Learn directly from industry leaders

People talk a lot about the next generation of game developers, but how often are they looked at through a lens removed from capitalism, big expectations, and a college institution? In this talk, Geneva will share their findings and experiences with teaching grade school students and how games can be another way for students to express themselves through writing, visual arts, and music. They will also touch on the importance of healthy working habits for educators and the students they interact with.

What is a memoir game, and what makes them creatively fulfilling? Game developer Emma Kidwell discusses what memoir is, and how making personal games are both a powerful artistic statement and a tool for narrative designers to trust their intuition when designing a story that resonates with people.

Let's discuss decolonial narratives and  how traditional cultures can be represented in gaming.

Our job as game designers and developers is to create experiences for all peoples. But what happens when we were all educated in a system that excludes many cultures and enshrines others?

Let's discuss how we can position ourselves through games to confront years of lack of diversity, as well as validated strategies for representing cultures and how to avoid cultural appropriation.

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In their talk, Creative Collaborations with Young Artists, Bloomzeye shares what creative autonomy can look like for children and teens when collaborating with adults in artistic projects. In hostiles environment where young artists are told not to be who they are or create what they want, it's vital for adults and experienced creatives to meet children, teens, and young people in their communities at their own level, and to show them that if that you as an adult made it here and are still going, so can they!

This talk is for any dev, artist, musician or otherwise navigating a period of grief in their lives while trying to stay creatively healthy. About finding a way to channel your grief into positivity and maximize your creative output when under pressure from the world. Also ideal for indie game composers navigating the intersection of personal identity and cultural authenticity in their work. The insight they leave with is the realities of freelance composition, from creative struggle to funding loss and how to find a path forward.