May 2025 Update
Hello Indies!
We have a lot of exciting events coming up this month including the Seattle Indies Speaker Series this Friday May 2nd, featuring Jakub Kasztalski giving a retrospective of his games Rain on Your Parade and Just Crow Things. Our new Founders Club event happening on May 13th at ThinkSpace Seattle featuring a panel of successful Seattle based founders in the games industry.
Throughout the month of May for Accessibility Awareness Month, Seattle Indies will host a regular cadence of online and in-person events featuring new experts each week, ready to share their knowledge and experience on developing games with accessibility in mind. From practical tips to product deep dives, we seek to create a welcoming space where even newcomers can feel welcomed into the discussion about accessibility, learn how they can grow their awareness, and contribute to making the digital world a more inclusive place. Keep an eye on Discord and our social media channels for more updates on Accessibility Awareness Month events.
Seattle Indies will be participating in GiveBIG from May 6-7, donate here and join the movement to empower indie game creators in Seattle.
Hope you’re enjoying the warmer weather and true summer coming along! There’s a lot coming up in the next few months, so read below…
Head over to https://six.seattleindies.org/apply to get your application in now. Applications close this Sunday May 4, 2025, the final notifications about acceptance to exhibit are scheduled to be delivered by June 30, 2025.
SIX is the largest annual celebration of indie games and game creators from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. 2024 was our biggest year yet with close to 4,000 attendees getting to play 32 games made by our community members and 2025 is expected to be even bigger with an expanded show floor and more rooms for meetings and programming. More news to come on the expansion of SIX 2025. In the meantime relive the excitement of SIX 2024 with this amazing highlight video of the event.
Jurors needed! The games exhibited at SIX are selected by a community judging panel. As a juror you will have between May12th and June 15th to play & review at least 5 games for 15 minutes each. Jurors who play above 10 games will get a SIX T-shirt. Jurors who play above 20 will get a secret prize! Sign up to be a juror here: https://forms.gle/nuL7iynqsQe7WQCs5
About this talk
“There are a lot of lessons one learns after running an indie studio for a decade and releasing 7 commercial titles. A lot of lessons which have been covered by much wiser men in much better talks before. And yet, as an avid consumer of these resources, I always felt they don’t neatly encapsulate my own way of doing things; that my own process doesn’t neatly fall into what other developers might consider “best practices.”
In this talk, I will reflect on the hybrid solo/team-based process at Unbound Creations, how the gaming landscape has changed (and keeps changing) with every new release, and a slew of other peculiar revelations. You will learn why I don’t use grayboxing, why I think sloppy design can be good, and how I use my own limitations as a pillar for sustainable success.”
Engage with XBOX accessibility experts, explore groundbreaking assistive technologies (& gaming stations), and discuss best practices for accessible game design.
Whether you’re crafting your next title, seeking to broaden your audience, or looking for inspiration in accessible game development, don’t miss this one of a kind opportunity!
The in-person event is full but you can still sign up to watch the stream. Hopefully we’ll do more in-person visits in the future based on the amount of interest we’ve had for this first one.
Join us for the inaugural Founders Club event at ThinkSpace Seattle’s beautiful location on Lake Union. Seattle is the home to over 200 game studios, each with inspiring, insightful, and experienced founders excited to share their stories, wisdom, and knowledge gained from years of starting and running a successful business in the industry. At this event we will have a panel of founders all based here in the Seattle area who are currently running their company or have successfully sold their company and are on to their next venture.
Thanks to ThinkSpace Seattle for generously providing their event space to host this event.
Thanks to Statsig for sponsoring this event.
Panelists:
Hosted by Josh Ayala, Founder & CEO of Perfect Day Games
Marianna Vallejo, Current Director of Product @ EA and former CEO, Creative Director, and Founder of Daily Magic Productions
Vijaye Raji, Founder & CEO, Statsig
John Watson, Founder & CTO of Stoic Studio
Tomas Gomez, Founder of Pancake Games
Patrick Ascolese, Founder of Dark Arts Software, former founding partner at Camouflaj
Whether you are an experienced founder with decades of experience, a new founder just getting started, or an aspiring founder looking for some insight and guidance on the process this event is for you!
***
Statsig is the leading product experimentation platform that helps businesses use data to ship fast and build better products. Companies like Riot Games, Electronic Arts, EPIC Games, and Rec Room are embracing data-driven experimentation to quickly identify what truly resonates with players and build compelling experiences that keep their audiences engaged and coming back for more.
Our expanded presence at the event came at a higher cost for the booth space so this year we’ll be asking for a contribution of $150/table. You are welcome to split the cost with another team if you don’t mind sharing table space with another game.
Teams will be provided a table, chairs, power and internet access to demo their games. Admission and exhibition space are free and the event is open to the public. Teams will need to arrange their own travel and lodging.
More information about WA State Gaming Expo can be found here https://www.geekfest.com/GeekFestWest#/about?lang=en
The event is on July 18-20, 2025 at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, WA.
Sign up to be a part of the Seattle Indies booth at GeekFest West 2025: https://forms.gle/uoSfeBJi3mMzgkr26
There’s still time to submit to the IndieCade Festival happening in Fall of 2025! Submissions for this season include 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.
SUMMER GAME FEST airs live on June 2025, featuring world premieres, special guests and a look at what’s next in video games. Launched in 2020, Summer Game Fest is a forward-looking celebration of upcoming video games, available as a free digital and livestream experience to fans around the world.
The event is an amalgamation of different smaller events, giving you a lot of opportunities to showcase your game! Take a look at the website and keep your eyes peeled!
Serious Play is happening 13-15th August 2025 in Rochester, New York. Explore how the power of play, games and gamification are transforming education, training, and knowledge mobilization. Experience interactive sessions, compelling speakers, and cutting-edge research. This is where learning and innovation come to play. Learn more here!
The 10th annual Game Devs of Color Expo takes place online September 16-19, 2025! Submissions are also now open for speakers, panels, and game devs interviews. The organziers were kind enough to share a 10% discount code with our community: gdocSI.
Here is a link with the code pre-applied: https://ti.to/GDoCExpo/2025/discount/gdocSI
Tokyo Game Show is coming back later this year, and signups are open till the end of April. Read more about their Indie Selection here and consider applying!
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!
What inspired you to become a game developer?
I always enjoyed making games, just as much as playing them. As a kid, I made Starcraft Maps for my friends, made RPG Maker projects constantly, made my own versions of board game rules for Risk, Warhammer, Yugioh and other things. Making things generally is really fun for me, and I was always amazed with the amount of delight an engaging game could deliver as a player. Creating that for others feels even more satisfying!
I studied Computer Science in school and worked in tech right afterwards as a product manager which helped build intuition on how to take software projects from ideas to delivered products (while continuing to make games as a hobby!). From there, moving into the games industry felt like a natural combination of my interests and experience. I’ve been in game dev professionally for 8 years now, and haven’t looked back!
Test and iterate. As creators we always try to make the best product we can. While we can use our own tastes to help guide us, as a game dev you have to remember you’re ultimately making something for others as well. You need to see what they think and how they react. Expect that things will need to change after your first attempt, and set yourself up (technically, emotionally, and schedule wise) to collect and respond to feedback.
This is the case for nearly everything in the process; systems design, UX, marketing, story, art direction, even the core pitch of your game. Even when you luck out and get something right the first time, you can take that signal and double down on it to make it an even bigger or better part of your game. This can be harder on bigger teams or more schedule driven productions (trust me, I get it – I was a producer too), but I think making sure you make space in your schedule/budget to do this is critical to success.
Pay more attention to other forms of media! I choose to spend a lot of my time on games, but there’s a lot I’ve learned tangentially from TV, movies, anime, and social media, now that I know what to look for. All entertainment media ultimately has the same core goal of reaching an audience, engaging with them, and trying to deliver some kind of impact, and many of them are very very good at it too!
To use a recent example, Kitchen Sync was an idea that I wanted to pursue after getting into food anime during the pandemic. I found it so novel that stories could be told in the form of epic confrontations or dramatic interpersonal moments, but all centered around something as everyday as cooking. Those stories were funny, interesting, relatable, and I noticed that they had an amazing aftereffect of getting me interested in cooking! I found that level of influence so interesting, I set off to see if a game could do the same.
Making friends with other folks with similar interests in games and game development is what allowed me to even be in this career path. My first game dev role was a recommendation from a friend, and my foray into independent development felt possible because I had a friend do it as well. While indie, having a community is incredibly important to share information, learn quickly, get advice and support, and get that feedback we talked about before. Props to the Seattle Indies organization for giving a centralized place and the perfect events to find all of that locally.
What is something interesting and unexpected that people would be surprised to learn about you?
I’m pretty big into tabletop games and I credit a lot of my game design learning to being a GM for several tabletop RPG systems! Currently I’ve been GM’ing a Fabula Ultima system (tabletop JRPG, pretty sweet, check it out) but have run several full campaigns in other systems as well. I love that these games are basically no-code game design kits, and I’ve done all kinds of crazy stuff with them over the years. It’s really cool that you can make up a mechanic on the spot, modify it immediately based on player reactions, and polish it in real time while the game is being played! It’s also been a ton of fun over the years creating stories and settings that players can get invested in.
How can people follow you and your work?
Best way to follow me is through the Lemonpepper mailing list [https://tinyurl.com/bdh5v4ue] or Discord [https://discord.gg/xTd9CHWSAu]!
Here’s our Meetup Page with all future upcoming events.
The Seattle Blender User Group is happening on May 3, 10am to 1pm at Academy of Interactive Entertainment – Seattle Center Armory – Suite 405 (305 Harrison St, Suite 405 · Seattle, WA). Seabug’s goals are to help beginners learn Blender, create Blender opportunities in the Pacific Northwest, showcase advanced Blender tools and projects, and celebrate open source graphics in all forms.
The Pierce Country Social is taking place on May 5, 5:30pm-8:00pm at 7 Seas Brewery and Taproom on 2101 Jefferson Ave · Tacoma, WA. Kids are welcome until 8pm as long as they are within arm’s length. Main tap room is first come, first served!
The Eastside Meet & Drink is taking place on May 6, 6:30pm at Northwest Brewing Pint & Pie Public House. It’s time to get together and swap stories. Put down your keyboards and brave the outside world. Let’s meet for a drink, a bite to eat, and some good conversation!
Northside Social is happening at Watershed Pub & Kitchen on May 8 from 6-pm. 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!
Feedback Circle is back on May 13, 7pm right on our discord. It’s 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.
An In-Person Writer’s Group will take place at Hugo House on May 14, 6:30 PM. For anyone interested or working on projects in game writing, narrative design, voice acting or more– swing by Seattle Indies’ In-Person Writer’s Group! Bring your narrative games, scripts, flowcharts, character bibles or any other story materials for sharing and feedback.
The SnoCo Social is happening on May 16, 6pm at Zulu’s Board Game Cafe located on 5116 196th St SW Suite 203, Lynnwood, WA 98036 · Lynnwood, WA. Hang out at a local game store with fellow Snohomish Co and adjacent folks over food, drinks, engaging conversations, and maybe some board gaming! If you want to demo/playtest your game, let me know and I’ll make sure there table space + open outlet for your setup.
Seattle Indies Social takes place at Stoup Brewing (formerly Optimism) on May 20, 7pm. 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.
The Game Club is happening on May 21 at 7pm right on our Discord, focusing on Star Trucker. 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.
Southside Social is taking place on May 26, 5:30pm at Logan Brewing Company, 510 SW 151st Street, · Burien, WA. 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! This meetup will alternate between Kent and Burien for the next few months at least so we can find out which location works best for people.
Kitsap Social (Bremerton) Join us every last Tuesday of the month (May 27) at Ashely’s Pub at 6:30pm to meet for a drink and some great conversation! Feel free to bring what you’re working on. We may have a room reserved for the public event. Dogs allowed. Outside food allowed.
The Writer’s Room is happening on May 30, 6:30pm right on our discord. Welcome all game writers, narrative designers, voice actors and more to the Seattle Indies Writer’s Room! 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.
Seabug Study Hall is a new series of events taking place every week on Thursday, 9pm to 11pm, right on our Discord! Join others from the Seattle Blender User Group for a lo-fi chill out online study hall. Bring a project, just chat, and have a good time with some unstructured project sharing and Q&A.
The Diversity Collective+ is happening on Sunday May 18th. Come to network, socialize, and discuss issues related to diversity and inclusion in game development! Folks who identify as an underrepresented minority in the game industry are welcome.
Our regular Events that are NOT HAPPENING this month:
Show and Tell, is OFF this month, but usually happens at Niantic offices at One Bellevue Center – Chinook Room 411 108th Ave NE · Bellevue, WA. 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 OFF this month, but will be back on June 1st at 5pm at at Phoenix Comics and Games. Come play board games with Indie Game Developers!
Kirill released theri first ever game called “Ooze: The Great and Powerful” on Steam and Epic Games. Check it out!
Jacob Norris also released their indie card game Hogen on Steam and Itch.io. Check it out!
Allie M announced their game at nintendo direct – Watch the Trailer Here!
CyanAvatar announced a game! Check it out if you like Automation or fantasy strategy games 🙂
Bernie (he/him) just debuted their final trailer! Watch it here!
Hank X dropped their debut announcement trailer — check it out! 🎉
Nikki Lu is a fellow WIG ambassador and shared an event in collaboration with Filipinos in Tech in celebration of the upcoming AAPI Heritage Month. It’s a free online event where you can wind down, have a roundtable discussion, and network. If you’re interested, feel free to register by clicking here! It takes places on May 7th.
Daniel M shared that their game Azoove just announced a full release on May 1st
DM (Amorphous) recently announced that Desert Angels released on April 25th. Take a look here!
Magichemist shared their trading card game that they made from the ground up, these are the booster packs but there are also four starter decks available for purchase as well. Check it out!
Mhaddy shared that you can now play Electro Havoc for free while on Steam Early Access. Take a look!
LANCE just released a short horror game called Midnight Thirst. It’s free on Itch.io. check it out!
Ian Caisley got their first ever Steam page up and running! Check it out!
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 follow us on all of our social media platforms.
If you want to join our mailing list to get this update sent to your inbox monthly you can Subscribe on LinkedIn.