Students and educators are getting a peek behind the curtain of the video game industry, gaining real-world knowledge from industry leaders in the upcoming Interactive Games and Education Association (IGEA) summit.
Available online and in person from 17 – 18 July, the summit boasts talks, panels and studio visits that give guests an insight into the industry’s rapid advancements and the future of the workplace in Australia.
Attendees will also learn about the latest game development practices, with the schedule promising to provide newcomers access to the resources they need to make a successful industry debut.
“Evolving at a rapid pace”
The event schedule includes a diverse range of high-quality presentations from AWS, Two Bulls/DEPT, Mighty Kingdom, Organa, mod.io, The Tech Council, ACS and The Stem Video Games Challenge, and offers a backstage pass to some of the biggest names in the Australian games industry.
Dr Jens Schroeder, director of industry & member relations at IGEA, told EducationDaily that this summit was vital for educators and students to stay up-to-date in the fast-moving world of video games.
“…(the industry) does evolve at a rapid pace, and things can change very, very quickly. New roles are created every day,” says Dr Schroeder. “AI, for example, which doesn’t necessarily have to be negative, is one of the things that are offering more opportunities for educators as well as students.
“And I’m saying that, as someone who has worked in education for a while, we know changing the learning outcome of students takes time, especially when compared to the speed that the games League is doing.”
A growing industry down under
The digital games industry was already one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing entertainment sectors before COVID-19 hit, and experienced further expansion during the pandemic. In 2020, the global market was worth $240 billion, reaching $294 billion in 2024.
In 2021, the sector contributed $226.5 million in revenue, an increase of 22 per cent on 2020, and 83 per cent of revenue is from overseas markets.
These numbers are set to boom further, thanks to the introduction of generous federal and state-based tax incentives. The Digital Games Tax Offset (DGTO), which came into effect in 2022, allows studios to claim 30 per cent of eligible expenditures. State-based programs also complement the DGTO, with South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales offering an additional 10 per cent, and Queensland offering 15 per cent.
Compared to other countries considered powerhouses in video game development, including Canada and the UK, Australia’s gaming industry is dwarfed by its larger contemporaries. However, Dr Schroeder told The Bursar that, while Australia still lags behind, the future is looking bright for the industry down under.
“Australia is still lagging behind, and the people in studios across Europe and Canada have very long history of making games,” he says “But we’re catching up, we’re catching up quite rapidly, and those incentives will make Australia one of the best places we were to make games.”
Access all areas: Looking at the summit schedule
Day one: breaking into the world of gaming
The summit’s first day is primarily a free, student-focused online summit. Conducted by prominent industry leaders, students will learn expert game development advice, creative problem-solving techniques and recruitment tips from gaming’s finest.
Dr Schroeder points towards the summit’s content being essential for anyone looking to break into the fast-paced world of gaming.
“On the first day, we have the free online event and multi-educator tracks on the site, where we’ll have various talks scheduled. There are talks that bring educators across the legacy to practise and pilot blind spots, such as programme management.
“That is something that, as far as I know, is not currently taught by educators and prepares students for games production.”
These talks will take students beyond simply game development, aiming to answer questions about game production as a whole.
“We’ll have some people talk about what sort of they would expect in a portfolio to move through those roles and what employers look for in potential team members,” Dr Schroeder says.
Following the lectures, students can pay to join an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session with industry professionals. This will be a 30-minute session where students can ask questions about anything relating to their discipline or the industry at large.
IGEA is also offering an opportunity for final-year students and fresh graduates to put their best foot forward and present their work to game industry professionals all over Australia in the form of an online student showcase.
Industry leaders will review these demos, offering critical advice and even possibly “recruiting them to their band”. Students who submit have a chance to win a ticket to Games Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP), Australia’s premier professional development and networking event for the games industry.
Day 2: Peeking behind the curtain
For the second day of the summit, IGEA invites educators to journey ‘backstage’ and visit two prominent, leading Melbourne-based studios: PlaySide Studios and Two Moos. Here, game development educators will be able to immerse themselves in the latest industry practice, studio cultures, and networks.
“The idea is to facilitate networking in the physical space and allow those educators to see video games to from the inside,” said Dr Schroeder. “Educators can have conversations with people there, so that the next time they may be looking for someone to review work or come in to be a guest lecturer, they know where to turn.”
