IGDA

Towards Anti-Racist Game Development in Europe
2022-05-19 10:00 - 12:00, 2022-06-09 10:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
About the workshop series
Many game studios in Europe and around the world are increasingly invested in diversity and inclusion as part of their mission to create a positive working environment.
However, when it comes to anti-racism, the active confrontation of racist structures and biases, terms like “diversity” and “inclusion” are often not enough to tackle these problems. Even progressive game developers might struggle to:

understand what racial bias is and how it may affect their work
constructively confront racism in their day-to-day creative practice

Towards Anti-Racist Game Development in Europe is a free online workshop series which supports Europe-based professionals in the games industry to get started on their anti-racist journeys. These workshops will run on 28 March, 28 April, 19 May, and 9 June, 2022. All workshops are facilitated by members of the Anti-Racist Forum Finland and are free. The workshops will use safer space guidelines and are:

Participant led
Interactive and activity-based
Providing room for critical reflection
Focused on concrete applications for game professionals

Workshop goals
1. Raising anti-racist awareness
The workshop series provides personalised input to increase game developers’ awareness around racism, racial bias and structural whiteness in the industry and beyond. The focus is specifically on a European context and caters to professionals who are just getting started on the subject.
2. Providing tools for critical action
The workshop series is designed to provide game developers with custom-tailored tools and resources for a more critical work practice in the games industry. Throughout the series, participants develop tools to be applied in their day-to-day studio setting.
Conditions for participation
The workshops are free of charge. All game developers in Europe are eligible to attend. Please note that:

By signing up, you commit to attending all four workshops

Workshop 1: Approaching Racism in Play
Workshop 2: Race and Representation in Games
Workshop 3: Race and Power in Game Design
Workshop 4: Anti-Racist Strategies in Game Development

Workshop spots are limited and assigned on a first come, first served basis
Workshops take place online and are held in English

Visit the White-Play website for more details on how to register.

Employee Rights and Inclusivity Panel
2022-05-24 22:00 - 23:00 (America/New_York)
Navigating employment and discrimination protections in the workplace with a trial attorney and a human resources executive.

Tune in for a conversation and Q&A between two professionals dealing with employees’ rights and inclusivity every day in their careers. The panel will cover practical advice on what to watch out for and how to respond to different kinds of workplace harassment and discrimination. Learn from Joanne’s and Alexis’s experiences on both sides of the aisle dealing with these issues. After the chat, there will be a Q&A session where you can ask specific questions about these topics.
Alexis Gamliel is the Founder and Principal Trial Attorney of Gamliel Law, an elite litigation firm focusing on personal injury, wrongful death, and employment matters. Alexis utilizes her deep litigation experience to stand up for individuals who have been wronged or whose rights have been violated. In her employment practice, Alexis handles a diverse array of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination matters, and she has a particular affinity for representing clients in pregnancy discrimination, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment cases. Alexis prides herself on advocating with sincerity and skill, giving her clients light and hope in some of their darkest days. She is an award-winning attorney, a sought-after speaker, community leader, and author of multiple published legal articles. Learn more about Alexis and her practice here.
Joanne Coffman is an HR consultant specializing in talent management, human resources, and talent acquisition. She has spent the last 20 years working with all sorts of companies, big and small in communications, marketing, and creative industries.
Register for FREE today!

SketchClub Online
2022-05-27 11:30 - 14:30, 2022-06-10 11:30 - 14:30, 2022-06-24 11:30 - 14:30, 2022-07-08 11:30 - 14:30, 2022-07-22 11:30 - 14:30, 2022-08-05 11:30 - 14:30, 2022-08-19 11:30 - 14:30 (America/New_York)
The IGDA Game Art SIG warmly invites you to SketchClub Online—a FREE (roughly) bi-weekly event kindly sponsored by SAE Institute Zurich and hosted by author and designer Chris Solarski with the purpose of exploring traditional and contemporary approaches to figure sketching and character design. Attendees are encouraged to participate in artistic challenges prescribed for each each session, for which Chris is on hand to offer advice and support. Although the SketchClub can also be used as an informal online meet-up where participants are free to work on personal projects while discussing all character, art-design and career-related topics. All skill levels are welcome, from complete beginners to advanced, and there are no restrictions on which media is used (i.e. pencil/paper, Photoshop, Procreate, etc.). SketchClub has a “drop-in” format, so participants needn’t attend every session and can arrive late/leave early—ideally with minimum disturbance to the group.
The SketchClub occurs roughly every second Friday, and these are the confirmed dates so far (5:30 – 8:30 pm Central European Time). A Zoom link is published in the ‘upcoming_events’ channel of the IGDA Game Art SIG’s Discord server on the day of each event. We look forward to seeing you!

LocSIG – AMA Gender inclusivity across languages in game localization with Diana Díaz Montón
2022-06-09 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/Paris) | YouTube – IGDA LOcSIG
We are happy to announce that Diana Díaz Montón will join us for our next live AMA!
Diana has been in this industry for over 20 years as a localization specialist freelancer and also co-founded a company specialized in video game localization.
This interview will be divided in two parts, a case study about making the game “Temtem” gender inclusive across languages, followed by an AMA (ask me anything).
We will be live on June 9th at 7 p.m. CET on the IGDA LocSIG YouTube channel, this is a public event, you can share this and invite anyone you would like, to attend it, everyone is welcome!

Houdini Game Jam 2022
2022-06-17 - 2022-06-24
SIDEFX is proud to announce the Houdini Game Jam 2022!

Houdini Game Jam will take place over the course of one week from 17-24 June 2022. The game jam will begin when the theme is revealed via livestream on SideFX’s Twitch channel on June 17th at 11am PDT. Game jammers will then have one week to build their games and submit them to the Houdini Game Jam ITCH.IO page before the deadline of 5pm PDT on 24 June.
Game jammers are encouraged to use the hashtag #HoudiniGameJam22 for social media posts about their game development. The eligible game entries will be played by the judges and prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winning teams.
Join the Jam!

Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto 2022
2022-07-06 - 2022-07-07
The leading games industry conference, Pocket Gamer Connects, lands in the bustling, vibrant and diverse city of Toronto for the first time in its history.
Over 750 games industry professionals will gather in town on 6-7 July to network, discover, pitch and learn from 150 of the world’s leading authorities.
Mobile, PC and console, blockchain, VR/AR and more will be covered, across 15 unmissable conference tracks. Our speakers and panelists will share their expert insight into design and development, monetisation and growth, new technologies, company culture and loads more.
The event is called Connects because that’s what we help you do; connect with the whole gaming industry, from students and indie studios to the media, international investors and publishers. We offer our MeetToMatch meeting platform free and unlimited to all delegates, so you can find that perfect contact and arrange to meet them in person.
We’ll be running a whole host of side activities and curated matchmaking events to cater to everyone’s networking needs.

Investor Connector
Publisher SpeedMatch
The Very Big Indie Pitch (Mobile Edition)
The Very Big Indie Pitch (PC + Console Edition)
The Big Indie Zone

Join us in Toronto as we explore new opportunities this July! Book your tickets here and IGDA members can save 20%!

IGDA LA Indie Spotlight: Crispy Creative with Kylan Coats
2022-07-07 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual, Virtual
Kylan Coats is going to share his experience starting Crispy Creative and working on “A Long Journey to an Uncertain End”!

About this event

Kyan Coats is going to speak about his experience launching an indie studio and working on their debut title “A Long Journey to an Uncertain End”, a game focused on bringing to life stories about diverse crew members and overcoming trauma. He’ll share his perspective on taking the leap to start the studio, recruiting the crew, running a Kickstarter, their long term goals, and the game itself.
A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is a narrative focused Space Opera that’ll have you flying around the universe assembling an unruly crew from an eclectic cast of characters and taking any job you can to keep one step ahead of your abusive Ex. The twist: you’re not just piloting a ship… you are the ship.
Crispy’s About Us:
Based in Los Angeles, Crispy is a fully remote indie studio made up of former Obsidian Entertainment and Telltale Games developers. The studio was founded to craft excellent games and experiences, as well as take creative risks other studios may shy away from. All the while enforcing a healthy work/life balance without crunch. Starting with their first title, A Long Journey to an Uncertain End, their games are meant to be radically inclusive, not only in the stories told or the characters brought to life, but with the people telling those stories. Respecting the player’s time and a desire to not only entertain, but inform and enrich, are further key studio goals with every project.
Kylan Coats:
With 14+ years in the games industry, Kylan has worked on both the developer and publisher side at large AAA studios to small indies. He’s spoken at SXSW, MIGS, and White Nights, as well as been featured in Wired and Polygon. Past titles include the Outer Worlds, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. He’s now the creative director of the indie studio, Crispy Creative, where they’re releasing their first title, the space opera adventure A Long Journey to an Uncertain End.

Develop:Brighton 2022
2022-07-12 - 2022-07-14
Develop:Brighton is the only event in the UK that brings the entire game-making industry together – from global superstars to micro indies, to learn from each other, share ideas and experiences, network and do business in a friendly and inclusive environment. And we’ve been doing it since 2006.
We’ve been listening to our community and this year part of the key focus of the conference programme will be on practical take-away and more vocational content to offer you the chance to “skill-up” to do what you do even better.
The conference programme will reflect what you’ve told us are the hot topics for game makers in 2022 – like monetisation, funding, discoverabilty, ethical working practices and the Metaverse. We’ll be offering more deep-dives into successful games and studios, more case studies, less general interest talks, more technical problem-solving talks and more best practice take-away.
We will continue to offer inspirational talks with some of the best game makers in the world, plus more entry-level sessions in the Indie Bootcamp which is free to attend just like our Roundtable discussions.
We look forward to seeing you from 12 – 14 July 2022, Hilton Brighton Metropole, Brighton BN1 2FU!
IGDA members save 10% on registration by using the code here.

DevGAMM Vilnius 2022
2022-07-28 - 2022-07-29
When: July 28-29
Where: Lithuania, Vilnius, Radisson Blu Lietuva
On July 28-29 DevGAMM Vilnius 2022 will feature two conference days in Lithuania at Radisson Blu Lietuva with business meetings, talks from industry experts, expo with new games and company booths, and job opportunities.

Here’s a brief look into amazing speakers’ line-up: Leszek Szczepański, Guerrilla Games, Ahmed Salama, Ubisoft Stockholm, Slava Lukyanenka, Xsolla, Fawzi Mesmar, Game designer & Author, Arturs Lukasevics, TikTok, Mike Bodie, Voice Actor, Māris Naglis, HTTPOOL, Jason Polansky, Atari, and others to come.The game submissions to DevGAMM Showcase are already open! It’s a great opportunity for developers to present projects to the conference audience and get feedback. The submission deadline is July 13. Apply here.

To top it off, there will be Roundtables activity with 10 experts and hot topics, and more than 100 job offers from game dev companies on the Career Wall. As for business contacts, the participants will be able to schedule a meeting via PINE Tool, and network with colleagues and other conference attendees during the afterparty.

Tickets are already on sale! In case you don’t make it to Vilnius, check out a new Online Networking ticket to access the attendees list and schedule virtual calls. IGDA Members save 15% here.

NB! The conference was born in Ukraine, most of the team are Ukrainians. Part of the money raised from the tickets and sponsorship package will go to special funds to help Ukrainians.

Pablo Calatayud: Design of VR Game Groundhog Day
2022-08-03 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Toronto) | George Brown College School of Design, 3 Lower Jarvis St, Toronto, ON, M5E 3Y5, Canada
The Design of Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son
(or how to design when you are trapped in a time loop)
In this talk we will cover the design and production process of the VR game Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son (2019). From the conceptualization to the release of the project. We’ll talk about the initial design proposal to Sony Pictures, proof of concept, references, the process of adaptation from the film Groundhog Day (1993), character creation, narrative structure, time loops, dialog system, animations system, puzzles, interactions, locations.
Speaker Bio
Pablo Calatayud (Spain, 1986) is a Senior Game Designer, currently working at Dark Slope Studios, in Toronto, previously was Lead Game Designer at Tequila Works, the Spanish videogame studio responsible for Song of Nunu, Deadlight, Rime, Gylt or The Sexy Brutale. He was Lead Game Designer of Song of Nunu, an action-adventure game based on the League of Legends characters Nunu and Willump, to be published by Riot Forge. He was Lead Game Designer of the Virtual Reality games from Tequila Works: Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son (2019) and The Invisible Hours (2017). Previously he was game designer in the PS4 exclusive Rolling Bob. In addition to his work as game designer he collaborates with international contemporary artists like Carlos Garaicoa, Marlon de Azambuja or Almudena Lobera.
Details

Date: August 3, 2022
Time: 6:30pm
Address: George Brown College School of Design, 3 Lower Jarvis St, Toronto
Room: Auditorium (240) From the main entrance take the elevators to floor 2 and go through the doors immediately to your left or go up the stairs to the second floor and go through the doors directly ahead
After party: Great Lakes Brewpub, 11 Lower Jarvis St Units 5-8, Toronto

To sign-up for the mailing list to get notified of future events visit: https://igdatoronto.com

SIGGRAPH 2022
2022-08-08 - 2022-08-11
When: 8 August-11 August
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre and Virtual Platform
Immerse yourself in the future of computer graphics, interactive techniques, research, and scientific visualization at SIGGRAPH 2022! Our virtual conference experience starts 25 July with hours of on-demand content in our virtual platform. The in person, interactive experience starts 8 August in Vancouver with hands-on demos, live performances, and more. Choose your SIGGRAPH adventure and register now!
IGDA members save $30 on registration by using the code here.

LocSIG - AMA How to communicate and work with localization service providers with Guido Di Carlo
2022-08-16 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/Paris) | YouTube – IGDA LOcSIG
We are happy to announce that Guido Di Carlo will join us for the next live AMA (Ask me Anything) on August 16th, 7 p.m. CET!

Guido has been working in the translation industry for 12 years. First, as PM for various agencies and then as a freelance game translator. When he’s not converting text from English into Latam Spanish, he likes to play bass and guitar, cook and… well, play games!
Guido will answer all your questions on how to communicate and work with localization service providers, and anything else!

The live will happen here: https://youtu.be/dk4L4hFzFwE

This is a public event, you can share this and invite anyone you would like to attend it, everyone is welcome!
If you would like to suggest guests for further AMAs feel free to send us a private message, we plan to schedule one per month and hope it will help to better represent localization different profiles, and share some experiences.
Aurélie Perrin & Julia Gstoettner for the IGDA LocSIG

PlayBern: Games and Culture Festival
2022-09-02 - 2022-09-04
Date: 2 – 4 September 2022
Location: PROGR (Center for Cultural Practice), Bern, Switzerland
Admission: FREE
Since 2019, the PlayBern Festival has been presenting the creative side of gaming to a broad audience. Complete novice or seasoned nerd? Person with a disability or without? Young or old? There is a lot to discover for everyone in the world of non-commercial games at the PlayBern Festival! For three days, you can play and try out games without limits. In addition, presentations and workshops will provide insights into topics such as “cultural mediation through games,” new games for children and the analogue and digital artistic exploration of game themes. PlayBern will also award a children’s game prize.
Accessibility: Barrier-free bar. The PROGR is wheelchair accessible and has a wheelchair-accessible toilet.

Mobidictum Business Conference
2022-09-05 - 2022-09-06 | Haliç Congress Center, İstanbul
Mobidictum announces the region’s largest video game industry event, Mobidictum Business Conference (MBC). The event will take place in Istanbul on September 5-6, and bring the industry together at Haliç Congress Center.
Mobidictum Business Conference will address every corner of the industry, from mobile games to blockchain titles and onward. MBC 2022 welcomes both well-known and indie game studios, publishers, service providers, industry experts, and more. Be there when the industry from all over the world comes together!
Why is MBC the largest event in the region?
Mobidictum’s online and on-site events reached more than 5,000 attendees and its goal is to help improve the industry in the region in any way it can. In line with this purpose, Mobidictum performs services to bring the industry together to share, improve, invest and find new talents. At this event, you’ll find others from around the world who share Mobidictum’s vision for the game industry. At its current state, more than 30% of the attendees are from other countries. Mobidictum expects:

600+ brands
1,500+ attendees
60+ speakers
80+ video game showcases

What does MBC offer?
The region’s most comprehensive business platform for the games industry will cover all the grounds from mobile, PC, and console to AR and VR; to Web3, and many other video games-related areas. Here is our shortlist, but expect more:

The current state of the video game industry
Insights from industry experts
Game developers showcasing their games
Finding new talents
New investment and partnership opportunities
Networking and business development

More than just an event!
Mobidictum knows and understands an event this big can be a little exhausting at times. MBC offers resting and meet-up spots, plus two awesome parties to help you connect with others and consolidate your new partnerships.

Badge Collection / Main Party:

For Premium and Professional ticket holders.
September 4, at 19:00 – 23:00
@ Galata Balo Salonu

Pier Party / After-Party (with a DJ):

For Professional ticket holders.
September 5, at 19:00 – 23:00
@Haliç Pier

Get your limited “Early Bird” ticket now!
The “Early Bird” discounts continue for MBC that’ll take place on 5-6 September at Haliç Congress Center, but only for the time being, so hurry up and get your ticket at events.mobidictum.biz now! IGDA members save 20% using the code here.

Hello, Good Buy!
2022-09-07 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Toronto) | George Brown College School of Design, 3 Lower Jarvis St, Toronto, 3 Lower Jarvis St, Toronto, ON, M5E 3Y5, Canada
Toronto indie studios unite to share their journey in marketing their games and discussing the techniques and gambits that shaped their trajectory. Join the IGDA Toronto Discord to RSVP, receive notifications, and get in on the conversation!

Quantum Game Jam 2022
2022-09-15 - 2022-09-18
Mark your calendars!
We welcome you to join the online Quantum Game Jam, an event where you will collaborate with game developers, quantum physicists, visual artists, musicians, coders and others in order to develop games that connect to quantum physics either through real machinery or simply thematically. Materials about both game development and quantum physics is provided for anyone interested, but do not feel obligated to study them!. No prerequisites required, merely the curiosity and an interest in quantum games!
This in in particular we are collaborating with the Quantum Game Hackathon 2022, that is starting later this month — by further developing your jam game, you are able to participate the hackathon and aim at the prices!
Discord will serve as the main platform for the jam, so do join our Quantum Game community in our dedicated server. Consider using your real name or adding it to the server specific nickname and feel free to introduce yourself, your talents and background at the specific introductory channels to get a role and for others to find you! The official registration form will be shared at the beginning of the event, follow discord!
Learn more here!

LocSIG - AMA Arabic in game localization with Eman Abdo
2022-09-19 19:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Paris) | YouTube – IGDA LOcSIG
We are happy to announce that Eman Abdo will join us for the next live AMA (Ask me Anything) on September 16th, 7 p.m. CEST!

Eman Abdo is an English to Arabic translator specialized in localization and transcreation, mainly in game localization, e-learning, and marketing. She is the author of Egypt Localization Guide, and a linguist at heart trying to correct the way the Arabic language is perceived. She’s also the force behind the localization of many apps and games into Arabic.

Eman will answer all your questions about Arabic in game localization!

The live will happen here: https://youtu.be/LLy3suKYIJY

This is a public event, you can share this and invite anyone you would like to attend it, everyone is welcome!

If you would like to suggest guests for further AMAs feel free to send us a private message, we plan to schedule one per month and hope it will help to better represent localization different profiles, and share some experiences.

W Love Games 2022
2022-10-13 - 2022-10-14
IGDA Finland is delighted to invite YOU to participate at this year’s W Love Games Conference which will take place on the 13-14th of October 2022 in Helsinki!
The event is FREE to attend, the registration is requited in order to receive access to all the content and to network with other participants. This year we are aiming to have a hybrid event at the venue in the heart of Helsinki and as many attendees who want to join us online.
This year we are having two-days-event with:

8 Tracks with over 30 speakers!
6 workshops
Showroom – present your game!
IGDA Finland Mentor Cafe
Networking for all!

We aim to have tracks dedicated to diversity and leadership, accessibility, education, and gamedev practices. Through workshops and mentoring sessions we wish to help you in advancing in your career! This event is designed by developers for developers, as we love games.
You are welcome to attend the conference at the venue or online, the event and all the content will be equally available for all the participants worldwide – grab your ticket here!

XTiming Academy - Mentorship Program
2022-10-17 - 2022-10-28
XTiming Academy is a mentorship program developed in collaboration with the IGDA that teaches, supports, and mentors mobile game developers throughout the entire game development and marketing process with the assistance of industry leaders.
What’s Offered?

Tailor-Made Classes
Access to Mentors
Benefits for the Bests in the Class
Access to Tools

Interested? Visit the website to learn more and submit your application. You have until 28 October, 2022 to apply!

LocSIG – With a Great Localization Comes a Great Lockit – AMA with Caro Panero
2022-10-18 16:00 - 17:30 (Europe/Paris) | YouTube – IGDA LOcSIG
Want to know the secrets of a good lockit?

The IGDA LocSIG is happy to announce that Caro Panero will join us for our next live AMA on how to make a good lockit!

Caro Panero is an English>LatAm Spanish translator specialized in video game localization, subtitling & webcomics.
She is also:
– Part of Gameloc Gathering, Women in Games Argentina and TEIFEM.
– Cocreator of the English>LatAm Spanish video games and gender-neutral glossary.
– Cocreator of the Game Studies paper about gender neutrality for the Universidad de Palermo.
– Horror, fantasy, sci-fi and comic book writer.
– Cuervolobo Editorial cofounder (small independent publishing company).

She will share her best tips on how to create a good lockit. What is the purpose of that doc? What to include? What type of content? Is it even really necessary to provide one?

We will be live October 18th, 4 p.m. (CEST) on the IGDA LocSIG YouTube channel, this is a public event, you can share this and invite anyone you would like to attend it, everyone is welcome!

YouTube event link: https://youtu.be/fEIAB_3V23Q

AWE EU 2022
2022-10-20 - 2022-10-21
The XR Community is meeting, in person, this October in Lisbon, Portugal to connect, learn and grow the AR and VR ecosystem. Join this inspiring community of XR professionals; An XR ecosystem marketplace where end-users meet solution providers in a curated setting.
The 5th AWE EU:

2 days on the bleeding edge of AR/VR
200+ speakers, including tech juggernauts, Fortune 500s, and hot startups
100+ sponsors/exhibitors
Thousands of creators, developers, industry execs, founders, entertainers, investors, top press, and more participating in-person and virtually
Topics covered: Enterprise case studies, latest developer/creator tools, Sales, Marketing and branded experiences, AR Cloud, WebXR, 5G , AI, haptics, privacy and ethics, Entertainment, Education, and more

IGDA members save 20% on registration by using the code here.
Get AWE-inspired!

gamescom Asia 2022
2022-10-20 - 2022-10-23
gamescom Asia aims to serve as the premier platform for Southeast Asian game developers to explore partnerships and expand their audiences globally. For international studios, we are the stepping stone into the Southeast Asian region, reaching fans and talent within one of the fastest growing games markets in the world.
gamescom asia is the satellite Asian edition of gamescom, the world’s largest computer and video games festival.
Held from 20 – 23 October 2022 in tropical Singapore, expect four days of exhilarating highlights for the gaming industry and a spectacular entertainment programme for fans.
IGDA members save 10% when they register using the code here.

GameSound Con 2022
2022-10-25 - 2022-10-26
GameSoundCon: 25-26 October, 2022
Los Angeles, CA and Online
GameSoundCon the game music, sound design and virtual reality audio conference normally held annually in Los Angeles, is both live and online for 2022. The largest professional conference on game music and sound design features sessions and panels on the creative, technical and business issues of working on video game music and sound design. Additional sessions cover cutting edge research, Virtual Reality audio and Dialogue. GameSoundCon is taking place from October 25-26, 2022 in Los Angeles CA.
IGDA members get 10% off with the code found here.
