Cassandra (Cass) Barkman
@cassiebara29.bsky.social
Media and Comms Lecturer at Unimelb 🏫 | Game Studies Scholar 🎮 | Deputy Director of MAGPIE 🐦⬛| DiGRAA Board Member 🌏 | Checkpoint Critic & Writer ✍️ | She/Her https://linktr.ee/cbarkman
New career milestone: Yesterday @antipollution.bsky.social informed me that our paper is now cited in Wikipedia. I think I can happily retire now.
Cassandra (Cass) Barkman@cassiebara29.bsky.social · 3mo agoHow prophetic given the article @antipollution.bsky.social and I wrote earlier this year exactly on the microgenre of interface games! You can read it here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
🔴🟡🔵 BIG WALK 🔴🟡🔵 Out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch 2, and PlayStation 5. Hooray!
I was part of the Big Walk review crew at Checkpoint and heartily endorse everything Elliot says in his review - this is a genuinely special game in how ingeniously it facilitates interesting forms of social play. Everyone owes it to themselves to go and do the biggest walk.
Checkpoint Gaming@checkpointau.bsky.social · 3d agoREVIEW: Big Walk “Evolving the social game format in a way that feels almost unrecognisable, House House has produced something that is as compelling as it is confident in achieving what it set out to achieve.” @househouse.com checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2026...
Reviewed Denshattack, an energetic and tightly made weirdo of a game that I briefly describe as 'Subway Surfer on crack' and acts as an interesting lens for me to chatter about contemporary spectacle.
Checkpoint Gaming@checkpointau.bsky.social · 3w agoREVIEW: Denshattack! "Denshattack! is absurd, campy, excessive and makes its tricks and speed look and feel effortless through the real craft that has gone into the tightness of its controls, cinematic eye and visual language." @denshattack.bsky.social checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2026...
Asymptotes is running in 2 weeks, on July 18th at Balam Balam Place, Brunswick. Showcasing: 🟢 7 abandoned games 🟠 A talk diving deep into an abandoned game 🟣 3 panels discussing noncommercial game-making More details to come. 👉 asymptotes.au
Hi all, we are looking for three peer reviewers for an article on Chinese indie games. Please see the attached image for the abstract. Please note that all reviewers for Press Start must be current students or within one year of graduation. Contact info in the replies👇
Announcing... Asymptotes. Asymptotes is a games event in Naarm, Australia, celebrating imperfection. On Saturday July 18th, we're running a showcase of abandoned games, with talks and panels on non-commercial and difficult to commercialise game-making. 👉 asymptotes.au
Reviewed new NZ game Rose and Locket after being previously enamoured with it at PAX. Launch seems to have flown under the radar, which is a shame given how striking and assured the game itself is; big recommend. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2026...
Rose and Locket Review - Every Frame a Panel
Rose and Locket's interactive panels and quick combat crackle with ingenuity and flair, and makes for a graphical pleasure of a playthrough.
checkpointgaming.net
New Article about E3 and other “Gamer Christmas” Events. Very proud to finally write about this topic so please give it a read! And give @cassiebara29.bsky.social some love for her invaluable co-author work
Cassandra (Cass) Barkman@cassiebara29.bsky.social · 2mo agoNew article out! (My second this week hah). Co-authored with @stantium.bsky.social, its called 'Publisher Presentations as Promotional Paratexts' and the accepted version is available here: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
New article out! (My second this week hah). Co-authored with @stantium.bsky.social, its called 'Publisher Presentations as Promotional Paratexts' and the accepted version is available here: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Publisher Presentations as Promotional Paratexts | Games: Research and Practice
This article will explore the increasing prominence of ‘publisher presentations’ — online streams where game publishers like Sony, Nintendo and Devolver Digital showcase their upcoming products direct...
dl.acm.org
New article out! Its called "Leisure or Labour: An Aesthetic Reading of Playing Stardew Valley" in the latest special issue of Well Played titled 'Well Read Games'. playstorypress.org/well-played-...
Leisure or Labour: An Aesthetic Reading of Playing Stardew Valley – Play Story Press
playstorypress.org
Deeply disrespectful to the entire Australian cultural sector that the Office of the Arts can't be bothered actually reading all the submissions people are working very hard on for the National Cultural Policy, and instead will be asking genAI for a summary. www.arts.gov.au/have-your-sa...
Reviewed the new Star Wars movie, which was an exercise in such 'its fine' mediocrity that waking up this morning most of the plot has already left my brain.
Checkpoint Gaming@checkpointau.bsky.social · 3mo agoMOVIE REVIEW: The Mandalorian and Grogu "It’s fine and familiar, and dedicated fans of the series will inevitably have a good time. But for everyone else, this ain’t the way." checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
✦ PARALLELS 2026 — THE CALL-OUT IS HERE ✦ Making a game, and wanna yap about it at Parallels 2026? Now is the time to let us know! Speaker submissions close on the 5th of June. That’s THREE WEEKS. Don't overthink it. Just apply here: forms.gle/j8NkrdqMnwoH...
Reviewed the new Lego Batman. Looks like I enjoyed it a lot less than most others - was sorely disappointed with how flat and unambitious its main campaign and open world missions were - but is still an interesting game with a few bright spots. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2026...
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Review - Brick-ham City
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a simplified continuation of the Arkham series, but it is never quite the sum of its bricks.
checkpointgaming.net
This really is tremendous leadership from Freeplay, and the kind of thing that has been glaringly missing from the games sector. This stuff is really important, so games people, do not let this moment go to waste.
Freeplay@free-play.bsky.social · 3mo agoSubmissions to the National Cultural Policy close next Sunday 24 May. We need as many studios, gamemakers and sector support organisations to put in submissions. Freeplay's helpful guide on making a submission can be found here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
We're thrilled to announce Frosty Games Fest will be streaming LIVE on Sunday June 7 at 8am AEST / 10am NZST as part of Summer Game Fest 💙 Tune in for a chocka-block showcase, featuring announcements from 50+ games made in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand 🎮
🧑🎓CALL FOR EDITORS📷 The editorial board of Press Start is currently seeking to recruit new editors to join our team! 🌟 Please see the next post in the thread for more details. Applicants must be current graduate/postgraduate students or have graduated within the past year.
How prophetic given the article @antipollution.bsky.social and I wrote earlier this year exactly on the microgenre of interface games! You can read it here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Interface Games as Microgenre: Definition and Thematic Investigation - Finn Dawson, Cassandra Barkman, 2026
In this article, we identify and define an emerging microgenre of videogame we call the interface game. While all videogames contain interfaces, “interface game...
journals.sagepub.com
Sam Barlow 🔥@mrsambarlow.bsky.social · 3mo agoInterface x26 sale up on Steam! Celebrates games with diegetic interface elements! Includes such titles as Her Story, Telling Lies and IMMORTALITY - alongside a bunch of other cool games from the past, present and future! store.steampowered.com/sale/interfa...
REVIEW: Titanium Court "...a hilarious and richly designed roguelike that also gleefully points the finger back at us through the screen, daring us to prove that we don’t enjoy running around in circles for its own (and our) amusement." @fellowtraveller.games checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2026...
Titanium Court Review - Lord, what fools these players be
Titanium Court is a joy of a game to clown around in - a hilarious, richly designed and ingeniously made roguelike.
checkpointgaming.net
Reviewed Titanium Court, a game with the spirit of a Shakespearian fool and the wit and introspection to match. Adored it, will now be promptly recommending it to everyone. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2026...
Titanium Court Review - Lord, what fools these players be
Titanium Court is a joy of a game to clown around in - a hilarious, richly designed and ingeniously made roguelike.
checkpointgaming.net
Reviewed Titanium Court, a game with the spirit of a Shakespearian fool and the wit and introspection to match. Adored it, will now be promptly recommending it to everyone. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2026...
Titanium Court Review - Lord, what fools these players be
Titanium Court is a joy of a game to clown around in - a hilarious, richly designed and ingeniously made roguelike.
checkpointgaming.net
Reviewed Tides of Tomorrow. Has a compelling and eerie 'story-link' mechanic that plays with the social elements of choice-based games in fun ways, but is also bogged down in aggressively average storytelling. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2026...
Tides of Tomorrow Review - A storied swell
Tides of Tomorrow is a textbook example of mechanics that would be better served in a stronger game. Its story-link system is compellingly eerie and smartly iterates on the social aspects of choice-ba...
checkpointgaming.net
Chinese DiGRA 2026 Call for Papers: Chinese Game Studies: Publishing, Platforms, and Player Cultures: 19–20 September, Wuhan; 15 May deadline A wide range of game studies topics relating to China are welcome! chinesedigra.org/call-for-pap...
CDiGRA 2026 – Call for Papers
chinesedigra.org
Hi everyone😀 we are looking for one reviewer for an article concerning intersectional representation in the Sims franchise. If you’re interested, please email Ambrin directly at a.hasnain@student.unimelb.edu.au. See the attached image for the abstract.
Review dropped while I was away, but Aether & Iron has just come out and unfortunately doesn't seem to have garned much attention so far. I found it a very entertaining 'decopunk' noir narrative/tactics with affection for its genre tropes that's near infectious. checkpointgaming.net/reviews/2026...
Aether & Iron Review - Stratosphere Boulevard
Aether & Iron takes immense joy messing around in the noir decopunk playground it has constructed, and that joy is often infectious.
checkpointgaming.net
Last night I attended the Lizzies alongside my @checkpointau.bsky.social crew, and I was surprised and honoured to receive a highly commended award for Best Game Reviewer. Was also just amazing to be in the room and meet all these incredible people I had previously only admired from afar.
Something a little different from me today - I haven't been able to stop thinking about Esoteric Ebb after my review, and wanted to spend some time unpacking its politics and TTRPG tropes, and why it feels like an RPG of the moment. @chrisbodegard.bsky.social has made something pretty special here.
Checkpoint Gaming@checkpointau.bsky.social · 5mo agoEsoteric Ebb and the Politics of Rolling the Dice "...it wears affections and awareness on its sleeve in a way that speaks to the moment. It valorises democratic involvement just as soon as it vilifies absolutist dictations." @chrisbodegard.bsky.social checkpointgaming.net/features/202...
Very weird and cool to say I've been nominated for two Lizzies (IT Journalism Awards) for Best Game Reviewer and Best New Journalist this year. Kind of wild to just be on the same list as writers who I've previously admired from afar.
