From Critical Role to Desiquest to Dimension 20, 2024 has solidified itself as the year where “Actual Play” Dungeons & Dragons shows (filmed games designed for public viewing) have nestled in to make a comfortable home in the mainstream.
With their soaring popularity and engaging gameplay, it makes sense that we’ll be seeing more of them pop up at community events like Melbourne International Games Week and PAX over the coming weeks – and one of the most exciting Actual Play shows this year is set to land next week at Melbourne’s Big Games Night Out.
A huge fiesta of games, performances, activities and more, Big Games Night Out is one of the most jam-packed events of the Melbourne International Games Week calendar – and this year it promises to well and truly live up to its moniker.
The Gammin Guild, an all-Indigenous Dungeons & Dragons collective of talented players, will be dropping in for a live one-shot campaign, featuring a special guest Game Master and a whole host of surprises. From 5pm to 7pm at the Koori Heritage Trust, audiences will be given the opportunity to see the extremely funny and talented team in action.
We had the privilege of chatting with Gammin Guild member and founder of INDIGINERD, Cienan Muir, all about the Guild’s involvement with Big Games Night Out, what audiences can expect from their adventures, and why it’s so exciting to be performing this year specifically.
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“The Gammin Guild was able to be part of this year’s celebration really through it’s relationship with INDIGINERD,” said Muir.
Described as a “platform promoting the pure deadliness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creativity,“ INDIGINERD works to create space and opportunities for Indigenous creatives across a bunch of disciplines. Per the website, the company “[provides] a platform for diverse thinking, perspectives informed by thousands of years, and a crossover of culture and creativity.”
Through INDIGINERD, Muir has witnessed how positive the impact can be when these opportunities are created. “As an Aboriginal-owned business within the pop culture and event space, [INDIGINERD] started giving opportunities to my community – particularly our mob who are into films, movie-making, video games, game development, cosplay,” he said.
“Gammin Guild is an example of an opportunity for our mob to showcase exactly what we’re good at: telling stories. As the world’s oldest story tellers, I think this comes naturally to us.”
2024 also marks a particularly special milestone for Dungeons & Dragons itself, with the 50th anniversary of the game’s first publication. Henry Williamson, Brand Manager for ANZ at Wizards of the Coast, told GamesHub, “The 50th anniversary aims to celebrate the overall journey of the brand that started way back in the 70’s … Now more than ever, there’s a fantastic variety of ways to engage with the brand and incredible community of players, fans and storytellers.”
With this growing appreciation for a half-century old phenomenon, being able to perform their own adventures at an event like Big Games Night Out is huge for the Guild – especially when it comes to shining a spotlight on diverse stories and people.
”To be honest, it’s really a dream come true,” said Muir. “Globally we are seeing the meeting of diverse storytellers and D&D … it really is refreshing to see groups such as Desiquest or Three Black Halflings or even NDND set the international stage for diverse D&D.”
So what can we expect from the Gammin Guild at Big Games Night Out?
If there’s one thing guaranteed at any Actual Play show, it’s that nothing is predictable. From spur of the moment decisions through to unexpected interactions, everything is on the table – literally.
While reasonably tight-lipped about the impending adventure, Muir promised one thing for sure. ”I can’t give too much away just yet, but chaos is guaranteed and The Gammin Guild will never be the same,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of thought put into it by our amazing GM, leading Wilga, Lyra, Aurora and Leo [played by Rae Johnston, CC, Karlie Noon and Muir, respectively] to gold… I mean, victory.”
If that sounds right up your alley, come along to Big Games Night Out on October 10th, 2024 at Federation Square in Melbourne. With all manner of chaos on the cards, who knows where the Guild may go…
