Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
@cassiebara29.bsky.social
Media and Comms Lecturer at Unimelb 🏫 | ECR researching videogames, narrative complexity and pedagogy 🎮 | Deputy Director of MAGPIE 🐦⬛| DiGRAA Board Member 🌏 | Checkpoint Writer ✍️ | She/Her
https://linktr.ee/cbarkman
https://linktr.ee/cbarkman
Pinned
Narrative Complexity in Videogames
This thesis considers narrative complexity within the videogame medium. Narrative complexity refers to stories that are difficult to follow or hard to understand. I explore the connection between narr...
figshare.swinburne.edu.au
Earlier this year I submitted my PhD on narrative complexity in indie games, which you can now read online here: figshare.swinburne.edu.au/articles/the...
I'm definitely biased, but I think its kinda neat.
I'm definitely biased, but I think its kinda neat.
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
📣 Hey Australian gamemakers!
Screen Australia's Games grants close in 2 weeks! A reminder to get your applications in! 🫶
🛠 Games Production Fund - up to $100,000
🎨 Emerging Gamemakers Fund - up to $30,000
📆 Applications close Thu 5 Mar, 5pm (AEDT)
👉 www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding-and-...
Screen Australia's Games grants close in 2 weeks! A reminder to get your applications in! 🫶
🛠 Games Production Fund - up to $100,000
🎨 Emerging Gamemakers Fund - up to $30,000
📆 Applications close Thu 5 Mar, 5pm (AEDT)
👉 www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding-and-...
February 18, 2026 at 12:26 AM
📣 Hey Australian gamemakers!
Screen Australia's Games grants close in 2 weeks! A reminder to get your applications in! 🫶
🛠 Games Production Fund - up to $100,000
🎨 Emerging Gamemakers Fund - up to $30,000
📆 Applications close Thu 5 Mar, 5pm (AEDT)
👉 www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding-and-...
Screen Australia's Games grants close in 2 weeks! A reminder to get your applications in! 🫶
🛠 Games Production Fund - up to $100,000
🎨 Emerging Gamemakers Fund - up to $30,000
📆 Applications close Thu 5 Mar, 5pm (AEDT)
👉 www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding-and-...
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
We are still looking for peer reviewers!
We are looking for 3 reviewers for an article on the Cities: Skylines II modding community. See the attached image for the abstract. Please contact Mark at mhi267@uky.edu if you are interested!
🌟Please note that all reviewers for Press Start must be current students or within 1 year of graduation
🌟Please note that all reviewers for Press Start must be current students or within 1 year of graduation
February 17, 2026 at 2:57 AM
We are still looking for peer reviewers!
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
I've been at DiGRA Australia at the University of the Sunshine Coast this week and it's been really wonderful. Just such a friendly research community and absolutely killer world-leading research projects.
February 10, 2026 at 12:55 PM
I've been at DiGRA Australia at the University of the Sunshine Coast this week and it's been really wonderful. Just such a friendly research community and absolutely killer world-leading research projects.
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
Did we miss a game? Leave a comment! We're eager to continue adding to the list where we can.
Notice a broken link or outdated piece of info? Email checkpoint@joy.org.au so that we can look to fix it!
Notice a broken link or outdated piece of info? Email checkpoint@joy.org.au so that we can look to fix it!
January 29, 2026 at 6:47 AM
Did we miss a game? Leave a comment! We're eager to continue adding to the list where we can.
Notice a broken link or outdated piece of info? Email checkpoint@joy.org.au so that we can look to fix it!
Notice a broken link or outdated piece of info? Email checkpoint@joy.org.au so that we can look to fix it!
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
The thriving Australian video game scene has over 150 projects in active development. So we compiled them all into one handy resource.
Join us in celebrating amazing Aussie projects and take a look at the 150+ Aussie games of 2026 and Beyond!
Read Here:
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
Join us in celebrating amazing Aussie projects and take a look at the 150+ Aussie games of 2026 and Beyond!
Read Here:
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
January 29, 2026 at 6:47 AM
The thriving Australian video game scene has over 150 projects in active development. So we compiled them all into one handy resource.
Join us in celebrating amazing Aussie projects and take a look at the 150+ Aussie games of 2026 and Beyond!
Read Here:
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
Join us in celebrating amazing Aussie projects and take a look at the 150+ Aussie games of 2026 and Beyond!
Read Here:
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
Freeplay rules! Fund art!!!!!
An update: Unfortunately Freeplay didn’t secure multi-year funding and is potentially looking at its last year of operation. We’re exploring what comes next & want your input.
Read our full statement here: www.freeplay.net.au/survey2026
Help us decide our next step here: forms.gle/W4ZSns1bGCX1...
Read our full statement here: www.freeplay.net.au/survey2026
Help us decide our next step here: forms.gle/W4ZSns1bGCX1...
Freeplay | 2026 Survey
An Update from Freeplay
www.freeplay.net.au
January 20, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Freeplay rules! Fund art!!!!!
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
An update: Unfortunately Freeplay didn’t secure multi-year funding and is potentially looking at its last year of operation. We’re exploring what comes next & want your input.
Read our full statement here: www.freeplay.net.au/survey2026
Help us decide our next step here: forms.gle/W4ZSns1bGCX1...
Read our full statement here: www.freeplay.net.au/survey2026
Help us decide our next step here: forms.gle/W4ZSns1bGCX1...
Freeplay | 2026 Survey
An Update from Freeplay
www.freeplay.net.au
January 20, 2026 at 1:35 AM
An update: Unfortunately Freeplay didn’t secure multi-year funding and is potentially looking at its last year of operation. We’re exploring what comes next & want your input.
Read our full statement here: www.freeplay.net.au/survey2026
Help us decide our next step here: forms.gle/W4ZSns1bGCX1...
Read our full statement here: www.freeplay.net.au/survey2026
Help us decide our next step here: forms.gle/W4ZSns1bGCX1...
Reviewed the new 28 Years, didn't like it as much as its predecessor but still a very good and interesting film with one scene in particular that will live rent free in my head for the rest of the year (complimentary).
MOVIE REVIEW: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
"...a great and novel addition to the 28 series, and hopefully one that audiences will embrace enough for us all to see the conclusion to this eclectic trilogy."
@28yearslater.bsky.social
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
"...a great and novel addition to the 28 series, and hopefully one that audiences will embrace enough for us all to see the conclusion to this eclectic trilogy."
@28yearslater.bsky.social
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
Cinematic Mode - 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple meditates on evil and empathy
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a thoughtful and unconventional zombie drama interested in evil, ritual and empathy.
checkpointgaming.net
January 15, 2026 at 5:05 AM
Reviewed the new 28 Years, didn't like it as much as its predecessor but still a very good and interesting film with one scene in particular that will live rent free in my head for the rest of the year (complimentary).
Extremely happy with this new co-authored paper where Finn and I explore the 'interface game' as an emerging microgenre - gives us the opportunity to discuss some fascinating games and talk about the prominence of user interfaces in our daily lives.
@cassiebara29.bsky.social and I have a new article out about the "Interface Game" microgenre: games that remediate user interfaces (like Hypnospace Outlaw and Her Story). Check it out at: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Interface Games as Microgenre: Definition and Thematic Investigation - Finn Dawson, Cassandra Barkman, 2026
In this article, we identify and define an emerging microgenre of videogame we call the interface game. While all videogames contain interfaces, “interface game...
journals.sagepub.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:49 AM
Extremely happy with this new co-authored paper where Finn and I explore the 'interface game' as an emerging microgenre - gives us the opportunity to discuss some fascinating games and talk about the prominence of user interfaces in our daily lives.
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
We are once again putting together the ultimate list of upcoming Australian-developed video games.
Tell us about your game: forms.office.com/r/d4E0jdPQGw
Share or tag any Aussie game dev you know so they can be involved in the coverage!
@igea.bsky.social
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
Tell us about your game: forms.office.com/r/d4E0jdPQGw
Share or tag any Aussie game dev you know so they can be involved in the coverage!
@igea.bsky.social
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
The 90+ Aussie games of 2025 and beyond!
Join us in celebrating the incredible talent and passion behind the Australian-made video games of 2025 and beyond
checkpointgaming.net
January 6, 2026 at 6:01 AM
We are once again putting together the ultimate list of upcoming Australian-developed video games.
Tell us about your game: forms.office.com/r/d4E0jdPQGw
Share or tag any Aussie game dev you know so they can be involved in the coverage!
@igea.bsky.social
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
Tell us about your game: forms.office.com/r/d4E0jdPQGw
Share or tag any Aussie game dev you know so they can be involved in the coverage!
@igea.bsky.social
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
I'm helping put together the list this year so feel free to reach out with questions or circulate the form around!
We are once again putting together the ultimate list of upcoming Australian-developed video games.
Tell us about your game: forms.office.com/r/d4E0jdPQGw
Share or tag any Aussie game dev you know so they can be involved in the coverage!
@igea.bsky.social
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
Tell us about your game: forms.office.com/r/d4E0jdPQGw
Share or tag any Aussie game dev you know so they can be involved in the coverage!
@igea.bsky.social
checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
The 90+ Aussie games of 2025 and beyond!
Join us in celebrating the incredible talent and passion behind the Australian-made video games of 2025 and beyond
checkpointgaming.net
January 6, 2026 at 6:29 AM
I'm helping put together the list this year so feel free to reach out with questions or circulate the form around!
DiGRAA is always a delight and a really accommodating conference - for anyone interested even just zooming in to see the breadth of cool games research happening in Aus is worth it.
DiGRA Australia's annual conference is next month at University of the Sunshine Coast. Free and hybrid, but in-person rego deadline is end of this week. Program and rego links: digraa.org/post/digraa-...
DiGRAA 2026 Program – DiGRA Australia
digraa.org
January 5, 2026 at 11:39 PM
DiGRAA is always a delight and a really accommodating conference - for anyone interested even just zooming in to see the breadth of cool games research happening in Aus is worth it.
Saw Sentimental Value, absolutely loved it. Will almost certainly end up being my favourite film of the year amidst some stiff competition. Well worth seeing when it comes out on Christmas (though maybe don't take your family if things are, well, complex).
December 16, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Saw Sentimental Value, absolutely loved it. Will almost certainly end up being my favourite film of the year amidst some stiff competition. Well worth seeing when it comes out on Christmas (though maybe don't take your family if things are, well, complex).
New article up! Its called 'A Minor History of Interactive Movies: Brilliant Digital Entertainment and the Dot-Com Bubble' and is part of Convergence's new special issue on 1990s Hollywood and Games edited by Helen Stuckey and Angela Ndalianis (open access): journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
A minor history of interactive movies: Brilliant Digital Entertainment and the dot-com bubble - Cassandra Barkman, 2025
This article conducts a genealogical analysis of Brilliant Digital Entertainment’s multipath movies as a minor history of videogames. Brilliant Digital Entertai...
journals.sagepub.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:59 AM
New article up! Its called 'A Minor History of Interactive Movies: Brilliant Digital Entertainment and the Dot-Com Bubble' and is part of Convergence's new special issue on 1990s Hollywood and Games edited by Helen Stuckey and Angela Ndalianis (open access): journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
Thank you to all the incredible ANZ-based developers who took part in our first Frosty Mini showcase today, and shared such wonderful announcements!
What a beautiful line-up 👏🏼
What a beautiful line-up 👏🏼
December 9, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Thank you to all the incredible ANZ-based developers who took part in our first Frosty Mini showcase today, and shared such wonderful announcements!
What a beautiful line-up 👏🏼
What a beautiful line-up 👏🏼
Reviewed Skate Story, a properly unreal game that gave me a 'come to Tony Hawk' experience for skateboarding as a craft. It's awesome.
checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
Skate Story Review – A skating sensorium
Share via: Facebook Twitter More
checkpointgaming.net
December 8, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reviewed Skate Story, a properly unreal game that gave me a 'come to Tony Hawk' experience for skateboarding as a craft. It's awesome.
checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
🌟We are still looking for reviewers for the following books:
- The Rule Book: The Building Blocks of Games
- Seeing Red: Nintendo's Virtual Boy
- Fifty Years of Dungeons and Dragons
- Run and Jump: The Meaning of the 2D Platformer
- Undertale: Can a Game Give Hope?
- The Rule Book: The Building Blocks of Games
- Seeing Red: Nintendo's Virtual Boy
- Fifty Years of Dungeons and Dragons
- Run and Jump: The Meaning of the 2D Platformer
- Undertale: Can a Game Give Hope?
The editorial board of Press Start invites book reviews for its upcoming regular issues!
- Word count: 1200-1500
- Deadline: 31 January 2026
More information in the thread, and please see the attached image for the list of available books for review:
- Word count: 1200-1500
- Deadline: 31 January 2026
More information in the thread, and please see the attached image for the list of available books for review:
December 5, 2025 at 2:59 PM
🌟We are still looking for reviewers for the following books:
- The Rule Book: The Building Blocks of Games
- Seeing Red: Nintendo's Virtual Boy
- Fifty Years of Dungeons and Dragons
- Run and Jump: The Meaning of the 2D Platformer
- Undertale: Can a Game Give Hope?
- The Rule Book: The Building Blocks of Games
- Seeing Red: Nintendo's Virtual Boy
- Fifty Years of Dungeons and Dragons
- Run and Jump: The Meaning of the 2D Platformer
- Undertale: Can a Game Give Hope?
It's also hard not to see this Netflix/WB merger as maybe the most brutal stake in the theatrical business in a long time (irrespective of what Netflix claims they will do). I hate this.
Joint Statement of the Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix.
December 5, 2025 at 9:50 PM
It's also hard not to see this Netflix/WB merger as maybe the most brutal stake in the theatrical business in a long time (irrespective of what Netflix claims they will do). I hate this.
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
The Journal of Games Criticism has published a new issue!! Come and read 6 great new open-access game studies articles!
gamescriticism.org/issue-6-1/
#gamestudies
gamescriticism.org/issue-6-1/
#gamestudies
December 5, 2025 at 12:30 AM
The Journal of Games Criticism has published a new issue!! Come and read 6 great new open-access game studies articles!
gamescriticism.org/issue-6-1/
#gamestudies
gamescriticism.org/issue-6-1/
#gamestudies
Kniv3s Out is obscenely fun, and a very unsubtle grappling with the effects of ideologically captured religious institutions and cults of personality (especially spicy for anyone with religious trauma).
November 28, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Kniv3s Out is obscenely fun, and a very unsubtle grappling with the effects of ideologically captured religious institutions and cults of personality (especially spicy for anyone with religious trauma).
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
This is the last week where Playful Paths will have display posters up on campus!
You can find us at the following locations:
• The South Lawn
• John Medley
• The Systems Garden
• The Student Pavilion
• The Science Gallery
You can find us at the following locations:
• The South Lawn
• John Medley
• The Systems Garden
• The Student Pavilion
• The Science Gallery
November 23, 2025 at 11:11 PM
This is the last week where Playful Paths will have display posters up on campus!
You can find us at the following locations:
• The South Lawn
• John Medley
• The Systems Garden
• The Student Pavilion
• The Science Gallery
You can find us at the following locations:
• The South Lawn
• John Medley
• The Systems Garden
• The Student Pavilion
• The Science Gallery
Technically it would be cheating for me to claim one of these given I helped make the game but I still kinda wanna.
The prize for completing Playful Paths has been updated!
If you complete the game before next Friday the 30th of November and show the epilogue to Science Gallery staff, you can receive a special prize bag.
If you complete the game before next Friday the 30th of November and show the epilogue to Science Gallery staff, you can receive a special prize bag.
November 19, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Technically it would be cheating for me to claim one of these given I helped make the game but I still kinda wanna.
Reposted by Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
REVIEW: Demonschool
"Demonschool is nonetheless a vivid, stylistic mesh of Argento and Persona that, alongside strong writing and a fun cast, was a great companion over a semester of time."
@necrosoftgames.com
checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
"Demonschool is nonetheless a vivid, stylistic mesh of Argento and Persona that, alongside strong writing and a fun cast, was a great companion over a semester of time."
@necrosoftgames.com
checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
Demonschool Review - Top marks
Demonschool gets high marks for its inventive and tightly designed combat system; it also offers assured, cohesive design and presentation.
checkpointgaming.net
November 19, 2025 at 1:58 AM
REVIEW: Demonschool
"Demonschool is nonetheless a vivid, stylistic mesh of Argento and Persona that, alongside strong writing and a fun cast, was a great companion over a semester of time."
@necrosoftgames.com
checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
"Demonschool is nonetheless a vivid, stylistic mesh of Argento and Persona that, alongside strong writing and a fun cast, was a great companion over a semester of time."
@necrosoftgames.com
checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
Reviewing @necrosoftgames.com's Demonschool after it was delayed by Silksong was REALLY HARD, because I had to spend three months resisting my urge to recommend it to everyone.
But now its finally coming out tomorrow and its great and you should play it. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
But now its finally coming out tomorrow and its great and you should play it. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
Demonschool Review - Top marks
Demonschool gets high marks for its inventive and tightly designed combat system; it also offers assured, cohesive design and presentation.
checkpointgaming.net
November 19, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Reviewing @necrosoftgames.com's Demonschool after it was delayed by Silksong was REALLY HARD, because I had to spend three months resisting my urge to recommend it to everyone.
But now its finally coming out tomorrow and its great and you should play it. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...
But now its finally coming out tomorrow and its great and you should play it. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2025...