Hi everyone,

I hope you’re having a wonderful September thus far. I mentioned in my last newsletter introduction that this time of year is usually one of my favorites. Oftentimes, because it starts cooling off here in the northern hemisphere autumn season. Living in Dallas, Texas, suffering the extreme heat of the summer, I often look forward to the cooler temps, not necessarily as cold as I’d like for fall weather. But I digress, I hope you’re doing well, and staying safe and healthy. 

We are still hosting the developer satisfaction survey and are still looking for more responses. The survey will look to close towards the end of the month, so this is your last chance to complete the survey! We really want to hear from you. We want to know what’s going on at the developer level across the industry. Your input is so valuable and important and helps us learn insights about where we’re at in terms of our thoughts and initiatives on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belongingness, and where we are at in terms of crunch and equitable pay – all very important topics that affect developers all around the world. So please, if you have not already done so, click the link and take the developer satisfaction survey. 

The other items I wanted to chat about are some upcoming events. We’ve been really slammed this year in a good way and we have a few indie showcases in the works (Queer Indies and Women Indies). I’ll tell you more about them as they get closer to launch. Also, we have our Pathfindings event coming in November. Pathfindings is a conference we put on to highlight the amazing work that developers are doing across the global south including regions across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Last year, we held Pathfindings with the theme of folklore and mythology. This year’s theme will be announced very soon but we’re taking a little bit of a different approach. We want Pathfindings to be even more engaging and interactive. So, we’re hosting presentations followed by workshops right on our Discord. This is a free conference to attend and registration will open soon. It’s an amazing opportunity to make new friends, colleagues, and connections around the world. I really hope to see you there.

Aside from that, we will be winding down the year with some other events that I will tell you more about later in the month – we’re just putting the finishing touches on them. I think the community will be very excited, especially with some of the unique and strategic collaborations that we’re moving forward with. 

I hope you have a wonderful rest of your month! 

Until next time, 

Dr. Jakin Vela

IGDA Executive Director