Celebrating the launch of Stray Gods, Creative Victoria proposed an amalgamation of the gaming and fashion worlds of Melbourne with a showcasing of selected characters aligned to the ethos of local creative designers.
Each designer recreated a Stray Gods character costume and complemented it with their own creation that captured the essence of their style. Celebrating the fusion of games and music, the showcase of fashion and games was highlighted by music accompaniment by music performer, Montaigne.

Stray Gods by Summerfall Studios

//Designers//
Erik Yvon
Bul (Virginia Martin)
Mndatory (Brian Huynh)
Sonia Cappellazzo Couture
Victoria Triantafyllou
Homie (Marcus Crook)
Mr Cuff (Jarrad Cuff)
Paul McCann: @paul.mccann_art

In 2023, its ninth year of operation, Melbourne International Games Week surpassed all expectations and broke records across the board.

A digital games festival, originally established by the Victorian Government in 2015, MIGW is curated by an expert, in-house team within Creative Victoria. The team works closely with local industry and key event producers across the year to ensure the quality of the program is high and the content stays relevant and of value to all participants.

September 30 - 8 October 2023
www.gamesweek.melbourne

Big Games Night Out (BGNO) made a triumphant debut in 2023, captivating audiences with live performances and large-scale activations at Fed Square late into the evening.

The Big Anxiety’s Jill Bennet highlights the incredible potential for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) tools for better mental health and wellbeing outcomes. Some of these are on show at the Creative Media Tools for Mental Health Showcase presented by The Big Anxiety and ACMI. ‘It is such a powerful way [for] people to see inside themselves, envisage what’s happening when you’re stressed or depressed and even, chang[e] the future.

G4C APAC’s Daniel Teitelbaum introduces games with a purpose; games for better health outcomes, education or to create social change. A great example of a game with social impact is ‘Streets of My Town’, where communities can build their own game to engage with young people and connect them to local services. Kristal Brighton talks about how the Dandenong and District Aborigines Cooperative Limited used the platform to create the game ‘Biik Bilik’ featuring the community’s own stories, landmarks and people.

Indie darlings Terry Burdak of Paperhouse and Olivia Haines reflect on how Victoria’s local industry supports developers taking risks, branching out and creating their own unique style and storytelling, and the importance of festivals like Freeplay Parallels as a launchpad for indie games and game-makers.

Associate Professor Gillian Vesty talks about the different ways games can be used to shape behaviour for the better. She also explains how she uses games as an effective and interactive teaching tool for students at RMIT University. MIGW 2021