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Despelote and Consume Me Lead the Lists of Finalists for the 27th Annual Independent Games Festival

Paul Philleo
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Despelote and Consume Me Lead the Lists of Finalists for the 27th Annual Independent Games Festival

SAN FRANCISCO – January 15, 2025 – Organizers of the 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC) have revealed the finalists for the 27th annual awards ceremony of the Independent Games Festival (IGF), the longest-running festival, summit and showcase celebrating independent games and their creators. The IGF is part of the 2025 Game Developers Conference, which will be held in person at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center from March 17 – 21.

Leading the pack with five nominations is Consume Me by developers Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken “coda” Snyder, followed by Despelote which has the distinction of having four nominations. Consume Me is a darkly humorous personal game about creator Jenny Jiao Hsia’s relationship with food, drawing from her past experiences with dieting and disordered eating. It’s nominated for Excellence in Design, Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Visual Arts, the Nuovo Award, and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Despelote, from developers Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena, is a slice-of-life adventure about childhood and the magical grip soccer held over the people of Quito, Ecuador in 2001 that’s been nominated for Excellence in Audio, Excellence in Narrative, the Nuovo Award, and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize

In addition to the categories listed below, the Audience Award is welcoming the GDC audience to weigh in on their favorite independent game of the year, and the public can cast their vote from the Audience Award ballot located here.

After an initial assessment completed by hundreds of judges, almost 500 entries for the 2025 IGF Awards were distributed to a diverse set of expert jurors from across the games industry for final consideration. This is a special aspect of the IGF Awards as it puts the power in the hands of current video game professionals, allowing them to vote and decide on the best independent games of the year. The juries for each category (Audio, Visual, Student, Nuovo, Design, Narrative and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize) then selected the finalists after playing, discussing and meticulously evaluating them.

The winners will be announced during the Independent Games Festival Awards, taking place at the 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC) on Wednesday, March 26 (with a simultaneous broadcast on GDC Twitch). The IGF Awards ceremony immediately precede the Game Developers Choice Awards, which recognizes the best games of the year across all sections of video game development. All GDC 2025 pass-holders can attend both the Game Developers Choice Awards and IGF ceremonies in person at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

The full list of finalists for each category of the 2025 Independent Games Festival, along with “honorable mentions,” is as follows:

Best Student Game
A Dual Ascent (Mountain Toad Entertainment /  Rubika Supinfogame)
DisplaceMen (Eversea Club / leafaleaves)
Growth Spurt: A Meandering Intermission into the Afterhours of a Miscalculation (Games for my Computer)
Slot Waste (Vinny Roca / pickpanpuck productions)
The WereCleaner (Howlin’ Hugs / USC Games)
Year Unknown (Julian Heuser)

Honorable Mentions:
Cards of Heart (GoodMind Games), Duck Paradox (Magic Games / Midwest Games), Lost Garden (Ori Shany, Yoni Pushett, Ramon Zerem), Perfect World (Michael Overton Brown), Timeworks (Starworks Studios)

Excellence in Audio
Anger Foot (Free Lives / Devolver Digital)
Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
ODDADA (Sven Ahlgrimm, Mathilde Hoffmann, Bastian Clausdorff)
Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
Utopia Must Fall (Pixeljam)

Honorable Mentions:
Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX),  Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive), Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games / Playstack), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Balatro logo
LocalThunk’s Belatro has won several awards already and is one of the contenders at the 2025 IGF (image: LocalThunk)

Excellence in Design
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)
Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments)

Honorable Mentions:
Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi), UFO 50 (Mossmouth), LOK Digital (Letibus Design, Icedrop Games / Draknek and Friends), Eigengrau (Martin Mauersics), The Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games / Playstack)

Excellence in Narrative
Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games)
Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi)

Honorable Mentions:
Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury), Miniatures (Other Tales Interactive), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments), Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic), The Thaumaturge (Fool’s Theory / 11 bit studios)

Excellence in Visual Arts
Children of the Sun (René Rother / Devolver Digital)
Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
Hauntii (Moonloop Games / Firestoke)
Judero (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya)
Nine Sols (RedCandleGames)
Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)

Honorable Mentions:
Crow Country (SFB Games), Death of the Reprobate (Joe Richardson), Miniatures (Other Tales Interactive), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive)

Nuovo Award
Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity (Sam Atlas)
Ginger (Kevin Du / lizu ktap)
individualism in the dead-internet age: an anti-big tech asset flip shovelware rant manifesto (alienmelon)
Starship Home (Creature)
tapeçaria (tapestry) (mut/moochi (with help from plunderludics working group))
The Exit 8 (KOTAKE CREATE / Active Gaming Media Inc)

Honorable Mentions:
Arctic Eggs (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex / CRITICAL REFLEX) , Judero (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya), Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity (Kas Ghobadi, Julián Palacios Gechtman / Kasrah Ghobadi), Price of Flight (WATERBOX), Project Y (Project_Y Production Committee), Refind Self: The Personality Test Game (Lizardry / PLAYISM)

UFO 50 logo, featuring many of the characters from the game
Among other acclaimed indie game wreathed with awards, UFO 50 is a nominee for the Seamus McNally Prize at the IGF in 2025 (image: Mossmouth)

Seumas McNally Grand Prize
Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios
Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic)
UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Honorable Mentions:
Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)
Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX)
Nine Sols (RedCandleGames)
Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments)

The Independent Games Festival has served as a springboard for breakthrough independent titles. Previous IGF prize winners include Venba, Anthology of the Killer, Mediterranea Inferno, Cryptmaster, Phonopolis, and many more critical and cultural hits.

For more details on the Game Developers Conference, please visit the GDC’s official website, as well as gamedeveloper.com. You can also subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS. Official photos are available via the Official GDC Flickr account: www.flickr.com/photos/officialgdc/.

Video of the Month — AGDQ 2025 Super Metroid Race

Paul Philleo
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Video of the Month — AGDQ 2025 Super Metroid Race

At this year’s Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) marathon gaming event, there were plenty of fantastic highlights, speedruns, races, and other events, hosted both live in Pittsburgh, PA and virtually. One of the biggest highlights of the event wasn’t directly about games but that, importantly, AGDQ 2025 helped raise over $2.5 million from their community for the cancer prevention cause.

Digging through the wealth of great runs and race for January 2025’s video of the month, we’re going to look at a longer YouTube video of a four-way Super Metroid race between four veteran Twitch speedrunners. Super Metroid is a highly-acclaimed Super Nintendo action-adventure game from 1994, which has fostered a community in recent years around running through different routes in the game to achieve the fastest possible time.

Another way to play super Metroid competitively is with a maps randomizer, also known as “rando” maps,” which shuffles rooms, items, and paths, thus making each game unique. And these four racers, Oatsngoats, Eddie, Andy, and Imyt showed their speed and improvisation skills competing with each other over the almost hour-and-a-half video from the live event at AGDQ. What can make a race like that even more challenging is the complex demands of fully controlling the character, Samus Aran. Especially in front of a large live in-person and online audience crackling with energy.

Check out the entire video of the race hosted on Oatsngoats’ YouTube channel. Of course, you who can watch this very rivalrous race and find out who comes out on top at the end of the race (no spoilers from us!), along with commentary.

Did you attend AGDQ 2025, maybe as a speedrunner, a volunteer, or an attendee of another kind? Feel free to share your thoughts about it below or on our social media posts about this story!

Whether you are an event coordinator, press, or general attendee, if you have an event video to share with us, please let us know and we’ll be happy to feature it!

Evo Unveils New Details for Awards Show and 2025 Events With Continued Focus on Celebrating the Fighting Game Community

Paul Philleo
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Evo Unveils New Details for Awards Show and 2025 Events With Continued Focus on Celebrating the Fighting Game Community
LOS ANGELES (January 14, 2025) – Evolution Championship Series (known as Evo), revealed today additional details for its inaugural Evo Awards powered by Qiddiya and plans for its flagship event in Las Vegas, seeking to become the largest tournament in esports history once again. Evo is dedicated to attracting generations of players and thousands of spectators, while connecting them as a community and culture through its global events.
The 2025 Evo event calendar kicks off on February 15 in Los Angeles with the inaugural Evo Awards to celebrate the icons of the fighting game community and the future trailblazers. Voting is now open across 21 categories at evo.gg for fans to celebrate their favorite moments and players. Hosted by international talent Majin Obama with featured special guests including Maximilian Dood, the invite-only event will be streamed live on Evo’s Twitch Channel, along with never-before-seen announcements from some of Evo’s publishing partners. As part of the pre-show, FGC legends Justin Wong, Michael “IFC Yipes” Mendoza, Sanford Kelly, and Duc Do will take center stage for a Marvel vs Capcom 2 “Tournament of Champions” destined to become an Evo classic moment.
The Las Vegas Convention Center will host Evo’s biggest event of the year on August 1-3 and welcomes back Chipotle® as presenting partner for the third year in a row. Registration to compete is now open at evo.gg in the featured Arena tournaments, including:
  • SNK’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves – 1st appearance at Evo
  • Cygames’ Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising – 2nd appearance at Evo
  • Arc System Works’ Guilty Gear -Strive- – 4th appearance at Evo
  • Capcom’s Marvel vs Capcom 2 – throwback tournament
  • Warner Bros. Games’ Mortal Kombat 1 – 2nd appearance at Evo
  • Capcom’s Street Fighter 6 – 3rd appearance at Evo
  • Bandai Namco Entertainment’s TEKKEN 8 – 2nd appearance at Evo
  • Arc System Works’ Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes – 2nd appearance at Evo
Evo is also launching an extended tournament lineup featuring Aether Studios’ Rivals of Aether II, SNK’s The King of Fighters XV, Arc System Works’ Blazblue Centralfiction and Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, and more. Evo will share more details during the Evo Awards.
Spectator tickets for the three-day fighting game tournament and culture festival are also on sale Feb 15 at evo.gg, including a refreshed ticketing experience for fans to purchase designated tickets for the Arena tournaments in the largest capacity for an Evo Arena to date.
Evo isn’t all about the competition, as fans can explore more than 600,000 sq ft on the Show Floor connecting them as a community and culture. Evo welcomes back an even larger arcade with massive dedicated freeplay console areas. The Evo Art Museum returns and will host featured guest artist JB Style and more to be announced. Classic FGC art will be available in the museum gift shop along with meet and greet opportunities during the event. VampyBitMe will host the Cosplay Contest as part of the Evo Art Museum programming.
The Evo Showcase is back with special events, industry panels, reveals and more, along with publisher booths, game-inspired photo opps, the Artist Alley showcasing fighting game focused artists, and the Qiddiya Legends Lounge which was a fan favorite in 2024.
“Evo continues to iterate and expand on what it means to be the world’s largest fighting game festival,” said Rick Thiher, General Manager of Evo. “This year we’re excited to be seeing new games on-site and are thrilled by the extended tournament lineup, expanded arcade, new featured artists, and community programming that is bringing fighting game culture to every corner of the show.”
Evo returns to Japan on May 9-11 at Tokyo Big Sight and will also feature two five-on-five tournaments with STREET FIGHTER III 3rd STRIKE -Fight for the Future- and Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. Evo will make its European debut at the Palais des Expos in Nice, France, on October 10-12 and also announced it will expand to Singapore in 2026. The list of Evo Award Categories are below.
Evo Awards Categories:
  • Best Pop Off
  • FGC Content of the Year
  • FGC Meme of the Year
  • Comeback of the Year
  • Match of the Year Award
  • Best Commentator Duo
  • Best Commentator Call
  • Best Custom Hardware
  • Best FGC Cosplay
  • Best Dressed
  • Best Button of the Year
  • Tech of the Year
  • Marketing Campaign of the Year
  • Fighting Game Release of the Year
  • They’ve Got Next
  • Best FGC Local
  • Invitational of the Year
  • Content Creator of the Year
  • Commentator of the Year
  • Player of the Year
  • Moment of the Year

The Three Biggest Takeaways from CES 2025

Paul Philleo
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The Three Biggest Takeaways from CES 2025

Whether you attended CES 2025 or not, a few features about this massive tech showcase event distinguished themselves to folks watching and taking in the flood of tech-savvy info dumps streaming out from Las Vegas. But several trends stood out this year’s CES, from our point of view.

AI is not going anywhere, and its use will keep expanding

If artificial intelligence (AI) was big at last year’s CES, then at this year’s show, tech companies doubled down. Whether AI was essential or not, AI was seemingly baked into most new product reveals and showcases. That means, as consumers, we can expect to see AI in most new feature bullet points for new tech products shown at CES that are rolled out this year. eMarketer sums up some of the more unusual entries into AI-powered products, such as bird feeder, a pet collar, and a spice dispenser.

For gamers, of course, some of these innovations revealed at CES will have meaningful impact. For example, NVIDIA showed off their soon-to-be-released GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs (based on AI data center-class Blackwell architecture) with AI-enhanced features, such as neural shaders, geometry and lighting Not to be outdone, semiconductor giant and NVIDIA competitor, AMD, announced Ryzen AI Max chips, which are aimed at top-end gaming-class laptops. These chips are expected to feature up to 128GB of unified memory, and on the AI side, a neural processing unit (NPU) that can achieve a 50 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) benchmark.

Among all the hardware and software examples at CES we could share, one that was pretty unique was an attention-getting demo by hardware company, Razer — namely, Project AVA, a gaming and esports AI coach. At CES 2025, it was a concept, but the company is taking sign-ups for Project AVA beta testing.

Many social media posts reflected this awareness how AI has quickly been integral to many of the products shown at CES 2025:

Influencer and content creator impact growing

With CES making arguably its biggest post-COVID era impact this year, influencers and content creators, such as Twitch streamers and YouTubers, are making a bigger splash this year in the media and journalism mix. The changing mix is not by accident either. According to a PR Week post:

“It’s just slightly shifting,” she (Cecile Missildine, EVP and head of EMEA for Archetyp) explains. “It’s amazing the number of journalists, and some clients are amazed with the quality and quantity of media, and the additional layer [of influencers].”

CES itself has played no small part in attracting influencers and content creators. The organizers launched a dedicated “creator space” for this week’s event, with prime real estate in the Central Hall Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center and sponsorship by Sony.

Of course, social media overflowed with clips, snapshots and takes on the new creator space offered, including from CES organizers themselves.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by CES (@ces)

With the larger, more diverse media mix at CES 2025, content creators and influencers have been changing how companies, marketers, and events themselves are reaching out and soliciting attention. This fast-changing mix, reflected at CES 2025, also affects what constitutes editorial, sponsorships, partnerships, and advertising. With CES having led the way, it’ll be interesting to see if other events may follow the lead CES has taken.

Big-tech event experiences evolve

With a return to pre-COVID energy comes a return of big keynote and other high-visibility events, including keynotes. Perhaps the most impactful example wasn’t NVIDIA’s keynote by CEO Jensen Huang (although many gamers and cutting-edge techies may disagree). Almost every event and reveal at CES 2025 was outshone by Delta Air Line’s keynote at the Las Vegas Sphere, a massive spherical venue with state-of-the-art audio-visual capabilities.

‘An airline company? A game-changing keynote? How is that even possible?’ you might be thinking.

But, according to attendees who posted about it, Delta stole the show by using the Sphere’s 360 degree immersion plus deeply personal storytelling, made possible by the venue to tell their story in a meaningful and powerful way. Celebrities, such as Viola Davis, Tom Brady and Lenny Kravitz (who had a stage concert), swag giveaways to Delta SkyMiles members, and much more. Numerous attendees, even cynical long-timers, seemed impressed by this carefully crafted presentation. Take a look at this CNET story as an example of the impression the keynote left. Or social media posts like:

It’s likely that event planners and marketers will take notes from this keynote this year, as they use creative venues, technologies, and storytelling, plus perks and incentives to make as much of an impact as Delta Air Line’s keynote apparently had.

Many of these impactful technologies, trends, and experiences will surely make their way into CES 2026 planning, but we’ll have to wait until January 2026 to see!

Product Review: GUNNAR Fallout Vault 33 Gamer Glasses

Paul Philleo
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Product Review: GUNNAR Fallout Vault 33 Gamer Glasses

In the Amazon Prime streaming series hit, Fallout, based on the post-apocalyptic game franchise from Bethesda Games, there’s a lot of edgy, biting comedy and snark between two of the main characters, Lucy and Cooper. One of the better moments during the first season occurs when protagonist Lucy says to the ghoulish anti-hero and unlikely traveling partner, Cooper, “I may end up looking like you, but I’ll never be like you.” 

Well, that prediction may or may not prove out in the series, but as it happens, there’s a way to emulate some of the look that may be familiar to both the Fallout streaming show and fans of the gaming series. That is, if you’re looking for GUNNAR Optiks glasses — namely, the Fallout Vault 33 Gamer Glasses.

Since the company’s founding in 2006, GUNNAR’s main claim to fame is their blue light-blocking lenses used by gamers and other folks who put their eyes in focus in front of screens for hours a day. While computers and mobile devices frequently have blue light- blockers baked in, we’re still often in front of many screens a day where unfiltered blue light reaches our eyes. Blue light exposure has been demonstrated to cause fatigue and discomfort with eyestrain and even reduced sleep quality, so folks who put in longer hours gaming, laptop work time, and so on, will feel the effects in front of pixels the most.

We’ll find out how well the GUNNAR Fallout Vault 33 gamer glasses can do in some use cases.

The package deal:

The GUNNAR Optiks Fallout Vault 33 gamer glasses came packaged in a GUNNAR-branded gray-and-white cardboard box. Inside is a foam sleeve and an electric blue cargo box-themed metal glasses case inside of that.

GUNNAR Optiks cardboard case (above) and Fallout Vault 33 case in foam sleeve (below)
GUNNAR cardboard case (above) and Fallout Vault 33 aluminum case in foam sleeve (below) (image: E4G)

The case features the “Vault-Tec 33 Industries” logo in yellow on one side and the Fallout and GUNNAR logos on the other. It’s cool branding — and of course, it’ll be immediately familiar to Fallout fans. 

Inside the case itself, the glasses are nested inside the similarly blue-colored microfiber bag with a yellow drawstring. The bag is dominated by the Vault Boy mascot with his well-known smile and thumbs-up pose. Folded underneath the glasses sits the electric blue microfiber cloth with the “Vault-Tec 33 Industries” logo in yellow. 

The distinctive Fallout Vault 33 glasses case
The distinctive Fallout Vault 33 glasses case (image: E4G)
Opened Fallout Vault 33 GUNNAR glasses case, with the glasses and microfiber ouch inside
Opened Fallout Vault 33 GUNNAR glasses case, with the glasses and microfiber ouch inside (image: E4G)

The glasses themselves are olive and gunmetal, which, while breaking out of the blue-and-yellow styling of the accessories, fit well with the amber lenses. The frames are thicker and had a goggle-like feel, kind of steampunk in my initial impression, while the temple arms are much thinner. The amber lenses are familiar to anyone who’s worn blue light-blocking lenses before.

GUNNAR Optiks Fallout Vault 33 Gamer Glasses folded
GUNNAR Fallout Vault 33 gamer glasses folded (image: E4G)

From a marketing perspective, the consistent and neat Fallout-themed branding of the glasses stood out the most. Many gamers are likely to appreciate that touch.

Let’s move on to see how they look and feel when worn.

Performance:

First of all, I should note that the version of the Fallout Vault 33 gamer glasses I’m reviewing are non-prescriptive. Since my vision isn’t quite 20/20, I’ll focus on their value for big-screen usage and general use in different environments — excluding high-focus environments.

Wearing the GUNNAR Optiks Fallout Vault 33 glasses
Wearing the GUNNAR Optiks Fallout Vault 33 glasses (image: E4G)

The thick frames were slightly distracting at the edges of my field of vision, but overall, the lenses should be large enough for most potential wearers. Also, you can feel the heft of the nylon and stainless steel used in the body of the glasses. At 20 grams (about 7 ounces), the bit of weight lends a feel of solidity and sturdiness compared to lighter. With the help of the spring hinges, they also feel like they’re less likely to slip and slide when worn — even for a few hours at a time. 

The lenses themselves did an excellent job helping create a clear, brighter, higher-contrast outdoors view near water, in snow, in dense fog, in bright sun— luckily, with only a  minimum of squinting required. Cleaning up the lenses with the microfiber cloth was easy, including most smudges and smears. From a gaming perspective, playing games on a large-screen LED TV, including fast-moving action games, was more comfortable with my eyes not feeling the strain after several play sessions of at least one hour.

Official specs:  

  • Lens width: 52 mm; lens height: 42 mm; nose: 22 mm; frame width: 139 mm; temple: 145 mm; weight: 20 grams (without packaging)
  • Retro-futuristic square style stainless steel and nylon frame material
  • GUNNAR patented lens technology
  • G-Shield lens coating: anti-reflective and smudge resistant
  • Blocks harmful blue light and 100% UV
  • Officially licensed from Amazon Studios 
  • Package includes collectors glasses case, collectors microfiber pouch, collectors microfiber cleaning cloth
  • 24-month warranty

Value:

While some sites, including the official GUNNAR website offer the glasses at their MSRP of $99.99, as is often the case, Amazon offers the GUNNAR Optiks Fallout Vault 33 glasses at a discount. For around $77-78, buyers can pick between two different lens types for almost identical discount pricing. If Fallout branding isn’t a priority, Amazon and Best Buy both offer the well-reviewed GUNNAR Intercept glasses for $49.

Of course, if someone interested is seeking lower-priced options from well-known companies. like Razer, who offer their Anzu smart blue light glasses on Amazon for $39.99.  HyperX offers their Spectre Stealth blue light-blocking glasses on discount for $34.99 (from $39.99) at Amazon as well.

Pros:

  • Durable lenses, solid frame, and feels unlikely to be easily damaged from normal wear
  • Comfortable fit (at least for my head and face, which is on the larger side)
  • Bonus points in the glasses’ favor if you’re a Fallout series fan: The branding is on-point with the case, the lens cloth, as well as the styling of the glasses as well.

Cons:

  • There are certainly feature-comparable blue light lenses for less than the MSRP cost of these glasses (but the established GUNNAR brand, warranty, and Fallout theme might compensate for it for some buyers).

Ideal for: These GUNNAR Optiks gamer glasses are well-made and durable for indoor or outdoor use, big screen-gaming, or with a prescriptive adjustment, possibly for up-close mobile/computer work and play. Amber lenses aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, of course, but there’s a clear-lensed version (that blocks less blue light) or the blue-lensed sunglasses version (that blocks more blue light) of these glasses available too, with customizable add-ons for the prescription lenses. The $99 MSRP may be a bit steep for some folks, but the 24-month warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship should help many buyers breathe a sigh of relief.  

Among the wide variety of gamer glasses GUNNAR makes, these glasses get a special thumbs-up if you’re a fan of the Fallout franchise, whether from the gaming or TV series side. 

The Fallout Vault 33 Gamer Glasses glasses are recommended for gaming-forward folks who want to make a pop culture or gaming fashion statement — and visual clarity, comfort, and functionality matters just as much. 

Game Industry Event Insights of 2024

Mathew Anderson
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Game Industry Event Insights of 2024

2024 was a year of triumphs and tribulations for nearly everyone, and even if you weren’t directly affected by massive industry layoffs and chaotic office mandates, someone probably relied on you for advice or simply a shoulder to cry on. Even in the best of times the game industry can be a turbulent and unpredictable behemoth. Ever since the pandemic knocked on our lives though, we have been tip-toeing our way forward day-by-day with caution.

Let’s help each other to move forward. We’ve been through a lot together these past few years, so it is our honor to provide another series of conference and convention event-focused datapoints for you to reflect upon in this inaugural 2024 Game Industry Events Insights infographic edition.

Featured in the infographic:

  • Top event talking points
  • Number of major events
  • Number of onsite vs online vs hybrid events
  • Percentage of professionals attending events
  • Top voices we recognize
  • Top event cities per world region

As we mentioned in our Featured Game Industry Events of 2024 article, we expect 2025 to reveal a shining light at the end of this dark tunnel. The suffocation of so many brilliant minds is going to come to an end and creative outlets for all will be found once again. Have hope, it will happen!

Until then, look towards our industry event calendar for your latest networking events to attend. We are here for your event needs!

Author: Mathew Anderson, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Events for Gamers, Community Manager for the computer game industry (KingsIsle, Portalarium, Petroglyph), and Public Relations Manager and Communication Specialist for various other industries.

ex-KingsIsle Entertainment Community Manager

Happy holidays, event community!

Mathew Anderson
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Happy holidays, event community!

A little snow (if you’re lucky), some hot chocolate (with a bit of zing perhaps), family and friends (or at least family-friendly neighbors), and you have one of the best times of the year! Sure, there are few events going on right now, but it makes this time of year all the more exciting to know that the new year is set for having some amazing events kicking off right after the holidays (starting with CES in Las Vegas).

Thank you, dear reader, for being on this incredible journey at Events for Gamers with us. 2024 was a year that propelled the site forward in ways we are only just now beginning to realize. Without your support, we would be hundreds of events behind, WordPress iterations out of date, and wonderful human connections distant from where we are today.

Beyond 2024 and diving soon into 2025, we continue to need your support. Please let us know if you are available to write articles, find new events to add to the calendar, or have your own event and industry coverage you wish us to share. It’s all needed and the crowning jewel of our site’s success – your contributions.

For now, from all of us at Events for Gamers, we hope you have a safe and happy holidays! See you at next year’s events! 🎄 🎄

Author: Mathew Anderson, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Events for Gamers, Community Manager for the computer game industry (KingsIsle, Portalarium, Petroglyph), and Public Relations Manager and Communication Specialist for various other industries.

ex-KingsIsle Entertainment Community Manager

TOKYO INDIE GAMES SUMMIT Teases Exhibitor List, Sponsors for March 2025 Convention

Paul Philleo
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0
TOKYO INDIE GAMES SUMMIT Teases Exhibitor List, Sponsors for March 2025 Convention

TOKYO — Dec. 18th, 2024 — TOKYO INDIE GAMES SUMMIT, the digital and in-person Japanese event showcasing indie games from local and global developers, announces its first crop of exhibitors participating in the two-day showcase occurring on Saturday, March 8th, and Sunday, March 9th, 2025.

Bask in glorious new additions to Japan’s gaming, music, and anime scene as TOKYO INDIE GAMES SUMMIT brings world-class indie game innovation to the art-fueled city of Kichijoji. Go hands-on with the latest content developed and published by event sponsors, including Phoenixx Inc., Bandai Namco Studios Inc. BYKING, BeXide, CRI Middleware Co., Ltd., G-Mode Corporation, KADOKAWA, MyDearest, room6, Shochiku Co., Ltd., Scooter Films and Yokaze.

TOKYO INDIE GAMES SUMMIT extends a special thanks to this year’s production partners, including Shibuya’s animation and game design university Digital Hollywood Studio as well as custom-controller-based game development event make.ctrl.Japan. 2025’s event partners include Digital Games Expo and Bandai Namco’s indie-focused GYAAR Studio.

To build upon its 2024 offerings, next year’s TOKYO INDIE GAMES SUMMIT will expand the exhibition areas, while continuing to provide a multi-day experience for industry professionals and consumers alike. Exhibitors can network with gaming professionals on Day One, and attendees of all ages, genders and nationalities will find fresh experiences on Day Two.

“There was so much creativity on display during last year’s TOKYO INDIE GAME SUMMIT, and it is a joy to know that we’re able to provide an even larger platform than we had last year to showcase even more titles than before,” says Kazunori Sakamoto, CEO of Phoenixx and founder of TOKYO INDIE GAMES SUMMIT. “Many thanks to this year’s partners who help make this event possible. We have more surprises to share as we approach March; stay tuned!”

TOKYO INDIE GAMES SUMMIT is looking for sponsors, partner companies, and organizations to help with the event. There are options available for exhibition booths, logo exposure, and more. If interested, please reach out to contact@indiegamessummit.tokyo.

For more information, please visit the TOKYO INDIE GAMES SUMMIT official website, follow @TOKYO_IGS on X (formerly Twitter), and search for #TIGS2023, #TIGS2024, #TIGS2025 on social media.

Feature Your Event Photos With Us!

Mathew Anderson
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0
Feature Your Event Photos With Us!

Do you love taking photos at events? Whether you are exploring a conference series of panels or a booth hall at a convention center, we would love to share your experience!

You can capture several photos and videos and even write an article about the event if you like. We will feature your work (you are the author/copyright) on our front page and social media channels! Contact us.

Thanks!

Author: Mathew Anderson, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Events for Gamers, Community Manager for the computer game industry (KingsIsle, Portalarium, Petroglyph), and Public Relations Manager and Communication Specialist for various other industries.

ex-KingsIsle Entertainment Community Manager

Local Australian and Global Creative Superstars take home multiple trophies at the Australian XR Festival Awards 2024!

Mathew Anderson
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0
Local Australian and Global Creative Superstars take home multiple trophies at the Australian XR Festival Awards 2024!

Sydney, Australia: The Australian XR Festival Awards 2024 was the final event of the year for the Australian XR Festival 2024 held at The State Library of New South Wales.

The Australian XR Festival Awards showcase and celebrate leading talent in the creative tech industries including those working in Gaming, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Creative AI, Animation and Digital Arts.

A Strong line-up of finalists included industry heavyweights Toast Interactive, Shared Memory, Nathie and Eye Jack.

The awards ceremony concluded the Australian XR Festival, which included industry events and a public showcase, offering the opportunity for people to experience some of the world’s best creative technology in person.

Festival Director and Founder Matt Kirby was blown away by the quality of the award submissions, as well as the public response to the festival, being held in Sydney for the first time after previously being in Melbourne.

“It gave the people of Sydney the opportunity to experience Virtual Reality technologies – some for the first time – or play their favourite game on the giant screen at the State Library of New South Wales.”

The awards showcased both local and international talent making an impact globally through seven different categories and three special multi-category awards.

US-based Shared Memory took home Best in Console Gaming as well as Best in the World (across all categories) for the global smash hit “Animal Well”.  Popular VR Social Media Superstar Nathie won Content Creator of the Year after an impressive year of entertaining content.

Closer to home, Gold Coast-based Toast Interactive won Best in Virtual Reality Gaming as well as Best in Australia for the impressive “Max Mustard”.  EyeJack won both Best in Augmented Reality Experiences and Best in Virtual Reality Experiences for “The Dream Machine Experience” which Mr Kirby was an incredible achievement as they were two very different formats requiring thousands of hours of work to complete one let alone two experiences.

Australian XR Festival category winners are listed below:

Best in Animation
Darwin the Dreamer
By Don Dixon

Best in Augmented Reality Experiences
The Dream Machine Experience
By Artistic Director – Nona Hendryx
AR/VR Director & Principal Artist – Sutu Campbell
Executive Producer – Ichun Yen
Producer – Dana Greenfield
Art & Technology Company – EyeJack

Best in Console Gaming
Animal Well
By Shared Memory
Director & Producer & Lead Artist:
Billy Basso
Key Collaborators:
Dan Adelman, Jason Gastrow & Leah Gastrow

Best in Creative AI
When I’m an Astronaut
By Samantha Pillay

Content Creator of the Year
Nathie
Nathaniel de Jong

Best in Digital Art 
No Beginning
By ReVerse Butcher & Kylie Supski

Best in Virtual Experiences
The Dream Machine Experience
By Artistic Director – Nona Hendryx
AR/VR Director & Principal Artist – Sutu Campbell
Executive Producer – Ichun Yen
Producer – Dana Greenfield
Art & Technology Company – EyeJack

Best in Virtual Reality (VR) Gaming
Max Mustard
By Toast Interactive
Executive Producer – Nathan Anderson
Executive Producer – Toni Eastes
Executive Producer – Kylee Kay
Creative Director – Richard Eastes

Best in New South Wales
The Dream Machine Experience
By Artistic Director – Nona Hendryx
AR/VR Director & Principal Artist – Sutu Campbell
Executive Producer – Ichun Yen
Producer – Dana Greenfield
Art & Technology Company – EyeJack

Best in Australia
Max Mustard
By Toast Interactive
Executive Producer – Nathan Anderson
Executive Producer – Toni Eastes
Executive Producer – Kylee Kay
Creative Director – Richard Eastes

Best in the World
Animal Well
By Shared Memory
Director & Producer & Lead Artist:
Billy Basso
Key Collaborators:
Dan Adelman, Jason Gastrow & Leah Gastrow

The Australian XR Festival was founded off the back of the hugely successful Qld XR Festival, which launched in 2021 and continues to grow every year.

The Australian XR Festival would like to recognise the wonderful support of the people of Sydney for attending as well as the global creative community for their world-class submissions.

“Year-on-year we are seeing incredible growth both in the creativity of the submissions and the number of people coming to experience them.”

Find The Australian XR Festival Online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AusXRFestival
Titktok: https://tiktok.com/@ausxrfestival
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ausxrfestival/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ausxrfestival
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AustralianXRFestival/
Website: https://www.australianxrfestival.com

Video of the Month — An Indie Game Developer’s Experience at MDEV 2024

Paul Philleo
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0
Video of the Month — An Indie Game Developer’s Experience at MDEV 2024

Last month, MDEV (The Midwest Game Industry Conference) was hosted in Madison, WI, and brought hundreds of developers, thought leaders, and others on November 7-8. Among them were a number of indie gamed developers who showed off their games to attendees. This month we’re focusing on an indie developer’s experience at the MDEV 2024 conference, both on-the-floor and behind-the-scenes.

Posted by YouTuber VELI, this video diary shows what it was like for Still Pending Games to attend MDEV 2024, set up, and demo their game. The game in question, Project Name: Androidmada, is a twin-stick hybrid RTS under development for multiple platforms.

Clocking in at just over half an hour in length, this video includes a mix of snippets from behind Still Pending Games’ game demo (what was working, what was not, and feedback from the attendees) via clips from the expo and networking areas and off the show floor. One of the main takeaways from this video is that making sure an in-development game is in tip-top shape for attendees, removing bugs, improving polish is all part of indie developer life — even if it means late nights during the event itself.

If you’re an indie developer wanting to participate in a gaming event, this is a good video to watch, capturing the look and feel of what it’s like to participate in a gaming event to show off your work. At the end, the video is wrapped up in a bow, touching on what next steps might be for the developers.

Want to check out the whole enchilada? Here’s the YouTube video, “Showing Off Our Game at MDEV 2024“!

Did you attend MDEV 2024, whether as an indie game developer or an attendee of another kind? Feel free to share your thoughts about it below or on our social media posts about this story!

Whether you are an event coordinator, press, or general attendee, if you have an event video to share with us, please let us know and we’ll be happy to feature it!

January 2025 Game Industry Conference and Convention Events Calendar

Mathew Anderson
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0
January 2025 Game Industry Conference and Convention Events Calendar

Hello January Juxtaposition. We mention the term ‘Juxtaposition’ because of the state the game industry is in currently. We are STILL neck-deep in company’s laying off good people, and it saddens us greatly. Three years into this doldrums and at first glance 2025 is not looking like it may be much better.

We believe 2025 will be better though. Why? Because it has to be. This isn’t a scientific consensus or even a rational argument, but it is a statement filled with hope and determination that if we all help each other progress forward, forward we will march. To that end, please continue the support of Amir Satvat’s Gaming Community and others like it to help developers in need.

Meanwhile, attending events and networking is the next best thing you can do to help out your career enter its next stage. We’ve put together yet another great list of events you can attend for the coming month. January is the beginning of a new year with new opportunities. Seize them!

Many of the listed events are included in the calendar thanks to your contributions in submitting events to the calendar.

We are also looking for folks who want to get some editorial experience (or just prestige of attending an event) by writing about their event experiences (or simply taking photos showcasing an event you are attending). Let us know if you want to contribute!

Thank you so much for continuing to support us!

January 7-10: CES | B2C | Las Vegas, NV USA
19: Shovel Knight Live | B2C | Los Angeles, CA USA
20-21: Pocket Gamer Connects London | B2B | London, UK
20-26: Global Game Jam | MIX | Online
21: 14th Annual New York Game Awards | B2B | New York, NY USA
23-24: Asia Pacific Game Summit | B2B | Nangang, Taiwan
23-26: Super MAGFest | B2C | National Harbor, Maryland USA
23-26: Taipei Game Show | B2C | Nangang, Taiwan
28-30: Arctic Game Dev | B2B | Umea, Sweden

Visit the main event calendar that includes events throughout the year and beyond.

Which events are you attending this month? Let us know by commenting on this article here or on Twitter and Facebook!

New Beta View!

We’ve made some additions to the overview, including a new test view of the events right from the calendar itself listed below.

There are no upcoming events at this time

Author: Mathew Anderson, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Events for Gamers, Community Manager for the computer game industry (KingsIsle, Portalarium, Petroglyph), and Public Relations Manager and Communication Specialist for various other industries.

ex-KingsIsle Entertainment Community Manager
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