A brand new event for the independent game developers of NSW

On a rainy Thursday night on the 28th of May at the Burdekin Hotel, NSW’s independent game development community gathered for a brand new event - State of Play’s TALK IT OUT!

Featuring a stacked lineup of no fewer than 13 speakers, the event covered a diversity of topics from funding to visibility, the business of game marketing and development, running conventions, presenting at conventions, understanding your audience and how to survive and thrive as a game developer in NSW.

Over 120 people braved the rain and packed into the cozy venue to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and share their insight and experience. The warm, approachable vibe and sense of optimism immediately established State of Play as a cornerstone of the NSW game development community and a vibrant new player in the events space.

The talks

It was standing room only for the 13 unique microtalks of the evening featuring:

  • Simon Slee introducing event sponsor Xsolla and what they bring to the games business, as well as some sobering numbers developers must consider when developing their next game.

  • Katherine Grace drew on her extensive experience as PAX’s community manager to deliver advice to developers looking to showcase their game at expos.

  • Rebecca Fernandez O’Shea recounted her developer journey from Sydney indie to AAA

  • Steph Panecasio described how to preserve your inner freak in the torturous world of games journalism

  • Neema Iyer explored the potential for videogames in education

  • Pat Naoum reframed game development in terms of directions rather than destinations

  • Morgan Ridley-Smith explained everything she learned from attending every single game event in NSW over the years

  • Rick Salter made the case for the coexistence of artistic and commercial videogames and delivered some hard truths about the games industry in NSW

  • Tegan Jones questioned why game developers aren’t funded like startups in Australia, drawing attention to the massive disparity of scale when it comes to how they are funded.

  • Dwayne Fernandez from Minds at Play offered a unique perspective on neurodiverse gamers through his Play Labs initiative

  • Brendan Votano shared detailed game analytics that suggest your audience could be lying to you

  • Olivia Harris gave an emotional account of the struggles of being an award-winning games practitioner trying to stay in NSW when other states offer lower living costs and better support

  • Luke Lancaster recounted his entire career in the games industry as explained with Simpsons quotes - describing the highs, lows and madness of running events.

The future

The success of Talk It Out! speaks to the need for more events to cater for the business and culture of games in NSW. State of Play is extremely excited to be part of this and will be announcing future events for 2026 very soon. Be sure to sign up to the mailing list to be the first to know!

Talk It Out! was resounding proof of a lively, professional and welcoming scene in the NSW game developer community. This is the start of State of Play handing the mic to the voices of the NSW games industry and highlighting their experiences, thoughts, challenges and accomplishments.

The willingness for all the speakers to share their knowledge and support the industry demonstrates how strong our community is, regardless of the difficulties we face.