Game Devs Of Colour Expo Is Full Of Great Free Steam Demos, Melanin

The Game Devs of Colour Expo, an event showcasing the diverse talent in games while providing a platform for creators of colour, is officially underway. The 6th annual festival runs from September 23-27 and gives way to a host of happenings, from panels and talks to demos and trailers. There’s four days’ worth of stuff, so there’s a lot to see.

Today (September 23) kicked off with a 45-minute Nintendo-style Direct presentation. The showcase ran through a myriad of trailers from independent developers like Strange Scaffold (An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs) and Whitethorn Games (Lake). Not every game shown during the GDoCExpo Direct had a release date, but most are coming to Steam and Xbox. There seems to be something for everyone, with one particular game I’m stoked about being A Shiba Story, a slice-of-life adventure sim developed by Foxdog Farms where you play as a dog sitter for a Shiba Inu. It’s cute.

The following three days consist of talks, panels, and developer interviews. (Disclosure: a Kotaku staffer will be a part of the event.) Sprinkled throughout the next few days are the commencement (September 24), a party (September 25), and the award ceremony (September 26). The entire Game Devs of Colour Expo is all digital and the three aforementioned events require tickets, which can be bought from the organisation’s website. There’s a $20 USD ($27) pass for those who can’t afford the standard $US50 ($68) one, as well as a higher-tier $US100 ($137) ticket for people who want to support Game Devs of Colour.

But perhaps the most prominent element of the Game Devs of Colour Expo is the Gradient Convergence Steam Event. Running the whole length of the annual four-day festival, this Steam event gives you access to demos of some of the games shown during the GDoCExpo Direct. This includes the action-platformer Mop Boy, the romantic visual novel ValiDate, the hot spring customer management simulator Onsen Master, and many others. The best part is the Gradient Convergence Steam Event is free for all (who have a Steam account) to check out.