Games business specialist
Amelia Laughlan
(she/they)
About
I help people make video games.I’m currently senior producer with Crossy Road developers Hipster Whale, working on an unannounced new project. I have an honours degree in Japanese studies and a background in writing. My experience spans game production, product management and game investment roles with Tin Man Games, Nintendo, Snowman, Fortress, Screen Australia and Hipster Whale. My games career began in 2015, dabbling with game writing and tabletop roleplaying game design.In 2022, I was appointed Games Investment Manager for Screen Australia, the federal government arts agency. As their first games hire in over ten years, I helped design and execute funding programs that enabled over $12M AUD to be granted to over 120 game projects during my tenure, including notable projects such as Gubbins, Blaktasia, Momento, Copycat and The Master’s Pupil.I’m passionate about playfulness being one of the few things in life worth taking seriously, and a people-first approach drives my philosophy as a producer and creative. I’m a board member of Freeplay, which is Australia’s longest-running independent games festival, and part of Screen Tasmania’s Expert Advisory Group. I’m interested in expanding my experience to more games and screen industry board and consulting roles - if you'd like to chat, please get in touch.I speak conversational Japanese and enjoy reading, writing, music-making, and hiking in my downtime.
Credits & Achievements
(TBA) Game - Unannounced title with Hipster Whale(2025) Speaker - Taking Up Space(2025) Panel - SXSW Sydney - Game Changers: Breaking into Games from Unexpected Paths(2025) Panel - NT Screen Summit - Playing to Win: The Business of Indie Games(2025-) Board Member - Freeplay(2025-) Member - Screen Tasmania Expert Advisory Group(2025) Games Connect Asia Pacific game production subject matter expert(2025) Event - Represented Hipster Whale / Australia at the Osaka World Expo(2025) Event - Represented Hipster Whale at BitSummit Indie Games Festival, Kyoto(2024) Achieved Japanese Language Proficiency Test N3 certificate(2024) Event facilitator - Screen Australia Local Lounge(2024) Event facilitator - Screen Australia Gender Matters Breakfast(2024) Panel - Games Connect Asia Pacific - Screen Australia Funding: 2 Years & 100 Games In(2024) Talk - Level Up Tasmania - Supporting Game Developers - Funding and how to get it with Screen Australia(2024) Program facilitator for Future Leaders Delegation to GDC(2023-24) Fund - Game Production Fund(2023-24) Fund - Emerging Gamemakers Fund(2023) Fund - First Nations Game Studio Fund(2023) Event facilitator and micro-talk curator - Screen Australia Local Lounge(2023) Talk - Games Connect Asia Pacific - Games Funding 2023 and Beyond(2023) Panel - SXSW Sydney - Videogame preservation(2023) Game - Lucky Luna - Netflix Games(2022) Panel - XR:WA - What the Blazes are Funding Agencies Doing(2022) Panel - Game Connect Asia Pacific - A Feature not a Glitch: the opportunities of gamemaking in Australia(2022) Talk - Game Connect Asia Pacific - Screen Australia: Back in the (funding) Game(2022) Event facilitator and micro-talk curator - Screen Australia Local Lounge(2022) Participant - Joan Kirner Emerging Leaders Program(2022-23) Fund - Games: Expansion Pack(2022-24) Represented Screen Australia at roadshows in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra(2021) Mentor - Limit Break | Video Game Mentorship Program(2021) Game - Where Cards Fall - PC, Nintendo Switch(2021) Game - Alto's Odyssey: The Lost City - Apple Arcade(2021) Game - Skate City - PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, Xbox(2020) Website Launch - My Nintendo Store AU/NZ - My Nintendo Rewards(2020) Events - My Nintendo Check-In - Supanova Melbourne, AnimeFest Sydney(2020) Game - Warhammer Underworlds: Online - PC(2019) Mentee - Girl Geek Academy Games Career Incubator(2019) Talk - AIT - Games Mastermind(2019) Achieved 4th Kyū in Shūkōkai Karate(2019) Game - Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown - PS VR(2019) 火吹山の魔法使い, Warlock of Firetop Mountain - Nintendo Switch(2018) Judge - Australian Game Developer Awards(2018) Game - Fighting Fantasy Classics - iOS, Android, PC, Mac(2017) Game - Nihon and the City of Edo - tabletop(2015) Degreee - Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Japanese & Asian Studies(2015) Thesis - Haruki Murakami, Takashi Murakami, the media and national identity in contemporary Japan(2010) Australian Student Ambassador in Japan - AIIU exchange program