Festival 2025
Three days exploring the transformative potential of digital games, bringing together developers, educators, researchers and change-makers to show how interactive storytelling and immersive gameplay can solve real-world problems.
Summit program
A full day of keynotes and panels at ACMI Cinema 2, Wednesday 8 October 2025.
Registration
Welcome remarks
Games for Change Australia & ACMI
Sustainability
Dr Ben Abraham, Sustainable Games Alliance
Behavioural Change
Prof Gillian Vesty (RMIT University) · Richard Salter (Hojo Studio) · Nico King (Chaos Theory)
Mental Health
Jake Truman (Entropy Interactive) · Dr Michelle Chen (Mental Jam) · Dr Vasileios Stavropoulos (RMIT University)
Lunch
Education and Training
Dr Spyros Schismenos (RMIT University) · Graham Hannah (UNSW) · Garry Westmore (ACMI)
Accessibility and Representation
Jess Rowlings (University of Melbourne / Next Level Collaboration) · Neema Iyer (STEMtoto) · Kasey Gambling (The Honeytrap)
Empathy
Dr Susannah Emery, University of South Australia
Closing remarks
Drinks
Showcase
A free public showcase of impact games across two evenings, Tuesday 7 and Thursday 9 October at ACMI, Federation Square. Full showcase line-up announced closer to the event.
Free entryIn Deep Water
An artfully sculpted digital marine biorama exploring Aotearoa New Zealand’s fragile aquatic ecosystems. Using quirky retro-futuristic controls, players navigate waterways, scan data beacons, and track marine species to understand microplastic pollution’s impact. Grounded in real scientific research collaborations, this sim-game enables meaningful public engagement with urgent marine biodiversity challenges.
BraveCart
A satirical narrative adventure following an abandoned shopping trolley’s revolution against consumerism and waste. This puzzle game for Steam, Switch, and Mobile features a real-world “Trolley Tracker” system for reporting abandoned trolleys, while donating 10% of sales to environmental charities, transforming entertainment into meaningful environmental action.
Myndzai
A mobile game integrating psychological practices from mindfulness to polyvagal theory and narrative therapy, designed to make mental health understanding engaging. Currently in vertical slice development with Screen NSW funding, this innovative title balances digital wellness with modern game design to create commercially viable mental health benefits.
The Hotline
A browser-based choose-your-own-adventure game satirizing anti-choice pregnancy helplines through simulated phone menu navigation. Featuring verbatim interviews from lived reproductive healthcare experiences, this interactive narrative explores how patriarchal medicine impacts people with reproductive health issues, including under-discussed topics like hysterectomy and gender-affirming care.
MythGuided
A combat-free VR storytelling and mindfulness adventure where players journey through calming, myth-inspired worlds to uncover forgotten stories. Blending mindful exploration, breathwork mechanics, memory puzzles, and immersive storytelling, this gentle experience offers unique challenges and characters while creating a safe space for relaxation, emotional wellbeing, and experiencing ancient mythology.
The Last Werewolf
An interactive narrative using werewolf folklore as a metaphor for living with Bipolar Disorder. Following Lachie’s supernatural investigation journey, this game blends humor with educational elements about mental health, exploring identity and self-understanding. Created through research and lived experience, it challenges player expectations while fostering empathy and meaningful conversation about mental health conditions.
_the little things
An immersive 8-minute 360° VR film featuring mesmerising shadow puppetry and found objects that create captivating landscapes and characters. This “DIY-VR” experience platforms real voices of local Merri-bek residents sharing thoughts on hope, strength, and community resilience, transforming everyday materials into magical storytelling through Bunk Puppets’ signature creativity
Sticky Web
An interactive narrative game where every choice shapes your family’s digital future. Players navigate fast-moving online scenarios—from viral misinformation to privacy traps and scams—making decisions affecting themselves, parents, siblings, and friends. Set in the Global South’s growing digital landscape, this replayable experience builds digital confidence and sparks meaningful conversation.
LoFi Games
An innovative RMIT initiative using cost-effective gamification through existing tools like Excel to create powerful educational simulations. Showcasing EcoVest, a semester-long impact investment game using real market data, and Chain Reaction, a Boeing-partnered aerospace supply chain simulation. These low-barrier, content-driven games significantly boost engagement while improving learning outcomes.
The Foodbank Game
A 10-level management simulation developed with Foodbank Victoria where players collect donations and healthy food while improving brand image. Each level presents ethical decision-making challenges that impact points earned, teaching the complexities of charity organization management while promoting responsible leadership and stakeholder engagement.
Crab God
An atmospheric underwater strategy game where players nurture Crablings while building coral reefs and defending the next Crab God’s egg. Through partnership with dots.eco, 10% of revenue supports real conservation efforts including ocean cleaning and reef restoration, converting virtual ecosystem management into tangible environmental impact.
2025 partners & supporters
ACMI · RMIT University · Chaos Theory · Playful Thinking
Games for Change Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work and play, and pays respect to Elders past and present.