This week the independent games scene in Melbourne had a big night as many members of the local industry came together to celebrate and embrace the fringes of the gaming space. The Freeplay Awards, which is known for spotlighting artistic expression and experimentation in games, made a comeback after a two-year hiatus. It has been a favourite event for many due to its dedication to showcasing creativity and innovation in gaming. Freeplay hosts a slew of events such as the Freeplay Awards, the enamoured Parallels, and of course the Freeplay Festival – often these events have been held in tandem. In June they’ll be hosting another Freeplay Festival for anyone interested in seeing what their mission is! I was very grateful to attend the awards ceremony, fittingly held at Trades Hall. Uniting on such powerful ground, gave further voice to a rally of cheers for the nominated game developers being honoured at the event.

When we had the opportunity to chat with Freeplay’s inaugural Awards Lead, Creatrix Tiara, they were very proud of how the ceremony went. “I personally have been very honoured to be part of the Freeplay Awards process, especially since this role is very new (previously the Awards were run by a board member) and so is so much of the process really,” said Tiara. “There was also a freshness to the submissions we got, which was then reflected in the nominees, winners, and honourable mentions. There can be a danger of events like these becoming insular, the-same-people-every-time, etc – I personally went out of my way to invite people to apply from all sorts of backgrounds, many of whom didn’t even think Freeplay was an option for them, and they got their time on stage and found a new community.”

Freeplay has always held this unwavering shine for the local industry and it’s exciting to see this initiative continue, hopefully into the future!

The Winners:

Freeplay Award

Queer Man Peering Into A Rock Pool.jpg (Fuzzy Ghost) — Winner

Wildcard Award

Final Profit: A Shop RPG (Brent Arnold) — Winner

Across the Ditch

● Arcane Crimes Division (Imaginary Empire)
● Idyll (Demi Schänzel) — Winner
● Seedlings (Bardsley Creative)

Design

● Dap (Melting Parrot)
● Wayward Strand (ghost pattern)
● Unpacking (Witch Beam Games)
● Spin Rhythm XD (Super Spin Digital)
● Heavenly Bodies (2pt Interactive) — Winner
● KILLBUG (Samurai Punk)

Visual Art

● Wayward Strand (ghost pattern)
● Heavenly Bodies (2pt Interactive)
● Queer Man Peering Into A Rock Pool.jpg (Fuzzy Ghost)
● Dap (Melting Parrot)
● You Will (Not) Remain (Bad Eldritches)
● Unpacking (Witch Beam Games) — Winner

Audio

● Heavenly Bodies (2pt Interactive) — Winner
● Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Studios)
● Dap (Melting Parrot)
● Wayward Strand (ghost pattern)
● You Will (Not) Remain (Bad Eldritches)
● Unpacking (Witch Beam Games)

Narrative

● Wayward Strand (ghost pattern) — Winner
● Unpacking (Witch Beam Games)
● Trail of the Wretched (Xavier Bell, Jason Reagen, Khoa Ho)
● Queer Man Peering Into A Rock Pool.jpg (Fuzzy Ghost)
● Amarantus (ub4q)
● Final Profit: A Shop RPG (Brent Arnold)

Non-Digital

● Owlbear Omelette (Caradoc Games)
● Rainbow Paths (Helen Kwok & Chad Toprak)
● Mesozoic Mayhem (Craig Somerton)
● TRADE (Barking Spider Creative)
● Fragged Empire 2 (Wade Dyer)
● The Score (Tin Star Games) — Winner

Micro-Game

● The Search for the Golden Crown Plant (Tom and Dad Games)
● Seethe and Scab (Max Myers)
● Bin Chicken Has A Go! (T-Dog eXtreme) — Winner
● In Search of Lost Scroll (Vidya Rajan)
● Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Sure! (Toot Games)
● Sometimes (Elliot Cox)

Experimental

● Grasping (Duncan Corrigan) — Winner
● THE SOUL OF TOO BIRDS (Nonsense Machine)
● In Search of Lost Scroll (Vidya Rajan)
● Queer Man Peering Into A Rock Pool.jpg (Fuzzy Ghost)
● The Hotline (Kasey Gambling)
● Quite Contrary (Helen Kwok & Chad Toprak)

Emerging Developers

● Dial In (Julian Lia)
● Florrae (Perlinators)
● Final Profit: A Shop RPG (Brent Arnold)
● You Will (Not) Remain (Bad Eldritches) — Winner
● In Search of Lost Scroll (Vidya Rajan)
● Dap (Melting Parrot)

Honourable Mentions

● Bell’s Beach (Ground Bird)
● Fight with Spirit (Storybrewers Roleplaying)
● Princess Die (Tin Star Games)
● Voltage Vendors (Zero Sleep Studios)
● The Telwynium: Book 1 – Winter’s Dawn (Dave Lloyd)
● Fantasy Town Regional Manager (Caps Collective)
● stand up (Rae White)
● Pants Quest (Georgia Patton)
● Squishy Taylor and the City-Wide Ghost Plague (The Inhabitors)
● Dros (emergeWorlds)
● Foundlings (Caradoc Games)