IGDA Cincinnati 2025 Informal Retrospective


The Good

Hey all! Sam here. I’ve had some thoughts I wanted to share, and decided that starting a blog was the only way to get them out.

I’ve considered trying social medias like Twitter or Tumblr to do these things, but don’t want to see ads. So here we are! :)

This year’s Global Game Jam marks the first complete year through which I’ll have been running IGDA Cincinnati. I’m ecstatic that I’ve been able to keep the ship running after the previous lead stepped down! I feel like we’ve had great participation, and am becoming more confident in my role.

But I also acknowledge that I haven’t completed everything I set out to do.

Note: These are my opinions, not those of the leadership team as a whole.

The Bad (2025):

1. Elections Aren’t Here Yet

I wanted to establish group elections, such that the organization had some plumbing in place to continue should I need to move to a new state, become to busy to contribute, or get killed in a car accident.

Not every IGDA organization uses an election methodology for their group. However IGDA “proper” does!

Every year, IGDA elects members to its board of directors to fill seats left by members whose terms are expiring, or for those whose seats have been vacated. Anyone interested in running for the Board of Directors who meets the requirements to become a board member can nominate themselves.

Also, members can be appointed to the board with a max of, if I recall, 1 appointment for every 1 elected board member. I feel this system would be a reasonable one to adopt for our IGDA chapter. I envision ~3-year terms, where folks are welcome to re-run for a new term after that time has passed.

For now, I’m happy having written down this goal as a mile marker to use for later years. I have a different goal I’d like to address first.

2. Loss Of Focus

I am very happy with the participation of folks in our monthly Chapter meetings! However the meetings themselves are something I’d like to drastically change this year.

While our gatherings have served their purpose as opportunities to network, I feel we’ve drifted away from the goal of making games which brought me to IGDA Cincinnati in the first place. I take responsibility for this, having led several meetings which, in retrospect, remind me of homework for prospective students.

In the near future, I hope to narrow the focus of our group from “game dev related activities” to making games. Some examples:

  • GOOD - Projects & Pizza is always a win, and is a great way to discuss our actual projects; great meeting type, let’s keep it.
  • BAD - Game Jam One Shot feels like homework. Upon first suggesting it, I felt this would help sharpen our game design skills, but now view it more as a “fun activity” which doesn’t lead to productive outcomes.
  • GREAT - Our online Community Testing event for Star Thieves had mildly low participation, that’s the sort of thing I’d like to encourage our group to facilitate However I’m not sure this could replace monthly in-person meetings in it’s existing form, given the low interest. Maybe we could increase interest if we tack a “testing” theme onto a P&P?

2026 Vision

I’d like to lead our group’s focus towards making games rather than thinking about making games. Or art, or music, or whatever else you’re striving to make.

If you’re reading this and part of the IGDA Cincinnati community, let me know what you think of this vision. If I’m misreading the room, and ‘thinking about making games’ is what the group wants, I’m ready to adjust accordingly.