What goes into deciding Australia's game of the year?
 I speak to past judges @legenette.bsky.social, @nikpantis.bsky.social, @cassgray.bsky.social and Rick Salter, on how they went about judging, managing bias, and playing all of those games!

I’ve had a blast playing Pokemon Champions. But, I’ve had some very one sided matches, where judging by the moves picked, the other player didn’t know what they were doing. Given this is a mobile game aimed at broadening out Pokemon battling, I’ve written a piece on this.

Check out this post with a feature of my writing 👇 I had to write about Dark Souls with my experiences battling The Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough as one of my greatest gaming moments! It was a fun challenge! I send a huge thanks to @harrisonpolites.bsky.social for the opportunity!

Hey, I think prediction pieces can be a bit of a waste of time too. But... I asked everyone I interviewed this year for a gaming industry prediction, and the piece actually turned out really well! Lots in here about AI, game discovery and the rise of Indies.

Been covering the sector for 18 months. Still trying to wrap my head around how there’s billions floating around, but everyone in it is struggling financially. This, at least, nails one aspect of the issue.

I'm coining a new phrase today, don't think it will stick though... and for the sake of gaming more broadly, I hope it isn't really a trend.

Hit another milestone today! Infinite Lives' first contributor article is up! @nomibelle.bsky.social looks at accessibility and The Game Awards. The show once championed the issue, now, years on, all GOTY nominees aren't exactly pushing it forward. Here's why it matters.

We’ve all tried it…

I love my Switch 2, but six months on, it's kinda gathering dust. And that's because, I only really play Nintendo-exclusive games on it. I look at some of the friction points with Nintendo's broader ecosystem, and why they are holding back an otherwise brilliant bit of tech.

In a year full of sequels, another AAA Edo-period Japan game, and yet another PS revenge story... Ghost of Yotei feels skippable. But I really, really enjoyed my time with it. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but that's fine? It's yet another solid game from Sucker Punch. Perhaps snubbed for GoTY.

Always wanted to be a journalist. Fell into tech journalism by chance, loved it. Years later, when career progression slowed, was tricked into tech PR. Was good at it, enjoy giving advice. Stayed in PR, now work for myself. And feed my passion for journalism - which never died - on Substack.

Games journalism once made or broke a game. Today, it’s kept around mostly for scores and pull quotes. My third piece in a series on the changing nature of videogame reviews. infinitelives.substack.com/p/how-the-ga... Cheers to @dave.powerhoof.com, Alex Harding and Simon Slee for their thoughts.

Tiny bit shocked to not see Ghost of Yotei make the shortlist for Game of The Year. You may say... "It likely released too late to be considered". But I did some data work last week, and Q4 releases (often in October) make the shortlist more often than not.

I cannot understate my love for Pokemon. Grew up with the games, stuck with them as an adult. Which is why it hurts to see the series plateau in terms of production values, with a lack of graphical finesse and voice acting, despite really strong core gameplay mechs.... while also charging $AUD110.

Still listen to the soundtrack regularly.

I find it wild, and fascinating, that The Economist - a North Star for a lot of newsrooms - is running great gaming journalism when most major newsrooms in Aus just aren’t?

Really happy with how this one turned out, thanks so much to @dave.powerhoof.com for talking to me. Hopefully some good advice in here for indie devs and those curious in the indie industry.

Reminder to Australian devs that @sifterhq.bsky.social does the lord's work every year by compiling every single Australian-made videogame they can find. You can submit your 2025 releases here: www.sifter.com.au/add-my-game-...

Man, this was tough. I played dozens of games on the PAX show floor a week or so ago. Today, I single out four (and mentioned a lot more) that are worth paying attention to. Here's my take: infinitelives.substack.com/p/my-pick-of...

So far Pokémon ZA is ticking a lot of boxes. ✅ Cool new combat system ✅ Older characters, so I don’t feel weird playing as a child as a 30 yr old. ✅ It’s fast paced! ✅ Heavy tutorial, but you still get into the core game quickly. So far so good! What are your thoughts?

My giant angry Feraligatr is so sneaky. They never saw it coming.

Who did you pick as your starter and why? For me: I’ve never picked Totodile before in any other game, so it’s getting a whirl.

I've only just encountered this earlier this year, but is indeed a thing. Put an AU figure in the headline, and I got spammed with: "Ahh, dude, that's the wrong amount"

In today's edition: I try to quantify the rise of Indies at #PAXAus, with the help of both @scree.bsky.social and @firkraags.bsky.social aags.bsky.social. Both reporters have been recording the number of games on exhibition. While not an exact science, the trend is there!

Going to be juggling a few games over the next few weeks. Just now starting on Ghost of Yotei. Any tips?

After playing the demo at PAX, and reading this, I’m really pumped for this game. Glad they’ve managed to find a way to go in a new direction without shafting the VGC community.

Morning @firkraags.bsky.social! Wanted to get in touch regarding your list of PAX Indies, to cross check a piece that I'm doing. What's the best way to reach you? BlueSky won't let me DM.

I love playing Magic, but let me introduce you to the bane of my existence... sorting cards. First by colour. Then by mana value. Any tips? Also best way to purge cards in Australia? My collection is getting a little full.

One more example of the ‘cardification’ of PAX, and gaming. Nerdier than Califorinication and not dire like enshitification.

Here’s a blast from the not too distant past. Listening to the Hi-Fi Rush Soundtrack on the train into #PAXAus today. The Elsinore cover of Fiona Apple’s ‘Fast As You Can’ is a banger — and the accompanying boss fight is one of the game’s best. RIP Tango Gameworks music.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

PAX Day 2! Thanks everyone :) @bradgoodwin.bsky.social @nomibelle.bsky.social @jaydencusack.bsky.social @bibbybhoy.bsky.social @faultrunner.bsky.social @austingallagher.bsky.social @gdig.bsky.social @jamiegalea.bsky.social @riorobayo.bsky.social @kjpalmer.bsky.social @harrisonpolites.bsky.social

A drink after a jam packed PAX Friday! See you all tommorow! #paxaus2025 @bradgoodwin.bsky.social @alexbestie.com.au @harrisonpolites.bsky.social

All set for an even bigger day at #PAXAUS tomorrow.

Bumper edition of Infinite Lives this week, covering Melb International Games Week. Game dev challenges, AI in games, Roblox and... Neopets? It's all in there.

Melbourne International Games Week is next week! Govt estimations say it will draw more of a crowd than the AFL Grand Final this year -- one of the city's largest events. I look at what makes this event so special and ask those in the industry what they are attending and why.

In today's Inf Lives: @thisweekinvideogames.com, launched by @skillup.bsky.social and @edmondtran.bsky.social, secured 500+ paid subscribers in its first month—a rare feat for any publication. I look at the growing trend of reader-supported platforms in global gaming journalism.

One of the world's oldest gaming studies is Australian. Australia Plays has been running 20 years now, shaping global debate about what the average videogamer looks like. As the data becomes repetitive, I explore the report's future with its creators.

Happy Silksong launch day! It's real! And finally out! In today's column: How did Hollow Knight—15M+ copies sold, an indie rivalling the attention on AAA games — go broadly unrecognised in its home country? Weird, right?

AI and game dev -- it's a pretty polarising topic, to say the least. Spoke to a bunch of devs and industry types on it, on both the good and bad, and here's what I came up with:

Stoked to be part of this awesome post alongside some fantastic game writers! 👏

A cool global collab that I pulled together on Substack. Good place to start if you are looking for gaming writers on that platform. Got a character that you reckon is underrated or unappreciated in a video game? Add it to the list in the comments!

In today’s Infinite Lives I call out some data that surfaced as part of the Digital Platform Services Inquiry by the ACCC. It kinda snuck under the radar when the report launched.

Every so often, a game comes along that makes you think. The Alters is one of those games. Come for the deep ethical questions on cloning and the impact of life choices, or stay away for the debate on Gen AI in games it’s inadvertently created. Here's my review.

Has Nintendo inadvertently put itself on the ACCC’s hit list? Nintendo’s new Terms of Service allows it to brick tampered consoles, but it could breach Australian consumer law. It's a complex issue, and I break it down in this week's Inf Lives.

You may think that 24 player racers mean each and every track is unadulterated chaos. And you would be correct. But the intro or rail and wall riding in this game have quietly made it the most technical we've seen. World record time trial tricks are now a lot more accessible.

Launching the second part of my investigation into game reviews today, this time focusing on journalist reviews. The more I spoke to media reviewers, the more I realised just how much control is exerted with game code distribution.

I spent the past two weeks playing Elden Ring: Nightreign. It may have to do with being in Australia, but no matter what I did I struggled to find a match. Even found two other friends with the game and it wouldn't let us connect. Have a NAT 2 connection. Anyway, I wrote this as a result:

I'm on the cusp of being swept away by Summer Game Fest hype. But before I let the excitement of both the Switch 2 launch and trailer-mania wash over me... a reality check: infinitelives.substack.com/p/the-gaming...

Thank you @sporktank.bsky.social for taking the time to chat to me!

how it started (shitpost) vs how it's going (cryin because I can't believe we just wrapped production on @frostygamesfest.com) open.substack.com/pub/infinite...