IndigiNerd is taking over Federation Square Thursday evening for this year's Big Games Night Out, Melbourne's biggest free celebration of games culture - transforming The Edge Theatre into an 80s-inspired set for an epic Dungeons & Dragons adventure.
Presented by Creative Victoria in partnership with Fed Square as part of Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW), Big Games Night Out's 2025 program brings together old favourites and innovative new ideas for gamers of all ages.
Starting from 8.30 PM tonight, IndigiNerd will host a live one-shot Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) campaign inside a Stranger Things-inspired set - modelled after an '80s lounge room. Visitors are encouraged to dress up in their 80s finest, with the set opening for photo opportunities at 10.30 PM.
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"It's gonna be quite a huge, huge thing. It might be one of the biggest ones I've put together," said Cienan Muir, a Yorta Yorta, Ngarrindjeri and Taungurung man, pop culture enthusiast and creator of IndigiNerd.
"We'll have a fake set on stage, which will look like an 80s lounge room. We'll have our players in costume. We've had a deadly music engineer, River from Shepparton, put together a few background soundscapes for us. It's just gonna be a fun night full of laughs, hopefully."
Not only will the stage take inspiration from popular Netflix series, Stranger Things, but the D&D campaign itself will build on that theme.
"It's looking at Kids on Bike, which is an alternative mechanic to D&D. So the difference here is that you're kids in a town where something spooky is going on, and it's your job to find out what's happening. And that's not necessarily a fantastical thing, but there's a lot of horror elements," Mr Muir explained.
For Big Games Night Out, Mr Muir said, "this one's going to be a bit different" - with this campaign uniting both mob and allies.
"Last year, Indiginerd produced a D&D session that was focused on the Gammin Guild, the nation's only Indigenous D&D group. The difference this year is that we're reaching out to a lot of our allies and supporters of IndigiNerd…So it's like really a big sense of community, just bringing everybody together," he said.
"It's growing my own network, but it's also bringing others into the Indigenous world - establishing these new networks with our mob who are also interested in this sort of stuff."
IndigiNerd's presence at Big Games Night Out is a continuation of their mission to create safe, creative spaces for mob and allies through pop culture, gaming, and storytelling.
"What people don't see is the behind the scenes. We started this conversation a couple of months in advance, how we're going to set this, how we're going to deliver this, making sure that it's done in a safe and accessible way," Mr Muir reflected.
Since its inception, IndigiNerd has been dedicated to creating safe spaces for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pop culture fans to connect, share stories, and celebrate their passions. Through gaming and creativity, IndigiNerd fosters community, healing, and meaningful conversations around culture and identity.
"I think now we're seeing a lot of our young mobs taking up interests in these new art mediums within pop culture. And I think we need to find a connection point very quickly, because it's not a diverse space, and it's not necessarily a space that knows how to work with our people," Mr Muir said.
With only hours left until Big Games Night Out kicks off, gamers and pop culture fans are gearing up for a night of play, performance and community.
"Our local games industry is among the best in the world, creating jobs and fostering the next generation of talent," Minister for Creative Industries, The Hon Colin Brooks MP said.
"Taking over Fed Square and ACMI, Big Games Night Out is an epic celebration of Victoria's thriving games scene – with games to play, dance competitions, performances, exhibitions and much more; this is a free, inclusive event for Victorians of all ages."
IndigiNerd is taking over the Edge Theatre in Federation Square, Naarm/Melbourne on the 9th October, 2025.
8.30 PM: Dungeons & Dragons campaign begins.
10.30 PM: Photo opportunities on themed set open.
More information is available online.
