About
Join us March 8, 2025 for a full day of esports, game development and simulation design, thanks to our host, Columbus State University. Look for all the games in the lobby. All session are in room 254A of the Davidson Center.
Everyone can get $5 tickets HERE
Lunch included with your ticket
2025 Schedule
8:30 am Registration Opens
9 am Games as Art with Eric Lorenz and Avant Beetle
10 am The Art of Game Design: The Missing Lenses with Joe Cassavaugh
11 am James Portnow Keynote: More than Fun: Gaming's Promise to Future Generations
Noon Lunch and gaming tournaments run by Holo Haven
1 pm Building Community with James Portnow, Bob Carter, Tygarlily, Thor, Rod Obando, Joe Guido and Christian Free
2PM Teachers and Game Devs Speak: What You Need to Know to Graduate for Success with James Portnow, Dr. Rodrigo Obando, Anthony Obando and Bob Carter
3 pm A Sound Strategy: Audio Project Planning for 'Marvel's Spider-Man 2 with Jesse James Allen
4 pm Six Keys for Designing Game Mechanics with Visually Impaired Players in Mind with Anatoly Lubarsky
Speakers include:
Keynote Speaker James Portnow from Rainmaker Games and Extra Credits (https://youtu.be/BKsby1d8bx4?si=mWQNveqHiPHZXRg3)
Jesse James Allen is returning to CIMFest March 8! Jesse Allen is a 12-time international award-winning media professional. He is a former AAA video game sound designer on 53 well-known games. He is now part of the audio leadership team at Insomniac Games. Jesse’s other contributions include visual work for museums and theme parks around the world.
Voice Actor Bob Carter
The $6 million man, Joe Cassavaugh
Anatoly Lubarsky, 5 Tips for Designing Game Mechanics with Visually Impaired Players in Mind
Rod Obando a Pokemon Go Community Ambassador and Pokemon TCG Professor
Anthony Obando is a Computer Science Educator who has been working for the Muscogee County School District for 4 years. He is a current teacher at Hardaway High School teaching Programming and Game Design. He graduated from Columbus State University as the first (and only) Uteach Computer Science teacher. He works tirelessly to advance his career and be a better educator. When he’s not working , he spends time with his girlfriend, Caroline, play Dungeons & Dragons and now eagerly awaiting the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4.
Forrest Raynard (Thor) is both passionate and driven in his quest to maintain his love for all things Game development, Technology and Broadcasting. Having started his journey over ten years ago he has been blessed with working on products such as SMITE 2, Gigantic, Dreadnought, Realm Royale to name just a few. He continues to merge his unique Game Development style with his expertise as an on air talent to connect with his audience and community. Forrest built his broadcasting talent on the back of his successful Twitch community and continues to be a voice for all things gaming and technology.
Tygarlily is passionate about storytelling, educating, and spotlighting video-games and technology. Driven to produce quality content and working to meet the needs of her partners. Passionate about video games, you can find tygarlily creating cosplays, videos, and live streams around Pokemon, Monster Hunter, and Marvel. Tygarlily is based in Atlanta and manages a team of creators for antonline.com
Joe Guido has several years of experience with DnD and magic the gathering. Warhammer lore is one of his favorite reads, when it comes to board games axis and allies is his favorite of all time. Guido’s passion is to teach people new games such as DnD and magic and so on so they can grow and teach people on their own and keep the games alive for years.
Christian Free is a Columbus local with a passion for gaming and mixed media. He competes regionally at tournaments for One Piece and Union Arena, with his most recent accomplishment having come in 2nd place at the first Union Arena national tournament. Christian wants to help empower others to try their best at everything they do and find their community. You can find his barely contained ramblings on tiktok, twitch, and youtube under Mimikuul.
Session Descriptions
Keynote More than Fun: Gaming's Promise to Future Generations
In the last few years we've seen the AAA market struggle to find its way; studios close, publishers collapse, market share decreases and yet we still try to approach the world in the same old way. We need a change. In this talk James Portnow discusses how we adapt to the future and how we do so in a way that's better for the world, better for our consumer and, in the end, better for us.
Play New Games!
IsoMetro
Public Static Void
Crypts of Eternal Valor
Columbarium
Medieval Knight Simulator
The King's Caravan
Tournaments
10 am Magic RCQ Tournament ($30 entry fee)
1 pm Pokemon TCG Tournament (Free with admission
1 pm Magic: the Gathering Commander Tournament (Free with admission)
Location: CSU Davidson Center, Room 254A, 4225 University Ave, Columbus, GA 31907
Park in front of the Commerce and Technology Building and walk straight back to Davidson Center
If you cannot join us in person, you can watch a livestream of the presentations at www.youtube.com/GeorgiaGameDevs
CIMFest 2024
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.