IndieCade, the premier international festival of independent games, has revealed a diverse and exciting programming lineup for this year’s IndieCade Festival that will explore the transformational and inspirational power of game development and challenge attendees to push the limits of game design themselves.
This year’s annual event will feature talks across three different tracks – “THINK” (previously known as the Conference), IndieXchange and GameU – each led by some of the most influential independent game developers from around the world. These tracks will dig deep into how design impacts player experience, represents games as art, and much more.
IndieCade Festival will once again be held in downtown Culver City, CA, October 23-25, 2015, with IndieCade Conference and IndieXchange beginning October 22. Tickets for the Festival and more information can now be found on the IndieCade website.
“The game industry is transforming, with emerging voices bringing diversity, talent and inspiration to some spectacularly creative games,” said Stephanie Barish, chief executive officer and founder, IndieCade. “Part of this transformation comes from pushing the boundaries of design and fearlessly tackling topics like gender and sexuality, as well as all forms of games and creation, whether tabletop, virtual reality, experimental games, or others. IndieCade Festival 2015 will celebrate this growth and will help push this trend further forward. Through our programs, our session leaders and developer attendees will collaborate and learn from one another, and have the opportunity to find their own paths through the continuing industry transformation.”
KEYNOTES
IndieCade will be host to several IndieCade Festival keynote discussions and main sessions. Naomi Clark, developer of Consentacle, Nina Freeman, creator of How Do You Do It?, and Robert Yang, developer of Cobra Club and Succulent will discuss intimacy and sexuality in games during their keynote. Another keynote session will throwback to take a look at “Girl Games” from the 80s and 90s, and will feature Brenda Laurel, creator of Purple Moon and Christy Marx, developer of Tales of the Crystal, and will be moderated by Rachel Weil of FEMICOM.
‘think:indie’ TRACK CONFERENCE SESSION
IndieCade has re-structured this year’s Conference section of IndieCade Festival. Each year moving forward, the Conference will identify themes that wrap all discussions around an idea that helps focus the agenda and offers even more value to attendees. However, the mission that remains the same is the organization’s commitment to offer a rare opportunity for independent developers to meet, talk and learn from peers across the industry. Each session is led by developers who have been asked to share their insights, tips and experiences to help explore topics that can help elevate game development and push gameplay and design to new heights.
This year IndieCade introduces a new track that will both inspire and challenge speakers and attendees alike to ‘think’; think beyond standard ideals and practices and push the limits of possibilities. The sessions will explore the edges of game design, with topics that include the role of fashion in games; authorial visions of design and their impacts on player experience; analog game design; and games as a medium for artists working in other mediums. In addition, a group of sessions will reflect on games and will include a session focused on new approaches to game criticism and a session exploring masculinity in games.
The ‘think:indie’ academic track will be led by industry leaders such as Anna Anthropy, Pippin Barr, Mattie Brice, Katherine Cross, Nathalie Quagliotto, Eddo Stern, Austin Wintory.
Additionally, two of IndieCade Festival’s most popular annual sessions will return once more: ‘Influences,’ a session in which three speakers discuss non-game influences on their work and ‘Why ___ Matters,’ a series of short talks on an aspect of games that the speaker wants to bring attention to.
GAME-U
GameU is a special conference at IndieCade Festival that pulls back the curtain on the game development process and offers an open door to those looking to learn about how games are made.
Topics include introductions to multiple types of programming, various game design techniques, live development demonstrations, beginning art for games, game audio – even tips on what to look for in university programs and forming long-term career plans.
- Through a series of courses throughoutIndieCade Festival, beginning developers and those looking to go newly independent, can explore:
- New presentations at this year’s GameU workshops include speakers on game writing (Jesse Vigil), crowdfunding (Erin Reynolds), and mistakes made by new developers (Chris DeLeon). For beginning Unity programmers aiming to improve their code Kyle Blevens will be demonstrating practical architecture tricks.
- Game makers thinking about going professionally independent and running a studio will be able to learn directly from the business experiences of Jay Koottarappallil, President and Co-Founder of WhiteMoon Dreams.
- For young game developers and their parents, AJ Webster of Catalyst Education will be returning to Game-U to run a session specifically about the tools, topics, resources and opportunities important for kids and parents getting started.
INDIEXCHANGE
This year’s IndieXchange track will feature sessions highlighting indie developer spaces (Game Nest & Glitch City), emerging opportunities for game designers (Brent Bushnell, CEO, Two Bit Circus), and a tabletop game design and funding workshop (Tim Fowers, creator of ‘Wok Star’ and ‘Burgle Bros.’). IndieXchange will include many more talks, workshops, and opportunities to meet game publishers.