Are We Having Fun? Playing Games Critically

We’re developers, researchers, lecturers, and critics… but what inspired us to join the games industry in the first place? Did we play games for fun, once upon a time? Analysing games when they’re supposed to be ‘just for fun’ is sometimes frowned upon online, but it’s also how we can encourage positive change in the games industry. We talk about what it really means to think critically about games, the benefits it has, how we still manage to enjoy the games we play, and how you can too.
Panelists

Alayna Cole [Founding director, Queerly Represent Me], Rami Ismail [Business & development guy, Vlambeer], Dakoda Barker [Lecturer, critic, and developer, University of the Sunshine Coast], David Hollingworth [Digital editor, Next Media], Jess Zammit [Senior writer, Select Start Media]
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Think Tuesdays: An Explosion of Thoughts

There have been so many different things going on in my life recently, that I have done my best to stay quiet and not say a thing about it. Hence, why I have been away from blogging and been very quiet on my social media feed. But there shall be no more silence. Instead, I will share some of the things that have helped me to keep moving forward. Continue reading

What Is It Like To Live In Melbourne

Melbourne is one of the most vibrant cities in the world. From all the people that I have spoken to, and the places I have been, there is no place quite like Melbourne. The biggest thing you will find is the politeness and willingness of people to help you out. Then, the fact that we are all bunch of coffee snobs, or we have our (in)famous hipsters, or truly love our sports. Whatever you’re looking for, you can be bound to find it here, in the gorgeous place of Melbourne.
However, there are some fundamentals you need to know before you begin.

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PAX Day 2 – Sexy Stats: Making Sense of Your Numbers

Yes. Only I would go to a video games conference to listen to people discussing statistics. If someone threw an Excel spread sheet at me, my life would have been complete. I was honestly expecting to be the only one in the lecture. Boy, was I mistaken! Turns out… I had found my people. Even more fascinating? How gaming stats started changing player behaviour! Here’s how the achieved it. Continue reading