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Welcome to the March IAA newsletter! Here we are again, the first month of spring: a time of year to cap off old work and breathe life into new creative projects. Now that the chill is gone, it’s also an excellent time to exit the dev cave and reconnect with your local gaming community! 🌸🌷🌸

In this edition of the newsletter, we have exciting updates on how you can support the Alberta game dev community with upcoming events, games, and volunteer opportunities!

Before we dive in, we’d like to introduce three new members of our volunteer team: Jawdat, Jess, and Hailey. Jawdat is a Masters student at the University of Alberta, indie developer, and studio founder. Jess recently completed their Masters in Humanities Computing on unionization in the games industry. Hailey is an operations expert and logistics wizard. Expect to see more of them in the coming months as we strive to build a better games industry here in Alberta!

If you would like to have your game, memes, or news included in this newsletter in the future, please email [email protected] to be included!

by Derek Kwan

Building the Game Discovery Exhibition (GDX) as an event to support our local game development community has been an adventure with highs and lows, ups and downs, and—of course—a few dollops of drama. When we first launched the Game Discovery Exhibition in 2015, we were fresh out of school; we really had no idea how to run events, let alone how to help grow our sector. What we knew was that if we wanted to make games in Alberta, it was up to us to create the conditions for our collective and future success. Ten years (and a lot of grey hairs) later, GDX is more than just an exhibition—it’s a celebration of Alberta’s growing games industry, and a testament to the strength of our community. What started as a grassroots gathering of game developers, enthusiasts, and industry professionals has evolved into North America’s largest indie games event by attendance.

Fun fact: did you know that the initial name for what would become GDX was the “Indie Game Showcase”? Credit for the impetus to change the name goes to Dr. Sean Gouglas (UAlberta), who told us that “IGS doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.”

He was right. “IGS” kinda sucks. 😂

Ultimately, the Game Discovery Exhibition is about discovery of people and games. For us, as game developers, we elevate our discoverability and market validation. For people who like to play games, they get to discover new and cool games to fall in love with. Back in 2015, our focus was in helping local studios find talent. Helping exhibitors find jobs was our top priority. However, given the volatility of the games industry and understanding the power dynamics of labour, GDX 2016 evolved to provide greater support to indie studios—especially ones that are local—a trend that continues to this day.

In short, GDX’s foundation was about building bridges across the community—creating a space where newcomers and veterans alike could come together. GDX has also been a space for friendly collisions between other gaming communities such as the Smash community, Extra Life, and our counterparts in Calgary, Lethbridge, and Red Deer. By 2016, the event more than doubled in size. More developers, more attendees, and more opportunities to elevate Alberta-based studios. We brought in incredible speakers, highlighted homegrown talent, assisted our Alberta indies in finding new audiences, and created a foundation for subsequent events.

Before I go, I’d love to give a big shout-out to the rest of the team who made GDX 2015-2016 happen: Lexie Bartlett, Dylan Cassidy, Robert Cassidy, Elliot Colp, Thomas Curnow, Nick Diaz, Deanna Dombroski, Si He, Panayioti Koukoulas, Preyanshu Kumar, Braedy Kuzma, Benson Kwan, Dayna Lacoursiere, Michael Ling, Eric Mahood, James Mak, Virina Mekhail, Glenn Meyer, Spencer Plant, Jeremy Plouffe, Chris Saunders, Nick Shostak, Chris Smith, Sarah Young, and Mike Zerihoun. A big thank you to all of you! Without you, GDX would not exist.

Next month, we’ll talk about growing pains.

If you aren’t following us on social media, then this is the first time you’re hearing that that GDX 2025 is July 16-27, 2025!

This year’s conference will run from July 16-17 at the Queen Elizabeth II Building on the legislative grounds, taking the heart of game making across the province to doors of the legislature. Our four summits will be returning this year and make sure you stay tuned for speaker announcements and exciting giveaways leading up to the event.

The conference is once again followed by the exhibition at KDays from July 18-27, KDays will also be opening at 11 AM this year rather than noon, so make sure to bring your friends and come celebrate the incredible developers showcasing their games over the ten days.

GDX is North America’s largest indie games festival by attendance, with over 125,000 attendees last year. We look forward to hosting even more folks this time around!

We’re excited to announce the return of GDX from July 16-27, 2025! This year’s conference will run from July 16-17, followed by the exhibition at KDays from July 18-27.

GDX is North America’s largest indie games festival by attendance, with over 125,000 attendees last year. We look forward to hosting even more folks this time around!

Use the link below to submit your game for 2025, while the deadline is May 11, 2025, we highly encourage you to apply early to guarantee your spot. With over 125,000 visitors last year, and a waitlist, we know these spots will go quickly! Student submissions are welcome and encouraged!

⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT OPERATING HOURS ⚠️

Be advised: GDX’s exhibition will have slightly altered hours! This year, we will open a little earlier at 11 AM to be more welcoming for families. This earlier opening represents an additional hour of exhibiting time per day. As a result, we are working with Explore Edmonton to find ways to make things a little more comfortable for you.

Sign Up to Exhibit!

Our newest summit, the Indigeneity and Diaspora in Games Summit (IDiG) returns for a second year to explore the challenges and triumphs of diverse people working within the games industry. The IDiG Summit is co-created with a committee dedicated to representing unique perspectives from across the globe and last year welcomed speakers from the Netherlands, Australia, Treaty 6 Territory, and more.

The Indigeneity and Diaspora in Games Summit Committee is designed to bring a diverse committee together to co-create the panels, talks, and workshops for this section of the Game Discovery Exhibition conference. Thank you to the City of Edmonton for making IDiG possible.

For more information see the sign up form below! But please note, we are open to global recruitment with a focus on representation from Treaties 4, 6, 7, 8, & 10 and the Métis Regions. You do not need to be in the Edmonton region to be part of the committee. Committee members will receive an honorarium for their participation.

Sign Up for the Committee!

We’re gearing up for the 10th anniversary of GDX, and we want you to be part of the action! Volunteering at GDX is a fun, hands-on way to connect with Alberta’s vibrant games industry, meet incredible creators, and help deliver North America’s largest indie games event. There are roles available for both the conference and the exhibition, something for everyone!

Whether you’re passionate about games, love organizing events, or just want to be part of something big, there’s a place for you on our team.

Sign Up to Volunteer!

Alongside our in-person event, we are also bringing back the GDX Alberta & Beyond Steam sale, featuring a collection of excellent Albertan indie games and ones featured at GDX! Last year’s sale was accessed by more than 2.1 million unique viewers and included streams of showcased games. Check out the 2024 previous sale page HERE.

For the indie teams, this is a  wonderful opportunity to boost sales and get more eyeballs on your games. Signing up for the Steam sale is free via the link below! Why not give it a go? Games are also accepted for wishlist building as well!

Sign Up for the Sale!

Thank you for subscribing to the newsletter! GDX is celebrating it's 10th anniversary in 2025 and as a thank you to our supporters we want to ensure that the conference is as accessible as it can be and have started the 10 for $10 giveaway in that spirit.

Each month until GDX, we’ll be giving away discount codes for $10 general admission conference + exhibition passes to 10 lucky subscribers and one full access pass to one lucky winner for free!

Enter 10 for $10 Here!

Walkthrough is excited to announce a new feature! Wondering if it’s the right fit for you? Book a discovery call with us today and we can chat through what the space is like and your needs before heading in for a tour.

Find out more information about Walkthrough at the link below!

Book a Discovery Call for Walkthrough

A reminder that the Walkthrough Collaborative Centre is your community hub, and is a free co-working space for you to access. Walkthrough is kept afloat by donations, so any support you can offer is much appreciated, but not obligatory.

Donate to Walkthrough

Alberta Slow Jam, Summer 2025 🌞😎

The 3rd Alberta Slow Jam nearly here! This is a relaxed 2 week jam with an emphasis on low pressure, no crunch game development. The jam will take place online from MAY 23 to JUNE 6.

Whether this is your first game or your 50th, game jams are a great way to meet, collaborate, and create with like minded folks. IAA will be contributing to the jam by offering space at the Walkthrough Collaborative Center for the jam’s theme reveal and team building opportunities in-person. We’ll also host playthroughs of some of the games as a group to celebrate the end of the event!

Sign up for the jam on Itch and get all the event details: https://itch.io/jam/alberta-slow-jam-3

If you’d like to join ASJ’s Discord, you can connect with your fellow slow jam devs at https://discord.gg/C4NpRsXVjv

Check out the ASJ Youtube channel for the theme announcement, past themes, and to look at past submissions: https://www.youtube.com/@Abslowjam

………….………

Want your community event or game news shared with the masses?  Reach out today to be included!

🐈 CatboyZOOM - Released into Early Access January, 2025

Become a catboy and zoom through the many handcrafted worlds of this FPS Platforming Speedrunner! Master your control over the Source-inspired movement system and leave your best times for others to challenge!

CatboyZOOM was featured at GDX 2024, try to beat our high score! 🏁🏁🏁

🌟 Geo Mythica - March 20th Launch

Embark on an 8-bit style JRPG quest to save Earth. Battle in unique party-based combat mixing real-time action and strategic commands. Join Gio and a team of lively characters as they unearth bizarre global events, forgotten legends, and battle mythical foes to unveil the secrets of Geo Mythica.

Did we miss your game? Give us a shout! We would love to share your work with the community!

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