Earlier this year I had an eye opening experience at the UC Davis/Sac State game jam. This first time mom tried to live her former busy, dedicated life by bringing her six-week old baby to the event and quickly realized that, among other things, changing a diaper in a college bathroom with no changing station is not the best start to raising a little human. It was that day when I came to the conclusion that I will no longer be able to commit to the Sacramento Developer Collective like I have in years past where I served as the Vice Chair of IGDA Sacramento, the marketing/outreach coordinator and the co-organizer for the Sacramento Indie Arcade. For the time being, I am stepping away from an active leadership role to focus on my family.  

Who Is the Sacramento Developer Collective?

For those who are new to the conversation, the purpose of this collective is simple: To create opportunity for developers and designers, both aspiring and veteran, to connect and empower one another within our up and coming Sacramento game industry!

To have a place where they can come together and communicate with one another, share ideas, form friendships and to learn ways to get into the indie game, film and music industries PLUS, more importantly, get that project finished!

We have experienced professionals currently in the industry who are making web, PC, mobile, console, board games, film and music! These professionals include game designers, programmers, web developers, animators, 3D modelers, voice actors and more! 

With that said, here are my thoughts on where I would like to see SDC go and grow. 

Focus: I think the focus now should be consistency and growth. 

It is time to start showcasing the studios and developers who are finishing games and earning income. We are more than just event organizers.

Short-term Outlook:

• I think SDC should have one postmortem a quarter if not per month. Events need to expand beyond just the game development side. I think people need a reason to believe. Someone and something to look up to. We also need to, again, focus on those who are completing games. The event would be something similar to what we did with tCubed, Venture Forth, Skirmmish Entertainment. Consider inviting Lucre Games, Cognivive, NorCal Casters, AppA11y, Nascent Games, Tablestar Games, Byte Me Games and of course Square One Clubs.

• Progressive Game Jam site needs to be built.

• Continue building out the database. This will help with future job placements and special assignments.

• Each entity (Sacramento Unity Users group, Sacramento Artists Network, etc.) needs to have a social media presence. Everyone should tag SDC handles (@sacgamedevs and/or@sacdevcreative) on Twitter and Instagram or use #SacDevCollective to amplify their event

• I wanna see pop up game events or pop up arcades throughout different parts of Sacramento & Placer Counties. Similar to this event.

Long-term Outlook:

Goal: Turn this into a non-profit organization.

Educate/Outreach

• I want to continue educating the greater Sacramento area on the benefits of gaming. It is not all negative. Remove the stigma.

• Work with schools and parent/teacher organizations. Bring in speakers to spread the word.

• Maybe even work with churches?

Scholarships

• I would eventually like to be able to offer scholarships to high school and college students looking to further their education in the arts. This should extend to traditional schooling.

Partnerships

• Continue forming partnerships with HackerLab/Operation Innovate/CodeForHood

• Expand to universities and colleges

• Explore Nevada County tech scene, women in games (SF group), local arts groups and musicians.

Fundraisers

How much of this can happen? I'm not sure. But I will continue to be the biggest advocate and cheerleader for this community. 

Stay tuned. 

-B

Do you want to help us further this mission? Feel free to reach out to me @BreeAea on Twitter or via email baea28 at gmail dot com.