IDEF 09

Over the course of the Melbourne Cup weekend, we were invited to attend the International Digital Entertainment Festival (iDEF) in Melbourne. Spanning Friday the 30th of October to November the 1st and offering a range of exhibits and events in a wide range of flavours. iDEF is a three part festival, containing; The eGames Expo, Develop ICT Skills & Careers Expo and the Digital Lifestyle Show. Ganatomy was invited to check it all out while the public waited for the doors to open.


eGames had a wide range of attractions from companies like; Ubisoft, Xbox 360, 2K Games, With The Band. Professional gaming competitions and exhibitions were also run by Ozhadou, Couch Warriors, GameStah, Intel and many more. The Digital Lifestyle Show had a small anime theatre, showing a range of recent Madman offerings. For those interested in making games and learning how to make them, Develop offered student’s access to Universities, Digital Media colleges and Indie Game companies.

Universities and other academic institutions were out in full force at iDEF, giving students and would-be game developers the opportunity to talk to lecturers and students about how they can get into the courses and what they were all about. The Academy of Interactive Entertainment had all sorts of game projects on display within their booth, some being worked on during the expo as a demonstration!


Along side vendors and booths, there were panels running throughout the weekend. These panels discussed 3D modelling and other educational topics, but also ran along side general discussion panels and live demonstrations. While panels weren’t running, eSports groups were wrapping up their finals on stage, playing Tekken 6 and Street Fighter IV to a packed audience. The atmosphere in the crowd was amazing! Other attractions included simulators, home entertainment system demonstrations, digital service presentations and magazine presence.

The International Digital Entertainment Festival runs annually in Melbourne, check for info on this year’s event and for news on next years event at idef.com.au