Australia’s emerging gaming industry will be the subject of the second Cosmos Science City panel discussion in Adelaide on 4 July.

Flinders University’s newest game design senior lecturer Lauren Woolbright will feature in the one-hour free lunchtime event, which will be held at the Science Exchange auditorium, 55 Exchange Place (behind 25 Grenfell St) in Adelaide, from 12.30pm to 1.30pm.

With millions of new players turning to games and consoles during COVID-19 lockdown periods, the global gaming industry has been forecast to be worth $321 billion by 2026, according to a recent PwC report.

One of the four guest speakers at the Cosmos Science City event will be Tony Albrecht, a Principal Engineer at Riot Games, which builds game engines for some of the most frequently played games in the world. After 25 years in the games industry, Mr Albrecht is passionate about optimisation in games, having worked on consoles from Playstation to PC, Mac and mobile platforms.

Dr Woolbright has come to Flinders University this month to lecture in interaction design and digital media. She has two graduate degrees from Clemson University in South Carolina and a previous degree from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on how environments and mechanics communicate meaning in games using theories of game design, interactive storytelling, media studies and environmental communication.

The new Science City series is a collaboration between Cosmos and Adelaide’s three main tertiary institutions. Flinders speech pathology graduate Dr Abi Thirumanickam will represent the University of Adelaide on the 4 July panel.