We strive to make Alberta the premiere Canadian destination for games culture and game development.

If you are interested in games culture and game development in Alberta, you have come to the right place. We are a not-for-profit organization that is evolving into Alberta’s game development professional association. Some of the things we currently do are: the Game Discovery Exhibition (GDX Edmonton), GameCamp Edmonton (Edmonton’s local IGDA chapter), and a biennial games industry report. We also collaborate with other industry stakeholders to advocate for the games industry and for building a diverse and healthy culture around games. As we grow, we are hoping to do so much more to make Alberta the best place in Canada to make games.

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

Formed in 2014, WESIAA is an Edmonton-based not-for-profit focused on furthering serious, recreational, digital, and non-digital games as interactive art forms. Our organization has four pillars:

1. Increasing the Capacity for Game Development in Alberta
   We will grow the capacity for game development in Alberta by fostering the creation of a sustainable ecosystem. This ecosystem includes skill development in games-related post-secondary offerings (degrees, diplomas, and certificates), further development of industry (in small, medium, and large enterprises), and entrepreneurship (business development and global market access for provincially-based developers). Ultimately, we would like to push Alberta to a place where game developers are able to thrive within a more diverse economy.
2. Diversifying Games Culture
   We will broaden the cultural impact of games and make games more accessible to a broader audience by participating in and enhancing games discourse and promoting diversity of those in game development and game media.
3. Building a United Community
   We will enhance the opportunities for a diverse audience for games to meet and network with one another for both development and play, community-focused events, and tournaments.
4. Supporting our Partner Organizations
   We will link diverse communities of event organizers together for mutual benefit for the purpose of networking, assistance, marketing, volunteer support, and overall efficiencies.

OUR VALUES

Collaborate. Inspire. Learn. Play.