Freeplay

Kick off our exciting conference weekend with a few words from our directors.

• Katie Williams
• Harry Lee

Erin Robinson speaks about the rise of games in modern culture and the revolutionary roles games are playing in personal expression.

• Erin Robinson

Game designers have power over their players – but do they use this power for good or evil, and where are the shades of grey?

• Joshua Thomason
• Jess Kilby

Games are leaping out from the screen! From costumes as controllers to physically violent installations, where will these new ideas take us?

• Kaho Abe
• Floyd Mueller

In this two-part playthrough series, developers showcase their projects while talking us through the creative decisions that shaped them.

• Izzy Gramp
• Grant Howitt
• Mary Hamilton
• Morgan Jaffit

We discuss the developing relationship between games and education, from the broader international conversations to the current classroom models.

• Tom Apperley
• Cherie Davidson
• James O'Connor

As games grow increasingly inward-facing, the medium is stagnating. This session explores how we can look outside the industry for innovation and inspiration.

• Joseph Dowsett
• Joshua Boggs

Games can take you on a journey, from Rapture to the darkest parts of the human mind. Two writers discuss their travels through video game worlds, and the blogs in which they documented their revelations.

• Brendan Keogh
• Leena van Deventer

In this raw and honest session, three developers share their experiences of what can go wrong during development, and how they fixed their mistakes.

• Ashley Ringrose
• Daniel Clayton
• Trent Kusters

We’re talking board games, and their profile in a digital gaming world. What can these games offer us that videogames cannot?

• Tim Saitta
• Rocke Serrano

Or, Why Video Games Do Not Exist (And How This Is Great For Everyone).

• Stephen Swift
• Marigold Bartlett

Get your minds and bodies ready for the second half of the Freeplay conference.

Steve Swink speaks about the history of art and the rise of games as an expressive medium, with case studies from his own projects.

• Steve Swink

Now that it’s as easy to make a game as take a photo, new voices are coming out to play. This session will explore what happens when power is in the hands of the community, and what that community is choosing to make.

• Kircy Jong
• Paul Callaghan
• Mary Hamilton

An intimate discussion about how the relationship of music in games has evolved, from orchestral renditions to the way mainstream music has embraced chiptune.

• Maize Wallin
• Andrew Pogson

In the second part of our playthrough series, developers showcase their projects while talking us through the creative decisions that shaped them.

• Saxon Douglass
• Saul Alexander
• Paul Sztajer
• Andrew Sum

Join us as we grok the concepts of digitally built worlds, from procedurally generated landscapes to personally sculpted paradises.

• Loki Davison
• Claire Hosking

With just five minutes and five bulletpoints apiece, Australia’s developers take to the stage in a series of micro-talks that address a multitude of diverse topics.

• Chris Wright
• Clara Reeves
• Andrew Brophy
• Shelley Hu
• Katharine Neil
• Mysterious Anonymous Speaker

Come along and get your funding questions answered by Screen Australia.

• Mike Cowap

Physical, experimental and local multiplayer games foster a sense of togetherness. This session documents and celebrates the narrative of these games internationally.

• Chad Toprak
• Amani Naseem

Games can enable political voice, and have the potential to incite real world action. This session looks at the complex relationship between stories, games, and activism.

• Laura Crawford
• Truna

Freeplay’s directors reflect on this year’s conference, the issues we’ve covered, and where we’ll be going next.

• Katie Williams
• Harry Lee