Our Programs
Check out Meetup to make sure you can see all our latest events.
Buffalo Game Expo a.k.a. BGX
The Annual Buffalo Game Expo showcases the greatest games made by our community in and around Western New York.
For game developers, this is the place to make your game seen around Buffalo, get essential feedback, and remember why you make games - to deliver an awesome, impactful, lasting and interactive experience to your players, whether you’re making goofy VR games, educational games, serious training and rehab simulators, or the next big console hit.
For everyone else, this is a family friendly event that gives you the chance to come have fun, play sweet games, and even get to see what’s possible with a bit of time, love, and dedication, if you, too want to make games!
Game Jams
Buffalo Game Space both hosts its own regular game jams, and we’ve also been the official site for Global Game Jam in the Buffalo region for the past several years. We completed our first virtual jam in 2020; in normal years, we typically have 4 game jams, about once per quarter. Be sure to look for the next jam on Meetup!
"What’s a game jam???," you might be asking? Well, it’s simply the best way to learn to make games! A game jam is an event where everyone attempts to make a game in a fixed, generally very short, amount of time. Sometimes they’re competitions, sometimes not. At BGS Game Jams, we all work together in teams or as individuals to help each other make a complete game, usually in just 48 hours - that means a fully functioning game, with a main menu, credits, and a complete gameplay loop. Game Jams usually have a theme to guide people, and it’s nearly always a secret so everyone has to start work at the same time.
Game Jams require no experience. There’s no better way to learn about game development than at a game jam. There’s no time to think - only create! You’ll be in the company of other people just like you, whether you’re a seasoned game dev or a complete beginner. Most people come without a team, and join up when they’re at the space after we’ve brainstormed as a group!
Bi-Weekly Developer Showcase
Join us at our free Bi-Weekly Meeting (alternating virtual/physical), where we discuss game development techniques, art, music, news, and show off member projects. This event is free and open to the public, whether you’re a game developer, looking to become one, or just want to see the awesome stuff our community is building!
Due to COVID-19, we started hosting these, online, via, Zoom. Virtual meeting links are posted in our Discord, just before the event. Zoom, Discord, meeting links, oh my! - we know that sounds like a lot, don’t worry. To get started, RSVP to the next event on Meetup and follow the instructions there to join our Discord.
As New York State is re-opening, we have also started doing these again as an in-person meetup, mask optional and open to vaccinated individuals.
RSVP on Meetup for more info!
Buffalo Game Developers Community Discord
To keep our community connected and offer support to as many artists, musicians, and developers as we can, we run a community Discord. There you can ask all your Unity, Unreal, and Godot questions, get help from industry veterans, and stay up to date on all things BGS. And when you’re not making games, it’s even a great space for talking about your favorite video game news, what you’ve been playing, and more.
Support Us
What we do is only even remotely possible because of the support of our members. If you’d like to support us so we can continue the work we do, then become a member today.