Resources

Resource Repositories

Game On Australia →

Resource developed by IGEA, designed to help developers in Australia learn how to access funding opportunities while also showcasing the creativity of the country's videogame industry.

GameDiscoverCo newsletter →

A regular look at how people discover and buy video games in the 2020s, written by ‘how people find your game’ expert and GameDiscoverCo founder Simon Carless and his company colleagues.

Indie Dev Digest →

The Indie Dev Digest is a round-up of information for digital game developers across Australia and New Zealand, primarily in the independent games space. Think of it as a community noticeboard.

Associations & Communities

Smart Program →

Career development initiative that creates career pathways for aspiring developers by providing them equitable access to professional development, a supportive creative community, and industry mentors.

#mentorship

WIGI Mentorship →

Global mentorship and professional development programs for women and nonbinary folks in games.

#mentorship

Global Gaming Women Mentorship →

Unique and impactful opportunity designed to foster connection, confidence, and career growth among women across the gaming industry. Pairs less experienced professionals with more experienced peers in a near-peer mentorship model.

#mentorship

ACMI X (VIC) →

ACMI X is a hub for creatives in Fed Square, Melbourne. It is made up of creative practitioners, startups and businesses working with creative technology across film, TV, videogames and art.

#coworking

IGEA →

Peak body for games in Australia and New Zealand. Runs GCAP and publishes industry research.

#organisation

IGDA Global Mentorship Program →

Ongoing quarterly mentorship pairing for IGDA members with industry professionals.

#mentorship

Game Plus →

Australia’s largest non-profit co-working space for Game Developers, located in Canberra, Adelaide and Sydney.

#coworking

Game Workers Australia →

Game Workers Australia is Australia’s first union for game workers, and is powered by the union for software developers and information technology workers, Professionals Australia.

#organisation

AIE Incubator →

Creates opportunities for young people who have graduated from the AIE GDML program to start-up commercial enterprises with ongoing assistance and funding to create new companies, digital content and job opportunities.

#coworking

Fishburners (NSW) →

Home of Australia’s largest community of tech startups, connecting ambitious founders to the people, opportunities, and networks that drive their growth.

#coworking

State meet-ups

Meet-ups are a great way to connect with others in the industry, build a network, share your work, and get feedback.

Some options include:

#meetup

Tags:

  • #coworking: Co-working spaces and incubators for emerging developers and start-ups

  • #meetup: Regular, casual events for networking and connecting with industry peers

  • #mentorship: Formalised mentorship programs connecting emerging devs with established devs

  • #organisation: Organisation or association dedicated to supporting game developers

Funding & Financial Support

Digital Games Tax Offset (DGTO) →

Provides eligible game developers with a 30 per cent refundable tax offset for qualifying Australian development expenditure on eligible games from 1 July 2022.

WINGS Elevate →

WINGS Elevate is a $50k USD prototype fund for indie teams led by women and other gender marginalized developers, providing them with $10K USD funding and industry insights to finalize a prototype and pitch deck.

Screen Australia’s emerging gamemakers fund →

Up to $30,000 AUD for prototypes or experimental projects, targeted at early-career devs.

Screen Australia’s future leaders delegation →

Supports early-mid level developers to travel together for a conference and show their work.

State screen agency funding and placements

States and territories offer a variety of opportunities for local developers.

Events & Showcases

This is a sample of key events and showcases for emerging developers. More events are listed in the Calendar →

Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW) →

Asia Pacific’s largest digital games celebration, bringing together Australian and international gamers, influencers, educators and businesses and industry.

#consumer #networking #publisher #education #academia

GCAP (VIC) →

GCAP (Games Connect Asia Pacific) is Australia’s foremost professional development and networking event! Gain exclusive insights into the game development industry, sharpen your creative, technical, and leadership skills plus build long lasting connections with your peers.

#networking #education

Freeplay (VIC) →

Freeplay is the world's longest-running independent games festival, located in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2004, the festival embraces the fringes, spotlights grassroots artists, and acts as a response to and critique of the status quo. Now, Freeplay organises two annual events: Angles and Parallels.

#networking #education

GamesPond (VIC) →

GamesPond is an annual, Melbourne-based game showcase that bridges the gap between industry professionals and emerging game developers. Our goal is to create a space for game developers to interact with industry professionals who are seeking an accessible way to give back to the local games community.

#networking

PlayNow (VIC) →

A no-cost games market with the opportunity to pitch your project to global publishers, platform holders and investors, while also networking with developers from around Australia.

#publisher

ALT: Games (NSW) →

ALT: GAMES is a new festival that brings together the Australian games community and industry. Featuring digital showcases, sessions with industry leaders and a large-scale interactive game installation.

#networking

Frosty Games Fest (Virtual) →

Frosty Games Fest is a showcase of the coolest upcoming and recently released video games made in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, presented online via livestream during Summer Game Fest.

#consumer

#PitchYaGame →

Provides a voice and platform for independent video games from all over the world via two live pitch events per year.

#publisher

SAGE (SA) →

SAGE: SA Game Exhibition lets you experience the best of Adelaide’s thriving video game development sector first-hand. Try a huge range of awesome locally made video games, meet the developers and studios behind them and more at a fun, family-friendly, free event!

#consumer #networking

PAX Rising (VIC) →

PAX Rising is part of the PAX Australia weekend. It’s home to more than 100 independent tabletop and video games from every corner of Australia, New Zealand and around the world.

#consumer

NZGDC (Wellington, NZ) →

New Zealand Game Developers Conference (NZGDC) is the largest game-focused conference in New Zealand. Organized by the New Zealand Game Developers Association (NZGDA), it serves as a professional platform for the game development and interactive media industry, offering actionable content, networking opportunities, and a showcase of local talent to an audience from New Zealand and abroad.

#networking #education

DiGRAA →

The Digital Games Research Association of Australia (DiGRAA) strives to sustain an open, inclusive, and transdisciplinary approach to games research. DiGRAA is the Australian and New Zealand chapter of DiGRA, the premier international association for professionals, academics, developers and other individuals interested in the evolving fields of digital gaming and game studies.

#academia #education

There are many more consumer-facing events in Australia and internationally that may accept emerging developers. These will be noted in the Calendar as their dates approach. Australian events include: AVCon (SA), The Game Expo (TGX) (VIC), SXSW Sydney (NSW), Pixel Expo (WA), Supanova (various), Oz Comic-Con (various), and more.

#consumer

There are also many more international events that are important to the game development ecosystem, either because they include education for game developers, networking opportunities, or a chance to connect with consumers and investors in different markets. These include: GDC (San Fransisco, US), Gamescom (Cologne, Germany), Bitsummit (Kyoto, Japan), and more.

#consumer #networking #education #publisher

Tags:

  • #consumer: Consumer-facing events

  • #publisher: Events for showcasing work to publishers and investors

  • #networking: Prioritise opportunities to connect with other developers at varying stages of their career

  • #education: Professional development including speakers, workshops, and panels

  • #academia: Targeted towards discussion of research in game studies

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