Connecting Games Academia and Industry

Gamemakers, in industry and the wider games field, and games research can often feel very siloed from one another – in practices, interests, networks and perspectives. The MAGPIE (Melbourne Academic Games, Play and Interactive Entertainment) research initiative is hosting a panel of game practitioners and academics to discuss the benefits of fostering stronger connections between academia and industry to both research and gamemaking.

There will be an opportunity to socialise and network after the panel.

About the panelists

Dr Stephanie Harkin (she/her) is a Lecturer at RMIT University in the School of Design, Games Program. Her research is interested in girls' digital cultures and feminine gaming histories. She was lead curator of the indie games exhibition Feminine Play (2024-2025) and her forthcoming manuscript Girlhood Games: Gender Identity and Coming of Age in Video Games will be published in 2025.

Professor Dan Golding (he/him) is Chair of Media and Communication at Swinburne University, the host of Screen Sounds on ABC Classic, and an award-winning composer and writer. Prof Golding is the author of Star Wars After Lucas (University of Minnesota Press, 2019), and with Leena van Deventer the co-author of Game Changers (Affirm Press, 2016). He also created the soundtrack for the BAFTA, DICE, and GDCA winning Untitled Goose Game (2019), which became the first game soundtrack to be nominated for an ARIA award in history.  

Tom Byers (he/him) is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne with the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, exploring how time is designed, experienced, and valued in digital games. His research combines methods from HCI, game studies, and the social sciences to examine how developers structure time and how players interpret and respond to it. His projects include analyses of game marketing, player feedback on Steam, and interviews with developers across AAA, indie, and mobile studios. Byers has published on content creation, postdigital perspectives, and Wikipedia representation. He tutors in games and digital media related subjects and works across various interdisciplinary research projects. He is also a board member of DiGRA Australia, supporting the growth of local game studies research and community initiatives.

Sam Cable (she/her) is a vibrant writer who specialises in video games and animation. Her creative practice sits at the alchemy of emotion and storytelling—with the ambition to unearth the stronger side of humanity. She is co-founder at Spoonful of Wonder and writer-director on their debut game Copycat. Copycat won Best International Game at the SEA Game Awards 2024. Cable has been invited to speak about game narrative at PAX Melbourne, GCAP and SXSW Sydney. She holds a Masters in Screenwriting from the Australian Film Television and Radio School. Cable is eagerly waiting for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and is currently playing Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.

Andrew Joy (he/him) started in the games industry nearly two decades ago, bringing virtual worlds to life in Unity for serious games projects. He eventually moved to the Unreal Engine to focus on cutting edge museum experiences, becoming a regular speaker on niche engineering topics at UnrealFest and abroad. On the side he is developing his own open world survival game, Planetation, a genre that is very close to his heart.

T-Dog (aka Lauren Temos) (they/them) is an indie game developer with experience working as a Game Designer for studios such as EA on Real Racing 3, and Weta Workshop on Tales of the Shire. Now working on developing a studio and their game Clownbaby with government-funding, T-Dog brings with them a unique skillset and approach to game development, rife with equal parts professionalism and whimsy. Their favourite games include Dragon Age (2 in particular is very good), Age of Mythology, and many silly little games from Demo Disks long passed.