APU Hosts Christian Game Developers Conference

Azusa Pacific University will host the Christian Game Developers Conference (CGDC) on July 14-16. This marks the 20^th anniversary of the conference and is the first time in the conference’s history that it will be held in California. The CGDC aims to grow community connections for Christians who create video games, board games, card games, tabletop games, and virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) games.

“After two years in the making, we are ecstatic that APU is able to partner with and host the CGDC,” said Tim Samoff, APU’s program director for Games and Interactive Media. “The CGDC is a great way to connect our students to like-minded enthusiasts and professionals to learn and talk about games within our Christ-centered institution. We are looking forward to this incredible opportunity and are excited to see what God does with the conference and with our school.”

The CGDC is a nonprofit organization based out of Oregon. The conference draws attendees from all over the world. Many successful Christian game studios will be in attendance, as well as individual programmers, artists, designers, composers, writers, voice-over actors, and hobbyists. “It will be great to once again have true fellowship with believers involved in game development,” said Tim Emmerich, the president and co-founder of the CGDC. “We thank APU for its generosity in hosting the event. We pray, as always, that it is God's conference and that all attendees will be closer to God after attending.”

Attendees can participate in a variety of activities including escape rooms, a trip to Universal Studios, evenings around the fire pit, game demonstrations, and board game nights. Learn more about the CGDC on their Facebook group.

Registration:

Game developers can register for the conference online. The registration fee of $250 covers all meals during the conference, as well as three days of programming. This includes a keynote address from Alex Magnus Lehmann, head of the Creative Department at Riot Games, workshops, lectures from members of the community, competitions, and leisure activities. Families are welcome to attend the conference together with discounted rates. Participants are invited to stay on APU’s campus in dormitory lodging for a modest fee. Early bird discounts are available until May 14.