About

Join us March 8, 2025 for a full day of esports, game development and simulation design. Thanks to our host, Columbus State University. If you are bringing a high school group, please email info@ggda.org so we can pair your students with a mentor.

If you want to speak at CIMFest, please apply HERE

We will have free space for game developers looking to demo or test their games. Please apply HERE

Get your $5 registration at the event

2024 Schedule

(2025 Schedule to come)

8:30 am Doors Open

9 am Five Tips for Designing Game Mechanics with Visually Impaired Players in Mind with Anatoly Lubarsky

10 am Reviving History: The future of immersive storytelling with Yolanda Barton

11 am Keynote: Hey Dad, I Want to Create Games for a Living with Joe Cassavaugh

Noon Lunch and gaming tournaments run by Holo Haven

1 pm The Ever Changing State of AI & Voiceover with Bob Carter

2 pm The Game Design Path with Forrest Raynard

3 pm My Journey to Becoming A Gameplay Engineer with Valencia Coleman

If you cannot join us in person, you can watch a livestream of the presentations at www.youtube.com/GeorgiaGameDevs

Sponsors: Holo Haven, Puzzles by Joe, Georgia Army National Guard, Victory Rehabilitation, Columbus Got Game, Turner College of Business & Technology (CSU), Georgia Game Developers Association

Session Descriptions

Five Tips for Designing Game Mechanics with Visually Impaired Players in Mind

Learn how to design for color-blindness, while creating mechanics for visually impaired and blind players. Explore the use of screen-reading features, understand how visually impaired individuals play, what they 'see,' and what they don't see. Discover their screen navigation techniques through practical examples.

Reviving History: The Future of Immersive Storytelling

Join us for an electrifying talk on "Reviving History: Immersive Storytelling and the Future of Heritage Exploration", presented by a dynamic woman of color entrepreneur at the forefront of emerging technology. Dive into an inspiring journey as we explore how cutting-edge tech from NVIDIA and Niantic is revolutionizing the way we interact with and experience history. This talk promises a fascinating look into how immersive technologies are not just preserving historical figures and events but bringing them to life in unprecedented ways. Prepare to be transported through time, as we discuss the transformative potential of virtual and augmented reality in making history accessible, interactive, and profoundly engaging for a new generation. This session is a must-attend for enthusiasts of technology, history, and storytelling, eager to witness how the past is being reinvented for the future.

Hey Dad, I Want to Create Games for a Living: Reliable Game-Deving in a Chaotic Industry

Why should anyone be optimistic about game development in today's chaotic state? With 14+ years, surviving as a Solopreneur, Joe will answer that question and more in his "Best Talk Ever". He'll move beyond his usual Clutter-Specific Analysis and probe deeper into the more General Principles that has led to that game's success. It's the talk you don't want to miss!!!

The Ever-Changing State of AI & Voiceover

Renowned voice actor Bob Carter has been on the forefront of more than a few evolutions of our industry. Join him for an in-depth look at what will, and won’t change, in VO for your games.

The Game Design Path

Hi-Rez designer Forrest Raynard took an nontraditional route to becoming a game designer. Join us to learn how he did it and how you can find your own path. 

My Journey to Becoming a Gameplay Engineer

The first half of the talk focuses on how networking and building up my portfolio got me an interview as a gameplay engineer. The second half of the talk is about how I passed my interview and got the job. I finish the talk with a few tips on how people get their start on their career as a gameplay engineer.

Tournaments

10 am Pokémon Go Cup (Bring your own phone): Great League Cup • CP 1500 (Cap) • One Shadow Pokémon Per Team • Team Sheet Required (found HERE). Register HERE

12:30 pm Pokémon Temporal Forces Prerelease: A Temporal Forces Prerelease Kit will be given. Prizes • Overall Winner will get a prize • First 15 registered people will get a current pack. Entry is $30 in advance (Includes CIMFest entry & lunch). Register HERE

1 pm Magic: The Gathering Point-Based Commander: Bring your own Commander Deck. Prizes: Overall Winner will get a prize • First 16 registered people will get a current pack, Register HERE

March 8 Game Dev Rants and Stand-Up Comedy Night at Holo Haven

Start Time: 6:30PM

Everyone is welcome to do (clean) comedy. Money will be collected for pizza. 1018 13th St, Phenix City, AL, 36867

GGDA members can watch the rants for free in our Discord Server


Our 2023 Event:

 
 

Thanks for joining us at CIMFest 2023. See you in 2024!

The Columbus Interactive Media Festival

Session descriptions and speaker bios HERE

Please check out our amazing CIMFest sponsors HERE

Held June 17, 2023, we celebrated the Columbus game and simulation industries. CIMFest has featured unforgettable presentations in the past, like Jesse James Allen's trip through game dev, Bob Carter's look at how to have a great career, and Chris Zukowski's guide to Steam success. Check out our CIMFest playlists on our YouTube channel to see what you missed.

Your $5 admission gets you lunch, the chance to network with our speakers, and access to new games made in Middle Georgia. This is one of our few events that is not 18+. It is open to high school students as well.

We hope you can attend. If not, view it on our YouTube channel. Details from 2023:

When: 8:30 am - 4 pm June 17

Where: Columbus State University Center for Commerce and Technology

How Much: $5

Schedule (Tentative)

  • 8:30AM - Registration

  • 9:00AM - 9:45AM

    • “Patches, Engines, & Glitches V. 5 The Hardware Inclusive Edition”

      • Anthony Obando

  • 10:00AM - 10:45AM 

    • “Finding the fun in Game Design, Clutter, and Life!!!”

      • Joe Cassavaugh

  • 11:00AM - 11:45AM - Keynote - Tygarlily

  • 11:50AM-12:00PM

    • For all CSU Turner College of Business & Technology (Formerly known as Turner College of Business) Alumni there will be a meeting with the new Dean of the College.

  • 12:00PM - 1:00PM - Lunch

    • Sponsored by Turner College of Business & Technology

  • 12:00PM - Pokemon TCG Tournament

    • Starting at noon

    • Rules: Standard Rotation

    • Prize: Paldea Evolved Elite Trainer Box

    • Sponsored by Holo Haven

  • 1:15PM - 2:00PM

    • Play Testing and Quality Assurance

      • Ron Jones

      • Michael Brown

      • Joe Cassavaugh

      • Karen Williams

      • Valencia Coleman

    • “The Future of Voiceover and Creativity”

      • Bob Carter

        • Sponsored by Victory Rehabilitation

  • 2:15 - 3:00PM

    • Start Ups, PR & Content Creation

      • Michael Brown

      • Becca Jones

      • Michael Grantham

      • Alexander Kingsley

      • Tygarliliy

    • “Creating Modular Primitives in zBrush”

      • M. Scott Hull

  • 3:15 - 4:00PM

    • Networking

If you want to show off your game at CIMFest, please let us know when you register. Note that while we will be providing free access to electricity at CIMFest, we recommend bringing your own surge protector in addition to computer, monitor and peripherals. We should have tables and chairs available, as well as Internet access. However, we recommend against relying on that internet connection. Make sure that your game is saved locally.