disciplines, he specializes in crafting engaging content for all screen types, with a particular passion for storytelling. In addition to writing and directing animated and immersive projects, James has extensive experience teaching and mentoring in higher education, guiding the next generation of creative professionals.
Chair
Cat Jahne – Social Producer & Journalist, SIFTER (VIC)
Cat Jahne is a games journalist with SIFTER, one of Australia’s top games coverage and review sites. With her focus on gender, sexuality and championing indies, she brings whimsy and an encyclopaedic knowledge of Stardew Valley to everything she does.
Take a walk down memory lane and find out what went down in the early days of South Australia video game development sector. Hear stories from our panel of industry stalwarts reflecting on their time with Ratbag Games (1993–2005) and Krome Adelaide (2006–2010), including how game development has changed since then and the impact of technological developments on the industry.
Speakers
Danni Silk – Senior Programmer, Tantalus South (SA)
Danni Silk started with Krome Studios back in 2006, after moving from New Zealand, and worked on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Star Wars: Clone Wars: Republic Heroes, and Xbox Game Room. Since moving on from there, she has worked on a variety of projects in multiple industry spaces – ranging from commercial software to art installations, before returning to the games industry with Tantalus South. She is deeply curious and always striving to learn more, and wants to find the best solution to any problem.
Kim Forrest – Head of Studio Tantalus South
Kim Forrest is a video game industry veteran with 25 years of experience leading teams and projects. He has worked with publishers including Microsoft, Warner Bros., THQ, Nintendo, and LucasArts on major IPs such as Star Wars and LEGO. His background spans racing sims, action-adventure, roguelike combat, and narrative-driven mobile games across four generations of console, PC, and mobile. Kim currently leads Tantalus South, a Keywords Studio, heading a team of 28 developers. He brings strong global insight into the present and future of the games industry across Oceania, North America, and Asia.
Mark Bracken – COO, Big Ant Studios (SA)
Mark Bracken is a pioneering video games industry veteran with more than 35 years of executive experience and over 50 years as a lifelong gamer, bringing rare end-to-end expertise across publishing, distribution, development, funding, and studio creation. A creative thinker with strong instincts for game ideas and player-focused experiences, he founded Impact Interactive in the 1990s, publishing early Australian titles such as DogDay to global markets and helped establish Australia’s console development presence.
He later joined Ratbag as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, securing major international publisher partnerships and leading the studio through its acquisition by Midway. Currently COO of Big Ant Studios, Mark has demonstrated repeated success building and scaling studios and high-performing teams across Australia and Asia, played a key role in the Nacon acquisition, and continues to shape the future of Australian game development through strategic leadership and execution.
Dr Mike Cooper – Technical Director, Tantalus South (SA)
Dr Mike Cooper has been hanging around the Adelaide game dev industry for the entire millenium! He started at Ratbag Games in Jan 2000 making racing games, and went on to Krome Adelaide and Six Foot Kid in various technical lead roles on Star Wars games and phone games. He spent seven years teaching Game Programming at AIE, and is currently Tech Director at Tantalus South. In his spare time he makes comics and RPGs.
Tony Albrecht – Principal Engineer, Riot Games (SA)
Tony Albrecht started programming as a hobby in the early 80s, before a short career in Mining and Defence (because writing games wasn’t a real job back then). He started at Ratbag in 2000, eventually leading the Engine team, building a PS2 and XBox engine for their games. After Ratbag folded, he worked at Pandemic, then Sony R&D and then running his own company helping studios optimise their games. Tony is now a Principal Engineer at Riot Games where he’s still working on game engines, this time for League and Teamfight Tactics.
Chair
Chair: Gianfranco di Giovanni – Executive Producer, SIFTER / Video Games Journalist, ABC (WA)
Gianni is a multi-award winning video games journalist based in Perth. Writing for ABC News he covers the artistic and culturally impactful ways video games have changed the way we experience narratives and play. Gianni is a co-founder of the independent video games website sifter.com.au and he has reported on the Australian video games scene for a decade.
