I’ve been part of the games industry for years. Commentating on esports, competing in tournaments, covering games, working at game booths, attending conferences, and yes writing lots of articles, as well as playing my fair share of games.
When I heard ACMI was putting together an exhibition on the history of gaming, I just had to find out more. My background in technology also pips my fascination with game development, and understanding how code and hardware work. Let me tell you, ACMI’s Game Worlds exhibition did not disappoint.
Walking into the ACMI’s Game Worlds exhibition—alongside my player two of course—felt like stepping back in time. There was a spark of curiosity, a rush of nostalgia, and the anticipation of discovering and learning more about the history of this incredible industry.
The exhibition is more than a showcase of video games. It’s designed as an interactive time capsule of how games have evolved. From their humble, pixelated-text-based, beginnings to vast, connected universes that shape how we play, learn, and connect today.
From text to pixels: The early days of imagination
The exhibition—and your journey—begins in the 1970s, when games were less about graphics and more about imagination. Titles like Colossal Cave Adventure, Zork, and Maze War remind us that gaming started as an exercise in storytelling and exploration.
Armed with little more than a blinking cursor, players ventured into mysterious caverns or navigated virtual mazes across primitive networks. These worlds became the foundations of what would later become multiplayer gaming. The exhibition even features a huge touch screen Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) mini-game, showing you how old games and new technology can combine to create something amazing.
There’s a kind of poetry in these beginnings. Without high-end visuals or surround sound, it was words and wits that drew players in. Standing in front of these early games, you feel the constraints of what developers were working with, and receive a taste of what early gaming was like. There were no REDDIT forums, no walkthrough guides. Players needed to remember every move they typed into the console. This served as a reminder that creativity often flourishes within constraints. For anyone who’s ever tinkered with code, built a project during a hackathon, or launched a small indie game, that same sense of discovery feels deeply familiar.
Building worlds: The age of simulation and sandbox play
As the exhibition moves through the 1980s and 1990s, the focus shifts from exploration to creation. Let me tell you this is where the nostalgia hit really hard. It’s the era of SimCity, The Sims, and Minecraft. These games that invited us not just to play in worlds, but to build them. Memories of LAN parties, hacking together cables, filling up basketball stadiums with tables and computers for a weekend of gaming came flooding back.
It’s this era where we start to see the power of agency in gaming. Instead of following linear paths, players became architects, storytellers, and experimenters. Whether you were constructing a dream city, unleashing pixelated chaos on unsuspecting Sims, or trying to remember which cheat codes summoned what in Age of Empires, the underlying theme was freedom. The Game Worlds Exhibition captures this beautifully. There’s this idea that games can be both playgrounds and creative studios, where the player becomes the maker.
And for those of us who’ve spent years building tech communities or teaching others to code, this resonates. Games taught us that tools don’t just create outputs, they create opportunities. The same energy that fuels collaborative development today is right there in the DNA of SimCity, Minecraft, and the nostalgic NeoPets.
Connected universes: The rise of online and social play
Fast-forward to the 2000s, and suddenly, gaming isn’t a solitary experience anymore. Titles like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV Online, and Elder Scrolls Online showcase the emergence of vast, living worlds where thousands of players coexist, collaborate, and sometimes compete.
At Game Worlds, these multiplayer environments are more than nostalgia trips, they’re reminders of how games became early social networks. Guilds, raids, and community events became digital campfires where people found belonging, built friendships, and even launched careers in content creation and esports.
Online communities in particular made a huge rise during the pandaemic as places to find connection and community. The Game Worlds exhibition showcases how many of these online games evolved over the years, especially titles like World of Warcraft that have been around for decades. The exhibition also pays homage to those games that were taken offline or shut down due to multiple factors, and remembers the communities that dwelled in those digital landscapes.
The indie revolution: Creativity without limits
The next part of the exhibition celebrates independent (indie) creators who’ve reshaped what games can be. Titles like Celeste, Hollow Knight, and Terra Nil stand shoulder to shoulder with global giants, living proof that innovation doesn’t require a blockbuster budget. Many of these games are built on Aussie soil, solidify the importance of the Australian gaming industry.
There’s something especially powerful about seeing Hollow Knight, crafted by Australian studio Team Cherry, which turned hand-drawn art and meticulous design into a world beloved by millions. ACMI’s inclusion of indie titles isn’t just a curatorial choice; it’s a statement that games are art, and that creativity thrives when voices from all backgrounds are heard.
For Melbourne—one of the world’s most vibrant indie dev scenes— the message hits home. Game Worlds isn’t just an international retrospective; it’s a love letter to local creativity.
A celebration of play
Ultimately, ACMI’s Game Worlds is a celebration. Not just a celebration of games themselves, but of the people who make, play, and share them. It’s a reminder that gaming isn’t about winning or losing. Rather it’s about exploring, learning, experimenting, and connecting. It’s the same spirit that fuels innovation in tech, art, and beyond.
Leaving the exhibition, I couldn’t help but think of all the ways gaming has shaped the way we collaborate. From multiplayer teamwork, indie studio development, to global online communities. ACMI’s Game Worlds captures that journey with care and creativity, inviting everyone, regardless of whether you identify as a gamer, to pick up a controller, press start, and play their part in this evolving story.
ACMI’s Game Worlds exhibition
ACMI’s Game Worlds runs until February 2026 at Federation Square, Melbourne.
Featuring more than 30 games and 44 playable experiences across five decades of gaming history. Grab your tickets, and don’t miss this fantastic celebration of gaming culture. If you need more convincing, check out my hype reel on Instagram.
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