louie Roots

Growing up in regional WA I always loved videogames I could play with friends and family regardless of their technical skill. The desire to make play accessible and approachable has led me to the weird and wonderful combinations of physical and digital you can see on these pages.

With a foundation in game design I moved into the world of custom controllers and interactive hardware. My games studio, SK Games, developed games for public spaces and innovated with display techniques across venues, events and many other contexts. I transitioned the business into a permanent venue in 2016, opening Bar SK in Collingwood, Victoria.

I built and displayed hundreds of controllers, experimenting with materials, inputs, displays and layouts. During this time I still organised external events, both locally and internationally, such as DELETE, a conceptual event that ran twice at Bar SK and once in San Francisco to a sell out crowd.

During the pandemic, after I closed Bar SK, I worked for Adverto, redesigning their flagship petrol-pump-mounted display. This involved changes to the majority of the hardware components, creating a new display software solution, and installation onto live fuel sites.

More recently I have co-directed Freeplay independent games festival, expanding their scope and funding by 300-400% over two years, and producing some incredible events. I also tutor at Swinburne University of Technology when I’m not busy in my workshop building something new.