Tickets
When
Mon 6 Oct 2025
6:30 - 8:00pm
Join the minds behind one of the world's most beloved indie games in this exclusive look behind the scenes.
Celeste, released in 2018 has over the years become a fan favourite, selling millions of copies around the world. The pixel-based platformer tells the tale of Madeline who has come to climb a mountain to help battle anxiety, depression and inner demons.
The brutally hard gameplay encourages players to identify with Maddie's journey, building resilience throughout the game and leading ultimately to an incredibly moving tale of self understanding.
The game is beloved not only for its pixel-perfect and uniquely challenging gameplay but ultimately for the journey and message, and is notably important to players within Trans and LGBTQIA+ communities.
In this exclusive Australian event hear from the two creative minds behind Celeste, Maddy Thorson and Noel Berry. Join them as they discuss stories from throughout the game's development, explore their creative practice and reflect on over a decade working as an internationally recognised indie developer with in the videogame industry.
About the speakers
Maddy Thorson & Noel Berry
Noel Berry & Maddy Thorson both began creating video games as teenagers, building freeware games during the early days of the indie games scene. Largely self-taught and working alone or with 1 or 2 friends, they learned by creating and created purely for the joy of it. What began as a hobby and a calling became a living as they both separately worked for hire making web games in the Flash era. Maddy broke through to a wider audience with 2013’s multiplayer brawler TowerFall, made with a small team of friends. Soon after, she and Noel began collaborating, the fruit of which was ultimately 2018’s Celeste, again crafted by a small, tight-knit crew. Celeste was a critical and commercial hit, winning Indie Game of the Year and Games for Impact at the 2018 Game Awards. Following this, Maddy & Noel continue to work together under the new studio moniker of EXOK Games in Vancouver, Canada.
Melbourne International Games Week 2025
Sat 4 – Sun 12 Oct 2025
Join us for more than a week of celebration of Australian and international videogames culture and industry.
What's On at ACMI
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