November 2023 Update
Hello Indies!
Hope you had an enjoyable spooky season and are in the mood for giving thanks! The year is coming to a close, but there’s still things happening!
Upcoming Events
Time for the Seattle Indies Slow Jam 2023! This year’s jam takes place between November 3rd – 19th! A fun jam! Make something big or small. Work with others! Make something neat! 🙂
Check Out the Itch.Io Page for all the info and schedule!
Note that the Kickoff will take place on November 3rd right on our Discord.
Games and Education Industry Collider is happening on November 15th, 6-10pm at the Pacific Science Center. Seattle EdTech Meetup, Seattle Indies, Pacific Science Center, and sponsor Foundry10 are partnering on an event designed to bring educators and game industry professionals from all around the greater Seattle area together for a night of networking, knowledge sharing, and of course, games!
Immerse yourself in a dynamic environment where innovative minds come together to discuss the potential of games in education. From gamified learning platforms to educational game development, this event will showcase inspiring projects and thought-provoking discussions.
Discover how games can revolutionize the way we learn, engage, and educate. Interact with experts, educators, and game enthusiasts who share a passion for leveraging games as powerful educational tools.
Food and drinks will be provided at no cost.
Panelists include:
Angelica Clark, Digital Learning Coach, Kent School District
Dan Finkel, Founder, mathforlove.com
Erika Herrera, Founder, BrainStrainGamez.com
Andrew Christensen, Computer Science Teacher, Tesla STEM High School
Travis Willingham, Senior Researcher, foundry10
Our annual Holiday Party is happening on Sunday, December 10 at 7 PM at GameWorks in downtown Seattle! Join us for a special night of festive drinks and merry-making with your fellow indie devs to celebrate a successful 2023, and kick off 2024! Come help Seattle Indies raise money to support our ever growing list of community events in the upcoming year.
This is taking place at GameWorks in downtown Seattle, where we have reserved the entire large venue filled with videogame machines, all of which will be unlocked for this event.
Click Here to Purchase a ticket!
IndieCade festival (Taking place in California) is coming in November, it’s a great celebration of the art of video games. The submissions deadline has passed but you can still attend! Click here to read more about the event.
FYI 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!
Monthly Events
The Eastside Meet & Drink is happening at Pint & Pie Public House on Nov 7, at 7pm! Keep in mind it happens on the first Tuesday of every month. It’s time to get together and swap stories. Put down your keyboards and brave the outdoors. Let’s meet for a drink, a bite to eat, and some good conversation!
Northside Social is taking place Nov 9, 6pm at Distant Worlds Coffeehouse this month! 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!
Seattle Indies Board Game Meetup is happening on Nov. 19, 3pm at Phoenix Comics and Games. Come play board games with Indie Game Developers!
The Game Club is happening every third Wednesday each month at 7pm – so Nov 15 this time! 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. This month’s game is Sunshine Heavy Industries!
Seattle Indies Social is happening on Tuesday, November 21st this month. Join us at Stoup Brewing (formerly Optimism) in Capitol Hill for some well-deserved mingling, drinks, pizza, and socialization! Make some new friends, catch up with old ones, and find out what the community’s up to.
The Writer’s Room is taking place on Nov 30, 6:30pm right on our discord. 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. 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 meeting every 2nd and 4th 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.
Feedback Circle is OFF this month, but usually takes place on our Discord and will be on in December and is active in the months that the Writer’s Room meetup is off. 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.
The Diversity Collective+ normally takes place at Distant Worlds Coffee House on 6401 Roosevelt Way NE · Seattle, WA. Come to network, socialize, and discuss issues related to diversity and inclusion in game development! Folks that identify as an underrepresented minority in the game industry are welcome. Keep an eye on our meetup page for more info about this month’s social!
Local Dev News
Kaimatten shared Rogue Labyrinth, an action narrative roguelite where hit anything and everything to turn it into a projectile. This deflection-based game has a strong character and narrative focus, as well as anti-colonialism and anti-capitalism themes. Check it out here!
PinkLunaFae (Mio) is still accepting donations on my gofundme to help them finish School. If anyone is feeling like donating, you can use this link to do so!
Braxton B shared their first game, Squeebing Up! Can you make it to the top of the Tower of Friendship? Run, jump, climb, fall, and then do it all again Check it out!
Tom Goulding shared Ascent of Ashes – a colony sim set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia. Check it out!
Mike Sennott (Laika) released the first major content update for Astronaut: The Best. More Info Here!
Jakub released “Leaf Blower Man: This Game Blows!” – Blow leaves at 6am to annoy all the neighbors in this arcade comedy game. Who knows, you might even have to save humanity… Check it out here!
Randy H. released a business eBook, the Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide. It condenses their decades of learning into a minimal page count. Go take a look!
Prof published a fantasy novel, and today is its 1 year anniversary! If you think you’d enjoy a cozy fantasy story about people becoming friends, consider giving it a read!
interestick is making Zombie Rumble, a defense game. It’s a game where you protect a house from incoming zombies. It features automated battles, but you can also engage in manual controls. Chekc out the early video 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 is having 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!
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