What we’re about
August 19, 2025
We have changed the name of the group to Zamtox GameLab. Ben and Austin asked us to change it a long time ago and we are honoring that request. This also marks the day when we are no longer waiting for Ben to come back. We wish him well, wherever he is, and do miss him dearly. God speed friend.
Theresa decided to make this meetup a part of her game studio. You can check out what she does here: https://zamtox.com/
This meetup will always be free to the public. It is not about making a profit. All donations from the button below are spent on food for the game jams. We do a potluck but it is nice to fill in the gaps with food bought with donated funds. If you feel like supporting the game jams then it is much appreciated but not required.
This meetup group is about the love of making games and bringing together the community in Phoenix that loves making games. The game jams are going well and we will continue to run the West Valley Game Jam. We hope that you will join us!
While Theresa is on sabbatical (Aug 2025-August 2026), Wade and Jun will be running the jams. They will be posting new jams as they organize the event series. Jake Taylor, who is the founder of the new game incubator in Phoenix has graciously offered for the West Valley Game Jam to be hosted at their location. A big thank you and shout out to Jake for supporting this community building event.
The Discord server remains the same. We haven't changed the name to the server yet. Jun runs the server so he will probably get around to it soon. Here is the permanent link: https://discord.gg/25xPkNteWw
Feel free to join and share it with all of your friends!
P.S. We are leaving the history of this group below for transparency.
----History----
2.0 (2019)
Ben and Austin have stepped down as the organizers of this meetup group. With the support of local game designer Ara Shirinian [formerly of E-Line Media and now an independent game designer and developer], Theresa Devine [Associate Professor of Games @ ASU] has stepped up to keep this community going.
We believe the game developer community in the greater Phoenix area is vibrant and growing and would like to continue to support the game community in Arizona.
In 2021 we focused on the practical aspects of getting a game studio up and running and/or a career as an indie developer and organized a series of free workshops and meetups that will support you in pursuing your dream. This was too much preparation work for Theresa as she has a full-time job.
So.... In 2024 the focus is to provide monthly game jam opportunities. We are all here for the love of making games and it is important to get a chance to meet each other. The jams will begin in November and continue every month going forward. Hope to see you all there!
Toward the end of building our community we have recently established a Discord server. Here is the permanent link: https://discord.gg/25xPkNteWw
Feel free to join and share it with all of your friends!
Fundraising Added on 12-12-24.
Just a note to let you know that I added the fundraising option to help pay for event expenses related to the game jams. The jams are supposed to be a "pot luck" but it is starting to seem that I need to provide some refreshments. It would really help me out if there were some donations to provide for the refreshments and such.
