ALLY MCLEAN 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
INDUSTRY & CRAFT
ALT GAMES 2025 where I gave the keynote address for the brand new games festival in Sydney.
GENR8 2025 where I spoke about bridging film and games in the Australian creative landscape.
Devcom, Cologne 2024 where I spoke about the films of William Freidkin, and how his perspective on filmmaking has informed my game making practice.
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.
CORPORATE EVENTS
Lenovo Legion 9i Reveal Event (Lenovo & Intel) where I broke down the hardware needs of independent game developers.
2025 Keynote address for International Women's Day (Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport) where I spoke about finding your voice through community.
Vivid Sydney (Creative Plus Business) where I spoke about the ways women are placed into competition over collaboration.
Public Speaking, Keynote Speaker, Women in STEM, Women in Games, Tech Demo, Panellist, Game Dev, Games, Game Development, Sydney, Melbourne, Australia, saying things I lay in bed at night ten years later and wonder why I said them
I have run sessions for clients as established and focused as Google all the way to groups of volunteer playtesters.
These workshops range from ideation and paper prototyping to conflict resolution and retrospectives. I really enjoy helping people solve problems and surface cool ideas.
Some testimonials:
“This workshop was a truly transformative experience for the entire team.
It not only brought us closer together, but it was genuinely restorative and built a new level of psychological safety - something that is paramount to our team.
Most importantly, it empowered us to collectively identify the adaptive challenges that lay ahead.”
- Kati Elizabeth, General Manager, GUCK
“The workshop brought out a whole new perspective on what we could achieve as a team.”
- Trent Kusters, Studio Director, League of Geeks
“The Emotional Map Workshop was so valuable in exploring how our past experience could inform our future.”
- Ben Calder, Engineering Director, Mighty Kingdom
Workshop, Demo, Session, Facilitation
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
The Sungirl Universe is a collection of work I have been developing over the last two years, including:
SUNGIRL FEAST OF TERMINALIA - 2025 - Sungirl sculpture and textile work was showcased in a solo exhibition at the you’re okay gallery by Brand X
Exhibition Photos: Jacquie Manning
BACCHANALIA x WYSPWORKS - 2025
Bacchanalia candle collaboration with Wyspworks
Wyspworks is an artisan candle company based in the Blue Mountains of NSW.
The BACCHANALIA candle combines alluring notes of rosemary, blood plum and juniper. This unique blend of herbal and gourmand accords come together to create an impression of partying with reckless abandon, seduction and lustful temptation, everything that Bacchanalia represents.
The Bacchanalia illustrations are part of the Sungirl Universe, a collection of pieces set inside a world of celestial beings, endless partying, and glittering outfits.
I worked alongside Wyspworks to design every aspect of this bespoke candle, including its scent, glassware and packaging, as well as the hero illustration and lettering. This collection sold out within 48 hours.
Exhibition, Art, Sculpture, Textile, Digital Art, Unreal Engine, Shaders, VFX, Installation, Exhibit, Sydney Art, Soft Sculpture
Ongoing
The game companies I’ve worked with include GUCK, THE VOXEL AGENTS, and STUDIO FOLLY.
I also provide freelance work for VICSCREEN, Screen NSW and Screen West advising on funding strategy, community consultation and assessing digital games grant applications.
Titles I have worked on in this capacity:
GUBBINS
HIDDEN MEMORIES OF THE GARDENS BETWEEN
BLAKTASIA
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