Earlier this month, a small crowd of people assembled at Seattle’s Living Computers Museum to show off and play indie games. Organized by Seattle Indies, Show and Tell is a regular event where people put their games out on display. Whether it’s a proof-of-concept or a fully-finished product, developers put their work on display for any and all to see.
Seattle and Indies
As a thriving tech hub, Seattle has naturally attracted some big players. Amazon, Valve, Nintendo, and many other tech and gaming companies call the Puget Sound region home. This has led to a large amount of developers who, in their spare time, work on passion projects.
Thanks to organizations like Seattle Indies, developers of all backgrounds have a platform for people to engage with their work. Show and Tell is a welcoming environment of talent, creativity, and thoughtful discussion.
Whether it was a seasoned veteran or an intrepid solo dev, everyone was excited to show off their games. I tested out a competitive arena brawler inspired by Smash and Avatar: The Last Airbender, while also digging into the relationships between art, technology, and interactivity. It’s one thing to learn about a developer’s process, but it’s quite another to engage with them when they’re in the middle of it.
Games are, by nature, an interpersonal affair. When you’re playing a game, you’re engaging in an experience that the developer deliberately crafted for you. Show and Tell did a fantastic job of bridging that gap and proving that beyond the pixels, it’s people that drive gaming forward.
Photos by Constance Chen
