New awards and discussion panels program launched for SAGE 2024

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New awards and discussion panels program launched for SAGE 2024

13 February 2024

Adelaide’s newest and biggest video games showcase, South Australian Game Exhibition (SAGE), has launched two new awards to celebrate innovation and excellence in the state’s games sector and announced the exciting program of speakers and panels at this week’s free, family-friendly event.

Presented by the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) as the flagship event on the 2024 Adelaide Fringe Interactive program, SAGE is a super showcase of South Australia’s video game development sector, with a huge range of locally made games on display to see and play on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February at Adelaide Studios.

Now in its second year, SAGE 2024 is double the fun and excitement with two action-packed days of free fun, an extended program of more than 30 exhibitors, and now two new awards: the SAGE: Elevate Award for the best game in the Elevate section, with a prize of $1,000 of legal services provided by SAGE partner Cam Rogers Legal, and the SAGE Award for Best in Exhibition, with a $2,000 cash prize for the best game overall, provided by the SAFC.

The Awards will be determined by the 2024 SAGE Jury comprised of Screen Australia Games Investment Manager Chad Toprak, Big Ant Studios Chief Operating Officer Mark Bracken, Kotaku Australia managing editor David Smith, Games Hub’s Leah Jade Williams and independent games consultant Jon Cartwright.

Get a sneak peek at the 30+ games that will be on exhibition in this exciting new video trailer, made by SAGE partner Half Giant.

Also announced today is the SAGE Advice program of talks and discussion panels taking place over the two day-event, featuring industry experts including Screen Australia Games Investment Manager Chad Toprak; Big Ant Studios COO Mark Bracken; Senior Quality Assurance Analyst at Mighty Games (A Keywords Studio) Lucie Migne; Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) CEO Ron Curry; Cam Rogers of Cam Rogers Legal; Half Giant Co-Founder and Co-Director David Smith; Kirsty Parkin of Supaglu Recruitment; Game Plus Manager Onnie Chan; Department for Trade and Investment Business Development Manager Claudia Watson; games journalists David Smith of Kotaku Australia and Leah Jade Williams of Games Hub; and education experts from Flinders University and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) alongside SAFC Game Development Strategy Executive Patrick Webb and SAFC Head of Communications and Marketing Petra Starke.

Joining these industry heavyweights on the SAGE Advice panels will be SA game developers including Catalyst Games’ Aiden Gyory; Cerulean Creative Studios’ Arthur Ah Chee; CinnaDev’s Heidi Borge; Mini Mammoth Games’ Edee Korhonen-Bannister; Paper Cactus Games’ Leo Cheung; We Have Always Lived in the Forest’s Chantal Ryan; and We Made a Thing Studios’ Jeremy Kelly Bakker and Tom Phillips.

Following last year’s bumper inaugural event which attracted more than 800 people across a single afternoon, SAGE 2024 is back bigger and better than ever allowing video game fans, players, enthusiasts and everyone in between to experience exciting new South Australian made games first-hand and meet the people behind them. Learn all about South Australia’s video game development industry and how the SAFC supports it; find out more about the exciting career pathways on offer in the sector and how you can be a part of it and more – and it’s all FREE! Get your free tickets now via the Adelaide Fringe and find more information at sagameexhibition.com

SAGE ADVICE QUICK-LOOK PROGRAM

Friday 16 February

2.30pm – 3.15pm SA Great: South Australian games getting national support – presented by Screen Australia
4.00pm – 4.45pm Choose Your Own Adventure: Pathways into a games sector career
5.15pm – 6.00pm Destination Unknown: Where will gaming go next?

Saturday 17 February

11.30am – 12.15pm Power Up: Getting a job in the games sector – Presented by Big Ant Studios
1.00pm – 1.45pm Supporting Game Makers: Funding and other support for game developers, and how to access it
2.30pm – 3.15pm Level Up: How to perfect your pitch, stand out and make your game hot property

More detail and speaker bios available at sagameexhibition.com/program

SAGE 2024 features

32 total exhibitors across the main SAGE Showcase and new Elevate section, spread across both sound stages at the SAFC’s Adelaide Studios screen production facilities in Glenside;
Informative displays from partner organisations across industry, education and more;
A new Refuel Zone featuring food trucks and refreshments, and
A brand new “SAGE Advice” program of panel discussions featuring local game developers and national industry experts.

SAGE: SA Game Exhibition is FREE and open to all at Adelaide Studios, 1 Mulberry Road Glenside, Friday 16 February 1.00pm-6.00pm (Official opening by Arts Minister Andrea Michaels at 1.30pm) and Saturday 17 February 10.00am-6.00pm. Get your free tickets now via the Adelaide Fringe and find more information at sagameexhibition.com

SAGE Partners

INDUSTRY PARTNER

PLATINUM SPONSOR

GOLD SPONSORS

ELEVATE SPONSOR

REFUEL ZONE SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSORS

Downloads

Download the full media release (428KB PDF)