In Wayward Strand, the game progresses with or without you: it’s up to the player to seize the precious hours of the day.
It’s 1978 and there’s a glorious hospital in the sky called the Gräfin Isabella floating over regional Victoria. Casey, a thirteen year old budding journalist, is looking for a scoop for the school paper. Her mother, who is head nurse, disapproves and wants Casey to spend time with each of the elderly patients.
On the first day, Casey is given a fob watch that ticks away as the day passes; characters in Wayward Strand have their own lives, with stories that unfold in the background. Casey must spend her time wisely: speaking with patients and staff, following them around, peeking into rooms to eavesdrop while uncovering unsolved mysteries.
With picturebook visuals and a fully voice-acted cast, Wayward Strand plays out like an immersive play, with Casey as the observer at the centre of it. And if you leave the Gräfin Isabella on your last day feeling like you only just got started, why not use what you learnt to find out more on your second playthrough?
Available for PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 and Playstation 5.
Its tales underline the fragility of life - and how important it is to treat people individually, try not to pass judgement quickly, and simply listen."
Your Guest Hosts
For the final Club of 2023, we have special guest hosts from the creative team of Wayward Strand - Marigold Bartlett and Georgia Symons.
Marigold Bartlett is an illustrator and artist. She works in paint, pencil, digital media and videogames. She has worked as an artist and story consultant on several game titles.
Georgia Symons is a writer and creative producer working on the lands of the Kulin nation. She writes and makes things that use playfulness to challenge and disrupt power.
Community Code of Conduct
Everyone participating in an ACMI Women & Non-Binary Gamer Club event — including, but not limited to the meets, clubs and talks — is required to agree to the following code of conduct. This includes all attendees, speakers, performers, patrons, and volunteers.
ACMI Women & Non-Binary Gamer Club will enforce this code during its events and throughout the year. We expect cooperation from everyone to ensure a safe, diverse, and welcoming environment.
The condensed version
ACMI is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion (or lack thereof). We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form.
Sexist, racist, discriminatory, or harassing language and imagery is not appropriate in the ACMI Women & Non-Binary Gamer Club community, in person or online. Participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event and premises, as well as all future events without a refund at the discretion of ACMI.
The less condensed version
Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.
Exception: discussion or images related to sex, pornography, discriminatory language, or similar is welcome if it meets all of the following criteria:
— It is necessary to the topic of discussion and no alternative exists
— It is presented in a respectful manner
— Attendees are respectfully given ample warning and opportunity to leave beforehand.
This exception specifically does not allow use of gratuitous sexual images as attention-getting devices or unnecessary examples.
Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are required to comply immediately.
If a participant engages in any of the aforementioned behaviour, ACMI may take any action they deem appropriate, from warning the offender to immediately expelling the offender with no refund.
Reporting and enforcement
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact an ACMI Women & Non-Binary Gamer Club team member immediately. If you can’t or don’t wish to speak in person, or prefer to talk privately or electronically, contact us via gamerclub@acmi.net.au.
All reports will be handled in the strictest confidence.
With thanks
This document was based on the work of XOXO Festival, JSConf, Geek Feminism, confcodeofconduct.com, and inspired by resources provided by Ashe Dryden.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.