Game Devs of Color Expo
@gdocexpo
Our mission is to amplify the creative power held by people of color in games. We do this by organizing revolutionary events, uniting our vibrant community, & building access to knowledge, funding, and opportunities. EXPO: Sept 22-25 gdoc.events/m/GDoCExpo
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Derek Lieu: More Than Skin Deep: How an Indie Game Trailer is Made From Concept to Completion From the first call with #gamedev to final cut, Derek walks through the full trailer-making process - what to show, what to cut, & how to make your game impossible to scroll past.
GDoC Rewind Episode 3 is live 🎙️ Layoffs. Crunch. Harassment. 4 game workers on why they organized and what United Videogame Workers is building so none of us have to face it alone! 🔗 gdoc.events/m/gdocrewindpodcast #gamedev #GDoCRewind
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Adrienne Bazir: Keep It Small: Using Constraints to Make Your Game Juicy Constraints aren't the enemy of great game design... they might be the secret ingredient. Adrienne, creator of In Stars and Time, shares how limitations can sharpen focus and enhance player experience.
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Derek Kwan: Building a Better Games Industry: Our (Difficult) Journey as a Worker Cooperative In the face of layoffs and labor uncertainty, Derek's studio asked: what if we built something different? A candid talk about reconciling capitalism with worker-centric models.
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Harper Shen: Fabricated Worlds and Heterotopias: Designing a Mixed-Media Narrative Adventure in And Then We Go Party at the Shore Built from felt, clay, and papercuts, this game explores how physical textures and visible artificiality can create a different kind of immersion.
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Mays Dweiri: More Than a Cutscene: Balancing Animation and Interactivity in A Heavy Morning In this talk, Mays explores the conceptual phase of creating A Heavy Morning, a unique hybrid between an animated film & an interactive game about mental health. #GDoCExpo2026 #gamedev
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Ramsey Kharroubi: Crafting a South Asian Soundtrack Within Diaspora: The Music of Dosa Divas Ramsey shares how he scored a South Asian inspired indie game from the perspective of the Palestinian diaspora - navigating grief, identity, and the search for a game's musical soul.
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Nahir Fajardo: Survival is a System: Designing Resilience from the Global South Building a game studio from a rural area in Chile as a neurodivergent mother - Nahir reframes scarcity as a design skill & shares how Stay With Me! was made against the odds.
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Scott Popular: Building Games That Live Beyond the Screen Games go beyond software they can be culture, community, and real-world experience. Scott explores how to build games that create lasting impact beyond the play session. 🎮 #GDoCExpo2026 #gamedev
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Joe Duçens: Creating Decolonial Narratives and Representing Traditional Cultures in Games What does it mean to design for all people when our industry was built on systems that exclude so many? José discusses culture, representation & #games #GDoCExpo2026
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Bloomzeye: Collaborating with Young Artists What does real creative autonomy look like for children, teens, and emerging artists? Bloomzeye draws from their experience teaching #gamedev to young people to explore how we meet the next gen of creators. #GDoCExpo2026
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Chase Bethea: Mystery in the Mix - Enter Caribbean Noir How do you build a musical identity rooted in authentic Caribbean sound? Chase shares the creative and hands-on process behind crafting a genre-defining sonic brand. 🎮 #GDoCExpo2026 #gamedev
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Emma Kidwell: Memoir Games: And You Can, Too! What is a memoir game, and why should you make one? Emma makes the case for personal storytelling as both a powerful artistic statement and a practical tool for narrative designers. 🎮 #GDoCExpo2026 #gamedev
#SpotlightSunday Elfie: A Sand Plan is a relaxing and intuitive puzzle game where you help a small ambitious elephant build some sand castles. Enjoy spending time at the beach with your new rotund friend! So proud of the team for their release!! Let's show them some support! 🐘🏖 #gamedev
GDoC Rewind Episode 2 is live 🎙️ The freedom of remote work can quickly become its own kind of crunch, for you and your team. AAA dev John Diaz breaks down how to set boundaries, stay flexible, and actually survive a career in games. 🔗 gdoc.events/m/gdocrewindpodcast #gamedev #gdocrewind
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Chris Kindred: Skinscribing and Studiobuilding with Ghoul School An honest conversation about starting a studio and launching a first title in one of the most challenging periods the games industry has seen. 🎮 #GDoCExpo
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Neha Patel: Freelancing in Games: Say No!? Freelancing in games can feel like you're always at someone else's mercy, but it doesn't have to be. Neha makes the case that knowing when to say no is one of the most important skills for a long career. 🎮 #GDoCExpo2026 #gamedev
We're partnering with @gamesforchange.bsky.social to send 10 scholars to their NYC festival this July 🎮 Free Standard Ticket ($825 value), GDoCExpo 2026 pass, our online dev community, and an onsite meetup with our squad. Apply by June 30: forms.gle/vKVDPfhb85mW... #gamedev #scholarship
A new way of experiencing all of your fave Game Devs of Color talks is here! GDoC Rewind is our bite-sized, biweekly podcast ft. several great talks from 10+ yrs of Expo, and we’re kicking it off with a season about Surviving the Industry. Listen to Ep 01: ▶ gdoc.events/m/gdocrewind... #gamedev
🎉 GIVEAWAY: We've partnered with @jetbrains.com and we're giving away 2 license codes to game devs & creators in our community! Winners choose from 14 tools: PyCharm, Rider, WebStorm, IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate & more. Each code is worth up to $299. Enter by July 3 👇🏾 mailchi.mp/gamedevsofco...
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Geneva Heyward: How Games Influence Kids to Create Games are a gateway to writing, visual art, and music for young learners. Geneva shares what they've learned teaching grade school students through a games lens. 🎮 #GDoCExpo
SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Tanya Kan: We All Listen, Read, and Build: On Compassionate Project Management With 13 years in game dev and 8 as a lead, Tanya shares how compassion, trust, and shared responsibility can transform how teams build and ship games. #GDoCExpo
#GDoCExpo26 SPEAKER👤 Anchit Sharma: The Anatomy of a Good Jumpscare (in Indie Horror) What makes a jumpscare work? #Gamedev of the Fears to Fathom horror series breaks down the craft behind dread: tension cycles, atmospheric buildup, & why indie horror's lo-fi quirks might be a feature, not a bug.
#SpotlightSunday ⭐ NOMIA is a story-rich tactics roguelike where two heroes coordinate to execute brilliant skill combos. Guide a warrior and a wizard through a mystifying tale. Harness grid-based strategy and deep deckbuilding mechanics to battle gorgeously illustrated foes. #gamedev
⏰ Just a few hours left to apply for GDoCExpo Direct & Steam Sale 2026! If you've been meaning to submit your game, NOW'S THE TIME! We're excited to once again see the creativity and skill from devs of color. Apps close tonight at 11:59 PM ET. It's the final countdown to join this year's expo!
📢 Reminder: Applications for GDoCExpo Direct & Steam Sale 2026 close tonight, June 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET! Showcase your game as part of Game Devs of Color Expo's online event taking place September 22–25, 2026. Don't miss the deadline: www.gamedevsofcolor.org/apply
"I sold more copies in a day than launch week (2 years earlier). A lot of the buyers hadn't wishlisted the game before, they discovered the game through the sale and immediately bought. It was the best sale we've done since launch." - 2025 #gamedev Apply by tomorrow: www.gamedevsofcolor.org/apply
🚀 Join gamescom dev 2026 🎤 First speakers announced! 🎓 scholarship program partner (Deadline: May 28) ▶️ dev.gamescom.global #gamedev