
Parallels: The Freeplay 2021 Showcase
Parallels highlights some of the most unique, experimental, and personal independent games made in Australia and beyond.
For over 17 years, Freeplay has been exploring these vital margins of games culture, uncovering emerging and exceptional makers, from bedroom coders, to artists pushing at the boundaries of the artform. Join us as our speakers demonstrate and play their creations on stage, and share their origin stories, creative inspirations and intimate journeys.
Parallels 2021 will be streamed via YouTube and free to attend at 7PM on 7th October. 2021 Visual Identity by Cole Williams.

Trailer
Lineup
A Long Goodbye
Dana McKay (she/her)
A Long Goodbye is a short narrative game centered around two old friends who have to say their final goodbye over a phone conversation. Play through multiple times to explore new topics and learn more about the characters, their shared history, estrangement, and the things left unsaid.
Monomyth
Billy Dent (he/they)
Experience a tale as old as time: the Hero’s Journey, told as literally as possible! Monomyth is a relaxed and surreal walker that pokes light fun at Joseph Campbell’s universal story and the grand language used to describe it.
Blueberry
Mel Taylor (she/her), Mellow Games
Go on a journey through a woman’s mind from birth to death in this emotional story platformer. Climb the Tower of Life and gather the pieces of Blueberry’s shattered memories, find the missing ones and unravel the mystery of her trauma.
An Altogether Different River
Aaron Lim (he/him)
An Altogether Different River is a tabletop storytelling and roleplaying game. You collaboratively create a fictional town and play out together how it changes through the lens of those who left and returned, and those who stayed throughout.
Soup Pot
Gwendelyn Foster (she/he/they), Chikon Club
Cook freely with in the kitchen Soup Pot! Make food with a wide range of locally sourced or supermarket ingredients in traditional kitchens. Discover and learn about more than 100 recipes while streaming your cooking on Cookbook, the social media.
Where the Snow Settles
Alisha Stone (she/her), Myriad Games Studio
Where the Snow Settles is a game about loss, growth, and the supernatural. As the world around her crumbles, Aurelia searches for her sister, unraveling mysteries and wonder along the way.
Cult of the Lamb
Julian Wilton (he/him), Massive Monster
Start your own cult in a land of false prophets, venturing out into diverse and mysterious regions to build a loyal community of woodland worshippers and spread your Word to become the one true cult.
The Freeplay ZONE — The Capitol
Experience Parallels 2021 in the Freeplay ZONE, an online social space by Jae Stuart & Cecile Richard.Latest News
Freeplay’s comment on arts and cultural funding in Australia
Recently, we've seen unprecedented cuts for arts funding in Australia. Freeplay, and the world of independent videogames, will not go by unaffected. Our director, Dan Golding, has written a comment for Kotaku Australia on the topic here.
Freeplay in 2016
After our biggest festival and biggest year ever in 2015 — ten days! — this year, we're doing things a little differently. The festival as an organisation is evolving, and that means that instead of focussing on our annual festival bringing together game-makers,...
Important statement regarding Austin Wintory and Freeplay’s Symposium
Due to unforeseen and pressing circumstances, Austin Wintory, Freeplay's 2015 keynote speaker, has had to return home to America immediately following his final Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performance on Saturday evening. This means that Austin will be unable to...
Memory Lane
Freeplay acknowledges the Wurundjeri & Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the Lands upon which the festival takes place.
We pay respect to their Elders past and present, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the wider community and beyond.
Sovereignty was never ceded, and this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.