Freeplay: Parallels, the Melbourne-based showcase of local indie games, will officially return as part of Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW) on 5 October 2023. This year’s show will take place at ACMI in Fed Square, Melbourne and will be open to everyone who’d like to attend.
Last year’s show was a colourful and creative odyssey through the latest works gestating in the Melbourne games community, and featured talks and presentations from the developers of Mars First Logistics, Frog Detective, Gubbins, Bits and Bops, Webbed, Letters to Arralla, Wood & Weather, and a whole bunch more.
This year’s show is likely to spotlight a whole new generation of talent, with developers from across Melbourne currently working on a range of exciting, highly-anticipated titles (some of which were recently funded by Screen Australia).
Read: Screen Australia announces $3 million support for selection of local games
The team behind Freeplay: Parallels is currently encouraging game makers to reach out for the 2023 show, with spaces left to showcase new and upcoming games. Those keen and eligible to participate in the show can contact the organisers at submissions@freeplay.net.au.
While the look and feel of this year’s show has yet to be confirmed, it’s likely the move to ACMI will be more than cosmetic. The Freeplay team is teasing a ‘little extra’ for this year – and this may be the result of a recent funding injection.
In late 2022, Freeplay Festival secured significant funding from Creative Victoria’s Creative Ventures Program to expand Freeplay proceedings and events. It’s likely the fund will benefit Parallels, and allow the team to expand its showcase in significant ways.
We’ll see the fruit of these efforts when Freeplay: Parallels returns on 5 October 2023.
