Hey, there indie folks! It's been a while since one of these has happened so we thought it was high time to bring it back.

To shake it up even more we're moving to discord! To start off slow were only going to do the open mic portion. We sadly won't be able to have open play but we'll have rooms where folks can chat one on one if they want!

Agenda:
- Indie Open Mic. Sign up at the start of the meeting, and you'll get 5 minutes to demo your latest masterpiece-in-progress!
-Open Chat: Anyone can hop into a different room with someone else to talk about people's projects

As always, open mic sign-up will be during the first 10 minutes of the meeting--if you want in, make sure to show up on time with a playable, ready to go version of your game.

Hey, there indie folks! It's been a while since one of these has happened so we thought it was high time to bring it back.

To shake it up even more we're moving to discord! To start off slow were only going to do the open mic portion. We sadly won't be able to have open play but we'll have rooms where folks can chat one on one if they want!

Agenda:
- Indie Open Mic. Sign up at the start of the meeting, and you'll get 5 minutes to demo your latest masterpiece-in-progress!
-Open Chat: Anyone can hop into a different room with someone else to talk about people's projects

As always, open mic sign-up will be during the first 10 minutes of the meeting--if you want in, make sure to show up on time with a playable, ready to go version of your game.

Join IGDA Chicago for our AMA Speaker Series that allows you to ask those burning questions you have always wanted to ask to industry veterans!

This event will be held Thursday, November 12th with very special guest Rachel Nador!

Rachel Nador has an Art degree from the University of Iowa and started her career creating graphics for vehicle simulation, but soon became a video game environment artist. For eight years she worked for companies like Atari/Midway Games West, and Electronic Arts. She is currently a freelance 3D artist and has done extensive work creating medical and scientific graphics for AR/VR and other applications.

You can find examples of Rachel’s work on her website and can connect with her via LinkedIn.

Attend this live event by tuning in to the IGDA Chicago Twitch Channel

IGDA Chicago is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and harassment-free
experience for everyone. Our Anti-Harassment policy can be found at:
http://igdachicago.com/code-of-conduct/

Join IGDA Chicago for our AMA Speaker Series that allows you to ask those burning questions you have always wanted to ask to industry veterans!

This event will be held Thursday, September 24th with very special guests the IGDA Chicago Executive Board!

The IGDA Chicago Executive Board is a group with a certain set of skills including:

• Video Game Law & Business Development

• Marketing, Branding, & Opera Singing

• Video Editing, Streaming, Production, & Design

• Game Development, Teaching, & Community Engagement

• 3D Art, Animation, & Modeling

• VR/AR App Development, Unity, & Healthcare Communication

Attend this live event by tuning in to the IGDA Chicago Twitch Channel

IGDA Chicago is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and harassment-free
experience for everyone. Our Anti-Harassment policy can be found at:
http://igdachicago.com/code-of-conduct/

Indy Indies is a one-day networking and showcase event for game developers in Indiana and the surrounding region to celebrate their work, refine their practice, and connect with likeminded creators. It is comprised of talks, showcases, and live gameplay. This summer it will all be online at twitch.tv/indyindies.

This panel explores the current political situation in the US around Black Lives Matter, diversity, inclusion and representation with respect to the game industry. From game development, hiring practices, character design, and more, this panel conversation hopes to move beyond visible aspects of racism and look at institutional and structural barriers that prevent black creatives from entering and thriving in the game industry. 

Moderated By:

Ashlyn Sparrow | Assistant Director, Weston Game Lab, University of Chicago

Featuring:

Kevin Fair | CEO, I Play Games! 
Keisha Howard | Founder, Sugar Gamers
Jacob Mooney | Technical Designer, Level Ex
Derrick Fields | Waking Oni

This virtual event will be hosted by Crowdcast and live streamed to the IGDA Chicago YouTube Channel. Use the link below on July 15th at 6:50pm CST to join the audience on Crowdcast and participate in the event!

IGDA Chicago is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and harassment-free
experience for everyone. Our Anti-Harassment policy can be found at:
http://igdachicago.com/code-of-conduct/

Covid-19 may be forcing us to change the way we meet, but it won’t stop us from bringing you content and industry experience. We will be hosting July’s event in Virtual Reality again. Unfortunately, that means we won’t be able to provide live demonstrations, but for those of you that have a VR headset you get to join us in VR. For those that don’t, you can join us in 2D on your PC or by watching the Facebook Live Stream.

The topic of the month is Law. Last year’s Legal Meetup discussed the wild frontier of AR as Burger King burned up competitor’s ads and AR objects inhabited spaces digitally. Is this just another form of grafitti and vandalism? Is it a legitimate space to play in when serious money is involved? Has the law begun to catch up with these new digital issues? What does it take to start a VR or AR company? How do enterprises address the legal hurdles involved with implementing immersive technology?

Join us in a virtual environment and hear from legal experts about how these problems are being resolved and where they think we are going in the future.

Join IGDA Chicago for our AMA Speaker Series that allows you to ask those burning questions you have always wanted to ask to industry veterans!

This event will be held Tuesday, May 19th with very special guest Josh Tsui!

Josh is a graduate of Columbia College's film program,and became known in the video game industry for his work at Midway Games. He went on to work at Electronic Arts, and cofounded two studios in Chicago, Studio Gigante and Robomodo. His upcoming documentary film Insert Coin, chronicles the rise and fall of industry giant Midway Games and was set to World Premiere at SXSW this Spring.

Attend this live event by logging on to the IGDA Discord Server and join the conversation!

Login Instructions:

1. Join the IGDA Chicago Discord Server

2. On May 19th, you can navigate to the AMA section of the IGDA Discord Server

3. Connect to the AMA voice channel to hear the conversation

4. Use the text channel to post questions to our guest

5. The channels will be open one hour prior to the event

IGDA Chicago is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and harassment-free
experience for everyone. Our Anti-Harassment policy can be found at:
http://igdachicago.com/code-of-conduct/

Join IGDA Chicago for a new AMA Speaker Series that allows you to ask those burning questions you have always wanted to ask to industry veterans!

Our first installment will be held Tuesday, April 21st with very special guest Susan Gold!

Susan Gold is an American scholar with an academic career that spans 20 years in higher education. She is a proven leader, facilitator, collaborator and activist. She is the creator of the much loved Global Game Jam®, the annual event that brings together over 40k game developers from around the world for one creatively explosive weekend of fun and innovation.

In July of 2018, Susan launched a new extension of the event called GGJNEXT®, a game jam and curriculum for young creators age 12-17. She is widely regarded for her expertise in the areas of game education & game design, game jams, community development and large scale collaborative projects.

Attend this live event by logging on to the IGDA Discord Server and join the conversation!

Login Instructions:

1. Join the IGDA Chicago Discord Server by clicking here.

2. On April 21st, you can navigate to the AMA section of the IGDA Discord Server

3. Connect to the AMA voice channel to hear the conversation

4. Use the text channel to post questions to our guest

5. The channels will be open one hour prior to the event

IGDA Chicago is dedicated to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and harassment-free
experience for everyone. Our Anti-Harassment policy can be found at:
http://igdachicago.com/code-of-conduct/

You want a career as a game artist.

Awesome! How do you get there?

Game Art and multi-media jobs have been consistently increasing since 2014, with growing salaries to match. However, there are only a certain number of jobs available and the talent pool is growing. 

So how do you stand out?

• Is you portfolio strong enough?

• How do you ensure that you get call-back? 

• Do you know exactly what hiring managers are looking for?

• Do you have anxiety about the competition?

We can help! 

Join Dave Pasciuto, Roger Yuen in this exclusive webinar interview with special guest, Travis Overstreet, Senior Concept Artist at Electronic Arts!

We will have an in-depth conversation about the game industry, the inner workings of hiring and the importance of a well-thought out portfolio experience.

If you are interested in getting a job in the Game industry and want create an impactful portfolio, sign-up for this webinar now.

We will discuss the importance of game portfolios, how to curate them, and how management hires game artists.

The law is always a step behind technology. In particular, the legal profession has expressed extreme difficulty in addressing the technical and expressive qualities present in video games. Video games are subtly complex by their very nature, and do not seem to fit completely into any singular field of law. The fields of copyright, trademark, patent, constitutional, and business law have all been applied to video games in an effort to regulate and protect them. As often as not, as many conflicting applications of law emerge as congruent ones.

Do you design in Photoshop? Is getting usable stock images into Photoshop a huge chore? Are you looking to take your digital illustration skills to the next level?

Join Chimirus for their next Demolition Night featuring advanced Photoshop design techniques with PixelSquid! PixelSquid is a new tool used by award-winning concept artists, illustrators and designers all over the world.

On September 24th, visit Ignite Gaming - Skokie for an evening of mingling, drinks, and gaming with other Esports Business Professionals from around the Chicagoland area!

Expand your business network over complimentary appetizers and Happy Hour Drink specials from Ignite’s full bar. Everyone who attends receives a free hour of gaming on the cutting edge Game Floor, in case you’d rather do your mingling over some (friendly!) competition. Throughout the evening, Ignite will be highlighting specific companies and professionals who are making waves and leading the charge in the blossoming esports industry.