The Chattanooga Chapter for the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is hosting a unique gaming event on the 4th Floor that is definitely play time but also a serious example of their mission to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. 

Gamers who are also designers are pretty intense and deeply committed to their craft.  Attendess will see this in full effect during the screening of the Sundance award-winning "Indie Game: The Movie," a film that celebrates the gaming culture and its creators.

To bring the point home, the event, which organizers are calling Indie Game: The Afternoon, will also feature local designer/developer and composer, Shaun Inman, and details about his current Retro Game Crunch project. Inman is hoping to raise $60,000 via Kickstarter for his Retro Game Crunch challenge where he and his team promise to design and deliver six games in six months. Nearly 1,000 people have already backed him and the AIGA have pledged to give 50% of the event's $5 ticket price to the Kickstarter till. 

But it doesn't end there. In fact, with any luck, perhaps that is where everything could begin.  In a recent post by DJ Trischler, AIGA Chattanooga's director of events and programming, he confesses that he doesn't want attendees to just live vicariously through Shaun or the others featured in the documentary. Trischler writes: "I want to encourage that kid to come out on Saturday, meet real-life game designer Shaun Inman, and watch Indie Game: The Movie to get a look at the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into the work. Maybe, just maybe, that kid inside will grow up to be a video game designer. Or, a graphic designer...."

It's not just a game. It could be an inspiration. 

Indie Game: The Afternoon is Saturday, December 8 on the 4th Floor at the Public Library, Downtown. Full details, registration etc can be found right here.