How the IGDA Foundation is helping the developers of the future.

18:00Kahlief Adams:The developers or publishers could pick what percentage they wanted to donate to us. And because of my longstanding relationships in the industry, I reached out to the head of behavior. And I reached out to Tim at Double Fine. And I reached out to Atari. And they all put at least two games each into this event. And the metrics for them were substantial. I mean, pretty big. And so we are in the process right now of signing up games through the 20th of February, so a week from Friday. We're signing up games. I have big, big hopes for this year. We're still looking for a big anchor game. We don't have some big game that's going to make Steam put us on the front page yet.

18:54Kahlief Adams:I'm convinced we will get it. But we have almost 70 games signed up. That's neat. And what I hope is that this is how we fund ourselves every year. Yeah, yeah. Is that we have this big event. People want to support us. I don't want to just ask for a handout. If we can provide a platform for those games on Steam, obviously. Yeah, yeah. On Steam's platform where their games sell more than they normally would so that they don't mind. donating to a charitable organization that they get a tax break from, that's a win-win for everyone. And that's how I hope we can sustain what we're doing. And now I'm going to answer your question.

19:38Kahlief Adams:So that was the precursor to, we want to be in more places than just the United States. Last year, we had a woman from Ghana who was the recipient of this award we have called the Eric Dibson's AI scholar. She could not get a visa to come to GDC.

19:59Alyssa Walles:Yeah.

20:00Kahlief Adams:Right. Devastating for me. Like, no, no, no, this is a big deal. There's a big AI dinner with one of our board members founded the foundation and he's one of these AI guys that created this AI dinner. And I was like, So I went to the board and I said, so she can't get here.

20:22Alyssa Walles:Yeah.

20:23Kahlief Adams:Can I send her to another conference? And they were like, yeah, of course. And so we asked her if she wanted to go to Gamescom or Africa Games Week. She chose Africa Games Week. So we helped her and some other alumni with their costs for getting to Africa Games Week. we were selected as a partner to devcom gamescom last year and so they have a scholarship program which doesn't cover everything but helps and so we found a little bit of budget to help out with that last year so last year was what we call the year of more like we really started pushing our boundaries beyond the united states not just in our grantees but where we are supporting people And this year we have budget to, and it's not a big budget, but we're going to send five people to Gamescom.

21:14Kahlief Adams:And then, do you know who Michael Oscar is? Yes. Of Africa ComiCade? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a Next Gen Leader alum. That's great. So he's another one of our ripple effect people. That's awesome. And so we're talking to him about how can we support what he's doing. in 2024 we uh the board had said to me look we know this budget is in the red yeah but we would like you to start thinking about serving more people internationally instead of just sending more people to gdc yeah and so i talked to oscar and he was uh running this spark program which you may or may not know about 161 kids i think was a 10 or 11 month program and not kids young people in this very um intense training and mentorship program and we were able to give them a little bit of money and it really helped them through that program so we're talking to him about doing that again this year and we are looking for ways to support our alumni who go to events in other countries.

22:21Kahlief Adams:And so in answer to your question, with all that's happening here, we are focused on how do we provide the support we've been providing at GDC, which is our only in-person program or was, like, how do we push ourselves outside of what we've normally done and expand into other places that would really benefit from the kinds of programming we have?

22:51Alyssa Walles:That's awesome for multiple reasons, especially because, you know, a lot of folks I know who have been talking about the resurgence of game dev in Africa has been really, really, really cool to be able to see how awesome. I had a really great conversation with a friend of mine and we were talking about the current space in terms of like the ways that we're talking about the region and talking about folks who are working there. And a lot of times folks kind of talk about it as like they don't use the word codev in the ways that we usually expect them to. You know, you have teams who are doing that stuff and you're like, oh, well, we ship that stuff over so that those folks can kind of take care of it.

23:28Alyssa Walles:And I was like, no, this is codev. This is different than, you know, just sending things off. Yeah, exactly. And how that has changed over the past couple of years to really kind of, you know, give those folks their proper due. are you noticing anything specific in various regions that you're working in? Are there any kind of trends that you're seeing that are coming across in different kinds of ideas around games? You know, the ways that those communities are connecting with the folks who live there. Are you seeing any differences in the ways that we're kind of traditionally thinking about games and how that is translated to the international audience?

24:02Kahlief Adams:So it's not that it's differences. I have since I joined the foundation have seen the growth on the continent of Africa like there's so much activity there I got connected to the folks at Xbox game camp and so one of our next gen leaders from last year is out of their alumni pool because we are trying to figure out how do we work together and how do we support each other um for me it's not about those trends in other places i think africa is just like so prominent in what's happening there it feels bigger than what i've seen elsewhere yeah for us in other regions we're still trying to get people to know who we are and what we do last year at gdc i walked around the international hall and handed out my card to people like, hey, we have this program and the applications are open right now.

25:01Kahlief Adams:Can you make sure your community signs up or applies? So we want people from more and more countries to know about us. And that's how we're going to help grow communities in these other regions. So whereas the IGDA, for their part, may have chapters in hundreds of countries, I don't even know, we are like, okay, but do they know to apply and that we have this community for them that is not just about these? I mean, I don't actually know exactly what they do, so I shouldn't say that. But is it, you know, we aren't having in-person meetups all the time, but we're helping people build community where they are.

25:43Alyssa Walles:Yeah. It feels also, again, like the industry, as you know, is very small. You know, we all know someone. It's very much six degrees of Kevin Bacon. You know, it's very much that where we all kind of know people who are doing other stuff. And you talked a little bit about some of the folks like Xbox is kind of jumping in the pool with some of their work. And they've been known to do everything with X-Dev. And not X-Dev, that's PlayStation 5. But the grouping of folks that they've been working with. Are you finding other folks to get in some good trouble with? Oh, yeah. Like Games for Change, I know, has been a big part of that.

26:14Kahlief Adams:So when we have had success with finding corporate sponsorship, a lot of times they want reach. and we don't have huge reach. So we did a program that we're still in the process of with some Android porting called PortQuest, if you take a look at our website. Yeah, yeah. And we're doing that with Wiggy and with IGDA.

26:41Alyssa Walles:Love Wiggy.

26:41Kahlief Adams:So one or all of us will call on the other when there is something like that. The last two years, we've done a BIPOC virtual career fair with Black and Gaming, Wiggy, and last year, Keisha Howard's group, Sugar Gamer's group. So I sometimes feel like Miracle on 34th Street, like, yes, please, you know, I know I'm Macy's, but please go to whatever. Why can't I think of the other, anyway, you know what I'm saying? I know, I got you. So we do bring in our other orgs who are doing similar work. there's a game jam that we're doing and uh at the end of march yeah with um that's sponsored by a foundation called unlikely collaborators and we uh know that they want more people than we could bring to the table yeah so we include the igda and we brought in um girls make games oh

27:43Alyssa Walles:Oh, sweet. I love that. Yeah, they're great.

27:45Kahlief Adams:So I am a networker at heart. I love to connect people. And I want to deliver. When someone says, hey, can you do this game jam? Or can you deliver these porting partners to us? I want to make it great for them. And the way we can do that is by bringing in these other groups and collaborating together with them.

28:10Alyssa Walles:Yeah. I've got two last questions for you. because I know you got to go, you got to go party. It's we're in Vegas. We got to go party. Question is, you know, we've talked a lot about kind of the current state and the way the industry has kind of maneuvered and morphed into what it is now. I think the work you do is very hopeful. And I think the work that you do didn't get a chance to kind of, you know, get the next generation of folks who want to be in this industry, you know, moving and getting into those spaces. What's your advice for folks who are still in that space, who are thinking about joining this madness that we've all decided to join into, to kind of give them a good understanding of how to maneuver, where to kind of get your first steps in, and how to think about how you can be a contributor to this amazing industry?

28:59Kahlief Adams:I would first say our applications are opening soon for our virtual program, which is called Questline Online. And it's in the fall, but we start our application process now. And most of the orgs I talk about or that I mentioned, most of them have LinkedIn Lives or they have different, maybe they have a YouTube channel or maybe they have a Twitch stream where people are asking and answering questions. We've just started doing a monthly speaker series, finding out what the orgs are that have a connection to somebody and signing up for their newsletter so they know what's happening. Following us on LinkedIn, the IGDA Foundation.

29:45Kahlief Adams:Yep. Different than the IGDA. If I could say it one more time.

29:49Alyssa Walles:We're going to put it on the screen.

29:52Kahlief Adams:On LinkedIn, it's at IGDA Foundation.

29:55Alyssa Walles:The foundation part. Yeah, we're going to put that on there. Huge letters.

30:00Kahlief Adams:So it is difficult, I think, for somebody trying to get into the industry. Sure. Game Jam, Game Jam, Game Jam. Yeah. From what I know, I'm not a developer. Sure. I am not on the dev side myself. You know, I've been around forever, but not on the production side. But that seems like where people can build that community also if they aren't accepted into our program or if they don't know about our program until the applications close. But itch.io has all kinds of game jams all the time. We have one coming up at the end of March. Sorry, it's at the end of March. Unlikely Collaborators. It's on our website.

30:44Kahlief Adams:We also have a resources section we added to our website of other orgs who are doing similar work where somebody could learn about, oh, hey, I want to learn about mental health supporting games. I'm not going to be a developer, but I want to do that thing. just doing some research on what interests them and if they want to be on the dev side or the production side or the art side finding ways to do that and and it's hard because you have to have another job yeah right yep um that's that's the tough part yeah that i feel I didn't have to go through that. I mean, I'm super old. And so, you know, I started out as a receptionist at an ad agency.

31:37Kahlief Adams:And my career went like all over the place. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I got into games super randomly. And so a lot of young people think they're going to have this like really planned path. but if they can be doing something that has a transferable skill that is everything yeah and

32:01Alyssa Walles:sometimes you don't know what those transferable skills are until you have those conversations of right i do this really well and this is the thing that translates and having someone exactly hit that pinpoint for you is really really good and that's something that the foundation in our

32:13Kahlief Adams:programming in that questline online program we for that velocity cohort specifically talk a lot about transferable skills and how to market them. In the scholars cohort, we're talking about how to read a job posting. Because I mentor a lot of young people, and that's one of the first things we do is we go on LinkedIn and we look at a job posting, and they're like, I don't even know what these words together mean. I'm like, okay, let's break it down.

32:43Alyssa Walles:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

32:44Kahlief Adams:So I love all those different things that we are providing to those different people who are in different places in their career journey.

32:52Alyssa Walles:Yeah, that's so needed because I'm also in that space of thinking about what the pivot is for me too, you know, being in the space for a while.

32:59Kahlief Adams:Maybe you should be applying

33:01Alyssa Walles:to our next two leaders cohort. I might have to do it. I might have to do it. I have some skills, I think, maybe. Yeah, I think so. I think so. Maybe one or two. Before we let you go, I know you are super busy, but are you playing anything fun these days? Okay.

33:17Kahlief Adams:So, yes.

33:20Alyssa Walles:I love this movie. It's a qualification. I'm ready. I'm ready for it. Yes, and. Yes.

33:25Kahlief Adams:I have been grandfathered into the industry.

33:28Alyssa Walles:Yeah. Because I started on the business side.

33:31Kahlief Adams:Yeah. And I am not a core gamer, which I tell anyone who asks that question or something similar. So I play a lot of Solitaire. Yeah. And Monument Valley. Yeah. So I wish I played other things. Those are absolutely fine answers, by the way. My friends that I've worked with have tried to get me to do, to try other things. That's just my lane.

34:02Alyssa Walles:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, my wife is not a gamer at all, but she plays the hell out of some Wordle. She is a gamer. But she's a gamer. So I say that knowing that I am, but because I've been in the industry so long, I don't feel like I am. if that makes any sense. You get the badge too. You get to rock your Gabriel flag just as much as anybody else. Why not? So does your wife. Absolutely. All the time. I'm like, you are the core audience in a lot of different ways. Exactly. Exactly. Alyssa, thank you so much for spending some time.

34:34Kahlief Adams:This has been so fun. I'm so happy to get to know you.

34:36Alyssa Walles:I'm so happy we got a chance to finally meet and hang out. I'm excited to hear more about what the foundation and all the work that you're doing. And if there's any way that can be helpful, I would love to.

34:47Kahlief Adams:I will be sharing information. I would love to add you to our mailing list.

34:51Alyssa Walles:Yeah, I'm totally down. Yeah, great. Totally, totally down.

34:53Kahlief Adams:Awesome.

34:53Alyssa Walles:Thank you again for the time.

34:55Kahlief Adams:Thank you for wanting to talk to me.

34:57Alyssa Walles:No, of course. If you do want to, again, give the pitch to the folks at home website, any other place they can reach out to be a part of this.

35:04Kahlief Adams:So on LinkedIn, it's IGDA Foundation or at IGDA Foundation, like space between those two. Our website is IGDAfoundation.org. so that stands for International Game Developers Association Foundation but it's IGDAfoundation.org when is this going to go live? next week before the 20th? I can make that happen if you're seeing this before the 20th February 20th, 2026 and you have a game that you would like to put into our what's called DLC or download for charity event you just have to have a paid game or paid DLC on Steam and that you want to donate a percentage of back to the foundation, igdafoundation.org slash DLC.

35:51Kahlief Adams:Sweet. It does not have to be DLC. It just has to be paid. And we'd love your support. Or at the end of March when we're on Steam, buy our games.

36:00Alyssa Walles:Yeah. Guys, at home, please, please, please go support the team. Go make sure you're checking out all the stuff on Steam. Make sure, hey, folks, I know all the folks out there who have money. Donate now. Donate now.

36:13Kahlief Adams:Now, itdafoundation.org.

36:14Alyssa Walles:Go donate. There's donate. There's a huge thing that says donate on there. There'll be a link in the description on the video and in the podcast as well. But again, thank you so much for spending time. It was great to see you. Of course. Of course. Thank you so much. Cool. Everybody at home, we have more cool stuff from DICE 2026 coming up after this. And for the rest of the week, we have some goodies coming up that you should be checking out. Make sure you are checked in, locked in, and watching all the goodies. So until then, we say much love and peace. Peace.

36:47You