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
Application for Lift Off: Diversity Incubator for 2019 is now open! The incubator is a free, inclusive, six-week program for people of color to make their first game; no coding or other game development experience needed! This diversity-focused workshop series invites selected applicants of varied backgrounds and interests to create their own game. Participants will…Continue reading Application for Lift Off 2019 Now Open!