About PixelPop

Since its inaugural event in 2014, PixelPop Festival has asserted its identity as an intimate and impactful game festival that celebrates a wide range of games and interactive experiences. PixelPop Festival’s mission is to encourage and empower attendees from all backgrounds and experience levels to develop new skills, explore different methods, and cultivate relationships with other creators and players.

PixelPop Festival creates a safe, approachable space for all attendees, exposing players and creators to a supportive, inclusive, and creative culture that celebrates a wide array of games and creators. In order to advocate for diversity, equity, and accessibility in games, programs at PixelPop Festival will encourage attendees to think progressively, have confidence, and do work that makes a difference.

Event History

PixelPop Festival grown from its roots as a local festival into a flourishing, national celebration of diversity and uniqueness in games. PixelPop brings in guests and attendees from all over the country to participate in our educational sessions, indie game exhibition, and after-parties.

2014

PixelPop’s first year, hosted by Webster University, was an event celebrating indie gamedev, traditional gaming, and game music. We had speakers, guests, and demos from all over, including Aureylian (Twitch), voice actress and content creator Elspeth Eastman, game designer Christopher Badell (Greater Than Games), artist Tracy Butler (Lackadaisy), musician Ben Briggs, and many more.

2015

In PixelPop’s second year, again hosted by Webster University, we put a greater focus on game education, partnering with the St. Louis Symphony to provide our guests with an after-event to satisfy their musical fandom. Our speakers and guests came from all over the US, including sound designer Eduardo Ortiz Frau (Everything, The Stanley Parable), voice actress Danielle McRae (Skullgirls), game designer Jamey Stegmaier (Stonemaier Games), game journalist Josh Boykin (Intelligame), and gamedev studio Butterscotch Shenanigans (Crashlands).

2016

PixelPop moved to the Saint Louis Science Center to host an open, education-and-experimentation-focused event. Our guests included game developer Samantha Kalman (Sentris), artist Anita Tung (Shard), game developer TJ Hughes (Nour), tabletop devs Cardboard Fortress Games (RESISTOR_, Lazer Ryderz), game psychologist Jamie Madigan (author, Getting Gamers), game developer Jarryd Huntley (Art Club Challenge), among many others.

2017

The 2017 PixelPop Festival leveled-up in every way, with a fantastic new venue – Saint Louis University’s Busch Student Center – and complete focus on unique games and the people who make them possible. Speakers included Guest of Honor Rebekah Saltsman (CEO of FINJI – Feist, A Night in the Woods); Erin “Aureylian” Wayne (Lead Community Manager at Twitch); Michael Lee (Schell Games); Dr. Pamela L. Gay (CosmoQuest); composer Tammy Duplantis; and Saam Pahlavan (Taco Illuminati). PxP 2017 also featured a festival film screening of Forever An Astronaut’s Dev Diary.

2018

PixelPop returned to the SLU Busch Student Center in 2018, featuring a record-breaking number of games, and a fantastic selection of conference sessions. Speakers included game writer Kevin Snow (Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, Southern Monsters), alternative controller developer Robin Baumgarten (Line Wobbler), narrative designer Lisa Brunette (Brunette Games), and musician and sound designer Priscilla Snow (The Silence Under Your Bed, A Good Snowman is Hard to Build), and more.

Originally concepted by Ben Triola of Happy Badger Studio, PixelPop Festival came together as a way for local creators and players to connect, share their experiences, and build a stronger local game community. The event has since grown into a festival focusing on unique interactive play, bringing in guests and attendees from all over the country to participate in our educational sessions and indie game demos.

2014

PixelPop’s first year, hosted by Webster University, was an event celebrating indie gamedev, traditional gaming, and game music. We had speakers, guests, and demos from all over, including Aureylian (Twitch), voice actress and content creator Elspeth Eastman, game designer Christopher Badell (Greater Than Games), artist Tracy Butler (Lackadaisy), musician Ben Briggs, and many more.

2015

In PixelPop’s second year, again hosted by Webster University, we put a greater focus on game education, partnering with the St. Louis Symphony to provide our guests with an after-event to satisfy their musical fandom. Our speakers and guests came from all over the US, including sound designer Eduardo Ortiz Frau (Everything, The Stanley Parable), voice actress Danielle McRae (Skullgirls), game designer Jamey Stegmaier (Stonemaier Games), game journalist Josh Boykin (Intelligame), and gamedev studio Butterscotch Shenanigans (Crashlands).

2016

PixelPop moved to the Saint Louis Science Center to host an open, education-and-experimentation-focused event. Our guests included game developer Samantha Kalman (Sentris), artist Anita Tung (Shard), game developer TJ Hughes (Nour), tabletop devs Cardboard Fortress Games (RESISTOR_, Lazer Ryderz), and game psychologist Jamie Madigan, PhD (author, Getting Gamers), among many others.

2017

The 2017 PixelPop Festival leveled-up in every way, with a fantastic new venue – Saint Louis University’s Busch Student Center – and complete focus on unique games and the people who make them possible. Speakers included Guest of Honor Rebekah Saltsman (CEO of FINJI – Feist, A Night in the Woods); Erin “Aureylian” Wayne (Lead Community Manager at Twitch); Michael Lee (Schell Games); Dr. Pamela L. Gay (CosmoQuest); composer Tammy Duplantis; and Saam Pahlavan (Taco Illuminati). PxP 2017 also featured a festival film screening of Forever An Astronaut’s Dev Diary.

What’s in St. Louis?

Events like PixelPop Festival highlight that St. Louis is not only a great city to live in, but that it’s also one of the fastest-growing regions for entrepreneurs in the United States. With a thriving independent games community, the city boasts the 14th largest 2017 Global Game Jam site in the world (out of 701 sites — we were the 2nd largest in the USA!).