I had the opportunity to present Power Network Tycoon at Melbourne's The Game Expo 2026 with my wife. It was a great event to talk to players of all ages and interests as well as meet other gamedevs and people in the indie games industry.
I found I was best at explaining the technical side of the game, sometimes a bit too technical for casual players! My wife on the other hand was much better at breaking things down for newcomers. She was also amazing with the younger kids. We had a couple of excited little kids run up asking "Is this Roblox?". My wife kept them busy showing them placing poles and connecting lines. Watching their faces light up playing the game and building things was surprising given they definitely weren't the intended audience of the game, however over the weekend we definitely had our fair share of city builder/factory/technical game lovers giving it a try.
I think games can be a great way to learn about STEM topics and spark interest in players to start a career in those areas. Power is a growing industry and I had the opportunity to share the project with players of all ages, showing how rewarding the power industry can be. It was fantastic to see kids and adults alike get excited about building power networks and understanding how electricity gets to their homes. Several attendees mentioned they'd never thought about what goes on behind the switch, and it was rewarding to see that realisation click.
I've included a sneak peek of an interview I did at the expo with The Indie Brew:
If you're interested, you can try the game for free at Steam or itch.io.
