2026

March

❗Paper Prototyping and Free Tools: Starting Game Development without an Engine ****📺 Panel at SAGE 2026

Dive into designing a game without needing to learn code or an engine! Paper prototyping is a powerful tool that developers (or aspiring developers) can use to experiment with an idea before translating it into the digital space. Our panel of industry experts will discuss how to use paper prototyping and rapid prototyping, how different game formats can be turned into a paper prototype and how to test specific mechanics.

SPEAKERS-

Chair: Emma Losin – Product Owner, Mental Jam (SA) James O’Connor – Freelance consultant (SA) Meredith Hall – Head of Marketing, WINGS (VIC) Nick Yapp – Narrative Designer, Foxie Games (SA)

❗ Power Up: How to Market Your Game 📺 Panel at SAGE 2026

So you’ve made an awesome game, and now you want the whole world to know about it. How can you entice a publisher on board? How do you get media coverage? And how do you get your game noticed by players? Take a look behind the curtain of games publishing and marketing with tips on how to create the perfect pitch to publishers and media, grab the public’s attention, and develop a compelling hook that makes your game stand out from the competition.

SPEAKERS - Chantal Chateauneuf – Senior Marketing Manager, Epic Games (VIC) Jacqueline Burgess – Senior Lecturer, University of the Sunshine Coast (QLD) Jon Cartwright – Games Consultant, GameConsulting (QLD) Meredith Hall – Head of Marketing, WINGS (VIC) Chair: Petra Starke – Head of Communications & Marketing, SAFC (SA)

This session was presented as part of the SAGE Advice program at the South Australian Film Corporation's SAGE 2026: SA Game Exhibition, 6-7 February 2026. Filmed and produced by Channel 44.

2025

October

❗Multinational Monster: Collaboration Across Countries

**📺 GCAP Keynote with Jay Armstrong, Julian Wilton, James Pearmain**

Massive Monster, creators of Cult of the Lamb, are a games studio that works across over half a dozen countries and in an ungodly amount of time zones. Join the directors Jay Armstrong, Julian Wilton, and James Pearmain in conversation with Meredith Hall for a fireside chat as they discuss what it’s like to work with so many different collaborators in so many different spaces to make a breakout hit, and what to do once you get there.

March

❗Independent Games Summit: Hitting the Bullseye: Crafting a Winning Strategy for Targeting Creators and Press

📺 GDC Panel with Sarah Podzorki and Dana Trebella

With renowned, long-term game media outlets like Waypoint and Game Informer shuttering over the past year, and the proliferation of influencers in the space, studios and publishers need to adjust their marketing strategies to fit the ever-changing media environment. nnThis rapidly changing landscape has led to misconceptions ("If this streamer plays my game, I'll get this many sales!") and challenges in determining the strongest ways to maximize the impact of outreach, assets, and announcements. In this talk, Dana and Jenny will combine their years of experience working in marketing, content creation, brand strategy, and PR to detail how studios and publishers can make sense of what's available to them. They'll first do this by sharing strategies for running a competitive analysis, then model how teams can use that information to determine the best timing, audience, and outreach for traditional media and influencers, creating impactful activations for their title's marketing lifecycle.