ALLY HENNESSY
I make videogames, draw and write.
I like to work on lots of different things, feel free to reach out.
See some of my portfolio below.
If you’d like to see just art, go to ally-hennessy-art.com
Some highlights:
Devcom, Cologne where I spoke about the films of William Freidkin, and how his perspective on filmmaking has informed my game making practice.
ALT GAMES where I gave the keynote address for the brand new games festival in Sydney.
Serenade Games where I spoke about the Dream Ballet and how it can be utilised to expand storytelling in games.
TEDx Sydney where I spoke about millennial burnout, and the pressure to self-optimise.
SXSW Sydney where I spoke about fostering your inner artist in a commercial space.
Creative Mornings where I spoke about the way independent game makers are broadening the definitions of what games can be.
Vivid Sydney where I spoke about the ways women are placed into competition over collaboration.
Public Speaking, Keynote Speaker, saying things I lay in bed at night ten years later and wonder why I said them
My work has been shown in galleries and museums, and I’ve also collaborated with brands on artwork for products and packaging, worked with recording artists on album art, and created editorial illustrations for publications.
I’m always interested in new projects and opportunities to create artwork, so please feel free to contact me directly if you’d like to make something together!
You can see my art portfolio at Ally McLean Hennesy Art
Art
IN DEVELOPMENT - (Publishers say hi please)
MYSTIQUES won the SXSW Sydney People’s Choice Award.
I’m working on this project at Lemonade Games, a studio I co-founded with Inge Berman and Adam Matthews.
‘The worst women you’ve ever met running a failing antique store’: uncanny adventure Mystiques: Haunted Antiques | Games | The Guardian
Local Spotlight: Become An Insufferable Woman And Make Bank Off The Dead In Mystiques (kotaku.com.au)
SXSW Sydney 2024 Highlight - Mystiques: Haunted Antiques - Checkpoint
Sydney game developers are getting weird, despite the risks (gameshub.com)
Game Development
Ongoing
The game companies I’ve worked with include GUCK, THE VOXEL AGENTS, and STUDIO FOLLY.
I also provide freelance work for VICSCREEN assessing digital games grant applications.
Consulting & Production Support
22–02–24
I was the Executive Producer for part of the project and Production Director for part of the project, working with one of Australia’s most iconic and beloved independent game teams at League of Geeks.
Solium Infernum review – the best new strategy game in years (pcgamesn.com)
The best games of 2024 : NPR
7 Games That Are The Dark Souls Of Their Genres
Solium Infernum wins inaugural Screen Music Award for Interactive Media
The Best Video Games of 2024 So Far (at Midyear) - Metacritic
Solium Infernum is what happens when devils play the game of thrones - Video Games on Sports Illustrated
The Best Video Games of 2024
Game Development
10-23
We have now run the event at maximum capacity for two years (with no leaks).
Community
2024
You can find the selected shorts that won the Golden Freak here:
A City I Once Knew - YouTube
Big fcking truck go down hill
I Love Movies So Much
13–12–17
I was the Gamerunner and worked alongside a beautiful team of developers at Robot House.
Rumu combines some superb character work and heady sci-fi themes into a heart-wrenching story about love, family, and loneliness. - Gamespot
Grown-up stories in games | ACMI: Your museum of screen culture
Rumu Reviews - OpenCritic
Game Development
2017-2018
I was the curator of the exhibit and managed the event alongside Liam Esler. I designed and managed construction of the exhibitions, as well as securing sponsors and managing publicity for the event.
NEXT is an exhibit featuring the world's most diverse games | Mashable
Community
2021
This included interviewing many developers and executives who worked on the game in 1997, scrubbing through hours of expo hall footage, and many creative search terms on the wayback machine.
I wrote a feature about it for Kotaku and published an interview with the original voice of Barbie in GamesHub, but still have a mountain of research about this game and several others I am yet to find a home for. On the very slim chance you have an idea of what to do with this, please hit me up.
My research was featured on the Video Game History Foundation’s podcast.
The Incredible Story Behind The Barbie As Rapunzel Video Game (kotaku.com.au)
The Voice of Barbie, in Her Own Words (gameshub.com)
Games for Girls History