In consecutive years, SXSW Sydney has played host to a vibrant Games Festival, defined by a passion for video games and, perhaps most importantly, the folks working behind the scenes to make them. Visiting the show is inspiring. You may discover a brand new game to love and wishlist. You may get the chance to speak to developers who’ve poured years into making something grand.
For Peak Distapan, Games Program Producer for SXSW Sydney, the Games Festival remains an exciting, complex challenge each year. He’s an essential voice in curating the annual Games Showcase, bringing years of experience in supporting the local Sydney games industry to this annual show.
As Distapan recently told GamesHub, his desire to elevate video games has grown over the years. In working with a team to curate SXSW Sydney’s games selection, he aims to provide a public, approachable platform where all games can be understood and appreciated. Each year, that goal becomes clearer when visiting the show floor.
Learning from community
Distapan’s own love for games started young, with edutainment titles such as Freddi Fish and Putt-Putt starting the journey, and Spyro the Dragon (amongst others) continuing it. While he chose to pursue design, visual arts, and illustration in his professional career, video games remained a key passion. Over the years, he dabbled in game jams, “fumbling” his way through development and picking up new skills along the way. He also volunteer-ran and managed many inclusive game events in Sydney.
“I’ve always been passionate about indie games and indie media, and that kind of passion really fuelled everything for me,” Distapan said. He was also inspired to reach further because of his growing connections within the local Sydney games community.
“In large cities like Sydney and Melbourne, you have really beautiful, strong communities. Even across Australia, in smaller cities like Adelaide and Perth, you have a tight-knit indie game communities,” Distapan said.
“Games as an industry is driven by passion, and a lot of passion-driven industries survive at all costs. It’s really hard to make games in this day and age, but that’s not going to stop people. It’s really cool there are people … who are making sure these [developers] get in a room together.”
“I leave every conversation with ideas. I find it very inspirational.”
Eventually, these conversations led him to join the SXSW Sydney team, where he’s worked for two years, in various capacities. Through multiple iterations of the event, Distapan has contributed his skills, to the point where he now plays a primary role in curating the annual Games Showcase, while aiding the wider Games team.
“For me, I get to leverage a lot of my creative skills from my previous jobs in this role, and support the team that way,” Distapan said. “Between running events with Sydney Gaymers – and I’ve also run a lot of other events in Sydney – that kind of experience is super valuable for an event like SXSW Sydney.”
A novel pleasure in this journey is being able to devote plenty of resources to the event, to realise its biggest ideas. In the past, Distapan described a need to be incredibly resourceful and thrifty. Now, lessons learned from the past inform the direction and scope of the annual Games Festival, and help the team to maximise every moment.
With Sydney only recently hosting new games-focused events, Distapan is also keenly aware of what SXSW Sydney means, and what it can be for local developers, as well as game enthusiasts. “Maximising the moment” really is essential.
“Sydney should have more games events,” Distapan said. “I think it’s so beautiful that Sydney gets to have these [new] opportunities … not only are we showcasing local talent from all of Australia, but [we] also bring games from all over the world.”
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As mentioned by Distapan, many of the benefits of SXSW Sydney are intangible – drawing community together, providing inspiration, and connection. But there’s also been more tangible takeaways from past events. In one case, being able to speak face-to-face with a publisher led to one featured Australian-made game securing a publishing deal.
“I think it’s really valuable for everyone, and I think it’s really cool that I get to be a part of that,” Distapan said.
Showcasing the games of the future
Preparation for this year’s SXSW Sydney Games Festival have been under way for several months now. Distapan, alongside the rest of the SXSW Sydney team, is currently hard at work preparing for what’s next.
As with prior iterations, there is a strong desire to make SXSW Sydney 2025 the best one yet. With the Games Showcase moving to the ICC Sydney this year, it has the potential to be bigger and more engaging for a wider audience. So, the Games team is curating the “vibes” to ensure it fills that space, and those expectations.
In his day-to-day, Distapan is currently fielding a lot of outreach, while also diving into games submitted by developers around the world. For him, it’s one of the best parts of his job. Distapan is particularly passionate about discovering hidden gems, and getting the chance to point them out to people, or to give them a formal stage. “I just get to go out and preach about it, which is really fun.”
As for the curation process itself, Distapan described it as being a conglomeration of vibes, and the tastes of the entire SXSW Sydney team, balanced by a need for geographical diversity.
“Sometimes, people ask ‘oh, what sort of thing are you looking for?’ It’s hard to really put into words,” Distapan said. “We want a good mix of platforming local Australian talent, as well as international talent, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region … that means I get rewarded for finding cool Asian games, which is important to me as an Asian person.”
In recent years, there has also been certain trends that arise on their own, with some games self-curating by their themes, or funny coincidence. In one of the first years of SXSW Sydney, one “silly theme” that emerged was many games submitted featured crabs. The team leant into this happenstance, looking for more games featuring crabs.
Of course, the team also considers where a game’s at in development during this curation process, as well as when it might release. Games should be polished for submissions, but where a title shows off cool ideas, there’s still scope for it to be included, or to be tabbed for reconsideration in another year. The key is in recognising potential, and elevating games that show off a recognisable spark.
As Distapan told GamesHub, this is a core reason why he’s so excited for this year’s show. The chance to show off new and upcoming games, and to see everyone connected by that shared love for gaming. While there’s still some time to go before preparations shape up – it sounds like there’s plenty of new projects, changes, and fresh curation for this year’s show – there’s already ample buzz about what’s to come.
Those keen to check out the SXSW Sydney Games Festival for themselves can learn more about it on the SXSW Sydney website. As announced, this year’s show takes place in Sydney, Australia from 13-19 October 2025.
