FORGE (Founders of Rising Games Enterprises)

FORGE is the reimagined Creative Campfire, a one-day event hosted by Diversity in Games (DIG) with the goal of raising the profile of underrepresented groups and emerging studios in the game dev community. Join us for a day of compelling panel discussions, structured networking opportunities, and a deep dive into understanding the gap in funding and investment in Canada’s game sector. As part of the event, we will be conducting a series of interviews with local game studio founders to better understand the barriers to growth facing independent developers and studios. Insights gathered will be compiled into a community report and published for distribution. Event Details: Light refreshments will be provided, including vegetarian, vegan, and dietary restriction-friendly options. Date: Saturday Sep. 12 Time: 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM Location: Funk Coffee Bar, 1025 Dunsmuir St, Vancouver, BC V7X 1M5 Proceeds from ticket sales help cover event costs and support Diversity in Games in delivering future community programs and events. Hosted by: Carina Kom (She/Her) Co-founder of Simply Sweet Games, VP of Diversity in Games Speakers: Wren Handman (She/Her) Creative Director at Ludic Lemur Akilah Martinez (She/Her) Founder of Glittering World Girl Dana Ramnarine (She/Her) COO at rhum.hr Alex Carrey (He/Him) Founder and Strength & Dexterity Barrier Expert at PlayAbility Consultancy Danika Kotylak (She/Her) Technology Lawyer Milissa Maxim (She/Her) Community Lead at Singularity 6 More Speakers TBA! Accessibility Information: Funk Coffee Bar is fully wheelchair accessible and offers six gender neutral washrooms. We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive experience for all attendees. If you have any accessibility requirements or accommodation requests, please let us know in advance and we will do our best to support you. Film/Photography Notice: Photography, video, and audio recordings may be captured during the event and used for promotional, educational, or community-building purposes across various media platforms. If you have concerns about being photographed or recorded, please speak with a member of the DIG team upon arrival. Partners: Thank you to our generous sponsors and supporters for helping make this event possible! We are proud to partner with organizations that promote a more inclusive and sustainable games community. Interested in sponsoring FORGE? Please contact admin@diversityin.games to learn more. Event Sponsors CreativeBC Hyper Hippo A Thinking Ape FUNK Coffee Bar Event Supporters DigiBC Women in Games International (WIGI) Fullindie Nordicity CIAIC ASGC SLICE OGDA Brace Yourself Games Nightmarket Games We look forward to seeing you there! 💖