On a bright and sunny morning on October 13th, 2024, two star-cross furries stood on a small stage surrounded by friends, family, and more than a few complete strangers. In a ritual led by a strange, red-robed individual, the two were joined forever by the power vested in them by the almighty Lamb, and the Australian Commonwealth. Praise the Lamb.
This real, literal wedding took place during PAX Aus 2024 on Sunday. To those attendees not in the know, it must have seemed like some kind of cult activity, and they’d be right! The two weddings that day were hosted by Aussie-led developer Massive Monster and Devolver Digital to celebrate their critically acclaimed game Cult of the Lamb. Talking with Massive Monster Co-Founder and lead developer Jay Armstrong, I asked the question on everybody’s mind. Why did they do this?
Armstrong’s answer was that it sounded like fun. “I think it’s that classic video game trajectory that everyone knows,” he joked. “It’s like, 1. make a video game, 2. host weddings.”
“Why did they do this? Armstrong’s answer was that it sounded like fun.”
Armstrong explained that the idea of weddings was all Massive Monster’s idea, but Devolver Digital was all for it. “The idea got thrown around as a bit of a joke, but we thought, ‘Actually, let’s see if anyone wants to do this!'”
To their delight, more than 200 couples applied to get literally married in a Cult of the Lamb-themed wedding. They found a Commonwealth-Authorised Marriage Celebrant crazy enough to go along with the plan; a local called Abby Wiverton whose vibe seemed to match what they were going for. In a fortuitous coincidence, Abby had recently been playing Cult of the Lamb herself during a trip to Japan and jumped at the chance to do the themed weddings.
Two couples out of the hopeful 200+ were chosen to hold their wedding on the Sunday of PAX Aus 2024. The set, modelled after the Temple of the Lamb, was a whopping eight meters high and large enough for five short sets of pews on each side, which were reserved for friends and family of the couple. It was situated outside the main PAX exhibition hall in the non-ticketed area, meaning anyone and everyone could watch.
I showed up to the morning wedding, scheduled for 11 AM, fifteen minutes early to ensure I could find a good view to snap video and photos. However, when I arrived at the stage, it was clear I should have arrived even earlier. More than a hundred onlookers were already gathered, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Many were watching from outside the enclosure on the ground floor, but also from over the first-floor railing, onlookers using their phone’s camera app to help them see the event past the heads of those in front. That’s where I had to stand, on my tip-toes, killing my arm by holding up my phone for the whole ceremony just to observe the unholy matrimony. We really must have looked like a cult gathering.
The 11 AM couple had decided to go all-out and get married as their fursonas, which as you can no doubt imagine really completed the Cult of the Lamb picture. Even the Lamb himself honoured the newlyweds with his unholy presence as the “Flower Lamb”, covering the procession with flower petals.
It was highly amusing to watch the celebrant have to eventually break character to state the required Commonwealth legalese to make the wedding official. But she segued into it with a practised ease that made it pretty obvious that she’s used to doing things in an unconventional way.
Armstrong and the Devolver Digital team present were blown away by the number of people who attended. “We were so grateful that these awesome couples were willing to spend their magical day with us, and it was an honor to be a part of it.”
What’s next for the Lamb?
Armstrong had said earlier that it was all in fun, but surely this was ultimately for some kind of benefit towards Cult of the Lamb, right? I asked him if the weddings were a marketing stunt for the game and its recent content update “Sins of the Flesh”, but Armstrong stuck to his guns. “I think we feel like the brand is already spread,” he said, “And so let’s enjoy it and let’s make something fun and interesting and different. Something that we can look back in five years ago, like, holy crap, we put on a wedding… I hope more people do it. I hope that like, it’s a great way to celebrate your love and I hope more people come together in the future to do it with the games that they love.”
Armstrong said that he was especially grateful for the support that Massive Monster has received from “Daddy Devolver” (his words). “Devolver have been brilliant partners for us and they still get behind everything we do and support us. And every year more and more of them fly out to Melbourne.” he went on to explain that Devolver Digital is keen to keep scouting awesome Australian indies, and was in fact doing so at PAX 2024.
It didn’t feel right ending the interview without the obligatory question about a possible sequel for Cult of the Lamb. Armstrong laughed, and said that while a sequel was something they were exploring, they weren’t done adding to Cult of the Lamb yet. “We have like a big, big thing we’re planning which we haven’t announced yet,” He said cryptically. “There’s a lot more lamb in the future… there’s so much more for us to explore and we’re still in love with it.”
Cult of the Lamb is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. I wonder what crazy thing we’ll see the lamb do next?
About the Author
Edie W-K
she/her
If it isn't video games, Edie doesn't care about it. She's been playing games since the N64 era, and only spent enough time away from her 3DS to earn a Bachelor in Games Design from RMIT.
