IGDA NYC Game Dev Digest – September 2024

In this issue:

What's on | Highlights of upcoming events.

Chapter Events | Meetups, talks, and other events we're hosting.

#NYMakesGames News | Game launches and other updates from local creators.

Around Town | A community calendar of events from across the city.

Jobs & Opportunities | The latest posts from our notice boards.

IGDA Resources | Discounts and other benefits for IGDA members.

Chapter Resources | Where to go for more info.

What's On This Month

You can now register for an IRL watch party near you in New York City, Los Angeles, or Seattle! Stop by and enjoy light refreshments and potential raffles at your nearest location.

Register for a watch party here!

Curious about how you can join next year's Game Developers Conference? Tune into ESD's Webinar covering new GDC opportunities, including sponsorships and packages presented by Project Manager Ami Cai (she/her)!

In collaboration with Communications Workers of America (CWA), the IGDA is excited to host this half-day online summit to feature key results of the most recent IGDA Developer Satisfaction Survey and highlight the voices of game workers and advocacy organizations in the games space.

Join us to discuss important topics such as the current state of the industry, pathways toward worker empowerment such as unionization and worker organizing, and how to engage with the global developer community to effect positive change within the industry.

To qualify for the opportunity:

• The game must have generated at least $10,000 per month over the last 6 months; and
• The team must consist of underrepresented developers (e.g., diversity across race, gender, sexuality, disability, or other factors).

You may apply for this opportunity here. We simply need a few details about your game, your team, and your capacity to finish the port by the end of the year.

It would be great to support games from the IGDA community, so please consider applying today!

Monday Afternoon Co-Working on Discord

IGDA NYC Discord

Every Monday, 1pm - 4pm

Come join us at our new regular co-working hours on our Discord channel!

We'll be working camera optional/mic off on the Events Voice Channel. But our new Lounge Channel will be right next door for anyone who wants to show off what they're working on, ask some questions, or just hang out.

Taco Tuesday with Coexist!

*RSVP Required*
Coexist Gamehouse

Tue, Sept 24th @ 6:00pm

Join us at the Coexist Gamehouse for a casual social with Tacos, games, drinks and music!

RSVP required for free entry!

Share your NY game news here or tweet #NYMakesGames.
Section Editor: Mattia Sicuro

Making Waves

• Reflect on the eventful summer with this summary from Variety about the effort to bring Play NYC back bigger and better than ever!

• The City of New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) has introduced the "Made in NY" Logo Program!Read about the qualifications and benefits here!

Crowdfund

• Bitter Silver - Play as bounty hunter Lucia Lopez in this choice-driven, space western visual novel as you track down bounties with your misfit crew.

Pre-Order/Wishlist

• You Can't Scare Me by Lunabeat is the haunted house where you can frighten your friends! Set scary traps or transform into terrible monsters, if they scream, you win!

• Flowers & Fortitude by Knights of the Island is an action-adventure RPG across a realm of eccentric kingdoms.

• Have You Herd? by Tideturners has players control a cute and colorful variety of herdin' dogs to complete missions and earn that much coveted vacation for all!

• Neon Inferno by Zenovia Interactive is an exciting blend of 2D run-and-gun and gallery-shooting. As an assassin, your missions will take you through every area of this hyper-metropolitan sprawl!

• DILLO GUY by Kittens in Timespace is a Single-screen, 2D platforming game where the player needs to collect 50 gems inside 50 rooms that are randomly distributed inside a grid.

• Coke Bugs by Common Opera is hallucinatory bender of a late night road trip sketched in nervous lines of arcade action and exploration.

• Trellis by Team Trellis is a puzzle/adventure game featuring Fig, a robot caretaker tending to its plant.

Early Access/Beta/Demo

• Incessant by Dead Pixel Interactive is a physics-based arcade game players will switch between day and night to reveal hidden obstacles, and use gravity and momentum to navigate challenges.

Ongoing Initiatives

• Applications to join GUMBO are open! GUMBO is a non-profit collective of indie game creators located in Dumbo, Brooklyn formed to inspire and motivate each other, stay current in the indie game makers community, and expand an already amazing skill-sharing network.

• In support of Wonderville, consider becoming a member on WithFriends to help to keep the arcades working and pay for parts and maintenance!

• ANNY Exchange is a Talent Connect Initiative for Animation Nights New York. Want to participate and be added to the database of Animation Talent from all around the world? More info here

• Animation Nights New York (ANNY) is always accepting submissions for Animated Short Films, AR Animation Experiences, VR animation Experiences, and Interactive Media (including Video Games). More info here

• Coexist Gaming is a subscription-based gaming lifestyle company that provides an inclusive ecosystem for community, culture, connection and opportunity. Including a gaming lounge, optimized networking experiences and accessible resources for Devs, find out more and become a member here!

• Support the Game Devs of Color Expo's mission to uplift marginalized voices in game development by signing up for their monthly Ko-fi subscription! Your support ensures ongoing grants, events, and community programs.

• Support GUMBO on Patreon for exclusive digital content, free event access, and more!

• The New York State Digital Game Development Program is designed to accelerate and attract economic development by offsetting some production costs associated with producing digital games in New York State.

• Urban Arts teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and career by offering after-school programs, career prep, school partnerships and more. Learn about their various programs for students and teachers here!

Unless otherwise noted, events are (probably!) free to attend. Follow @GameDevNYC for event alerts. Contact [email protected] to add your org's events.

Tuesday, September 17th

Unity NYC September - Learn XR Development (Meta Quest 3) - Join Unity NYC for a hands-on demonstration of XR workflows in Unity.

Animation Nights New York at the Gutter Spare Room - Animation Nights New York is a monthly screening event and annual festival showcasing the very best animated short films, virtual reality animation experiences, and interactive games from all around the world.

Wednesday, September 18th

2024 Game Devs of Color Expo - The 9th annual celebration of Game Devs of Color will feature new voices and games that connect an uplifting community of creators from around the world!

Building and Using VR in Education - A meetup to connect educators and others in the VR space!

3DNY September Meetup - 3DNY is a Networking community for the Architectural Visualization & Visual Effects industries, with speakers and time to chat

Long Island Game Dev Virtual Meetup - Network with other Game Devs based in and around Long Island!

Thursday, September 19th

Pictoplasma NYC - The leading character design conference from Berlin returns to New York for its tenth anniversary US edition, presenting 10 hand picked key lectures by the world's most influential artists and upcoming talents.

GUMBO x Spelkollektivet Virtual Show & Tell Event - Join GUMBO for another international Show & Tell crossover, this time with Swedish collective Spelkollektivet!

Monthly Thursdays with Hacker Hours - Free office hours for coding help-any programming language, all levels of experience.

Friday, September 20th

LIVE Watch Party: GDoCExpo 2024 (New York City) - GDoCExpo 2024 sessions will be broadcast live to the venue, and space will be available for attendees to mingle and network.

Saturday, September 21st

Build a Board Game in Under 2 Hours - Learn the art of rapid prototyping and hone your game design skills with the workshop group!

Sunday, September 22nd

Animation Nights New York Virtual Events - Watch a curated program of animated short films from all around the world!

Virtual Sundays with Hacker Hours - Free office hours for coding help-any programming language, all levels of experience!

Monday, September 23rd

GDC 2025 Sponsorship Overview with Empire State Development - Curious about how you can join next year's Game Developers Conference? Tune in where the ESD team will review new GDC opportunities, including sponsorships and packages!

Tuesday, September 24th

Wonderville's last Tuesday of the month PLAYTEST - Come to Wonderville to playtest in production games! If you're a developer, bring your game! No signups required.

Wednesday, September 25th

Bescy Fall Social - Bescy is a behavioral science meetup increasingly promoting ethical, rigorous applied behavioral science and design in new areas.

Thursday, September 26th

NYC Indie Dev Night with Playcrafting - Indie devs, gamers, publishers, industry vets and students - this is the place to come meet others in the community, network and talk shop - and check out what games NYC is cookin' up!

Wednesday, October 2nd

NYC Indie Games Social - The NYC Indie Games social is a monthly gathering for indie game devs of all stripes to mix and mingle in a casual, relaxed setting.

Saturday, October 5th

Unconference 2024: An EdTech Thought Exchange - Organized by alumni and students of NYU's Educational Communication and Technology program, this is an interactive, community-driven, knowledge-sharing event for EdTech students, alumni, and others.

Sunday, October 6th

Virtual Sundays with Hacker Hours - Free office hours for coding help-any programming language, all levels of experience!

Saturday, October 12th

Monthly 2 Hour Game Jam at Wonderville - This month join Wonderville in using tinychoice to make interactive fiction in under 2 hours!

Wednesday, October 16th

Building and Using VR in Education - A meetup to connect educators and others in the VR space!

Long Island Game Dev Virtual Meetup - Network with other Game Devs based in and around Long Island!

View or submit a listing for free.

Jobs

• Front-End Engineer at Puzzmo

• Technical Producer (Free to Play) at Computer Lunch

• Senior UX/UI Designer, Games at New York Times

• Game Center Incubator Administrator & Industry Liaison at NYU

• Part-Time Faculty, Games and Emerging Media at Marist

• Assistant Professor, Game Programming at SUNY Morrisville

Exhibit/Speak/Publish

• Submissions for papers, presentations, panels and games for The Conference on BIPOC Game Studies are open! C-BIPOC is a platform dedicated to exploring the intersection of gaming culture, technology, and the experiences of BIPOC communities worldwide. [Deadline: January 15th & 18th, 2025]
  

• BXStart is a platform dedicated to fostering the intersection of game development and entrepreneurship in the Bronx community. Sign up to showcase your game at their Indie Game Night held every third Friday of the month! Apply here

Volunteer

• If you're interested in helping make Black In Gaming a supportive and inclusive community for black game creators to thrive, consider joining the Community Team to help drive online engagement and initiatives!

Funding/Programs/Contests

• Applications are open for the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant 2024. The grant will award $15,000 to 6 thinky puzzle game developers from all over the world, and a year's mentorship with genre veterans. [Deadline: Oct 7th, 2024]

• Games for Change has partnered with Google Play to develop the Diverse Voices, New Stories Challenge. Now in its third year, the program will not only focus on elevating underrepresented creators and content, but will also support the porting of games from various platforms to Android. Three winners will each be awarded a $15,000 cash prize, guidance to port their existing games to Android - and marketing opportunities through Games for Change and their global network. [Deadline September 20th]

Benefits for IGDA members.

Join here. Log in for all member discount codes and details.

• Event discounts: IGDA Members save 10% on tickets to GI Live: Online - visit the Discounts page for details!

• Education discounts: 10% off all General Assembly classes and workshops. Browse NYC classes.

• Software discounts: 20% off Buildbox. Details.

• IGDA Career Center: Job listings open to all; early access for members. Careers.igda.org

• IGDA Crowdfunding Collection: Member projects featured on Kickstarter. Submit.

Follow us for updates:

• @IGDANYC on Twitter
• Facebook page

Connect with the community:

• Discord server
• Facebook group
• Meetup group
• LinkedIn group

Visit our Jobs and Opportunities board to view or post listings for free.

Want to help us do things?

Learn about volunteering with the chapter.

Did a friend forward you this newsletter?

Subscribe here!