{"id":106647,"date":"2026-04-16T19:49:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T00:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=106647"},"modified":"2026-04-16T20:02:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T01:02:57","slug":"game-on-why-indie-developers-are-choosing-the-windy-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/game-on-why-indie-developers-are-choosing-the-windy-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Game on: Why indie developers are choosing the Windy City"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Conner Dejecacion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a traditional video game.<\/p>\n

Two guys huddled over a laptop on one side of the room, the computer wired to a do-it-yourself interface consisting of huge, domed buttons in red, yellow and blue. Meanwhile, another person stood on a step stool, waving semaphore flags.<\/p>\n

At the same time, a dozen others were playing a virtual card game designed for blind people, a slow-motion action game set in an \u201cInception\u201d-like haunted house and a party game in which costumed kids compete to trick-or-treat the best \u2014 robbing one another of hard-earned candy.<\/p>\n

Ari Garcia-<\/span>Chow<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>cried<\/span>\u00a0in delight as her teammates understood the messages she conveyed\u00a0<\/span>by\u00a0<\/span>waving the flags she held.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Designer\u00a0<\/span>Asher Stuhlman<\/span>\u00a0stood to the side of the game, arms crossed,\u00a0<\/span>observing<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0game he created.<\/span>\u00a0This was at a playtesting event\u00a0<\/span>Feb. 21<\/span>\u00a0at the\u00a0<\/span>Chicago Game Lab<\/span>. Everyone was playing, yes, but when it comes to the video game industry, play is also\u00a0<\/span>work<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Chicago Game Lab is a\u00a0<\/span>coworking space<\/span>\u00a0nestled between\u00a0<\/span>a veterinary hospital and a dental practice<\/span>\u00a0on\u00a0<\/span>West Irving Park Road<\/span>, where independent video game developers make magic.\u00a0<\/span>Fifteen minutes away<\/span>, on West Wrightwood<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Avenue<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>behind an unassuming brick facade<\/span>, is Night\u00a0<\/span>City<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>w<\/span>here<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>events<\/span>\u00a0like \u201cRobot Karaoke\u201d<\/span>\u00a0celebrate the local gaming community and give artists and players chances to connect.\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>his<\/span>\u00a0June,\u00a0<\/span>Indie City Games<\/span>, the organization that serves as a nexus for developers across the city,\u00a0<\/span>plans to open a new\u00a0<\/span>Kickstarter-funded<\/span>\u00a0game development hub<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Game<\/span>d<\/span>ev<\/span>m<\/span>ap<\/span>, which tracks the geographic distribution of video game developers<\/span>, counts\u00a0<\/span>4<\/span>9<\/span>\u00a0teams<\/span>\u00a0in its entry for\u00a0<\/span>Chicago\u00a0<\/span>\u2014<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>certainl<\/span>y<\/span>\u00a0an under<\/span>estimate.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaming giants like\u00a0<\/span>Electronic Arts<\/span>\u00a0might be at home on the\u00a0<\/span>West Coast<\/span>, but a growing number of independent developers and small teams are taking their laptops and massive charging bricks to t<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span>Great Lakes\u00a0<\/span>instead<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a scrappy underdog element that we all want to embrace,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Tom Eastman<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0president\u00a0<\/span>of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Trinket<\/span>\u00a0Studios and a\u00a0<\/span>co<\/span>founder\u00a0<\/span>of the\u00a0<\/span>Chicago Game Lab<\/span>. \u201cThere’s been an ebb and flow to Chicago game development, from triple-A to indie and maybe back, mixing it all up in that history of the arcade to now.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Developers
Developers get feedback live from a playtest at The Chicago Game Lab Feb. 21. (Conner Dejecacion\/MEDILL)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even freelance developers find community in Chicago\u00a0<\/span>\u2014\u00a0<\/span>they share both the desire and drive to create weird, exciting projects players\u00a0<\/span>won\u2019t<\/span> find anywhere else.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Brady Soglin<\/span>, a\u00a0<\/span>solo developer who before 2025 had only released a few small projects on gaming platforms\u00a0<\/span><\/span>itch.io<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Steam<\/span>, launched\u00a0<\/span>Tall Trails<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>last year to \u201c<\/span>Overwhelming<\/span>ly<\/span>\u00a0Positive\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>reviews<\/span><\/span><\/a>. The distinction,\u00a0<\/span>awarded\u00a0<\/span>by Steam\u00a0<\/span>to games with at least 500 reviews, 95% of them positive<\/span>, is a badge of honor. He attributed the game\u2019s success partially to the support of Chicago friends who gave him an outside perspective when they tested the game.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving people around you to ground you and inspire you and push you towards realizing your vision, which is very difficult when you’re\u00a0<\/span>this close<\/span>\u00a0to it, is really useful,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the game ended up being a lot better.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shared workspaces across Chicago like the Game Lab and\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>upcoming\u00a0<\/span>Lair<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0planned by Indie City Games<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0allow game developers to get out from behind their computer screens,<\/span>\u00a0and to<\/span>\u00a0meet\u00a0<\/span>and support\u00a0<\/span>one another<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>With individual offices and common workspaces available to rent or use during open\u00a0<\/span>work days<\/span>, teams without a place to call their own can uplift\u00a0<\/span>one another<\/span> and help make video games.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust being able to know, \u2018If\u00a0<\/span>you’re<\/span>\u00a0doing this thing, you should\u00a0<\/span>go talk<\/span>\u00a0to this person,\u2019 and having a physical space, I think, really helps with that,\u201d Eastman said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nonprofit Indie City Games, which got off the ground in 2023<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span><\/span>, links gaming professionals across Chicago. From a\u00a0<\/span>Discord server of\u00a0<\/span>nearly\u00a0<\/span>1<\/span>,<\/span>8<\/span>50<\/span>\u00a0members<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0ICG coordinates virtual and in-person events, including the yearly\u00a0<\/span>Chicago Indie Game Showcase<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>co<\/span>nvention<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0held every fall<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>has\u00a0<\/span>nearly<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>doubled<\/span>\u00a0in size over the past two years<\/span>, according to\u00a0<\/span>Seb Galvez, an ICG director<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>ICG connects developers to jobs and\u00a0<\/span>one another\u00a0<\/span>while providing a venue for sharing and\u00a0<\/span>showcasing<\/span>\u00a0work.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is fundamentally special about games as a medium is that they have a means to bring people together that nothing else really does,\u201d Galvez said. \u201cWe try to be the hub for everyone to meet up and find common ground.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"In-person
In-person gaming events like this testing event at the Chicago Game Lab allow for opportunities for developers to meet outside the digital world. (Conner Dejecacion\/MEDILL)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rob DiSalle<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Bilal Yassine, two friends from Ohio who now make games together in Chicago<\/span>, see the city\u2019s development scene as intrinsically different from the industry\u2019s power base.\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0\u201cartsy, grassroots<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0and punk-like,\u201d compared\u00a0<\/span>with\u00a0<\/span>LA\u2019s more commercial, tech-oriented environment, Yassine said<\/span>. <\/span>Both developers pointed to Indie City Games as crucial for keeping the scene from going corporate.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were at\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco<\/span>)<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>I think half the conference<\/span>\u00a0was dedicated to how you can use AI in gaming. I think if you mention AI in the Indie City Games Discord, you get kicked from the server,\u201d Yassine said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The game developers of Chicago, making their way through \u201cthe city of the big shoulders,\u201d as Galvez put it, are each doing their part to collectively advance video gaming as an art form. Night City, a peer and frequent partner of ICG, focuses on this artistic potential.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

David Antognoli<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>n assistant<\/span>\u00a0professor of game\u00a0<\/span>design\u00a0<\/span>at Columbia College Chicago<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>runs\u00a0<\/span>Night City\u00a0<\/span>and its in-person events, which blur the line between gaming and performing arts. For instance,\u00a0<\/span>on Feb. 7, Night City hosted a game called\u00a0<\/span>Bloodrage<\/span>\u00a0Summer Fight Club<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>which had participants compete by punching a real, physical punching bag<\/span>. Smaller, weirder games like\u00a0<\/span>Bloodrage<\/span>\u00a0Summer Fight Club serve as a contrast to traditional big-budget games players experience primarily as commercial products.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While such a game would never make it to a commercial market, events like<\/span>\u00a0these<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>engage<\/span>\u00a0developers who want to experiment with forms of interaction that go beyond PCs and PlayStations. Furthermore, Antognoli keeps events at Night City free or\u00a0<\/span>low<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>cost<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0which lowers the barrier to entry. He sees Night City as a node in a broader network of\u00a0<\/span>like-minded<\/span> Chicago creators contributing to the medium every day.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the\u00a0<\/span>sum<\/span>\u00a0of human activity\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0creating this chaotic beauty,\u201d he said. \u201cSomething about this place adds some grit and resilience and determination to persevere, even though we\u2019re not on the biggest stage<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Conner\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Dejecacion<\/span> is a magazine specialization graduate student at Medill.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Conner Dejecacion Medill Reports It wasn\u2019t a traditional video game. Two guys huddled over a laptop on one side of the room, the computer wired to a do-it-yourself interface consisting of huge, domed buttons in red, yellow and blue. Meanwhile, another person stood on a step stool, waving semaphore flags. At the same time, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1038,"featured_media":106648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,5543,5555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-msj26","category-spring-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nGame on: Why indie developers are choosing the Windy City - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/game-on-why-indie-developers-are-choosing-the-windy-city\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Game on: Why indie developers are choosing the Windy City - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Conner Dejecacion Medill Reports It wasn\u2019t a traditional video game. 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