Celebrating Australia's Video Games Industry at Melbourne International Games Week
Melbourne will be all about video games in just under two weeks when game developers and game lovers flock to the city for Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW).
MIGW kicks-off on October 20 and will host a number of events over the week, including: conferences, industry discussions, and activities for the general public.
The Victorian Minister for Creative Industries, Martin Foley hopes that the event will help cement Melbourne as the undisputed gaming capital of Australia.
“As the largest games festival in the Asia Pacific, Melbourne International Games Week demonstrates the vibrancy of Victoria’s digital games sector,” said Mr Foley.
MIGW will run until October 28, coinciding with consumer expo PAX Aus and the Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs).
The AGDAs is an annual celebration of the homegrown talent in Australia’s games industry and some winners have received worldwide recognition for their efforts.
At the 2017 awards, Adelaide-based indie games developer, Team Cherry was recognised for their work on the 2D side-scroller, Hollow Knight which was later nominated for awards at both The Game Awards and the BAFTAs.
As a critically acclaimed Metroidvania action adventure game, Hollow Knight takes players on a journey across a kingdom filled with insects, dark caverns, and mysterious bosses.
Team Cherry is an example of a studio that is proving to the world that Australia is a country that is producing some great, high quality games.
This is further supported by a recent survey from the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) which found that in the past year, 80% of the income generated in Australia’s game development industry came from overseas and that the majority of Australian games were consumed by those in U.S.
IGEA CEO, Ron Curry said: “The survey shows that Australian game developers are continuing to push themselves to grow and succeed.”
As it draws closer to MIGW, the general public will soon have the chance to support local talent and see what Australia’s game development scene has to offer in 2018.
So what is in store for those wanting to get involved with MIGW 2018?
There are a few new additions to this year’s schedule:
- The inaugural Melbourne Queer Games Festival , celebrating diversity through a number of Australian developed games.
- The first Esports Conference, presented by the Esports Games Association Australia (EGAA), where industry leaders will come together to discuss regulation and growth in Australia’s Esports scene.
- The new High Score conference which will explore where games and music come together.
The MIGW website provides more information on all the events that will take place over the week.
Are you planning on attending MIGW this year? If so, what are you looking forward to?
