IGDA Chicago Launches New Website, Chapter Updates

Hello world!

If you’re reading this then you already know…

WE HAVE A NEW WEBSITE!!!

It’s taken the collective efforts of the entire board and many months of hard work, but today we’re thrilled to share our new website with you. You’ll notice updates in style and accessibility for all of the great content we’ve been working so hard to produce at IGDA Chicago.

Videos from prior events are now directly accessible from our media page, our jobs page has received a facelift, and we’ve include a Chicago Community section to highlight everything that makes Chicago and the Midwest a hub of video game development. Additionally, we’ve included easy to find links to our Discord, Twitch, and all our other social media channels on our contact page and on every page footer.

Of course, this is by no means the end! We intend to update the site regularly with updated content and features to always increase value to our members and the local community.

We value your feedback and we want our site to be as accurate and comprehensive as possible. Please use the website contact page to let us know how we can make the site even better.

Since it’s been so long since we’ve written, we have lots of other updates to share too.

Here are some quick wrap ups of the events we’ve hosted so far this year:

  • Global Game Jam

  • Pre-GDC Workshop

    • Our Pre-GDC Workshop made a comeback this year at Columbia College. Ross A. Hersemann, Ryan Sizemore, and Sam Bond gave a talk on the do’s and don’ts of GDC. Industry veteran Josh Tsui also gave a presentation on his GDC experiences and offered some helpful advice to Columbia College students. After the panels, the Board provided resume and pitch feedback for attendees.

  • GDC Midwest Mingle

    • Our Midwest Mingle also made a comeback this year. During GDC we had an open meetup with other Midwestern IGDA Chapters and developers to touch base and reconnect.

  • Post GDC Roundtable

    • Following GDC and after some well-deserved rest, the IGDA Board led a round table discussion at DePaul University to go over everyone’s GDC experiences. There were success stories and many lessons learned.

  • An Evening with Jeff Spoonhower

    • Industry veteran Jeff Spoonhower joined IGDA Chicago to give a talk on his upcoming work and his experiences in the industry. Attendees at Columbia College were treated to some inside knowledge about what it’s really like working in AAA studio environments and the realities of transitioning to indie game development.

  • Midwest Gaming Classic

    • IGDA board members Ross A. Hersemann, Tom Caprel, and Sam Bond took a trip up to Milwaukee to staff an IGDA booth at this year’s Midwest Gaming Classic. They discussed community and IGDA initiatives with attendees and showcases some game jam games from previous IGDA events. Lots of great connections were made and old friendships renewed.

  • Principles in Game Coding in Unity with IGDA Chicago

    • This Summer IGDA board member Sam Bond led a coding workshop in Unity at the Microsoft Store in Schaumburg. She instructed a group of enthusiastic young people through making their first platformer and the basics of coding.

  • Retro Game Jam

    • In collaboration with DePaul University’s student group JDE and Columbia College’s AlphaLab, IGDA Chicago hosted a Retro Game Jam at DePaul two weeks ago. Students were challenged to make games inspired by the Atari-era of gaming, using only period accurate color palettes, resolutions, and controller configurations. They delivered in style!

That about brings us up to date!

We hope to see all of you at BIT BASH this weekend. The IGDA Board will be there in style to discuss IGDA’s role in the community and showcase the amazing games from our recent Retro Game Jam. Drop by our table and say hi!

It’s been a very busy Summer, but the year’s not over yet, so stay tuned for news of our upcoming events so that you can mark your calendars!

Game on!

Ross A. Hersemann 
Chair, IGDA Chicago

Video of An Afternoon with Brenda and John Romero

Last summer we were lucky to have both John and Brenda Romero to visit Chicago to talk to our community for a special event. We now present the video of the event for those who could not make it. Also don’t forget, if you don’t have time to watch the whole event, here is our great event recap by Nicholas Cassleman

As far as future events go, on July 30th we are hosting a panel discussion about entrepreneurship and starting your own game company. This event has already sold out, but we did just opened up a small amount of extra tickets, so get them while you can!

Then on August 6th we’re having Mike Geig of Unity come to do an instructional training session focused on lighting and baking in Unity 3D.

Stay tuned for other future events, as well as some videos from our previous events.