Tech Valley Game Space is an active community of game makers that gathers in Troy, NY
The final day of Lift Off, opened with a forum between panelists Muse en Lystrala, Becky Arcovitch, and Jarell Pryor (with Frederika Edgington-Giordano as moderator) answering questions about how to get into the video game industry. The panelists focused on various perspectives of game making, from getting into professional studios, to starting independent studios. Topics…Continue reading Lift Off 2019: Closing Ceremony Forum
3D Game Artist Kolel Pryor provides tips and tricks on how to manage stress while working in the game industry, and in the creative industry as a whole. In particular, he brings up the impostor syndrome, or the feeling that one’s accomplishments as just lucky flukes. He covers how to avoid overworking, finding motivation to…Continue reading Lift Off 2019: Stress Management & Impostor Syndrome
Quality Engineer Frederika Edgington-Giordano gives a rundown of what the job of a Quality Assurance (QA) in the games and software industry is like. A somewhat lesser-known field, QAs tests and confirms whether the game/software in development is up to the quality standard customers expect from said product. Frederika described what sort of people are…Continue reading Lift Off 2019: Quality Assurance
Freelance e-sports journalist and diversity advocate, Amanda Stevens, provides an in-depth workshop on why diversity and representation is important in the media that we create. In addition, they provided some strategies on adding more representation in media, including uses of writing, music, characters, etc. After the presentation, each participant reviewed with their mentor how their…Continue reading Lift Off 2019: Diversity and Representation
STEAM advocate, Milena Gonzalez provides a thorough presentation on why participants at the TVGS’ Lift Off Diversity Incubator belongs in tech. She lists the benefits of working in the tech industry and the positions available, but also indicated the negatives that the industry suffers from. Diversity can solve these problems, she argues, making a better…Continue reading Lift Off 2019: You Belong in Tech
TVGS’ Lift Off Diversity Incubator continues with a presentation on Project Management for Game Development by college professor and former Studio Manager of Cinematic at Telltale, Becky Arcovitch. She provides a primer on what project management is, why it’s important, what the common practices are for game development, and provided an example of a schedule…Continue reading Lift Off 2019: Project Management
The second TVGS Lift Off: Diversity Incubator began with a keynote by indie game developer and TVGS Executive Director, Taro Omiya, who provided a large list of resources and common game-dev-related terms to look out for. The presentation came with a handout summarizing the presentation. New to this year, attendees were also encouraged to share…Continue reading Lift Off 2019: Opening Ceremony
Our monthly Troy Night Out with The Arts Center continues with an exhibition of locally created games. Macs and PCs will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The showcase is free and open to everyone, and we welcome you to show off games that are in any state of completion. So bring along your project for some playtesting and feedback, or just stop by and join in the fun!…Continue reading Interactive Showcase @ Troy Night Out (October 25th, 6:00pm)
The time has come…to make games for the 45th tri-annual online game jam, Ludum Dare! No experience in making games necessary! This is just a fun challenge for all of us, and often serves as an educational moment to learn how to work with deadlines. We will be going through game idea brainstorming and team…Continue reading Ludum Dare 45 (October 5th, 5:00 PM)
If you’re interested in learning to make your own digital games using a simple and intuitive creative tool that doesn’t require any prior experience with computer programming, this is the group for you!
The Beginner Game Design Orbit group meets every Saturday morning at Tech Valley Game Space and will provide a place to get feedback and advice on your game project for first time game creator. Join us and learn about how to create 2D games using tools such as Construct 2. …Continue reading Orbit: Beginner Game Design (October 5th, 11:00am)