ACMI, 2022

The Bar SK x ACMI Playground was part of the Art After Dark Festival across Melbourne city in April, 2022. The space consisted of 6 immersive experiences:

- Slime Explosion Arcade feat. Multibowl by Bennet Foddy and AP Thomson.
- Cog and Balls feat. OG wooden controllers around a floor projection.
- Park Bench controller feat. Pigeon Game by Leura Smith & 100 hand made pigeons.
- Maze-in-a-box internal projector plinth feat. Catacombs of Solaris by Ian Maclarty.
- Lofi Lites Jukebox ATM feat. my hacked cashconnect ATM playing tunes throughout the venue.
- The toilet shrine feat. photos of a not forgotten bathroom.

Bar SK, 2016, 2018

Delete is a game jam and exhibition that culminates with the destruction of everything created that day. Held at Bar SK, groups arrive around noon to begin creating games. Some are digital, some are physical, some are in between. Around 7pm we try to get the games up and running so the public can come and play them with the artists. At midnight, everything is deleted. The digital games, the assets created, any physical sculptures or controllers, anything created that day must be destroyed, leaving only photos and sketchy memories.

This event is important to me for a variety of reasons. I don't see games as permanent things, I think playing a game is an experience and as such it's transient, and that's worth celebrating. I also think that creating art is more important than the resulting artwork. The lessons learnt can't be deleted. These outcomes are valid, and in an industry that only accepts download counts as a metric for success, it's important to show people that not all games are for everyone, and that's okay.

Article on Delete 2016
Article on Delete 2018

Bar SK and PAX AUS, 2017
Collaboration with Blushbox C L T V

Blushbox Collective do amazing work collecting and creating resources of love, sex and romance in videogames. For a month in 2017, Bar SK and Blushbox collaborated on an exhibition more focused on the sex side of videogames, titled XXXhibition. Over the 4 weeks we exhibited a range of games and controllers, including unique experiences like Genital Jousting on the Dildo controllers, smaller intimate games like It Will Be Hard, and even the subversion of the mainstream in the Wicked Whims mod of the Sims 4.

This collection was trimmed down to create the XXXhibition room at PAX AUS 2017, the first space at any PAX dedicated to sex, love and romance in videogames. The space was decorated with a garden theme and had spaces to sit around the games, with the aim to encourage people to enjoy the space and see the works even if they didn't feel comfortable playing them. We received amazing feedback in this regard, with guests saying it was one of the most comfortable places in PAX.

Article on the PAX space

Various spaces, 2015, 16, 17
Collaboration with Hovergarden and Inward Goods

Each year during Melbourne International Games Week, a few of us get together to create the party we want to attend. It's not tied to any games development company, there's no bar tab, and it's not clean. We want to represent the experimental and independent, and these events might be abrasive or confronting. It's usually set in a warehouse with a temporary bar, and live DJs play loudly amongst the games. While the venue has changed a few times the aesthetic and feel has been constant, and is a direct combination of each contributor.

Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, 2014

SK Games went on tour in 2014, driving a van full of computers and controllers from Perth to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The games on display were largely our own, created for public play and parties, but we accepted submissions from anyone with games that would work on the cabinets, and even had other developers create games specifically for the tour.

In Melbourne we set up a gallery space in the city, as well as running an event at PAX AUS and activating a bar space during the convention. In Sydney we set up in a small gallery in Chippendale, as well as at a local bar. In Brisbane we set up a gallery space in the valley, which we also used as a venue for a music gig while we were there. Finally in Perth we used a space in Northbridge to display the games and host a few parties.

London 2015, 2017
Collaboration with Now Play This

In 2015 I happened to be in London when the first Now Play This occurred, and I offered to help create some controllers for the event. Now Play This resonates with me as it's an event aimed away from regular games crowds, yet still shows contemporary interesting experiences. My controllers were a great fit and helped players who were less games-literate interact with the works on display.

In 2017 they were able to secure funding to invite me over to create new controllers and run a workshop. Both times I used objects and materials from near the venue to show the uniqueness of these works, and explained the DIY nature of my works in workshops.

Austin 2017
Collaboration with Fantastic Arcade

Fantastic Arcade is an amazing little festival in Austin, Texas, that was originally alongside the Fantastic Film Festival. 2017 was the first year it split off to become its own event, and I was invited to help run the opening party. I created controllers in Austin to show off a selection of Australian games, which were installed for the night alongside live DJs. It’s always a challenge to create controllers in different countries, but I was particularly happy with how the works came together.