May 2024 Update
Hello Indies!
Hard to believe it’s already May, and Seattle is getting warmer. Hope we can escape the heatwaves this year and enjoy a nice, cool, game-full summer!
Upcoming Events
Seattle Indies Expo 2024: Mark your calendars! Applications for Seattle Indies Expo 2024 open on Monday May 6, 2024. Go to the application page to get all of the information about what you will need to apply. Applications close on June 8, 2024, every game submitted will receive at least five pieces of feedback from our panel of industry expert community judges. Interested in being a judge or volunteer for SIX? Sign up here.
SIX 2024 will once again be taking place at the Hilton Motif Hotel on Sunday September 1, 2024 from 12pm – 9pm where the top 25 games from judging will be on display for the general public and games industry professionals who are in town for PAX West to check out and play. We might even have something new in the works for PAX West week, stay tuned to our social media channels and the Discord for all of the latest updates.
Save the date! The annual Seattle Indies and IGDA Seattle Summer Picnic will be happening on Sunday July 28, 2024 at Madrona Park. Bring your families, friends, your favorite picnic food to share, and your appetite. We’ll be serving up burgers, dogs, vegetarian options, soft drinks, and snacks all day. We will bring some lawn games for you to play, feel free to bring your own too.
Submissions for our 2024 season include our online Festival – IndieCade Anywhere and Everywhere, as well as consideration for any and all in-person events, as well as our ongoing streaming features and activities for the year.
IndieCade accepts and features a wide spectrum of games and experiences including tabletop, VR, AR, Escape Rooms, Zoom Games, mobile, traditional digital games, and more — regardless of platform, style, experience, or background, and we especially encourage work-in-progress, as well as, completed projects.
IndieCade Anywhere and Everywhere is IndieCade’s online festival for 2024 and will be held in the fall. This online event is built from the ground up specifically to highlight and feature games of all types, along with their creators, from around the world.
https://www.indiecade.com/submissions/
GameSoundCon is accepting speaker and panel submissions for its 2024 conference. Conference topics include game music, sound design, Dialogue/Performance, business/career, game audio education, research, AR/VR, ludomusicological talks and more.
Speaker submissions are open through 17 May, 2024. https://www.gamesoundcon.com/submissions
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
Here’s our Meetup Page with all future upcoming events.
The Eastside Meet & Drink is happening at Pint & Pie Public House on May 7, 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!
Northside Social is taking place May 9, 6pm at Watershed Pub & Kitchen on 10104 3rd Ave NE (note the new address!!) 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!
The Game Club is happening on May 15 at 7pm right 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.
We’ll be having a Show and Tellon May 16 at 7pm at Spaces in Belltown. Bring your laptop and show off what you’re working on at the Seattle Indies Demo Night. Use this event to get feedback on your game and to network with other game devs. Pizza will be provided. Please bring everything you will need to demo and record feedback for your game.
Seattle Indies Board Game Meetup is happening on May 19, 3pm at Phoenix Comics and Games. Come play board games with Indie Game Developers!
Seattle Indies Social is happening on May 21 at 7pm at Stoup (formerly Optimism) in Capitol Hill. Join us 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 Writer’s Room is taking place on May 30, 6:30pm right on our discord. Bring your scripts, flowcharts, character bibles or whatever you’re working on to share and get feedback on your storytelling.
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. Seattle Center wifi will be available for use. Please bring everything you need to be productive. We will be meeting every 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.
The Diversity Collective+ normally takes place at Distant Worlds Coffee House on 6401 Roosevelt Way NE · Seattle, WA. 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! Keep an eye on our Meetup page for more information.
Local Dev News
mattdacat launched demo up for Palhalla, a 1v1 rogue-lite shooter with dozens of crazy upgrades! – check it out!
Randy H. released print version of their business book – check it out!
salaar released their 2nd indie game this month ‘Sherwood Extreme’ on Steam. A co-op Crossbow Shooter with Bullet-Time Parkour! Race through levels and horde mode, chaining combos of slow-mo sniping and destruction to climb the leaderboards. Check it out here!
Klepore’s wife, owner of Violet Daisy Games, has written a book! Go Check it out!
TriDraggon released a public demo today of their coop roguelike, check it out!
Daniel M — released Azoove. Adventure with your friends in this co-op card roguelike. Manage your resources and communicate effectively to lead your expedition across the hazardous Azoove desert. Check it out!
Will Aleshire released their first game OST for Tower Song. Check it out on Spotify or Apple Music!
Ezra shared their crazy (potentially stupid) project idea… watch the devlog and see why they ended up making 1023 videos!
Tom Goulding launched their first game Underspace – The spiritual successor to Freelancer with a Lovecraftian, sandbox RPG twist. Check it out!
jonas just released their first mobile game! Taco: Hamster Hero! Go Play It!
Paul K launched Steam page for Grapplers: Relic Rivals, their 2D PVP game with grappling hooks. Check it out!
Jakub released a demo for “Just Crow Things”, a game where you play as a crow and poop on people. Check it out!
Ace ♠ released their bunker for sale on Unreal marketplace, check it out!
Rawb published the steam page for The Tennis Academy, take a look!
All Worms shares the fund they curate and produce called Briefs. It’s a micro-publishing initiative that gives out small grants for small digital games. Think jam sized. The open call for 2024 is live so take a look 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 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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