PlayNYC is just around the corner!
Wonderville will take control with its Alt.Ctrl Festival.
And as a number of games are being launched, we’re rounding out this Summer in a blaze of glory!
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| Join us for this month’s Level Up Tuesday! Nicholas O’Brien (He/Him) will get you emotional with his talk, “Right in the Feels: Designing Emotive Games”Lost Hearts and Bundle of Joy will be part of our featured showcase!RSVP required for free entry!
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| NYC’s premier gaming event is back for it’s 10th year, from August 22nd – 24th! We’re featuring a rotation of NYC Games, and have a very special announcement to go along with the convention!Grab your badge while they’re still available!
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Wonderville is hosting its 1st annual Alt.Ctrl Festival!
Happening Sunday, August 24th, the Festival will feature a gallery of games and installations that will change the way you see games being played. |
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| There will be no NYC Indie Dev Night in August, as it falls right after Play NYC. Be sure to RSVP for September! |
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| The 10th annual Game Devs of Color Expo returns September 16-19th! Being part of the IGDA NYC community, you get 10% off expo tickets! And be sure to join the excitement with fellow developers to share insights and enjoy presentations at the official NYC Watch Party at OS NYC!
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News and updates from the mothership.
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The IGDA Foundation, IGDA, and WIGI have teamed up to bring you Port Quest – a collaborative initiative designed to help developers successfully bring their games to mobile platforms and reach new global audiences. By joining us on this adventure, we provide you with comprehensive support to help navigate the mobile porting process.
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- Game Developers Conference (GDC) has launched the industry’s most comprehensive compensation study and needs YOUR input. Help track salary trends, document the impact of recent layoffs, and explore changing work arrangements across the game development landscape.
- Whether you’re a programmer, artist, designer, or in management, your experience matters. The confidential survey takes just 10-15 minutes to complete and covers compensation, job security, work arrangements, and industry outlook.
- Your participation helps create the transparency we all need to build a stronger game development community.
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What we’re up to this month!
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Level Up Tuesdays with Coexist!
*RSVP required to waive $20 entry fee*
Coexist Gamehouse
Tue, Aug 19th @ 6:00pm
This Month’s Speaker is Essay Games founder, Nicholas O’Brien (He/Him).
In his talk, “Right in the Feels: Designing Emotive Games” Nicholas will use a combination of narrative design research and game design concepts to discuss his experience with creating games that prompt/guide emotional responses, while trying to avoid telling the player exactly how to feel.
RSVP required for free entry! |
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Interested in participating?
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| Each month, we feature two playable games from local indie devs during the event. If you’d like to throw your hat in the ring, fill out our submission form HERE! |
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| If you have interest in being a speaker and sharing your expertise, fill out our interest form HERE. |
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Celebrating work by the NYC game dev community.
Share your NY game news here or Bluesky #NYMakesGames.
Section Editor: Mattia Sicuro
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Making Waves
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The newest teaser trailer for Dev Null Productions’ epic 3rd person fantasy adventure, The Longest Tale just dropped!
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Have any thoughts or wisdom to share with college freshman/sophomore game design students? The team at Hostos released an open call for The Hostos Game Design Dispatch!
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A new Discord server for Godot users based in New York is now live! Join the server here!
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Interactive media studio, Bonk Interactive, recently launched their new website so you can keep an eye out for what they’re up to!
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The full schedule for the 10th annual Game Devs of Color Expo is out NOW!
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Missed the 2025 Games for Change Festival? Want to revisit your favorite conversations? Now’s your chance! Talks, from the main stage to intimate rooms, are officially live on YouTube!
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Pre-Order/Wishlist
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Shuffle Sword by Shattered Journal Games is a dark fantasy deck-builder roguelite where you fight your way through the blade cave using different sword and magic cards.
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Road Trip to the End of the World by Shark and Pelican Games is a visual novel about the death of a friendship. When Andy and her imaginary friend Fishy set off on a road trip to crash their ex-best friend’s wedding, will they know when to hit the brakes?
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Skate & Date by Gensuta is a roller derby, rhythm ga(y)me where you play as Maggie, the lead jammer of the Rockin’ Rollergirls! Your objective: to impress your crush with your sick roller derby skills!
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Demos
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Ember & Blade by LINE Games Corporation is a premium survivors-like adventure combining challenging strategic combat, elaborate boss battles, captivating visual art, and an intricate storyline.
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[Early Access] Mycopunk by Pigeons at Play is a hyper-customisable mission-based co-op shooter. Featuring New Atlas Hazard Crew, a squad of odd robots with unique gadgets to rid the galaxy of a deadly fungal menace.
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Future Vibe Check by Unwise is a musical automation game where your factories don’t just produce goods—they generate rhythm.
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Launched
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Fight.EXE by SolidValentine is a traditional fighting game with 1 button special moves and more for new and veteran players
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Unidentified Feline Obliterators by Shattered Journal Games is a multiplayer arcade space shooter where you play as cats shooting deadly balls of matter in space! Now available on Steam!
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1000 Deaths by Pariah Interactive, Inc. is a gravity-bending 3D platformer where you encounter several unique platforming hubs based on the decisions you make and switch between 4 playable characters from birth to death.
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Ongoing Initiatives
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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.
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In support of Wonderville, consider becoming a member on WithFriends to help to keep the arcades working and pay for parts and maintenance!
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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
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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!
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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.
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Support GUMBO on Patreon for exclusive digital content, free event access, and more!
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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.
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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!
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The City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment “Made in NY” Logo Program provides qualified digital gaming companies with the ability to use the City’s “Made in NY” logo in their game’s packaging, title screen and/or game website.
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Happenings in the NYC game dev community and beyond.
Unless otherwise noted, events are (probably!) free to attend. Follow @GameDevNYC for event alerts. Contact nyc@igda.org to add your org’s events.
Saturday, August 16th
Building Virtual Avatars for Streaming in Unreal Engine – An intensive, one-day workshop where you’ll learn how to connect real-time facial/body capture to characters. For YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and more!
Saison Zero at Wonderville – A free, beginner-friendly monthly tabletop role play game meetup dedicated to introducing folks to games other than just D&D. This month features The Witch is Dead, Brindlewood Bay, and Grandmothership!
Tuesday, August 19th
Animation Nights New York (ANNY) at The Gutter Spare Room! – A monthly screening event and annual festival featuring a curated program of animated short films from all around the world.
Wednesday, August 20th
Building and Using Virtual Reality in Education – Connect with educators, developers and others in creating effective ways of developing and implementing VR in education!
Friday, August 22nd
Play NYC – NYC’s premier gaming event created to give indies and small studios the opportunity to showcase their games is back for its 10th year!
Brooklyn Game Knight Film & TV Board Game Meet Up – A casual board game night welcome to filmmakers, artists, actors, costume designers, game developers, puppeteers, musicians or any related role in entertainment!
Sunday, August 24th
Animation Nights New York (ANNY) Virtual Events – A monthly screening event and annual festival featuring a curated program of animated short films from all around the world.
Alt.Ctrl Festival at Wonderville – A one day festival featuring a gallery of games and installations using alternative inputs.
Tuesday, August 26th
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.
Thursday, August 28th
NYC Handmade Meetup – Part of the NYC Handmade Cities meetups, watch/present demos of software projects or something new you’ve learned!
Unreal NYC August Meetup – Dive into the latest features of Unreal Engine and network with others in games, animation, film, broadcast, live events, and more.
Brooklyn Experimental Electronic Music Group Showcase – Join the local electronic music community for a showcase featuring an eclectic mix of New York City artists working in a variety of styles.
Wednesday, September 3rd
Women in Games NYC – Let’s Go to the Arcade – Hang out with Women in Games NYC at Wonderville!
NYC Indie Games Social – A monthly gathering for indie game devs of all stripes to mix and mingle in a casual, relaxed setting.
Saturday, September 13th
Monthly 2 Hr GameJam Club: ZZT – Join Wonderville in using ZZT to make action adventure games in under 2 hours!
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Recurring Weekly
Mondays
Tuesdays
Wednesdays
Thursdays
Sundays
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| Recent jobs, internships, scholarships, grants, exhibitions, and other opportunities.
View or submit a listing for free.
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Funding/Programs/Contests
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The GameChangers Summit 2025 is a free, two-day, hands-on workshop happening this September at NYU. Students, game developers, and industry experts will work together to design tools and games that promote safer, more positive digital spaces. It’s open to high school juniors and seniors, as well as college students. [Deadline August 18th]
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The GGP Grant for Game Development, Esports, and Content Creation 2025 awarded by Gay Gaming Professionals, recognizes students pursuing video game arts degrees, collegiate esports, or content creation while actively supporting and performing community service for an underestimated community. [Deadline August 30th]
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The Global Voices Challenge from Games for Change is here! $15k funding, mentorship & marketing support for talented game devs ready to bring their proven games to Google Play. [Deadline September 19th]
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Benefits for IGDA members.
Join here. Log in for all member discount codes and details.
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Event discounts: IGDA Members save 10% on tickets to GI Live: Online – visit the Discounts page for details!
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Education discounts: 10% off all General Assembly classes and workshops. Browse NYC classes.
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Software discounts: 20% off Buildbox. Details.
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IGDA Career Center: Job listings open to all; early access for members. Careers.igda.org
- IGDA Crowdfunding Collection: Member projects featured on Kickstarter. Submit.
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| Looking for work? Hiring?
Visit our Jobs and Opportunities board to view or post listings for free.
Want to help us do things?
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News
