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Game Worlds now open at ACMI

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🎮 Game Worlds Exhibition Now Open at ACMI – A Playable Journey Through Gaming History

Melbourne’s ACMI (the Australian Centre for the Moving Image) has officially launched its latest blockbuster exhibition, Game Worlds — a must-visit for gamers, retro enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the evolution of interactive entertainment.

Spanning over 50 years of video game history, Game Worlds invites visitors to explore more than 30 iconic titles through 44 playable moments, original builds, rare design materials, and hands-on prototypes. This is not just a showcase — it’s a fully immersive experience.

🕹️ What You’ll Play and See

From pixelated farms to sprawling online realms, Game Worlds features a curated selection of genre-defining games, including:

  • Minecraft
  • Final Fantasy XIV Online
  • The Elder Scrolls Online
  • SimCity
  • Stardew Valley
  • World of Warcraft
  • The Sims
  • Neopets

And for fans of Aussie game development, the exhibition includes a spotlight on the highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, giving visitors a rare glimpse into the next chapter of Team Cherry’s beloved franchise.

image source: ACMI

🛍️ Exclusive Loot for Collectors

No exhibition is complete without merch — and Game Worlds delivers. ACMI is offering limited-edition collectibles from Neopets, Stardew Valley, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, alongside ACMI-produced books that dive deep into the stories behind your favourite games.

Whether you’re a retro gamer, MMO veteran, or indie game aficionado, Game Worlds is a celebration of the creativity, community, and culture that define gaming.

📍 Location: ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne
🎟️ Tickets & Info: Visit ACMI’s website for details

 

Code Breakers: Women in Games

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Press play on Code Breakers, an exhibition curated by ACMI and the first of its kind in Australia celebrating the achievements of women working in the games industry.

Code Breakers celebrates emerging and established female game makers in an interactive and immersive exhibition. Visitors can get hands-on with an array of playable games – from indie through to commercial hits and new releases – all made by Australian and New Zealand women working in different capacities: as directors, programmers, developers, digital artists, writers, producers and designers.

Katrina Sedgwick, Director and CEO of ACMI says, “Despite women making up almost 50% of game players, they account for less than 10% of the games industry. Code Breakers seeks to shatter stereotypes and celebrate the women who are breaking down barriers and building vibrant, creative careers within a global industry that is increasingly diverse. Our hope is that the industry will soon reflect the diversity of the gaming community it seeks to serve.”

Nicole Stark, Co-Founder Disparity Games and Art Director and Designer on Ninja Pizza Girl

From platformers and role-playing strategy digital board games through to graphical adventure and racing games, Code Breakers offers something for everyone at every skill level. Deliver pizzas and crush bullies in Ninja Pizza Girl, join an animal clan in Armello or race souped-up cars in Need For Speed: No Limits.

Code Breakers ponders important questions in a post Gamergate landscape: What does a more inclusive games industry look like? How do we encourage this diversity? In Code Breakers, each maker reflects on the sometimes challenging journey they’ve made into this male-dominated industry, revealing the human stories behind their games via a custom built exhibition audio tour.

“I think this exhibition is an excellent way to give Australians a peek behind the curtain of game development, and highlight that women are playing an integral role within the industry. I really hope it helps to inspire girls and women to begin making their own games,” says Rebecca Fernandez, a games programmer who worked on recently released PS4/Steam titles Tricky Towers and Armello.

Lisy Kane, Producer at League of Geeks

The game makers featured in the exhibition include: Lisy Kane, Producer at League of Geeks, co-founder of Girl Geek Academy and one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in the games category; Katharine Neil, independent Game Developer and director of the hugely controversial and influential game Escape From Woomera; Maru Nihoniho, Founder and Managing Director of Metia Interactive and recipient of a New Zealand Order of Merit for her service to the gaming industry; and Siobhan Reddy, Co-Founder and Studio Director of Media Molecule, named in Fortune‘s 10 most powerful women in gaming.

Siobhan Reddy, co-founder and studio director of Media Molecule

Code Breakers has been curated by ACMI in collaboration with an advisory committee consisting of key industry figures Kate Inabinet, Animation and Games Industry lecturer at RMIT and creator of education based games for children; Helen Stuckey, media arts curator, researcher and Program Manager of Games at RMIT; and Leena van Deventer, a game developer, writer, educator and Co-Director of WIDGET (Women in Development, Games and Everything Tech).

A free exhibition, Code Breakers: Women in Games premieres at ACMI on Tuesday 25 July and runs until Sunday 5 November 2017. Information at acmi.net.au/code-breakers

source: ACMI

 

ACMI’s ‘Screen It’ Awards 2016

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We were thrilled to attend this year’s ‘Screen It‘ Awards at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) last week. Screen It is a fantastic moving image competition that encourages primary and secondary school kids to create animated films, live action films and videogames. This year’s theme was ‘mystery’.

Age groups: Foundation to Year 4 (Junior), Year 5 to Year 8 (Middle), and Year 9 to Year 12 (Senior).

As ACMI puts it: ‘Screen It is designed to educate, encourage and foster the next generation of young moving image makers. It’s fun and, best of all, it’s free!’

We always love a visit to ACMI at Melbourne’s Fed Square
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A red carpet for the finalists was a nice touch
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There was an excellent turnout and the room was buzzing with excitement!
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The awards were hosted by Good Game‘s Bajo and Hex, who were joined by Academy Award winner Adam Elliot and actress Bethany Whitmore.

Bajo and Hex
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With Adam Elliot…
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… and Bethany Whitmore
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Can you tell which Pokemon is Hex’s favourite? (Answer: Jigglypuff!)
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We were incredibly impressed by all the finalists’ work – but we were, of course, most interested in the videogame category:

Junior (Foundation – Year 4)  Videogame

Encouragement Awards:

  • The Mysterious Cannonball; Essex Heights Primary School; Mount Waverley, VIC
  • Basketball; Hallett Cove South Primary School; Hallett Cove, SA
  • The Mystery of Harold Holt; Mentone Grammar; Mentone, VIC

encouragement

Middle (Year 5-8) Videogame

Winner: Day One; Kingswood Primary School; Dingley Village, VIC

Special Mention: Mots’ Mansion; Doreen Primary School; Doreen, VIC

Finalists:

  • End of the Line; Stuart C; Aldgate, SA
  • Down to Earth; Mosman High School; Mosman, NSW
  • Day One; Kingswood Primary School; Dingley Village, VIC
  • Mots’ Mansion; Doreen Primary School; Doreen, VIC

Middle (Year 5-8) winner ‘Day One’
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day-one

Congratulations to ‘Day One’ creators from Kingswood Primary School
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Special Mention: ‘Mots’ Mansion’ – Doreen Primary School
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Finalist: ‘Down to Earth’ Mosman High School
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Finalist: ‘End of the Line’ Stuart C
end-of-the-line

Senior (Year 9-12) Videogame

Winner: The Adventures of the Lost Treasure; Bialik College; Hawthorn, VIC

Finalists:

  • Dark Hours Forgotten Paths; Mansfield State High School; Mansfield, QLD
  • The Adventures of the Lost Treasure; Bialik College; Hawthorn, VIC
  • The Chilling Chase; Ursula Frayne Catholic College; Victoria Park, WA
  • Out of the Darkness; Endeavour College; Mawson Lakes, SA

Senior (Year 9-12) winner ‘The Adventures of the Lost Treasure’
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Congratulations to ‘The Adventures of the Lost Treasure’ creator from Bialik College
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Finalist: ‘Dark Hours Forgotten Paths’ Mansfield State High School
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Finalist: ‘The Chilling Chase’ Ursula Frayne Catholic College
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Finalist: ‘Out of the Darkness’ Endeavour Collegeout-of-the-darkness

The theme for the 2017 Screen It competition was announced too:

Aaaand the theme for 2017 is … Time!
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time

After party snacks
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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter