What’s sometimes missed in the narrative surrounding Australian games development is the high level of innovation developers are bringing to the table. Parallels: The Freeplay 2014 Showcase is an event designed to display that high level of creativity with some of the most innovative games currently being made in this country. You should totally go!
Taking place in Melbourne at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Parallels is spread across two related events, both taking place on October 18.
The first is a general playday, which is free. This is a time to just play and check out some of great Australian made video games.
The second is a little more focused — and probably more interesting — an event with performances of the games, and talks from some of the creators. Tickets for that event start at $13 and are still on-sale.
And the games themselves?
Push Me Pull You might be the most recognisable of the nine — we covered it fairly extensively earlier this year — but there are a host of other, equally interesting games on display. You can find out more about that line-up here.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Freeplay and its various satellite events. Most of these gaming events tend to focus on the commercial, technical or purely functional side of making video games — which is sorely needed, don’t get me wrong — but as trite as it sounds Freeplay is really about celebrating games as an art form. Sometimes that gets lost.
If you happen to be in Melbourne around that time, you should check it out.
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