Game Hugs: Recent Episodes
Jason Imms
Game Hugs is a fortnightly podcast that focuses on the individuals who work in the computer and video game industry.
From publishers to journalists, developers to esports, artists to cosplayers, there are fascinating, entertaining, and god forbid maybe even educational stories to be told about what goes on behind the scenes.
Created by Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg, hosted by Jason Imms.
Chris Wright is a 17 year veteran of the games industry and the founder and Managing Director of three companies: indie games label, Fellow Traveller, games marketing agency, Double Jump Communications, and indie games investment vehicle The Treasure Hunters Fanclub.
After a decade working in the AAA games industry including senior marketing roles at THQ, Chris found himself out of a job in 2011 when THQ closed their Australian studios Bluetongue and THQ Studio Aus. Rather than get another job, Chris decided to go indie and set out to build his own publisher from scratch. Honestly, how hard could it be, right?
Join Chris, and our host Jason Imms as they take a trip down memory lane and chat through the inception and growth of Surprise Attack and its sub-brands, what running an indie publishing label looks like, and the challenges and pressures of running your own business in the games industry.
Louis Roots is the proprietor, owner, and curator of Bar SK, the first gallery space dedicated to interactive art in Australia.
Louis has previously curated and run events in South Africa, England, the USA, and all around Australia. His interest lies in the social aspect of videogames, and he is known for quickly creating bespoke controllers that add tactility and accessiblity to the games he exhibits.
Join Louie and our host Jason Imms for a... strange, irreverent, yet fascinating episode of Game Hugs Live, recorded in front of an audience at Game Connect Asia Pacific 2018 (there definitely weren't beers there don't call the cops).
Wadjet Eye Games founder Dave Gilbert has been interested in adventure games since 1986, when his mother made the mistake of buying him a copy of Infocom’s Wishbringer. Fifteen years later, he discovered the Adventure Game Studio engine and began making his own ever since.
Dave joins our host Jason Imms this week to discuss how he moved from a career in the garmet industry to running one of the most prolific adventure game studios and publishers in the world.
Robert Yang is an assistant arts professor at NYU Game Center, and makes "surprisingly popular 3D video games about gay culture and sexuality."
Known best for his work on The Tearoom, Rinse and Repeat, and Cobra Club, Yang believes that it's important for game creators to include sexuality in their games, despite the fact that it's not always easy to do so.
Join Yang and our host Jason Imms as they discuss his games' persistent bans from the Twitch streaming platform, why he makes the types of games he makes, and what it means to create games that feature sexuality for more than simple titillation.
Our guest this week is Shang Lun Lee (李尚倫), one of the directors of PlayReactive, a "play-making" collective based in Melbourne, producing video games, interactive theatre, and installation pieces.
Shang Lun is also a former director of the long-running Freeplay independent games festival, and most importantly to this episode, an incredible thinker.
Join our host Jason Imms as he chats with Shang Lun about privilege, why we make games, how the structures we put in place to support our work can also hurt us, and what it means to make games outside of the industry.
Liam Routt leads the Games and Digital Media team at Victorian Government screen agency Film Victoria, and is the very special guest joining us on Game Hugs this week!
Film Victoria has played a big part in the re-establishment of the Australian games industry since its crash began back in 2011. Liam started his career in games as a developer, and now fosters the careers of others through his work at the country's most prolific government funding agency.
During the episode, Liam and our host Jason Imms discuss Liam's serpentine career through the games industry, the role Film Victoria has played and continues to play, and how games communities from other parts of the country might work to influence their local funding bodies to follow in Film Victoria's footsteps.
On this week's show, Australian freelance games journalist Meghann O'Neil joins our host Jason Imms to discuss her decade of writing for PC PowerPlay Magazine, her belief that all games deserve a chance to be covered, and the challenges of going back to pitching now that the magazine has dropped to quarterly publishing.
Meghann is the intersection of all things indie games, just ask one of the hundred or so designers she met at PAX AU last year. As well as ten years of freelancing for PC Powerplay and (more recently) PC Gamer, she runs a videogame ensemble and composes game music in dynamic structures. Also, if you call the HintTron 3000 in Thimbleweed Park, you’ll be delivered incremental hints, based on Meghann’s guide.
Vee Pendergrast is a co-founder of Stirfire Studios, but has something of a different perspective on launching and running games studios in Australia. Her background is in business management and finance, meaning she has chosen the games industry not just because making games was her passion, but because she saw it as a highly capable industry. Vee co-founded Stirfire Studios in 2010 while working in tech business development. Vee has been instrumental in raising seed capital allowing the business to make AGDA-finalist placing game Symphony of the Machine and attempt to IPO, initially in 2017 and opening another offer in 2018. Join Vee and our host Jason Imms to learn about the wild frontiers of taking indie games studios public, and much more!
Hello and welcome to... Dog Hugs?
Joining us this week is Angharad "Rad" Yeo, one of the hosts of ABC Me's Spawn Point.
Spawn Point is a (hugely popular in its own right) kids' spin-off of the hugely popular video games coverage show Good Game, which celebrated its tenth and final year of airtime in 2017. Rad is one of three hosts of the show, and joins our host Jason Imms to chat about life as an ABC TV presenter, her musical aspirations, and her utterly gorgeous dog Boatmeal.
Will Smith is the CEO of FOO VR (they make cartoons in real-time using virtual reality), the host of The FOO Show (a VR talk show), co-host of the Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project podcast, and a former editor of Tested.com.
Will was also the first editor to ever hire our host Jason Imms as a freelance writer! Join the pair to hear them discuss why in the world they took a chance on our intrepid host, as well as Will's long and storied career in tech and games journalism, and the rise and fall of Whiskey Media.
This week brings to a close our episodes recorded during Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) 2017, with none other than the departing organiser of the event, Liam Esler.
Liam is a bizdev, narrative, and production specialist about to dive into the terrifying world of entrepreneurship. He was formerly the Event Manager for GCAP, and co-founder of GX Australia.
Join our host Jason Imms as he and Liam discuss what GCAP has become and where it came from, and how it was both shaped by, and itself shapes the Australian games industry and community.
This week, our host Jason Imms is joined (in a Melbourne French for breakfast) by digital copywriter, freelance journalist and professional writer, Patrick Stafford.
Patrick is currently a digital copywriter for MYOB, as well as providing his services on contract under his own brand Stafford Content, and working as a freelance journalist for The Atlantic, Polygon, Eurogamer, Kotaku, and more.
Join Jason and Patrick for insights into the life of a freelance journalist, Patrick's thoughts on a journalist's role in the modern games industry, and what it takes to turn an interesting lead into a widely read long-form feature.
Matt Trobbiani is an indie game designer and developer, and head at Team Fractal Alligator. Matt created Hacknet, a critically received and popular game released in 2015, which saw players taking on the role of a hacker, penetrating systems, avoiding detection, and madly typing realistic commands in to a virtual console interface.
Join Matt and our host Jason Imms as they took some time for an interview during the otherwise hectic Game Connect Asia Pacific conference, and hear Matt's thoughts on burnout, the pressures of success, and what it takes to get noticed in a saturated marketplace.
Rami Ismail is the business and development half of Vlambeer, the indie studio responsible for hits like LUFTRAUSERS, Ridiculous Fishing, Nuclear Throne, and more.
He's also well known for supporting the growth of independent game development by travelling the world, speaking at events, and working with and promoting communities in underrepresented regions.
Rami sat with our host Jason Imms during Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) to discuss his history at Vlambeer and combative relationship with his business partner Jan Willem Nijman, having a powerful voice within an industry, and the "industry built on ruins" we have in modern day Australia.
Adam ‘Pez’ Perry is the host of the Twitch-broadcast You Game Bro? podcast, and founder of the Australasian Gaming Podcast Network. Pez's broadcasting work has led to him securing brand ambassador roles with Lenovo and Intel in Australia and New Zealand, and allowed him to land major sponsorships to support the ongoing creation of the You Game Bro? podcast.
Join Pez and your host Jason Imms as they discuss the benefits and challenges of one-on-one interview-based podcasts, passion-driven media work, and life on the ground as a community manager for Final Fantasy XIV in ANZ.
David Gaider is a game designer, writer, and narrative designer, with a long and storied history at RPG powerhouse Bioware. Today, David is the creative director at Beamdog, helping to bring enhanced editions of some of the games he worked on back in his Bioware days to modern hardware and audiences.
David recently sat with our host Jason Imms at the Game Connect Asia Pacific conference in Melbourne to talk about his work on Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age, and Knights of the Old Republic, being a reluctant spokesperson for gay representation in games, and what it's actually like to write for a living.
We have a very special episode for you this week, friends: The inaugural Game Hugs Live, recorded on-stage at PAX Australia 2017!
Joining our host Jason Imms on the stage was Square Enix Montreal creative director Teddy Dief(pronounced “deef,” despite Jason’s horrendous mispronunciations), discussing life as an indie, Glitch City LA, the anxieties of success, and moving away from a lifelong goal of working at Naughty Dog to take a risk on the Kickstarter-funded Hyper Light Drifter.
This week we welcome Tim Colwill, editor in chief of the hilariously satirical Point & Clickbait to the guest chair. Join him and our host Jason Imms for a trip down memory lane as the pair relive the shuttering of beloved Australian games outlet games.on.net, discuss the dodgy closure of Interzone Games, and come to understand the strange parallels between poking fun at the games industry, and working for the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union.
In this week's episode, host Jason Imms spoke with excellent GameSpot host and video producer, Jess McDonell about joining one of the biggest games journalism outlets in the world, what to do with your hands on camera, and what it means to work for a truly global outlet.
Wyld is a Twitch streamer, Minecraft modpack creator, and internet personality who has made a huge career change through entertaining his audience and creating content live on the internet.
Join Wyld and our host Jason Imms as they discuss how a life can change through getting into livestreaming, the challenges and joys of playing games on the internet for a living, and the ethical side of publisher relations and junkets.
This week's Game Hugs features the founder of Queerly Represent Me, sessional academic at the University of the Sunshine Coast, and freelance games journalist and columnist Alayna Cole.
Alayna joins host Jason Imms for our usual jaunt through the career that has led to her current position in the Australian games industry, as well as something of a rebuttal. In response to Game Hugs Episode 55 with Lisy Kane on the subject of how tertiary education is serving and failing the Australian games industry, Alayna adds her point of view as someone actively working to help her students be the best candidates they can be.
So, join us to hear her side of the story, how her work in mapping queer representation in video games has moved from strength to strength, and for a sobering discussion about working a freelance journalist for the enthusiast press.
Disclaimer: The audio quality of this and the following episode doesn't live up to our usual standards, and for that we apologise. We felt that the discussion as-recorded was worth preserving, however, so please bear with us. Rest assured, the source of this issue has been found and repaired.
Say hello to Luke Lancaster, who was until recently a well-known Australian associate editor at CNET, before being selected as the new PAX Australia Content Manager, replacing ex-Game Hugs host Guy 'Yug' Blomberg. He's also a co-creator of The Badguys, an excellent weekly webcomic that recently took home the top prize in Stan Lee's POW! Media Superhero Comic Contest.
This episode marks the beginning of a Game Hugs multi-part episode experiment, in which we check in with Luke in the week before he kicks-off his new and high-pressure role, to talk about hopes and fears leading up to taking the help of his first PAX. We'll speak to Luke again after PAX Australia 2017 to see how it all went, and how much of him survived.
Tune in to hear Luke and host Jason Imms discuss journalistic ethics, the realities of working in your dream job, and the power and responsibility that comes with being a focal point for an entire region of game developers.
Eli Hodapp is the editor in chief of Touch Arcade, the world's largest reviews and news site dedicated to Apple mobile devices. He's also possibly a Juggalo, though the jury is still out on that one.
Join Eli and host Jason Imms this week as they discuss working remotely, American gun culture, and the question of elitism in free-to-play vs. premium games.
Show Notes
Episode 54 with Matt Ditton of Mighty Games featured a related conversation on free-to-play ethics in games.
As a producer at League of Geeks, co-founder at Girl Geek Academy, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 lister, Lisy Kane doesn't seem to do anything by halves.
Join Jason Imms this week for a chat with Lisy about her incredible and densely accomplished career. Also, the pair take a look at how the Australian education system is both serving and failing the game development industry, internships, and how Armello's intriguing profit-share program works.
Show Notes Lisy Kane
League of Geeks
Girl Geek Academy
Matt Ditton is the managing director of the Mighty Games Group (Shooty Skies, Disney Crossy Road, Charming Keep, Charming Runes) and Many Monkeys Development (Breath of Light, ANZ Future Play), both based in The Arcade in Melbourne, Victoria.
Matt is one of Australia's veteran game developers, one of the rare few that stuck around after the industry crash that began in 2010. In fact, his chat with Jason Imms in this episode goes into some depth on what the crash looked like on the ground, as Pandemic Australia and other studios shut down around the country.
Stick around to the end of the episode for a frank discussion on the ethics of free-to-play game design, player entitlement, and the practical realities of running a games studio for profit.
Ken Wong is the founder and creative director of Mountains, a self-described "craft games studio," based in Melbourne. He's also well known for his work as the lead designer and artist on Ustwo's seminal mobile title, Monument Valley.
In this episode, Ken and Jason discuss his work with Ustwo, being discovered by American McGee, his work on Alice: Madness Returns, and much more.
Katie Stegs is co-founder and creative director of games PR and marketing agency Lumi Consulting. You might think this would place sufficient burden on Katie's calendar, but NO. Katie has also co-founded Blush Box, a collective of game creators that focuses on romance, love and sexuality, and a symposium and game jam called Heartbeat which hopes to give that community a chance to come together and grow.
In this episode, Jason Imms chats with Katie about her dark caravanning past, what drives her passion for games about passion, the challenges of running a consultancy for small games studios, and more.
Guy 'Yug' Blomberg is not only the creator of this fine podcast, but also the newly appointed Global PAX Content Director, ensuring that every PAX show around the world is crammed full of amazing stars, panels, expo booths, and entertainment.
No, Yug won't be interviewing himself - his new role doesn't leave enough time to concentrate on Game Hugs, so this episode will be the first for new host, and past Game Hugs guest, freelance games and tech journalist Jason Imms. You can read the full announcement with our friends over at MCV Pacific.
Listen-in to hear more about Yug's pre-PAX history, his secret porn career, the life and death of the Mana Bar, and the ill-fated TV show Game Damage.
James Cullinane is the Games Account Manager at CBS Interactive, including sites GameSpot, Giant Bomb, GameFAQs, ComicVine, Metacritic and CNET.
He was previously the Editor of Gameplanet, before becoming the Editorial Director accross both New Zealand and Australian Gameplanet sites.
Paul Verhoeven is a writer, comedian, host, and storyteller. He co-hosts the popular gaming podcast 28 Plays Later with Kris Straub, is the host of the ABC3 show Steam Punks, and is currently writing the upcoming novel Loose Units.
Previously he was a host and producer of various Triple J programs including The Breakfast Show, Nerdy by Nature, and The Graveyard Shift. He is a regular guest on The Project, Studio 3, and Good Game, having also co-hosted on gaming show Save Point and geek comedy program Planet Nerd.
He has written for The Vine, Junkee, MMGN, and Film Inc, and made his stand up comedy debut in the show Tell Me Lies at the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
Kamina Vincent is the Producer at Mountains, a new studio featuring the talents behind games such as Monument Valley and Cuphead.
She has volunteered at almost even gaming event in Australia from Freeplay, Transmedia Victoria, Global Game Jam, GDC, and GCAP - the later of which she eventually went on to organise and coordinate volunteers.
She has worked for Tin Man Games, originally as a QA Tester, then Community Manager, and eventually Producer.
Chantal Morley is the Operations Manager at Bandai Namco Entertainment Australia, having previously been the Operations and Social Media Coordinator, and the Operations Coordinator at Atari Australia prior to that.
She manages the logistics, manufacture, buying and shipping of products across all the business, looks after the budges and sales reporting, and is an Authorised Assessor of Games with over 400 titles under her belt.
Ryan Hartman is the Director of Events at Penny Arcade, overseeing the PAX portfolio of gaming conventions (including the recently released PAX Unplugged) as well as being involved in the expansion of other Penny Arcade properties.
He was previously working for ReedPOP as the Program Manager across the PAX shows, managing speakers, content, travel, and logistics.
Krister Collin is an award-winning game developer, having worked for Flat Earth Games, Epiphany Games, and Well Placed Cactus.
He is the organiser of the monthly IGDA Sydney Beer & Pixel events, and is a Game Design Teacher at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment.
Dan Graf is an indie game developer who most recently teamed up with Featherweight Games to make Rodeo Stampede, a game which has had over 50 million downloads and was awarded Apple's Top 10 Games of 2016, and Google Play's Most Innovative 2016.
Prior to his recent success, he was a Product Manager and Game Designer at Halfbrick Studios working on Fruit Ninja Champions, a Story Unit Artist at Dr D Studios working on films such as Happy Feet 2 and Max Max: Fury Road, 3D Artist on the Half Life 2 mod Dystopia, and was also the founder of the IGDA Sydney. He has also worked as a designer, artist, animator, writer and director for many other developers, businesses, and associations.
Mark Serrels is the Managing Editor at Allure Media, overseeing Kotaku, Gizmodo, and Lifehacker.
He was previously the Editor of Kotaku for over six years, and was the Managing Editor of Official Xbox Magazine, Official Nintendo Magazine, Official PlayStation Magazine, and Australian 360 Magazine. He is an award winning Journalist, having won the Lizzie IT Journalism Awards for Best Journalist in 2015, and Best Games Coverage for Kotaku 5 years in a row.
Dean Longmore is the Lead Learning and Content Designer for Global English, and the Designer/Programmer of the iOS title Station Stop.
Dean was a Game Designer for Team Bondi, where he worked on the Rockstar Games published title L.A.Noire. He was the Lead Content Designer at IntoScience working across science education based games, and was also the Lead Game Designer at Saudi Arabian studio Semaphore.
Skaidris Gunsmith is the co-founder of Beta Bar - Next Level Gaming Events, and is also the creator of the popular card game Suddenly Drunk, through his new Gunsmith Games company. He was previously the Brand Manager for the Mana Bar Melbourne, and built custom arcade cabinets.
Jason Imms is a Freelance Journalist, founder of the Tas Game Development Society, and is currently the Community Manager for Tasmania's Enterprize Hubs.
As a freelancer Jason has written for publications including IGN, GameSpot, Giant Bomb, Kill Screen, PC PowerPlay, Official PlayStation Magazine, Kotaku, HYPER, Games.on.net, and Tested.com.
Phil Larsen is the Managing Director at game developer Prettygreat (Land Sliders).
He was previously the Chief Marketing Officer for Halfbrick Studios, working on the launches of Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride, Colossatron, Raskulls, and more. Prior to that he was a games writer for PALGN and AustralianGamer.
Morgan Jaffit is the Creative Director of Defiant Development, the creators of the Hand of Fate series.
Prior to starting his own studio, Morgan was the Assoc Creative Director at Pandemic Studios, Lead Designer at A2M, Writer at Ubisoft Montreal, Game Designer at Relic Entertainment, and Game Designer / Writer at Irrational Games.
He is a pillar of the Australian games industry, having worked both locally and abroad for over a decade on such titles as Freedom Force, Homeworld 2, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Teen Titans, and Hand of Fate - the sequal to which will be released early next year.
Amy Potter is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of gaming location based tool Leaping Tiger.
Coming from a graphic design background working for such companies as Mitsubishi Electric and Cluster Creative, she also runs her own creative self titled company, and is the host of the kiwi gaming show 'Hot Chips Gaming'.
Bradley Jolly is a Twitch partner streamer known as DYoshi, who is also a casual assistant for Hanabee Entertainment.
He was previously a Sales Assistant and Shift Supervisor at Dick Smith Electronics for over 8 years, was a Presenter for Level 3 then New Game Plus, and was the PR and Community Manager for the Melbourne Anime Festival.
Sally Kellaway is the Senior Audio Designer at Zero Latency, Co Chair for the IGDA Virtual Augmented and Mixed Reality Special Interest Group, Technical Evangelist for Firelight Technologies (FMOD), and Sound Designer / Educator for her self named consultancy company.
One of the stars in the digital audio industry, she initially started as a QA Tester for the Creative Assembly, before moving on to become their Junior Audio Designer and Motion Capture Technician. She went on to be an Audio Assistant at SEGA Studios Australia, working on the London 2012 Olympic Games video game.
She has also worked as a Media Co-ordinator at Media Circus, Account Executive at OMD Australia, and Sales and Marketing Coordinator for Sound Librarian.
Stephanie Bendixsen, also known as Hex, is the co-host and presenter of the popular ABC TV shows Good Game and Good Game: Spawn Point. She has worked on the live Good Game events such as the Roffle Cup at the Sydney Opera House, Good Game Live as part of comedy festivals, and numerous appearances at conventions around the country.
She will also be featuring in the upcoming ABC show How to be a Fan with Hex.
Nic Watt is the Founder and Chief Design Officer at Sydney based developer and publisher Nnooo.
Originally developing games in the UK, he worked as an Artist/Designer for Supersonic Software, World Lead at Asylum Entertainment, Lead Designer at Visual Science, and Lead Designer at Electronic Arts.
Trent Kusters is the Co-Founder & Director of League of Geeks, the studio that recently released Armello.
Entrepreneurial by nature, he built and managing multiple companies before moving across to become a Lead Designer at Torus Games, then Creative Director at Divisive Media.
He is also currently an Industry Advisor for DiGRA Australia, Lecturer (Game Writing) for the Victorian College of Arts, and is a Board Member on the Freeplay Independent Games Festival.
Patrick "Patch" Kolan is the Co-Founder & Director of Reboot PR, an agency that represents clients such as Bethesda, QV Software, Plastic Wax, and Final Fantasy XIV among others.
Beginning a career as a freelance games writer while still in school, Patch wrote for such publications as HYPER, PC PowerPlay, GamePro, Official PlayStation Magazine, and more. After a brief time at Pulse Communications working on the launch of the Xbox 360, he was given the opportunity to be one of the founding members of IGN in Australia, eventually becoming the Entertainment Editor.
Working across many projects, he was was the Creative Director of Shotgun Cinema (now Shotgun Critic), founded the short lived PUG Consultancy specialist agency, was the Co-founder of the INSERT COIN(S) game and club events, and a Senior PR Manager at One to Another.
Christopher Yabsley is a Composer and Developer, currently the working on the soon to be released Dungeon League - a competitive dungeon crawler party game.
James Kozanecki is a Senior Account Manager at PPR, working across accounts such as Dell / Alienware, 2K Games, and Wargaming.
Previously an Account Manager for Double Jump Communications and Surprise Attack Consulting, he was also the Marketing Co-ordinator for Mindscape Asia Pacific (Konami), as well as a Staff Writer and Community Manager for Gamespot Australia.
Edward Fong is the Managing Director of Ubisoft ANZ, and chairman of the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (iGEA).
Starting his almost 20 year career in the entertainment business as the Marketing Manager for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Edward went on to be the Marketing Director for GT Interactive, Atari / Infogrames, and eventually Ubisoft Australia.
Raelene Knowles is the Communications and Member Services Manager at IGEA (Interactive Games & Entertainment Association).
After working in a marketing role at Hasbro Toys in 2000, she moved across to the Hasbro Interactive division to work specifically on their video game products.
The company was acquired by Infogrames, which went on to become Atari, then Namco Bandai, where Raelene was the Marketing Manager.
Nic Healey is the weekday breakfast radio host at 2ser 107.3, and until recently was a Senior Editor at CNET.
Over a 20 year career he has been the Editor for PC & Tech Authority, Official Xbox Magazine, T3, Official Windows Magazine, Official Nintendo Magazine, and Official PlayStation Magazine.
Jason Evans is a Publicist for Ogilvy Australia, managing the account for Xbox Australia.
He was previously the PR & Promotions Manager for Namco Bandai, Product Manager for One2another (Bethesda), PR Assistant at 2K Games, and was also a Store Manager at GAME.
Derek Proud is the Director of Garoo Games, member of the board game entertainment group the Dicestormers, and is currently working with Start VR on new VR game experiences.
Over a 25 year career in the games industry he has worked as a producer and project manager for SEGA Ozisoft, Electronic Arts, THQ (and THQ Studio Australia), and KMM Interactive.
He's worked with a wide range of games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Harry Potter, Rugby, Destroy All Humans, Happy Feet 2, and through to the unreleased Whore of the Orient.
Giselle Rosman is the Business Administrator for Hipster Whale, the Director of the IGDA Melbourne Chapter, and the Executive Producer for the Global Game Jam.
She was the Event Co-ordinator for Game Connect Asia Pacific from 2013 to 2014, and worked in the education sector at La Trobe University and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment.
She has won MCV Pacific's Women of the Year award two years in a row (2014, 2015), is a strong advocate for the independent gaming scene in Melbourne, and is a regular speaker at events all around the world.
Joab Gilroy is the editor of Redbull esports, MCV Pacific weekly, and general editor-for-hire!
He was the editor for Telstra GameArena for 6 years - reviewing games, liaising with publishers, and managing a large network of games journalists.
As a freelance games critic he has written for AusGamers, Games On Net, IGN and Gameplanet, as well as magazines like Hyper and PC PowerPlay.
He also hosts the long running GAP Podcast, currently at over 300 episodes.
Izzy Gramp is a game developer for Geeiz Games, currently developing the soon to be released Intergalactic Space Princess.
Programming since the age of 14, Izzy has been involved in numerous industry incubator and support programs, having been an IGDA scholar and Microsoft game changer, which led to attending E3 and GDC.
Izzy has a history of serious game development, including 'Faceless' - an empathy game about asylum seekers, and 'All Your Fault' - a game about victim blaming.
Additionally Izzy is an accredited photographer, having taken professional photos of almost every Aussie game developer so far!
Ally is a Producer at Plastic Wax and Hammerfall Publishing, as well as the owner of her cosplay alter-ego brand, Eve Beauregard.
Previously the Marketing & Brand Manager for Living Dead Clothing, she has also worked in a professional promotional capacity for Blizzard, Microsoft, and Hi-Rez Studios, and also curates the indie game developers that exhibit at pop culture event Haven.
She worked as a consultant at CD Projekt Red, where she officially cosplayed as Yennefer of Vengerberg from the Witcher III.
David Milner is the editor for Game Informer Australia. First appearing as a Next Big Critic winner in Game Informer, this break lead to on-going freelance work and an eventual position as staff writer on the magazine, as well as winning Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism Awards. In 2014 David was appointed Editor of the Australian edition of Game Informer.
Joshua Boggs is one of the founding members of Loveshack Entertainment, the indie developer behind the award winning game Framed. He is a skilled business manager, designer, programmer, and game director.
He previously worked at Firemint, across titles such as Flight Control, Real Racing, and SPYmouse.
Tony Reed is the CEO of the Game Developers' Association of Australia.
Tony was the PR and Marketing Manager for Virgin Interactive Australia in the late 90's, moving on as the Marketing Director for Interplay Australia, then Marketing Director for Transmission Games (formerly IR Gurus).
He has worked tirelessly to create opportunities for the development industry in Australia to grow, from the yearly GCAP conference to The Arcade collaborative work space in Melbourne.
Jessica Citizen is the editrix of independent games website and TV show Player Attack.
She was previously a senior content editor at Games On Net, and columnist for Tecca. Her articles have been published by Time, USA Today, Mashable, Yahoo, NBC News, The Saturday Evening Post, WoW Insider, Joystiq, Gametraders LIVE and VG247, among others. She is also one of the founders of ARGGGH: Adelaide's Really Good Gathering of Game Developers.
Tony Albrecht is a Senior Software Engineer at RIOT Games, and is an Aussie game development veteran. He's worked as Engine Lead at Ratbag Games (followed by Midway Studios Australia), Senior Programmer at Pandemic Studios, and as a Technical Consultant at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
Through his company Overbyte, he specialised in programming and optimization for a wide variety of companies, including THQ, 2K Games, Insomniac Games, Wargaming, and more.
Ben Williams is the Sales Manager at Spiral Media, mostly handling the Twitch account in Australia.
He was previously the Account Manager for ReedPOP Australia, specifically working on PAX Aus, but also across the Oz Comic-Con shows as well. He was an Account Manager for DMSBT (Google Maps), Operations Manager at Tuff Kat Entertainment, and worked for EB Games Australia for over 11 years, starting as Store Sales and eventually Senior Preowned Manager.
Rae Johnston is a Journalist for Gizmodo Australia, and was previously the Commercial Editor for Gizmodo, Kotaku, and Lifehacker.
She has done PR work for Surprise Attack and Flat Earth Games, Co-ordination and hosting for EB Games Expo, co-created and presented for Tech Space, was the Lifestyle Editor for TechLife Magazine, was an original presenter/reviewer for Save Point TV, and has been working professionally as an actor/voice actor for over a decade.
She is a high profile advocate for the games industry, regularly appearing on morning TV shows, is heavily involved with the cosplay community, and regularly MC's at events from Oz Comic-Con to Haven.
Jess 'Jiggsy' Hodgson is the Community Manager for EA in the APAC region, supporting and maintaining the community around franchises such as Battlefield, Need for Speed, Star Wars Battlefront, Mirrors Edge, and Titanfall.
Joel Van Daal is the Publisher & Commercial Lead for MCV Pacific, and as the Director of Trade Media has facilitated industry initiatives such as the 30 under 30, MCV Pacific Awards, and the Women in Games Awards and Luncheon.
He worked previously as the Business Development & Commercial Manager for One2another, was the National Advertising Sales Manager for PC PowerPlay and Hyper Magazine, and was the Assistant Sales & Event Manager for Auto Salon, which included consumer gaming event GAME1.
Jennifer Hazel is a Doctor specialising in psychiatry who has created the mental health and gaming initiative Prescription Pixel.
She is a regular speaker at conventions and is also part of the Take This AFK Room at PAX Aus. Previously she was a prominent YouTuber focusing on let's plays of indie games.
Liam Esler is the Co-Director of the recently held GX Australia event, and is also the Event Manager at the GDAA for Game Connect Asia Pacific.
He was previously an associate producer at Beamdog, a Production Co-ordinator for Surprise Attack, was a contributor to Player Attack, and a Designer for Obsidian Entertainment.
Paul Houlihan is the Business Director at Double Jump Communications, the consulting arm of Surprise Attack Games.
Previously the Senior Public Relations Manager for THQ Asia Pacific for almost 5 years, he also worked across brands such as Capcom and SEGA, and is also the co-creator/host of the popular Fourth Player Podcast.
Dave Kozicki is a freelance writer for Official PlayStation Magazine, and has also written for Hyper, GameArena, PC PowerPlay, and AusGamers.
He was a founding member of the independent gaming website and podcast RawDLC, and also worked for Red Ant Distribution.
Robert Khoo is the President of Penny Arcade, overseeing all Penny Arcade operations and business related projects including Child's Play and PAX.
Jeremy 'Junglist' Ray is an Independent Entertainment Professional in the games industry. He writes for Kotaku, Game Informer, and previously for PC Powerplay,
He was the producer and presenter of 5 Inch Floppy and ABC TV's Good Game.
Dan Hindes is the Editor & Game Designer of Sneaky Bastards, who are currently in production of the upcoming game Wildfire.
Previously he was the Editor of Gamespot Australia and the Editor of PC Powerplay.
Nick Vanzetti is the Director of ESL Australia, ACL Pro, and VIM Media & Events.
A passionate advocate of the eSports community, he was also previously the Technical Event Project Manager at Rinsed Studio, and a Store Manager at EB Games.
Lucy O'Brien is the Entertainment Editor for IGN Australia.
She has previously worked as the Product Manager for One2another, Editor of Playstation 3 Magazine (PSM3) Australia, Contract Writer at SIDHE, and Senior Writer for NZGamer.
Leigh Harris is the Director of indie games studio Flat Earth Games, and Game Design Teacher at AIE.
Over his 15 year career in the games industry he has worked for Take Two Interactive, was the ANZ Public Relations Manager for Rockstar Games, was the Editor for MCV Pacific and Develop Online, and spent time as a Freelance Journalist.