Video Game Development

The first Thursday of every month is Ladies Night! 6pm until 10pm Table fees are waived and everything in the store is 10% off! Please come in and enjoy TCGs like MTG and Pokémon, as well as sample our demo board games. We’ll be raffling off fun prizes throughout the night! Can’t wait to see you there!

The city of Laurel has reopened the community centers! GCOM Laurel will be happening again Thursday night! We’ll be gaming from 6-9pm. Masks are still required and if you’re not feeling well, get better and join us next week. We’re at the Robert J DiPietro center!

Join us on **Thursday, March 5th** for SPD’s first ever Kickback & Connect in **Washington, D.C.** From magazines to murals and from newsrooms to nonprofits, if you make things in D.C., you’re invited. This is a low-key happy hour bringing together designers and creatives across disciplines in the DMV to kickback, connect, and share ideas—no panels, no pitches, no pressure. We hope to see you there! **Music by: Friends on Mars** Hosted by Good People DC and **[SPD](https://www.spd.org/)**, a nonprofit design community rooted in publishing and creative excellence. No cover charge = no excuse not to come Must be 21 to enter. Please drink responsibly.

***In Person Location:*** Rockville Library, second floor meeting room (Collaboration Room 3). We are experimenting with a new virtual join link - [https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers](https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers) If you can make it in person, that's always recommended! Let's resume repeated full end-to-end testing cycles and continue to iterate our design and resolution. We are getting close. Our community is building (and documenting for other teams) how to build a scanning tunneling microscope using a mix of common and 3D printed parts. This will allow us to scan and visualize a single atom - an ambitious we are doing over the course of a few months. The MoCo Makers community is one of the most innovative and competent groups in Maryland, and we've done everything from [publishing cancer research](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38136356/), to [launching products](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gotim/cozy-curvy-multi-contour-pillow), [winning grants](https://covidinfocommons.datascience.columbia.edu/awards/2014255), and inspiring thousands. Now our biggest challenge yet has appeared. We are building a Scanning Tunneling Microscope, that will allow us to scan and visualize single atoms. Does it sound hard? Perhaps.. However! I have every confidence that we are now operating at a level were we can take on this mean, cross-functional project. We continue to build on our past successes, and a key technology we previously applied was increasing the signal of small voltages using OpAmps - which we did during our custom pH Probe project - [https://www.mocomakers.com/ph-probe/](https://www.mocomakers.com/ph-probe/) \- That technology is exactly what we need to get this machine working\, and at a high precision\! To get a better idea of what we are doing, see our reference project here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g) All starting CAD, code, and reference files should exist. However, let's be the first Maker community to document the build process and share it with learners around the world. We have a bit over $2,000 in materials costs, so if you want to sponsor this project, and get banners at events with 20K attendees, and access to our email broadcast of 30K members, please contact matt@mocomakers.com We are also open to university, lab, or community partnerships so feel to reach out if you want to be part of this project. Together, we can do incredible things. ***In Person Location:*** Rockville Library, second floor meeting room (Meeting Room 3). To Join Virtually: https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers

**Join us for our very first MTG League Play!** Are you ready to elevate your Magic the Gathering experience to new heights? Look no further! 🚀✨ We're thrilled to invite you to join our Magic the Gathering League Play – where the realms of strategy, skill, and camaraderie converge. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a novice spellcaster, there's a place for you in our League Play. \* **Date**: Thursdays starting January 4th \* **Time**: 6pm - 9pm \* **Cost**: This event will be $10 and $5 for pass holders/ gold patrons. Each participant will receive a booster pack with purchase and a 2nd pack after playing 3 games. **(Pay at the shop the day of the event)** \***Place**: 3 Gear Games 25 C Street, Laurel MD 20707 --**Refund Policy**-- Refunds will be issued should we have to cancel this event, and are unable to reschedule it. They will not be issued for no-shows. --**Game Room Code Of Conduct**--[https://www.3gearstudios.com/service/code-of-conduct/](https://www.3gearstudios.com/service/code-of-conduct/?fbclid=IwAR054LDLzN5OeBImBfQpND1a_83AGAxPeFHwMO303UD3Z7rggbPn-TRYH64) Email questions to 3geargames@gmail.com

Join the IBM Z Skills team at UMD College Park to **inspire** the next generation of technologists to pursue roles on the mainframe! \- IBM will deliver an overview presentation on IBM Z and the critical role the platform plays across industries today\. \- Help introduce students to IBM Z Xplore\, IBM’s premier online learning platform\, giving them a clear path to begin hands\-on skills development immediately\. \- Highlight the wide range of career opportunities available in the industry\, helping students see how their interests and strengths connect to real roles in the field\.

Looking for a fun, screen-free way to spend your Sunday afternoon? Join us every other week at the Community Center for a few hours of friendly competition and laughter. Feel free to bring your own treasured game or borrow one from our shelves. It’s the ultimate low-pressure way for families to connect. Note: This is not a drop-off event. Please ensure children have a parent or guardian joining in on the fun.

For March's game of the month we are playing the adventure puzzle game "Keeper." From the devs: *Keeper is a story told without words, in which a long-forgotten lighthouse is awakened and, joined by a spirited seabird, it embarks upon a heartening tale of unlikely companionship, and an unexpected journey into realms beyond understanding.* It is available for PC and Xbox. Play through it and we will discuss it on the 8th! You do not need to play all or even any of the game to attend but please be prepared to be spoiled at the meeting :-) p.s. Here is a link to our discord, pop in to meet folks ahead of the meetup: https://discord.gg/6KqnHxJWsf

Please check in with the host at the first bar before 8:15 to get your stickers. The stickers will show you are here to meet new gamers and can convey what kind of gaming you are into to help break the ice: • Video Games • Tabletop • Dnd **What to Expect** Meet new gamers, talk about games, and find people to game with! Uplift the games and culture we have in common, and celebrate the diversity and vastness of nerd culture. **What it is Not** We are not raging, flirting, or generally going wild. All gamers are welcome, and we are going to model DCGG values so that everyone and anyone should be able to connect and be comfortable in the DCGG space. **Anyone raging, flirting, or generally annoying or embarrassing us will be asked to leave.** **The Route** • Crimson Whiskey • Rocket Bar • Penn Social

This month, we'll have a recorded talk, followed by discussion, on API design and single-header libraries. How should we structure and program libraries to impose as few usage constraints as possible? We’ll look at [the STB libraries](https://github.com/nothings/stb) and other examples as case studies. We're still at the West End Library - see the location in the sidebar for details. **Agenda:** \- 2pm \- 3pm: Library discussion \- 3pm \- 4pm: Open\-ended discussions\, presentations\, etc\. \- 4pm \- whenever: We'll go get food nearby\! **What we do** Presentations on lower-level, foundational programming topics, ethical software, knowledge sharing, mentoring, and discussion. **Who we are:** We are all about handmade software. Rather than focus on frameworks, heavy abstractions, and buzzwords - we typically create projects or research topics that build an understanding of foundational computing concepts, essential data structures, and hardware/software interaction. **What to bring?** Bring a laptop, project, or just a curious mind. If you're not sure you're ready to contribute, don't worry: we're all here to share our passions and hone our craft. **If you arrive late:** Please enter the room quietly as to not disrupt anyone that is presenting. You can take any empty seat.

_EDIT: Event postponed! New date is Sunday March 8th._ Come celebrate, meet fellow escape room fans, and help us mark 4 awesome years. This mixer-style event is open to *anyone* in the DMV who loves (or wants to try!) escape rooms—no prior events required. **Everyone’s welcome!** Ticket price includes:🧩 Games, 🍰 Cake, 🥨 Appetizers,🍷 Beer & wine, 🎁& more * Base price: $15 * Base price plus an escape room: $70 There's even a special message from a mysterious being known only as 'The Architect' [https://youtu.be/pmz571iV9XY](https://youtu.be/pmz571iV9XY) **RSVPs are being collected outside of Meetup using this link!** [https://forms.gle/CHeng1y4mJCz4iuV8](https://forms.gle/CHeng1y4mJCz4iuV8)

Both primary COVID-19 vaccinations are REQUIRED to enter. No vax, no entry. No exceptions. Please preferably share your vaccine status in the #vaccine channel on our Discord, either via https://vase.vdh.virginia.gov/vdhapps/f?p=545:1 or photograph of your vaccine card. If you're not comfortable sharing your status online, you can also physically bring your card. Attendees come at their own risk. In terms of setup, I have a TV for videos and general gaming, a monitor in a different room for smaller games, let's plays, and streaming, and a projector in the loft for movies and larger games requiring more space like Dance Dance Revolution, Just Dance, and Guitar Hero/Rock Band. For consoles I have PlayStations 2 through 4 plus a PS TV, Wii/Wii U, Switch, and PC. I often move my consoles around (either for let's play or streaming purposes or to bring them other places), so if you can't find what you're looking for just ask. I don't own any XBox consoles but you're welcome to bring yours if you'd like! Extra consoles, controllers, games, and screens are always welcome; just let me know in advance if you're able so we can plan for it. :) My game & console/controller list is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11LvIAgla39HtYpx9PLf6AaVj7DI3i7ypox8qSj23SCo/edit?usp=drivesdk When you arrive please park in a space that does NOT have a number; if those aren't available we have lots of open street parking within the Penderbrook community (I'm right in the middle so either side is cool; parking on Center Way or the middle of Penderbrook Drive is best) but please don't park on a yellow curb or you might be towed! You'll want to turn onto Golf RIDGE, and then onto Golf TEE where I'm the first house on the left. When you enter walk all the way up and to the right; look for the Super Mario Bros. doormat. I'm about 10 driving minutes from the Vienna/Fairfax metro station. We usually go out for dinner at around 5 PM; I live a short drive away from lots of shopping centers including Fair Oaks Mall, Pender, Fairfax Shopping/Towne Center, Fair Lakes Promenade, Fair Lakes Center, and Fairfax Corner. Here's a list of restaurants in the area by food type: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Mn6ytvuaaGaBlpVT-9pBSh8fv6X8_V9wzl4eQKYzRT0/edit?usp=sharing And by shopping center location! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DZe-ZY5_hKk9SaCSfyjh2eZLNHXTFQLC0QAW12AnYto/edit?usp=sharing Please follow the group's rules & guidelines below: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PS-UUkkFQ1JDaMp7pCTSGMu2Rqm58X7srdCzhN0Y-xA/edit?usp=drivesdk I also have a few more guidelines, but they're pretty easy to follow: Gaming equipment are not toys. Please be responsible with other people's controllers, consoles, games, furniture, etc. Accidents happen, but if you continuously break things you won't be allowed to use people's equipment. Try and keep a positive atmosphere. A lot of people attend the group to escape from their daily lives. Don't feel like you need to leave your problems at the door, everyone needs to vent once in a while, but please attempt to not do so the whole meetup. We're here to have fun after all, so try and keep it that way! <3

Open gaming at Panera! New players welcome. We have many games on hand or you can bring your own. We are happy to teach or learn one of yours.

This is a relaxed, community-driven Unity GameDev meetup. There’s no strict agenda this time — just developers getting together to talk shop, share projects, and exchange ideas. **Some topics that may come up (based on attendee interest):** • Frame Debugger & performance tooling • Addressables & additive scene workflows • Input System, localization, responsive UI • AI integration approaches • DevOps & LiveOps experiences • Full lifecycle: idea → cross-platform publishing • Favorite Asset Store tools and hidden gems • Weird Unity quirks we’ve all run into *Nothing is locked in.* Bring a project if you’d like. Bring a question. Bring a lesson learned. Or just come hang out and meet other developers. All skill levels welcome!

This month, we are in-person at GameArena!!! We will also be joined by students and their games from [Shawnee State](https://www.shawnee.edu/game-design-programs)! \-\-\- Join us for our our monthly COGG Prototype and Play event @GameArena! Come to play and showcase your games. We're back in the upper levels of the catwalk mezzanine area. It'll be packed with lots of camaraderie playing your game(s) and other's games on the 2nd floor as well as the 1st floor in the gaming room below the mezzanine. Light snacks and water provided but you can buy food and drinks at the bar (alcoholic drink ID required). [https://www.game-arena.co/menu](https://www.game-arena.co/menu) **Attendees:** Don't have a game to show? Not a problem! All are welcomed and invited from all ages and backgrounds. The more we can have to play test our games the better! **Developers:** Do you have a game that you would like to get critical feedback on? Would you like an excuse to work on a game with other talented artists, programmers, musicians, designers, and writers? Digital, table-top, non-experienced developers, and the like are welcomed! We'll provide signage for your game to help others learn more about your work. Wifi, outlets, tables, and seats (though standing tables also) are available. Come to the Prototype and Play workshop to collaborate and meet local game developers for an evening of epic and raw game play fun! Play works-in-progress, show off your own game, work with others to add polish to a game, or even lend your talents to other fellow developers. Can use South Garage at the Gateway with a $5 voucher on your way out. 75 E 11th Ave, Columbus, OH 43201 [https://maps.app.goo.gl/UwgveUYG37Jy7RtS9](https://maps.app.goo.gl/UwgveUYG37Jy7RtS9) If you have any questions or comments, as always, feel free to reach out to us at [info@thecogg.com!](http://info@thecogg.com!/)

The Forge does have a full bar and kitchen. There is no cover charge but they do request all attendees to purchase a minimum of ~$20 per person. Soft drink refills are $1 each. Please support our hosts so we can continue to provide great events for the group! The Forge has a large library of games available for us to enjoy. Hosts and regulars will also provide numerous popular games but please bring any games you would like to teach and/or play. Doors open at 6, and we expect gaming to be rolling by around 630. Please promptly end your games and clear out the space at 10pm when the bar closes. We encourage socializing but do not permit disruptive behavior of any kind. Thank you for your continued commitment to providing a fun and welcoming space to veteran, newbie, and rookie gamers in the Columbus area. Parking can be challenging. There is a parking lot behind the neighboring Mexican restaurant that is free and easy to walk from but it's a bit hidden.

Columbus Code & Coffee is an inclusive, informal co-working session. People of all skill levels attend, and we love it that way. Many people (optionally) bring projects to work on, and many other people (optionally) socialize the entire time. It's entirely up to you! **What to Expect at the Intro Circle** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ Near the beginning of the event (1:30 pm), we do a standup: * Organizer announcements, updates, and logistics Round 1 - (7 secs max): * Your name * What you're working on * What you can help others with Round 2: * Community events you wanna plug. If none, that's cool too. Round 3: * Job opportunities you're hiring for OR announce that you are looking for one. If none, that's cool. After the introduction circle, everything is self-organized! Feel free to work alone, pair up, attend one of our workshops/presentations, or mingle!

Come out to Improving for our monthly iOS and Mac meetings. This Month's Presentation: Nothing yet. (You should volunteer). What is Cocoaheads (http://cocoaheads.org/)? CocoaHeads is a group devoted to discussion of Apple Computer's Cocoa Framework for programming on MacOS X and iOS (including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch). During monthly meetings, members present on their projects and offer tutorials on various programming topics. What is BuckeyeCocoa (http://buckeyecocoa.org/)? BuckeyeCocoa is a group of Objective-C/Swift developers/enthusiasts. We host monthly Cocoaheads and near-weekly NSCoder meetings in Columbus, Ohio. The meetings are free to attend. Presentations! Presenters welcome! We are always in need of people willing to present material. Any Swift and/or Objective-C related topic is welcome. Times can be 5 minutes (i.e. lightning talks) to a maximum of 2 hours. Interested? Contact info is on the BuckeyeCocoa website. To volunteer for a presentation contact us at @BuckeyeCocoa on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter! @BuckeyeCocoa (https://twitter.com/#!/Buckeyecocoa/) For more information: http://buckeyecocoa.org/

Welcome to Casual Boardgames, where we enjoy classic tabletop games and social deduction games while bonding over good food, drinks, and great conversations. 
We started this group to meet new people and make new friends, and bonding over games in a relaxed atmosphere is a great way to do that. We currently meet near route 23 and Polaris Parkway, and this is close to areas like Powell, Lewis Center, Worthington, and parts of Westerville and Columbus. 
Feel free to bring your own games or play one of the many games our members bring. If you are inexperienced, we will help you learn. 
Here are just a few examples of the kind of games we play. 
Tabletop/board games: Splendor, Catan, Azul, Dominion, 7 Wonders… 
Social deduction games: Code Names, Chameleon, Werewords… 
IMPORTANT: 
1. While we love playing a variety of games and competing, we are not just about the games. We interact and talk while playing, and this leads to a lot of laughter and fun. If you just want to compete and focus solely on the game, then this is probably not the group you are looking for. 
2. Many people join groups like this and never (or rarely) show up after weeks or months. If you join and never really come, we will eventually remove you from the group as a courtesy to our members. Why? Because limiting group conversations (on the app) to regular members makes communication and planning much easier. Also, while it may be rare, it protects members from people who join because they are interested in following a person instead of having a real interest in our group. If you get removed, it is just because you haven’t come, and we follow this protocol as a courtesy to our regular game players.

One of the most valuable parts of this community is the opportunity to think out loud with other product professionals. This session is built for exactly that. As we wrap up the quarter, it’s a great time to pause and reflect. What’s on track? What needs adjustment? Where could a small shift create bigger impact? Join fellow product professionals for a focused, interactive conversation designed to help you recalibrate for the next quarter. You’ll have the opportunity to share where you are, hear how others are thinking through similar challenges, and gain fresh perspective you can bring back to your team and organization. We’ll gather at 8:00AM, with discussion starting promptly at 8:15AM. 📍 First Watch - 7227 N High St Located in: The Shops at Worthington Ample parking is available. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Start your morning with clarity and connection — we hope to see you there! ☀️