September 2020 Update

Sep 8th, 2020 by Tim Cullings

 

Hello Indies!

Seattle Indies Expo is now in full swing! The virtual show is divided into four separate streams, with the first one wrapping up right now. You can watch them right on Our Twitch Channel! Here’s the full schedule:

SIX Online is made possible by our Gold Sponsors: AIE, PlayEveryWare & 4 Culture and Indie Sponsor Modern Wolf.

If you missed day one on 9/5 or just want to watch it again you can watch the full broadcast on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/187WQBon_N8

Check out the full trailer of all 24 games and the trailer for the games we’ll be featuring on Saturday September 12. https://youtu.be/cPbttlB3FCg

Other Upcoming Events

IGDA Seattle & Diversity Collective+ are co-hosting the second in the Becoming series of online talks tonight September 8, 2020 @7PM on IGDA Seattle’s Twitch channel. This month’s talk will focus on people in creative leadership roles reflecting on their career path and retracing their journeys through the industry in their respective fields. Seattle Indies is a proud sponsor of the event and will be making a donation to the charity or organization nominated by the speakers and chosen by the viewers.

Diversity Collective+ will be hosting their next virtual event on September 13th (details right here)! It will feature break out rooms for focus group conversation as well as a large chat room for casual conversation and networking. Optional but encouraged: Bring a cozy drink of choice! Let’s recreate the feeling of meeting up with friends for tea to discuss the state of the industry, society, and our role in creating change.

The monthly Seattle Indies Social is happening on Zoom on Tuesday September 15, 2020 @ 7PM Pacific. Join your friends from Seattle and beyond to catch up on what everyone is working on and doing to keep busy while we’re practicing social distancing.

Game Club will be playing and discussing Enter the Gungeon this month. Join us on Discord on Wednesday September 16, 2020 at 7PM Pacific to join in on the conversation.

Jamming the Curve is coming up on September 15th! A two-week, distributed “slow jam” that invites diverse creators from around the world to develop games that can help translate data into stories through the use of real scientific models. The jam itself will be an online slow jam running from 9/15-10/1 and you can follow it at IndieCade Twitch Channel.

Local Dev News

CD-RUN has just released on Xbox One! Leap over obstacles and opponents in this arcade-style race royale with one goal: Stay on the screen! Scream with joy and rage as up to 8 players duke it out while navigating procedurally-generated level designs and level altering actions. Three different game modes keep things fresh: last one standing, highest score, and first player to get to the winning score.

Cathroon has released their (free!) HPS1 Summer of Screams game jam game “The Devil” right on Itch.io. You’re a lifter; a transient worker picked up by a gargantuan concrete colony vehicle, the Spire. Traversing the swamp on pilgrimage, your Spire has halted its journey. Someone has gone overboard. The herd continues on without you, as the people call to their God for help. But it isn’t their God that answers.

Harassment Policy, Black Lives Matter, and Resources

Seattle Indies believes the stories of the victims of sexual harassment and assault in the games industry that have been shared this past week and before. 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 Sarah 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 sarah@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!

If you want to join our mailing list to get this update sent to your inbox monthly just signup on this form.