ALT: GAMES is a festival that brings together the Australian games community and industry.
ALT: GAMES
Returning in 2026, ALT: GAMES brings together the Australian games community and industry. Featuring games showcases, sessions and talks with industry leaders. This annual two day celebration of games is presented by Powerhouse and supported by City of Parramatta, Screen Australia, Screen NSW and SAE University College.
Date: 18–19 April 2026
Location: PHIVE and Parramatta Town Hall
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Event Partners
ALT: Play
ALT: Play is a showcase of independent game makers across Australia and New Zealand. Discover and playtest 35 new and in-development video and tabletop games hosted by their makers. All ages welcome.
Date: 18 - 19 April 2026
Time: 10am – 3pm
Tickets: Free
Location: Parramatta Town Hall
Registration required
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Abberate Inc. Abberate Team
Angel Michael Hunter and Shawn Weinert
b-e-e-t-l-e: be right back! - Vivian Lun and Paul Sim
Bluffoons - Franco De Joya
Bonza - Ben and Punya
Busboy - Tom Jackson
Canvas Street - Apartment 809
Cat Spotting - Jason Tam (ToToTam)
Corners, - Raven Joy Bower
Cow Chess - Lab Lab
Dawn Chorus - Cecile Richard
Dogpile - Studio Folly
Dungeons of Freeport - Elissa Black
Enfant - Zebrar
Factory 95 - Macrobit Interactive
Floodlands - Logic Engine
Good Hands - Neemer Iyer
How Was Your Day - Mad Carnival
Janet DeMornay - Fuzzy Ghost
Jarren's Outpost - SPR Media
Management in Space - Silver Stitch Productions
Neapolitan - Andrew Shellshear
No Humanity - Internship - SweatyChair
Noibs - Oddlark
Nonolith - Justcamh
Penguin Colony - ORIGAME DIGITAL
Plonk! 4D Puzzle - T&DA
Section 5 - Ray "Reizor" Cox
Shape Sender Deluxe - Dead Teapot
Shelf Control - Samantha Zeng
SINE - Xavier Burrow
Slumbering Woods - Chunky Quail
U Shape Us - U Shape Us
Wyrmspace Tactics - Wali Studios
Yum Cha - Quokka Games
EVENT PARTNER:
City of Parramatta
SUPPORTED BY:
Screen Australia
SAE University College
ALT: Ex
ALT: Ex is a showcase of experimental games developed by Western Sydney emerging creatives. Play selected works from ACE’s program Beyond the Script co-curated with NSW games collective Serenade and Made in the West Creative. Presented in collaboration with Arts & Cultural Exchange (ACE) Parramatta.
Date: 18 - 19 April 2026
Time: 10am – 3pm
Tickets: Free
Location: PHIVE, 5 Parramatta Square
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EVENT PARTNER:
City of ParramattaSUPPORTED BY:
Screen Australia
Screen NSW
SAE University College
PROGRAM PARTNER:
Arts & Cultural Exchange
Serenade
Made in the West Creative
ALT: Sessions
ALT: Sessions is a series of talks and workshops for game enthusiasts and emerging developers to gain industry knowledge from leaders in the games industry. Each workshop engages audiences in game making and adjacent practices.
Date: Saturday 12 April – Sunday 13 April 2025
Time: 10–3pm
Cost: $10
Location: PHIVE, 5 Parramatta Square
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Saturday 18 April 2026
10am – Session 1
Benjamin Ee, The Illustration Technique
Acclaimed artist Benjamin Ee, Art Director at Summerfall Studios and an artist for Magic the Gathering, will share his illustration techniques and practices that can be applied across all creative mediums.
Recommended for ages 16+
11:30am – Session 2
Jessica Shipard, Colour Matters: Creating Evocative Palettes for Indie Games
Jessica Shipard, designer and co-founder of Studio Folly, will demonstrate her approach to building memorable and unique colour schemes in a workshop for creatives, drawing from her award-winning works Gubbins, Real-Bird Fake-Bird and Dogpile.
Recommended for ages 16+
2:30pm – Session 3
Liza Palmer and Dan Potra: Outfit to Identity: Building Characters for Creative Mediums
Award winning designers Liz Palmer and Dan Potra will explore the process of games development from ideation to final design, demonstrating how to create visually distinctive characters for your works. Presented with the Australian Production Designers Guild
Recommended for ages 16+Sunday 19 April 2026
10am – Session 1
Riot Games Sydney: Game Dev: Getting in, staying in, and making a career
Game professionals from award-winning global studio Riot Games will discuss their diverse pathways in the industry, and share the essential knowledge and skills that have powered their careers.
All ages12:30pm – Session 2
Carla Dobbie and Patrik Jarlestam: Musical World Building for Two Very Different Games
Composers Patrik Jarlestam and Carla Dobbie will share insights into how they built worlds through their soundtracks for two games: Valheim and Deliver At All Costs. Examining the challenges posed by each game design, Jarlestam and Dobbie will explain how they enriched and communicated two distinct game designers’ visions to create whole and immersive experiences.
Recommended for ages 16+2:30pm – Session 3
Shuhei Yoshida — What Makes an Indie Game Successful?
Renowned Tokyo-based software developer and former Sony Interactive Entertainment veteran Shuhei Yoshida will share his knowledge of what elevates a game for players versus what can hinder it, drawing from his decades of industry experience.
Recommended for ages 16+EVENT PARTNER:
City of ParramattaSUPPORTED BY:
Screen Australia
Screen NSW
SAE University College
PROGRAM PARTNER:
Riot Games Sydney
Australian Production Designers Guild
ALT: Features
ALT: Features will connect Australian game makers with international leaders.
ALANAH PEARCE
Join Alanah Pearce, a renowned US-based Australian writer, producer, actor, content creator and games thought leader, as she delves into her extensive and multifaceted career working with critically acclaimed games and studios.
Recommended for ages 16+
Date: 18 April
Time: 1pm – 2pm
Tickets: $20
Location: Riverside Live at PHIVE
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SHUHEI YOSHIDA
Tokyo-based games industry legend Shuhei Yoshida will discuss his career at PlayStation with games thought leader and media personality Alanah Pearce. Yoshida will share his experiences working on groundbreaking games at Sony and insights on how to get a game published.
Recommended for ages 16+
Date: 18 April
Time: 5:30pm – 7pm
Tickets: $20
Location: Riverside Live at PHIVE
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BILLY BASSO
For the first time in Australia, join US-based solo developer Billy Basso, founder of Shared Memory Games, as he looks back at the making of the critically and commercially acclaimed Animal Well.
Recommended for ages 16+
Date: Sunday 19 April
Time: 1pm – 2pm
Tickets: $20
Location: Riverside Live at PHIVE
EVENT PARTNER:
City of Parramatta
SUPPORTED BY:
Screen Australia
Screen NSW
SAE University College
PROGRAM PARTNER:
RIVERSIDE LIVE AT PHIVE