The Indie Game Academy, an educational program that turns students into indie game devs, hosts a pitch night for their students to show off their games to a panel of industry veterans. I was invited to attend and this is my recap of the night.
I was provided a press pass for this event.
Indie Game Academy‘s pitch night is hosted online through the interactive platform Gather. They created a digital castle where we could explore, meet other attendees, and interact with the different teams and their games. It was an interesting way run an event like this that is ultimately really fitting since it is like a video game. Of course there were technical difficulties, but that is par for the course when it comes to online events.
There were four teams and they had three months to go from ideation to monetization with a playable version of their game. Each team had unique ideas and genres/mechanics which made it an interesting experience of having them pitched. Let’s go through the games.
BREAK TIME!
Break Time! is a beat-em-up game where you, a frustrated office employee, will have to punch, jump, and throw objects at enemies aka your boss. It is a lighthearted satire on the dread office job that is very polished and ready to play. You can try the game for yourself on itch.io.
The Squire
In The Squire, you play as one who goes into the dungeons after the knight completes them in order to get his prized weapons for him. It is a fun platformer with absolutely adorable art that really sells the game for me. You can give the dungeons a try for yourself on itch.io.
Coffee: Rise & Grind
In this pixelated platformer, you play as barista Sam as she defeats unruly customers through the power of coffee. This mobile friendly game is already available on the App Store for Apple and the devs intend to have Android compatibility in the future.
Tavern Simulator
Become an entrepreneur in Tavern Simulator, where you run a steampunk bar while also learning of the mysteries surrounding the establishment. You’ll have to make sure you can satisfy your customers so you can stay in business while learning more about the world you are in. You can give it a play on itch.io.
Overall it was an enjoyable event. Seeing new games from new devs is always interesting and the overall energy was pleasant and encouraging. Plus it was cool to see how games are pitched and how these teams created their games.
Visit Indie Game Academy via their website to learn more about their program and initiatives.
