Mike Verzosa
9 September 2026: The University of Canberra’s game development design showcase, Imagination Unleashed, will be back at this year’s UC Open Day Fest on Saturday 12 September.
It will be the fourth iteration of the program, which runs through the Winter Term and aims to give Design students at the Faculty of Arts and Design a hands-on experience of the life cycle of a project and working with real-world clients – from conceptualisation and design, all the way to production.
With the project a success in previous years, Dr Joel Bennett, Unit Convenor and Discipline Lead of the University’s Bachelor of Design Game Development stream, tapped four students to work on this year’s project – Sarah Ahmad, Third year, Bachelor of Design (Interaction Design); Amy Koot, Second-year, Bachelor of Design (Game Development); Nadia Slattery, Second-year, Bachelor of Arts (Digital Media); and South Korean exchange student Jungyeon Ma.
Together, the group focused on highlighting the degrees and study options available at the University – with a touch of their individual creative flair.
“The students designed their characters mixing fantasy and sci-fi elements,” said Dr Bennett.
“Last year, we had two artists and six characters. This time, we've got four artists and 12 characters, with some unique designs that capture some of the creative things that we do here at UC.”
Using inspiration from animated productions such as Arcane and Nimona , Ms Ahmad said that the group wanted to build on last year’s works and expand on it.
“It’s a fun and novel way of showcasing what we do here, especially at Open Day,” she said.
“For example, one of the characters I worked on represents the Interaction Design major that I’m studying and I wanted to focus on the accessibility aspect of it. We want to highlight the importance of making our work accessible to everyone, and one of my characters uses a wheelchair.”
The project gave the students a chance to fully express their creativity through their individual characters, while working within the parameters of the theme, to create a final product that was cohesive and fit the brief.
“Joel gave us a lot of free rein. He told us to have fun but also to make sure it makes sense, so having that kind of relaxed environment, while still working in a professional setting made it an enjoyable project for us,” said Ms Ahmad.
“We also enjoyed working in a group. It was cool to see everyone’s different art styles and how we all brought them together to make sure the whole project was cohesive,” added Ms Koot.
This year, the students also got a unique opportunity to work with ROJO Customs, a Canberra-based custom printer founded and operated by University of Canberra alumnus Rohan Thomas.
“Not only were we able to partner and support a local business and UC alumnus, it also gave the students an opportunity to see that there’s an avenue for them to grow in the creative industry here in the ACT,” said Dr Bennett.
“We were also able to get tours and a behind-the-scenes look at the printing process and all the elements and technology involved in it.”
Dr Bennett hopes to keep Imagination Unleashed running in years to come, to continue providing design students with the unique opportunity to create something tangible and physical, in an industry where most of the work stays in the digital space.
“This project allows students opportunity to actually create something physical and something that they're really invested in – they’re creating representations of the disciplines that surround them here at the University,” he said.
The students will be present at Open Day Fest ready to showcase their artwork to the community. Dr Bennett will be present too, keen to discuss all things Game Development with anyone interested. Like last year, there will also be a fetch quest treasure hunt.
“We’ve created chibi-style (Japanese caricature form) versions of our characters as stickers, and everyone who finds the stickers hidden across Buildings 7 and 9 and brings them back to the booth will get a keychain,” said Ms Slattery.
