April 2023 Update
Hello Indies!
Hope you’re all getting ready for the (slightly) warmer weather – it’s coming! April might be a bit slow, but that just means more time to stay in and work on your projects. Read below for updates!
Upcoming Events
IndieCade festival (Taking place in California) is coming in October, but the submission deadline is this month – April 10 – and costs $75! Late submissions are due May 31st (at $100), but why be late when you can be early??? Click here to read more about the submission and the event itself.
PG Connects Seattle is back from May 16-17, 2023 at the Grand Hyatt. More info. Apply for a free Indie developer pass here.
Book your tickets now and join here: https://www.pgconnects.com/seattle/registration/
Disclaimer: PGC is promoting talks about Blockchain/NFT gaming that we will not be taking part in nor endorsing. Seattle Indies is not receiving compensation for our involvement in PGC nor are we paying for the privilege of being involved.
FYI if you want to get a list of all upcoming game event shows and get ready early, The Indie House has published this fantastic list of upcoming festival that’s exactly that. Well worth a bookmark!
Monthly Events
The Eastside Meet & Drink is happening at Eastside Beer Works on April 3, at 7pm! Keep in mind it happens on the first Tuesday of every month. It’s time to get together and swap stories. Put down your keyboards and brave the outdoors. Let’s meet for a drink, a bite to eat, and some good conversation!
Seattle Indies Board Gaming Meetup – Join us every second Sunday of the month at Phoenix Comics and Games on Capitol Hill to play some of your favorite tabletop games or learn new ones with your friends from the Seattle Indies community.
Northside Social will take place April 13, 6pm at Distant Worlds Coffeehouse in Roosevelet. It’s time to get together and swap stories. Put down your keyboards and brave the outdoors. Let’s meet for a coffee/tea, a bite to eat, and some good conversation!
Seattle Indies Social is happening month on Tuesday, April 18 @ 7pm. Join us in Capitol Hill for some well-deserved mingling, drinks, and socialization! Make some new friends, catch up with old ones, and find out what the community’s up to.
Diversity Collective+ Coffee Chat is happening this month, details TBD. Come to network, socialize, and discuss issues related to diversity and inclusion in game development! Folks that identify as an underrepresented minority in the game industry are welcome.
The Game Club is happening this month, details TBD. What a book club is to a discussion of literature, this event is to a discussion of game design. Every month, we agree to play a game, then meet to discuss and analyze its design and presentation.
Indie Co-working Support Group in-person will take place every Saturday, from 1:00 PM to 6:30 PM PST, at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Masks will be enforced and vax cards will be checked at the door. Seattle Center wifi will be available for use. Please bring everything you need to be productive. The online Coffee Break session will still be available to anyone who isn’t ready for in person events yet or doesn’t have the ability to attend the in person event. We will be meeting every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month at AIE going forward. We have also added a Co-working voice channel in Discord for people to use any time they want a quiet space to work alongside their peers.
Note that ISG will have extended hours during the weekend of Global Game Jam (Feb 4th/5th) for people who want to jam together in-person. Saturday Feb 4th will be 10-6:30 pm and Sunday Sept 5th will be 10-4 pm. Snacks and drinks will be provided both days.
Indie Coffee Break – Once a week, take a Coffee Break with our Discord community, and chat with your local game devs! Meet new folks. Talk about games. Share your work. Ask for help / feedback. Commiserate over problems. Collaborate on solutions. Give high-fives. We’re a weekly social work group for game devs of all levels and disciplines. Join us on Discord every Saturday from 1pm to 7pm! Drop by anytime; folks usually drop in and out throughout the day. Coffee Break also happens on an impromptu basis throughout the month so if you see folks hanging out in the channel feel free to drop in and join the conversation.
Diversity Collective+ Coffee Chat – Come to network, socialize, and discuss issues related to diversity and inclusion in game development! Folks that identify as an underrepresented minority in the game industry are welcome. This is an in-person event; the location is at Tailwind Café & Bar inside of Good Weather Bicycle.
Local Dev News
charles4255 just released the soundtrack for the Global Game Jam they participated in! Here’s the link.
Maximus T shared that you can now play Astrolander at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle at the Indie Game Revolution exhibit! 🚀
Daniel Peterson shared their latest video “Substance Painter Is Easy” Watch Now!
yaahcoob (Jakey B.) made a tikky tok about My Chemical Romance and piano 🎹 Watch it here!
Jakub just announced a new game! Blow leaves at 6am on a Sunday and annoy all your neighbors in this comedic action-arcade title. Wishlist on Steam!
Vangi opened sign ups for open testing their game, please check it out if you have Android! Try to grow as many monsters as you can in an original gameplay mode, or try the classic block puzzle style gameplay mode and get those lines cleared, all for free!
Goatorph just dropped their first Lofi and Retro SFX asset pack on ichio and game dev marketplace. Check it out!! :))
Roxy made a virtual art gallery of a bunch of their work and could use a promo <3 Share their tweet!
Ooyu released that their queer, retro, visual novel about ex-magical girls! ! And the best part? It’s FREE on release! Play Here!
Sarah R. just released the Switch port of Bone’s Cafe! Childhood dream accomplished! Go Grab it Here!
Harassment Policy, AAPI, Black Lives Matter, and Resources
Seattle Indies stands with the AAPI community. We are here for our members who have been affected by the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes both locally and nationally. For further resources to educate yourself on the issue and how to take action, here is a useful link: https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co/
Seattle Indies is having in person meetups again and we need everyone to get vaccinated and boosted against the COVID-19 virus as soon as you are able. The Washington State Department of Health has this website for information on where you can get vaccinated in your area.
Seattle Indies believes the stories of the victims of sexual harassment and assault in the games industry that have been shared. We strongly condemn the actions by people in power preying on the dreams of vulnerable people trying to make their way in the industry and strive to build an inclusive community that welcomes all minorities to provide a safe environment and a better vision for the game industry.
While our code of conduct states a zero-tolerance policy for harassment of any kind we are especially sensitive to the daily challenges faced by womxn due to the ingrained sexism that has existed in the structure of the games industry for far too long. We are actively working to build a better community of game developers and we all need to do better.
Additionally, Board Member August Belhumeur has offered to be a personal resource for anyone who needs help, someone to talk to or some guidance on next steps if you have experienced harassment in the industry either at our events or elsewhere. She can be reached at august@seattleindies.org.
Our friends at Take This Org have compiled valuable resources for anyone in immediate need of professional help for their situation.
Lastly, Seattle Indies and Diversity Collective+ support Black Lives Matter. Here are some resources compiled by Diversity Collective+ for how you can offer support, whether this is financial, contributing to petitions, preparing for protests, or getting informed. If you have additional resources, comment below and we will add them.
As always, keep an eye on our Discord for any last-minute news and discussion, and let us know about any projects you’re working on that you’d like shared on our Steam or Itch collections or tweeted about from @SeattleIndies!
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