November 2021 Update

Nov 1st, 2021 by Tim Cullings

Hello Indies!

We hope you had a nice and spooky Halloween and got plenty of pumpkin spice lattes. We’re rapidly entering the end-of-the-year holiday season, and have a good amount of events coming up!

Executive Director Update

We have a lot of exciting events coming up in November and December including the fifth annual Seattle Indies Slow Jam, the seventh annual Holiday Party plus the return of Indie Support Co-Working Group (ISG) in person at AIE!

November is a time we give thanks for the good things in our lives and I and the rest of the Seattle Indies Board would like to thank you, our community members, organizers and volunteers for being such a vibrant and vital support system for each other through a tough couple of years. The way you all have been able to adapt quickly to digital events and new and ever changing rules and regulations as we slowly get back to in person events has been admirable on many levels and we appreciate each and every one of you, The community has managed to thrive and grow and bring in people from all over the world to help each other make games and stay positive and connected when we needed it most and that is something we can all be proud of.

Speaking of the Board we are thrilled to announce that we are adding two new Board members that will begin their terms at our January 9, 2022 meeting!

First we have Rabecca Rocha! She is a freelance 3D artist and QA Game Developer at Harebrained schemes  has also contributed to and mentored Game Jams such as IGDA Global Game Jam and NASA Space Apps. She has spoken on numerous panels regarding Latinx Representation at Pax West and GeekGirlCon. Twitter: @LatinaScribbles, Insta: @LatinaScribbles.

We are also excited to welcome William Pheloung as a Board Member! “Seattle Indies has done a lot for me in my life and I’m excited to have the opportunity to give back. Aside from being deeply ingrained in my work, game development has always been an avenue to challenge and improve myself. I’ve learned a lot about what I care about and how to interact with people from making games. I hope that I can help other people improve themselves through game development too.” -William Pheloung

We look forward to working with both of them and are excited for what they will contribute to the future of the Seattle Indies community.

Have a great November and we hope to see you either online or in person at some of the amazing upcoming events we have for you. Good luck to all participating in the Seattle Indies Slow Jam this year! If you live in Seattle then don’t forget to vote in our general election, you can find ballot drop boxes near you here https://kingcounty.gov/depts/elections/how-to-vote/ballots/returning-my-ballot/ballot-drop-boxes.aspx

Upcoming Events

The Seattle Indies Slow Jam is back in virtual form again this year and you can sign up now! The jam officially kicks off on Friday November 5, 2021 and runs all the way through Sunday November 22, 2021 to give you all the time you should need to make your creation come to life.  We will be opening theme suggestions to all Patreon supporters soon so start thinking of those ideas. The theme will then be selected by community vote as usual and the jam will take place on the Seattle Indies Discord.

Seattle Indies and the Fremont Abbey Arts Center are proud to present the inaugural Puddle Jump Games and Play Festival on Friday November 12 and Saturday November 13, 2021.

How can games/play shape us and our worlds? Why are games effective forces of creative expression? How does playing change the way we experience? The wonder, excitement, frustration, and triumph of play and games are powerful forces.

The Puddle Jump Games and Play Festival is a showcase of innovative new games of all types and a chance for players of all backgrounds to come together and play.

For one weekend only, we’ll be turning the Fremont Abbey and the surrounding neighborhood into a playground with board games, social games, physical games, digital games, and talks about the role of games and play in our community.

The event is pay-what-you-will and all ages (bar available for 21+), although the games are primarily designed for ages 12+. To purchase tickets to contribute to the event visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/puddle-jump-games-and-play-festival-fremont-abbey-tickets-193952596437

Friday night will be devoted to tabletop and social/party games, Saturday morning will be all about getting outdoors and playing some field day types of games and then Saturday afternoon/evening we will have a digital games expo. Sign up to show your games using this form: https://forms.gle/XYzmBWCFE7tCQkPn9

Come out and make our city a more playful place!

Save the Date! The Seattle Indies Holiday Party is returning to Factory Luxe (the old Rainier Brewery) on Sunday December 12 2021! Board games, the photo booth, holiday cocktails, all of your favorites will be back for the most anticipated party of the year.

WN Conference Seattle’21 is a hybrid event, taking place on November 16-17, 2021 both online and at the Washington State Convention Center.

The conference will bring together over 1,000 industry professionals on-site and 2,000+ more attendees online.

The event focuses on the games market in the USA. The goal is to help establish strong business ties between market players, learn about new games to be released, and meet global industry leaders and celebrities. All lectures from the Seattle site will be broadcast to the WN Hub online communication platform.

All conference features are in sync and will work for both on-site and online audiences to bring people together from anywhere, providing even more networking and branding opportunities.

Seattle Indies members have been offered free demo space at the event! To find out more and register your game go to https://wnconf.com/seattle-21

Pocket Gamer Connects will take place Nov 15-17, entirely online, with about 200 expert speakers from around the world to learn from on Zoom, and a MeetToMatch platform for connecting with potential publishers and business partners. Get your FREE indie ticket by filling out this form.

Global Game Jam and the Cultural Heritage Task force of the US State Department are co-hosting the inaugural Cultural Heritage Game Jam from November 5-21, 2021. Cultures throughout history and around the world today have created amazing art, artifacts, traditions, and places that are priceless for their cultural and historical value. But these cultural legacies, which are often the cornerstone of many local and regional identities, are under threat and risk disappearing forever – as recent news has demonstrated. Looting, theft, trafficking, and destruction of  art, antiquities, and other cultural objects – collectively identified as “cultural heritage” – benefit international criminal organizations and terrorist groups, and erode the legal art market. The loss of cultural heritage also contributes to the breakdown of a community’s social identity, coexistence, and economic livelihood.

In partnership with the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF), part of the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee, the Global Game Jam is hosting a very unique game jam to engage and challenge our community to use their powerful skills to create games that:

For more information about the jam and prizes associated with it visit https://globalgamjam.org

Applications are also open for the Emerald City Comic Con 2021 Indie Games Showcase (Dec. 2-5), and they once again enthusiastically invite the members of Seattle Indies to apply. Here is the submission link.

Monthly Events

Are you a composer? We are still looking for compositions to add to our Seattle Indies YouTube playlist! We will be playing the playlist on our Discord 24/7 for everyone to hear! If you want to be included on the playlist, please fill out this short form. We just need your name and your YouTube link. We are currently limiting it to one piece/YouTube link per composer.

This month’s Game Club will take place on Nov. 17, from 4pm to 6pm. We’ll be talking about Rift Breaker. Just hop onto the  #game-club channel on 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.

Socials! This month we have two socials, one on Discord on the first Tuesday of the month and the other in person on the third Tuesday of the month at Optimism Brewing. Sign up for one or both and get together with some great people from our community.

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.

As mentioned, Indie Support Coworking Group (ISG) will be resuming in person at AIE starting December 4th, 2021 at 1pm. The coworking session will now be held every other Saturday. Masks will be enforced and vax cards will be checked at the door. Seattle Center Wi-Fi 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.

We are bringing back Feedback Circle as a standalone event on December 8, 2021 @ 7PM for you to get critical feedback on your game from our community of developers.

Local Dev News

Miko just announced our latest game, THE SPIRIT LIFT: a deck-building rogue-like horror adventure set in a haunted hotel.

Breakwaters Early Access date has been announced – Nov. 11, 2021! 🏝️.

If you’d like to listen to the original music that Joe and Maggie wrote for Paxton’s interactive fiction IFComp submission “Mermaids of Ganymede” check it out here: https://youtu.be/bIdN-N-z1ys

Maxiumus completed first Ludum Dare game jam entry! The game is called Wacky Gravity, so give it a play!

Diahborne shared the first update on a game they’re working, you can watch it 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 hopes to start having in person meetups again soon. To that effect we need everyone to get vaccinated 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 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 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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