Freeplay: Parallels 2024 was an incredible showcase of the local game development scene in Australia – as strange, fascinating, and intrepid as it is. Every year, the folks at Freeplay curate a spectacular show of bold, creative ideas – often weird, and always compelling – and this year was bigger, weirder, and wilder than ever.
A range of developers showed off their latest projects with fun, quirky trailers. Some discussed major lessons in the development of complex games. Some discussed the experimental nature of art. Others talked about the nature of games themselves.
It was a wonderful evening to behold, brimming with inspiration for the future. For those who missed it, here’s everything discussed during Freeplay: Parallels 2024, and what we took away from each showcase.
Table of Contents
Lisa Blakie introduced Toroa: Skycall with an interactive trailer
Lisa Blakie of Atawhai Interactive was the first speaker at Freeplay: Parallels 2024. She began with an introduction to Toroa: Skycall and its core design themes. It aims to be a peaceful, non-violent flight sim with a focus on elevating the importance of the ocean environment.
In Toroa: Skycall, players embody a wandering albatross named Toroa who encounters a range of sea creatures in their travels, each of which will share their experiences, while educating players about the state of the ocean, and the need to protect it.
In a very well-choreographed interactive segment, Blakie and Toroa introduced the audience to a range of sea creatures, all of whom had incredibly funny, deft things to say about the environment. This showcase was particularly sweet, and demonstrated the chill, educational vibes of Toroa: Skycall, which is planned for launch in 2025.
Van Sowerwine and Isobel Knowles discussed interactive art and healing
Next up, creators Van Sowerwine and Isobel Knowles discussed their unique medium: stop-motion films, shorts, and visual stories. While many of the projects of Sowerwine and Knowles are more traditionally aligned with film as a medium, the pair has recently undertaken a new games-like project known as The World Came Flooding In.
This is a VR experience focussed on personal experience and healing. In this 20-minute immersive documentary, viewers are transported to a “liminal memory spaces to investigate the lived experience of the climate emergency through flooding.” Various interviews play out as viewers explore a lost domestic space, allowing them to process grief in a virtual world.
Sowerwine and Knowles described bringing The World Came Flooding In to flood victims in Lismore, NSW, and having them recreate their lost spaces in virtual reality. Based on testimony shared at Freeplay: Parallels 2024, this experience helped immensely with the grieving process, opening up flood victims to future healing.
Your Holy & Virtuous Heretic taught many lessons about depicting the occult
Developer Kurt Tikoft (aka i will bite raw coffee beans) was up next to discuss development of Your Holy & Virtuous Heretic, and why depiction of the occult was much more complex than he expected. Tikoft spoke openly about mistakes made in developing this occult RPG, and particularly leaning into Jewish occultism to depict the game’s demonic forces.
As he described, some players had a negative reaction to seeing the early demo of the game, as they worried it would be blasphemous to be using the names of God in a game that explored the occult.
Going back to the drawing board, Tikoft worked to make the game more approachable and respectful by engaging a cultural consultant and historian. In doing so, he learned a lot about the modern idea of the occult, and its roots in anti-semitism and demonisation of Jewish people. As Tikoft stated, it was only through understanding and deep research that he was able to uncover these themes – and taking the time to revamp the game around them, with a greater sensitivity, made it stronger, and far less appropriative.
Liezl Ronquillo discussed creature creation and Ailuri
Liezl Ronquillo took to the stage next to discuss her life-long passion for creating new creatures through illustration, with this dating back to her childhood. Ronquillo shared looks at a range of her early beasties, as well as side projects like her Australian-themed Pokemon series, before segueing into a fresh trailer for Ailuri.
Read: The Best New Video Game Characters from Australia and New Zealand
Ailuri is an upcoming platformer game that features a red panda making their way through the world, all while being incredibly cute. It shares similar themes to Toroa: Skycall, in that it focusses on endangered flora and fauna, and like that game, it also looks absolutely wonderful.
Olivia Haines and Andy Brophy investigated the Dinko iceberg
In a tongue-in-cheek presentation, Dinko’s Olivia Haines (Surf Club) and Andy Brophy (Knuckle Sandwich) discussed a range of their works, in the form of a YouTube-like “iceberg” deep dive. To start with, they confirmed (following a Twitter/X announcement) that their works will be under the “Dinko” label going forward. There will be a range of projects in future, including Dinko Minis (short games) and larger releases, like Surf Club.
They plan to keep Dinko small regardless of there now being a studio “label” as they want to be able to manage burnout, while still keeping the spirits of experimentation and collaboration alive. We expect to see big things from Dinko in the coming years, as Haines and Brophy continue to work on their uniquely-flavoured games.
Jane Fiona Kennington revealed more about “girlypop” FPS game, Incolatus
Incolatus: Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is an upcoming FPS with a difference: it’s so, so girlypop. Enemies you kill explode into hearts. Your gun is pink. You’ve got a pink flip phone. It’s a clear product of early 2000s nostalgia, complete with So Fresh vibes.
As developer Jane Fiona Kennington explained, this game has been in development for several years, and has gone through several iterations. It originally started as a basic shooter, as Kennington explored game development and its possibilities, and it’s since evolved into a hyper-coloured, in-your-face “girlie” shooter.
Kennington related development of the game to her own gender transition, with each iteration reflecting shifts in her identity, her interests, and her desire to go for her “dream game.” While Incolatus began with basic concepts, it’s now evolved to become a bright, exciting prospect brimming with potential. We look forward to seeing more of this game in future.
David Harris and Josiah Lulham spoke on the power of LARP
David Harris and Josiah Lulham were up next to discuss the power of live-action role play (LARP) in creating community, forging connections, and allowing for a freedom of spirit. The pair developed A Dance with Ribbons, a three-day LARP adventure centred on a shared ritual, set in medieval times.
During Freeplay: Parallels 2024, Lulham and Harris described interactive play as being incredibly powerful and transformative. Hundreds of people joined their latest LARP, with this allowing the adventure to feel grander and more engaging than ever.
In the performance, participants were able to learn more about self-expression and acting, as well as consent and intuitive movement, all of which enabled growth of real-world skills. As Harris and Lulham said, LARP can create real magic, and it should never be discounted as a form of active and engaging play.
Xavier Bell wrote off free will as detrimental to the game dev process
Developer Xavier Bell was up next to discuss the creation of Rodeo Clown, a visual novel and walking sim about “the sorriest man on Earth.” According to Bell, the greatest bugbear with developing this game was free will, as being able to do anything and everything with the game led to choice paralysis, and a whole lot of extra work.
In developing the game, Bell came to the conclusion that giving players free will and choice made it incredibly difficult to create a tight, functional game. He worked on “lots and lots of lines of dialogue” for Rodeo Clown, largely because giving players choice led to a “snowball” of needs.
In the end, Bell had to fight back against his instincts and scale back his ambitions, leaving him with an important lesson to share: you must reckon with your own capabilities in the creation of video games.
T-Dog eXtreme stole the show with Clownbaby
You’re not supposed to choose favourites in a show like Freeplay: Parallels, but Clownbaby has us questioning our morals. In a late-show clutch, T-Dog eXtreme took the stage to reveal more about Clownbaby, which is – and you should sit up for this – a deconstructed dating simulator where you are a clown with explosive and mysterious clown powers, and everyone you date has a role in a deep state conspiracy revolving around those powers.
You are a clown. You want love. Your explosive and mysterious clown powers could end the world if you date the wrong person, or you’re not in the right psychological state for dating. You must fix yourself first before you attempt to date. You must play your cards right. Clownbaby frankly sounds incredible, and after its showing at Freeplay: Parallels, it’s shot to the top of our wishlist.
What is most compelling about the game, beyond its concept, is that T-Dog eXtreme plans to completely deconstruct the dating sim genre with this game. Rather than having a rewards-based structure with all sorts of unethical, icky mechanics, they plan to create a dating game with genuine emotion, turmoil, and stakes. We’ll have to wait to see what form that takes, but early concepts reveal a card-like game with plenty of intrigue behind it.
Duncan Corrigan revealed free play game, Moving On
The final showcase of Freeplay: Parallels 2024 was for Moving On, a game from developer Duncan Corrigan. This game aims to replicate the feeling of being a young, excitable child moving into a new family home. There are no goals – only a sense of being. You can move your arms around, jump, and roll on the floor, as expressions of your excitement. Per Corrigan, the game is all about a freedom of play and experimentation. It’s about the experience.
In his talk about Moving On, Corrigan discussed the nature of play and performance, and described the game as a chance to seek meaning beyond the typical bounds of gameplay. Corrigan frequently experiments with this concept in his work, and underlined that creating thought-provoking experiences can often be more valuable than reaching for the “next big thing.”
Thank you to the Freeplay team for inviting GamesHub to attend Freeplay: Parallels 2024.
