Recap of Winter4ever: A Game Dev Gathering 2021~

This winter, a member of the Rad Magpie community and dear friend of ours, Amila Nuhodžić, approached us with an idea for an event. Amila, like the whole RM team, was feeling isolated in the depths of COVID winter and wanted to host an event that would bring together the gamedev community and reignite our creative fires.

We jumped at the opportunity — what a perfect way to inspire and empower developers! We planned a mini-conference to be hosted online in the middle of March, the longest stretch of winter for those based in Vermont and Montreal like Amila and our team. We curated a condensed online event consisting of a panel, talks, and portfolio reviews. Our goals were to support marginalized voices, share knowledge, and bring visibility to the game dev community around Vermont and beyond!

Winter4ever: a game dev gathering kicked off with a “midday mingle,” a casual Zoom room where attendees could get to know one another as they trickled in. The main programming started with a Q&A panel on freelancing and contract work. This was followed by the keynote, a really thought-provoking look at “The Forgotten Feminist History of Agile Development.” After the keynote were five microtalks, 5-minute presentations by community members on the subjects of their choosing. We wrapped up the event with a few private portfolio reviews that matched junior developers with mentors in the industry.

All of the presentations were recorded captioned — check them out below or over on our YouTube channel.

The Forgotten Feminist History of Agile Development

🌟 Shannon Mitchell 🌟 @mitchellshann | she/her
🌟 Marguerite Dibble 🌟 @MLDibbs | she/they

Shannon and Marguerite are experts in creative design, and agile project management - each with years of experience managing creative teams through their work at GameTheory Co.

In the keynote talk, Shannon and Marguerite bring us through the little-known intersectional history behind agile development, and how marginalized creators put trust, iteration, and collaboration at the heart of their work long before the "Agile Manifesto" was written. From Octavia Butler to Sister Corita Kent and more, they review the collective impact radical artists had on agile through the last century and how their philosophies can help us understand the real purpose behind how we choose to create.

Navigating Freelance Work in Games

A moderated Question-and-Answer session focused on contract and freelance work within the games industry. We brought together three expert contractors to speak on their experiences.

✨ Alexis Faintreny ✨ @AFaintreny | he/him
Alexis started contract work in 2017, during his senior year of college, at a company named Xemory, working on a neurorobotics simulator named Xemo. After the project was finished he started doing contract work for Sundae Month, primarily focusing on games, but sometimes flexing to different industries such as toys, rendering, and educational programs. Now Alexis works at Weathered Sweater, and has been working as lead environment artist, as a contractor, on an unannounced project for the past 3 years.

✨ Kitty Crawford ✨ @Kitty_Crawford | she/her
Kitty is an indie game dev Producer with 6ish years of freelance experience. From VR to Mobile, Concept development to QA, Schedules to game design documents, Kitty has experienced a wide breadth of game development, usually whilst working with multiple teams at the same time. Notable titles released include Game of Thrones: Tale of Crows, Evil Dead: Virtual Nightmare and Dogbiscuit: A Drawing Book.

✨ Neha Patel ✨ @Nehapolitan | she/her
Neha is a freelance video game composer, sound designer and classical pianist. She is currently working on Spleen with Pamplemousse Games as well as MiniMaker: Good Enough! with CasaRara Studio. She is an avid plushie collector, self-proclaimed Crash Team Racing child prodigy and pun enthusiast.

Moderator: ✨ Amila Nuhodžić✨ @amilanuh | she/her

The amazing co-host behind the event. Amila is the one to thank for this spectacular day! She is a UI designer who is working to make the games industry a more inclusive space.

“Managing my ADHD While Making Video Games from My Bedroom”

⚡ Isobel Shasha ⚡ @toxicaliengf | they/them

Isobel explains their strategies for getting game dev work done while dealing with ADHD and being neuroatypical.

“Pro- or Anti-IRL?: Helping Make Players’ Real Lives a Little Bit Better”

⚡ Eva Khoury ⚡ @eva_khoury_ | they/them

Eva asks the deep questions - what duties do we as game developers have towards our players? Are we creating healing or impactful spaces that encourage us to live life fully? Or instead are we providing escapist fantasies that shield us from living our real lives?

“Character Art and Portfolio Development”

⚡ Adrian Taul ⚡ @taulish | she/her

Adrian is a character designer and 3D artist who presented tips on how to develop your portfolio for 2D and 3D character development.

“What if Empathy Isn’t The Answer?”

⚡ Tucky Aalto ⚡ @TuckyAalto | she/her

Tucky explores how shifting our focus from empathy to compassion can have a greater impact on projects and workplace culture, is more inclusive to neurodiverse individuals, and can help reduce emotional burnout.

“Ethical Monetization”

⚡ Steven Margolin ⚡ steven@stevejmar.com | he/they

Steven will discuss ethical monetization and shed some light on what F2P (free-to-play) is, why it works, how it can be exploited, and why you shouldn’t do that.

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This blog was written by Maggie DeCapua