HIGH SCORE - Game Audio Conference
4 – 5 OCTOBER 2025
ACMI, Fed Square, Melbourne
Part of Melbourne International Games Week
Turn up the volume. Game audio deserves to be heard.
High Score is Australia’s premier game audio conference. Returning to its spiritual home at ACMI, this two-day event brings together composers, sound designers, developers, voice artists and audio professionals to explore the creative and business sides of game audio.
An initiative of the Victorian Government, presented by the Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO), High Score is a cornerstone event of Melbourne International Games Week.
This year’s theme — Turn Up The Volume — champions the idea that game audio deserves to be heard. It highlights how music and sound shape player experience by building atmosphere, driving narrative and enhancing gameplay.
What to expect
→ AAA studio insights and masterclass
→ Studio leadership and advanced sound design
→ Orchestral game scores and adaptive music
→ FMOD deep dives and fast-paced expert tips
→ Career pathways, pitching and professional growth
→ Business essentials: contracts, licensing, funding and sustainability
Curated by Amy McNickle, this year’s program puts a spotlight on the dynamic and evolving world of game audio, featuring studio leadership, technical sound design, orchestral game scores, FMOD deep dives and rapid-fire advice.
High Score 2025 will feature some of the studios behind the Australian Game Developer Awards 2025 finalist games, including The Drifter (Powerhoof), Copycat (Spoonful of Wonder), Dumb Ways: Free For All and Shattered (PlaySide Studios).
Returning with energy, High Score host Angharad ‘Rad’ Yeo will guide delegates through two packed days of inspiring presentations, networking and practical insights.
Full session details and schedule can be found HERE
New program highlights
Demo Derby – A music challenge where composers create short demos for upcoming games. Selected entries receive live feedback from game developers and game audio expert Fabian Malabello. Open to all High Score ticket holders. Enter here.
Inside the PlaySide Studios audio team – John Guscott, Louis Seccull and Zach Zuluaga take you behind the scenes of an in-house audio department, highlighting career pathways for sound designers and composers.
Orchestrating game scores – Meena Shamaly (composer, poet and ABC Classic Game Show presenter) hosts a panel with Professor Dan Golding (composer, writer and ABC Classic Screen Sounds presenter), Elise Lerpiniere (Orchestra Victoria) and composer Jessica Wells, exploring how game scores are brought to life by orchestras.
How to speak dev and influence designers – a cross-disciplinary panel featuring Dave Lloyd (Powerhoof), Joshua Meadows (classical musician and Alcyone: The Last City developer) and Talia Russo (PlaySide Studios) explores how teams collaborate across disciplines to bring sound to life.
FMOD audio deep dives – sound designer Zander Hulme (Supertonic) and Aaron Edwards (FMOD) highlight the intricate systems behind Cozy Caravan (5 Lives Studios), while composer Ben Houghton and creative director Madeleine Clute break down the musical world-building in Call of the Golden Valley (O’Saurus Studios).
Building a game audio business – practical advice from lawyer Cam Rogers, accountant Erin Boyce (LDB Group) and sound designer Matt Schenkel (Sub Zero Sound) on legal structures, licensing, cashflow, the Digital Games Tax Offset, the impacts of AI and business sustainability.
The future of Australian game audio – join industry leaders Dale Cornelius (Australian Guild of Screen Composers), Nigel Christensen (Australian Screen Sound Guild) and Pasha Ostovar (APRA AMCOS) as they explore rates, licensing, contracts and what’s next for the sector.
Five-minute speed-runs – games writer Luke Kemp, composer Natalie Jeffreys and radio presenter Tim Shiel deliver rapid-fire industry advice and tips in quick-fire five minute speed-runs.
Previously announced highlights
Opening masterclass: The immersive audio of Indiana Jones – Pete Ward (MachineGames) delivers the opening masterclass on how the audio team shaped the cinematic and interactive sounds of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from engine to console.
Closing keynote: Composing a career in games – APRA AMCOS Screen Music Award for Games recipient Michael Allen reflects on his acclaimed scores for Solium Infernum (League of Geeks) and The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller) in the closing keynote about longevity, creativity and growth.
Don’t stop, hyper pop! – composer Sarah Wolfe shares how genre innovation and lyrics drive interactivity in games Don’t Stop, Girlypop! (Funny Fintan Softworks) and Mystiques: Haunted Antiques (Lemonade Games).
Finding a game’s voice – The Spoonful of Wonder team behind Copycat – Samantha Cable (Head of Narrative), Kostia Liakhov (Head of Art) and composer Daniel Bunting – reveal how voice acting shaped their game’s emotional resonance.
From a shell to the pit – studio founder Gordon McGladdery (A Shell in the Pit) shares lessons from building the sustainable, employee-first audio studio behind Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach and Fish Game.
Pitch your music at Demo Derby
Demo Derby is your chance to compose original music for upcoming games and get real-time feedback from developers and game audio expert Fabian Malabello. Open exclusively to High Score ticket holders, this music challenge invites you to score short demos for these games:
→ Memory's Reach (100 Stones Interactive)
→ KILLBUG (Samurai Punk)
→ The Pushing Dead (Vagrant Pixels)
→ Chessplus: Combine + Conquer (Chessplus)
→ Junklands (Deadleaf Games)
Selected tracks will be featured live during High Score.
Submit your music by Wednesday, 2 October.
More details and to enter visit: https://forms.gle/gtYqvitWVuFtktTV9
High Score – Game Audio Conference
4 – 5 October 2025
ACMI, Fed Square, Melbourne
Part of Melbourne International Games Week
BOOK tickets
$180 Full
$95 Concession
$50 Live stream
Supporters
High Score is a Victorian Government initiative presented by the Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO) as a cornerstone event of Melbourne International Games Week.
High Score 2025 is supported by Creative Victoria, Music Australia, APRA AMCOS, FMOD, venue partner ACMI and has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.