March 2022 Update
Hello Indies!
Looks like things are ramping up again, with a bunch of events coming up soon. Dust out your calendars and hand sanitizers, and get ready for some networking!
Executive Director Update
2022 is already off to a difficult start for a lot of reasons and we hope you are doing your best to practice self care and giving yourself some space to recharge and focus on your mental and physical well being. We recently made statements condemning the anti-trans legislation passed in Texas and in support of the people of Ukraine who are being violently attacked by their neighbors in Russia and provided resources for you to get involved and help support people affected by these events. We also put our money where our mouth is and thanks to the generous support of our Patreon supporters were able to make donations to TENT and the Ukraine Red Cross. These actions both go directly against our mission of safety and inclusion and we stand with those affected.
On the home front March is shaping up to be a very busy month for Seattle Indies. We are hosting a Town Hall meeting on Discord this Sunday, March 6, 2022 at 1 PM where you will hear updates from the Board and be able to ask questions about Seattle Indies and our plans for the future. There are a whole host of other events coming up this month that you can read about in the update below and we hope to see you at some of those including the return to in-person socials at Optimism on March 15, 2022!
I am happy to report that we successfully launched our mentorship program last month with our first round of 60 mentor/mentee matches made. So far we have received very positive feedback from the mentors who have had meetings with their mentees and are excited to hear about the progress they make together. Applications are always open to be a mentor or mentee, new matches will be made once per Quarter as we have availability for mentors. If you signed up as a mentee and didn’t get a mentor assigned to you yet we will make another round of matches by the end of June if not sooner based on availability.
Upcoming Events
Game Developer Conference is right around the corner, happening March 21-25 in San Francisco. If you plan on attending, check out the #GDC channel in our discord – bunch of Seattle Indies are going in case you’re looking for company! There’s also a separate Meet to Match system you can sign up for to schedule meetings with other attendees more easily. Go Go Networking!
ALSO: We will be hosting a GDC Prep Night on March 9th, at 7pm, right on our discord. If it’s your first time going, or if you feel you need to brush up on your skills, join us then!
The Game Devs of Color Expo is happening online again this year, save the dates: September 15-18, 2022. Follow them on Twitter or visit their website for the latest information. “Our mission is to amplify the creative power held by people of color in games. We do this by organizing revolutionary events, uniting our vibrant community, and building access to knowledge, funding, and opportunities.”
IndieCade 2022 submissions are now open through March 31, 2022. Submit your game and get more information here: https://www.indiecade.com/submissions/
“IndieCade is now accepting submissions for our 2022 season!! This includes our online Festival – IndieCade Anywhere and Everywhere (October 1st), 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 2022 and will be held the weekend of October 1st. 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.”
Anywhere & Everywhere Online Festival Dates:
September 30 – October 2, 2022
Monthly Events
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.
GDC Prep Night is happening on March 9, 2022 at 7pm on Discord. Planning to go to GDC 2022 and want to be ready to get that job or land a publishing deal for your game? Not going to GDC and just want your resume, portfolio or pitch to be reviewed by industry veterans to be the best it can be? Seattle Indies is hosting a GDC Prep night to help you with portfolio, resume and game pitch reviews and mock interviews conducted by Industry veterans. It is not limited to people planning to attend GDC and open to anyone looking for these services but it is also meant to be timely for anyone who is planning to attend so they can be prepared for success!
We are looking for mentors for this event to help with resume, portfolio and game pitch reviews, sign up here.
Show and Tell will take place on March 13 at 12pm on our discord. It’s a fun and low-pressure way to show off your latest work – anything from the last few months of progress to validating your crazy ideas/prototypes! All games at all stages of development are welcome, and there’s no cost to demo – just sign up here and prepare the latest build of your game to demo!
Writer’s Room is on March 24th at 6:30pm 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.
The Game Club this month will focus on Webbed and take place on March 16 at 7pm, here is the event link. 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.
Indie Support Coworking Group (ISG) in-person will take place Saturday, March 12 and March 26, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM PST, at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Masks will be enforced and vax cards will be checked at the door. Seattle Center wifi 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 starting with a shorter session than usual to get people back into the swing of things and ramp up from there.
Seattle Indies Social will take place on March 15, 7-10:30pm at Optimism as always! Here’s full event details. 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.
The next Seattle Indies Discord Social will take place on April 5 at 7pm. Can’t make it to the in-person socials? Or, want to come hang out? Come join us every first Tuesday of every month for the online Discord socia
Local Dev News
Randy shared that Lords of Chaos Character Sheet is now available on DriveThruRPG. The actual TTRPG may not be there yet, but a good start!
Monydragon just released a new game made in 1 week for the Brackeys game jam and they’d love for you to try it out! The game is called Lost Dreams!
Jordan just released a physics-based variant of Wordle called Worbble! You can check it out here; https://playworbble.com/
Redstart Interactive announced that Get-A-Grip Chip and the Body Bugs made in partnership with
G4C has been selected as a finalist for ATT Unlocked Games! Congrats!
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 starting to have 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!
If you want to join our mailing list to get this update sent to your inbox monthly just signup on this form.