August 2023 Update
Hello Indies!
Hope you’re enjoying the hot summer days, and staying motivated for all the upcoming gamedev shenanigans! We’ve got a bunch of exciting new updates from our local community, so read below!
Upcoming Events
PAX is coming back in September. Learn more and get badges right here!
Seattle Indies Expo is coming back as well! It’s our own local event (coinciding with PAX), showcasing the best games from PNW. We’re already in the middle of jurying process to evaluate all submitted games, but we are always looking for more Volunteers for the actual event if you can help. Click Here to Learn all about it and the opportunities! Sponsorship opportunities are still available as well.
IndieCade festival (Taking place in California) is coming in October, it’s a great celebration of the art of video games. The submissions deadline has passed but you can still attend! Click here to read more about the event.
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 our new venue Pint & Pie Public House on August 1, 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!
The Diversity Collective+ will take place on August 6, at 12pm at Tailwind Café at Good Weather. 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. Stop by to get a free coffee or tea from us for this month’s social!
Northside Social is happening on August 10 at 6pm at Distant Worlds coffee shop! 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 Board Gaming Meetup Join us Sunday on August 20 at 3:30pm 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.
Seattle Indies Social is happening August 15 at 7pm at Optimism Brewery. 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. This month a delegation of developers from Australia will be joining us on a post-GDC visit to Seattle so come out and say hello to our Aussie friends.
The Game Club is happening on August 16 on our Discord. 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. This month’s game is Only Up!
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 Wi-Fi 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.
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.
Feedback Circle happens every other month on the second Wednesday right on our Discord. Time to stop coding, animating, making art or audio or adding that amazing new feature you thought of while you were falling asleep last night and come to Feedback Circle to get some real responses to what you have been working on from game creators in our community like yourself.
The Writer’s Room is off this month. Bring your scripts, flowcharts, character bibles or whatever you’re working on to share and get feedback on your storytelling.
Local Dev News
Pat Kemp shared that they wrapped up the Kickstarter campaign for Bad Baby Lich Lords (featured in SIX!), and it’s been funded ! Check it out here!
PinkLunaFae (Mio) is running a GoFundMe for her final year in university pursuing Games and Behavior as a Game Producer and Digital Artist. If you would like to pitch in, here’s the link!
ianketterer shared a new trailer for the game “Echoes of the Plum Grove” (featured at SIX before), go watch it here!
Chel Wong shared that Whisker Squadron: Survivor will be launching August 21st! Please go wishlist it
Michael Betts shared a new trailer for Tower Song, their upcoming 2D JRPG with a focus on engagin turn-based combat and playable as one of four heroes! The game is scheduled to release November 2023 and can be wishlisted on Steam now. Go check out the trailer!
Mike Sennott (Laika) just announced that Astronaut: The Best is launching on August 15th, 2023! They’ve been working on it for over eight years, and shown it at Seattle Indies events almost as long (SIX 2017!). It’s an occult management adventure where people aren’t just numbers: they’re incompetent screwups.
There’s a new trailer made for the occasion, go watch it!
Corey Kemper shared that they’ve been working on Conquest of Eldinar for the past 4 years and they’re finally ready to launch the Kickstarter in a few weeks. It’s a 2.5D Real Time Strategy and Action game where you choose from one of 16 different epic fantasy Factions to play as while you build your base, train an army, and engage in thrilling large scale battles in campaign mode or in competitive online multiplayer matches.” Check out the Gameplay Trailer or sign up for Kickstarter Prelaunch!
Jakub shared that their Leaf Blower Man: This Game Blows! game has been selected for PAX Rising! If you plan on attending PAX, stop by and say hi. In the meantime, check out the Steam Page!
Daniel Peterson shared the first public appearance for Chaos Kart! Go check out the video here!
Ahmet Çetinli shared the Steam page for Rockstar Life Simulator, extensive fame simulation game. Check it out and add to your wishlist if you like it, just click 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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