Blog

Let me set the stage: Earlier this year, Louisville Makes Games and Warp Zone faced an existential crisis. The building in which Warp Zone resided was sold out from under us and then the new owner kicked us out with very little notice.

Suddenly, our little nexus of creativity, which had existed for over a decade, now faced its imminent demise. The pressure was on to find a new home and find funding for it, or else operate without a home and risk unraveling from the fabric of our city, and leaving the people in our community in isolation.

The struggle raised some serious, foundational questions for LMG and Warp Zone. If we were going to be forced to pay much higher rent, does that mean we will have to begin charging for events? Does that mean we start hawking merch and pushing Warp Zone memberships? Do we raise membership prices? What is our ultimate value proposition? What is the value of a physical space? What kind of organization do we need to become in order to survive?

Based on input from people in our community, we rolled out a sponsorship model akin to the Blender Foundation or Godot Foundation. Under those models, businesses and corporations can contribute money on a monthly basis, which goes to the development (based on a roadmap) of the software.

We turned many of our serious ideas for the future—which we were working toward very slowly–into our road map. Some of those ideas include: running a summer camp for kids, hosting a workshop/bootcamp to get local games onto Steam, and funding community workshops.

Okay. The stage is set, so what happened next? Well…something profoundly transformational:

Re-Logic makes Terraria in our backyard, in Floyds Knobs, Indiana! They are part of our community and have become a Patron-level sponsor of Louisville Makes Games! With their help, our mission gets a giant boost.

We have since found a new home within an awesome non-profit incubator called Resolve KY, and thanks to Re-Logic’s sponsorship and our Warp Zone members, we will have enough money to upgrade our equipment, fund more workshops, pay for useful services for the community, provide more financial aid to those in need, sponsor developer trips, and generally expand our community outreach.

Thank you Andrew "Redigit" Spinks for finding us, and for recognizing our value. Thanks also to all of the Re-Logic team for supporting our mission with your generous sponsorship. 2026 will be an incredible year for local games!

See you at Warp Zone!

See our next upcoming events!

A new beginning for Louisville’s game development community

Resolve KY – Our new home

After years of serving Louisville’s creative community, Warp Zone is being forced to leave its longtime home by October 31st. We need your help to keep our mission alive and find a new space.

Since 2016, Warp Zone has been a home base for game developers, artists, musicians, writers, and other creatives in Louisville. Run by the nonprofit Louisville Makes Games, we've hosted everything from game jams and art shows to coding workshops for kids - always free and open to the public.

Our current building was recently sold to a private entity, and the new landlord has plans to renovate. As a result, all tenants - including us - must vacate by October 31st, 2025. While we understand and respect their plans, this move puts our future at risk.

For the past six years, our community has grown stronger thanks to the incredible support of Fund For the Arts, who offered discounted rent and championed the value of nonprofits and arts organizations like ours.

Now, we’re asking for your help. Warp Zone isn’t just a space—it’s a community. If you’ve ever attended an event, taught a class, co-worked here, or believe in what we do, please consider supporting our next chapter.

Our rent will likely increase significantly in any new space we find, and we are also exploring the possibility of purchasing a permanent location someday. No options are off the table - we’re dreaming big and working to turn this disruption into an opportunity for growth.

We’re determined to keep this community alive. Let’s make sure Warp Zone has a future - one powered by the people who made it special in the first place!

Donate now to help us secure Warp Zone's next home

The Warp Zone community creating together

Downtown Louisville, KY

After years of serving Louisville’s creative community, Warp Zone is being forced to leave its longtime home by October 31st. We need your help to keep our mission alive and find a new space.

Since 2016, Warp Zone has been a home base for game developers, artists, musicians, writers, and other creatives in Louisville. Run by the nonprofit Louisville Makes Games, we've hosted everything from game jams and art shows to coding workshops for kids - always free and open to the public.

Our current building was recently sold to a private entity, and the new landlord has plans to renovate. As a result, all tenants - including us - must vacate by October 31st, 2025. While we understand and respect their plans, this move puts our future at risk.

For the past six years, our community has grown stronger thanks to the incredible support of Fund For the Arts, who offered discounted rent and championed the value of nonprofits and arts organizations like ours.

Now, we’re asking for your help. Warp Zone isn’t just a space—it’s a community. If you’ve ever attended an event, taught a class, co-worked here, or believe in what we do, please consider supporting our next chapter.

Our rent will likely increase significantly in any new space we find, and we are also exploring the possibility of purchasing a permanent location someday. No options are off the table - we’re dreaming big and working to turn this disruption into an opportunity for growth.

We’re determined to keep this community alive. Let’s make sure Warp Zone has a future - one powered by the people who made it special in the first place!

Donate now to help us secure Warp Zone's next home

The Warp Zone community creating together

Downtown Louisville, KY

On June 14th, 2025, Louisville Makes Games hosted a pixel art workshop at the St. Matthews Library led by game artist and developer Kurt Taylor. The session focused on accessible tools and creative character design, welcoming attendees of all skill levels.

Kurt Taylor is a Louisville-based artist, animator, and game developer who's been making games for over a decade and creating art his entire life. His work is heavily inspired by classic Dungeons & Dragons fantasy characters and Magic: The Gathering artists.

With indie releases like *Privateers* under his belt - a fantasy roguelite where players explore an archipelago and shape their fate as hero or pirate - Kurt brought both experience and enthusiasm to this hands-on workshop.

Hosted at the St. Matthews branch of the Louisville Free Public Library, the workshop focused on creating pixel art characters using beginner-friendly tools.

Kurt introduced the group to **Piskel**, a free, browser-based editor perfect for getting started with pixel art, and recommended **Aseprite**, a $15 pixel art and animation tool available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Attendees followed along as Kurt demonstrated how to draw a quirky character of his own design: a small hero with a **potion bottle for a head**.

Two of Kurt's three children joined the event, adding a fun layer of father-daughter heckling that kept the atmosphere light and full of laughter.

Kurt made the workshop approachable and inspiring, offering personal feedback as he went around the room checking out the wide variety of character designs created by attendees. His encouragement helped everyone - from beginners to seasoned artists - feel welcome and empowered to keep creating.

Kurt Taylor leading a pixel art workshop

St. Matthews Library, Louisville KY

On May 21st, I had the awesome opportunity to present at the Bon Air Library in Louisville, Kentucky representing Louisville Makes Games. The topic was one that I am truly passionate about: how to get started making video games. The audience consisted mainly of enthusiastic teens, accompanied by some equally curious parents. Together, we had an open discussion about how video games are made.

I kicked off the session by asking everyone to share their favorite video games and asked if they knew who created those games, many mentioned the names of game companies or publishers but I dug deeper to try to get folks to consider the individual people who create games either on small 1-2 person indie teams, or on large 3000 person teams like for Red Dead Redemption 2.

To demystify the process of making video games, I highlighted the various disciplines involved, extending beyond programming to encompass art, music, storytelling, sound design, and much more. The goal was to showcase the collaborative nature of game development and to inspire participants to explore the diverse array of skills required to bring their own game ideas to life.

Next we talked about tools such as game engines, and explained that each game engine is a tool box for making games and each includes a different number of tools, some smaller ones might be quicker to learn and get started while others might have a larger set of tools and be more capable once you take the time to learn a bunch of them.

I talked about how a major factor in making games is time, and putting in the effort to learn and teach yourself rather than try to use shortcuts. I mentioned the popular topic of AI like ChatGPT and how it can be a useful tool, but if you ask it to create code for your game without having at least a basic understanding of programming you will have a difficult time solving issues when AI gets things wrong. Like any tool, it can be useful to help but it is not a “do-it-all” solution.

The presentation at the Bon Air Library marked the first in our series of meetups organized as a partnership with Louisville Makes Games and the Louisville Free Public Library. The warm reception from the audience made it evident that this initiative would foster a vibrant community of aspiring game developers in Louisville. I am grateful to have played a part in sparking curiosity and igniting a passion for game creation among the attendees.

If you're interested in joining us for these gatherings and staying updated on all our free public events, be sure to join our group on meetup.com/louisvillemakesgames for email updates!

View the full presentation slides here

Alex Bezuska giving a presentaion at Bon Air Library

Louisville, Kentucky

The Louisville Arcade Expo (LAX) is just around the corner, and we at Louisville Makes Games couldn't be more excited to be a part of it! This year's event is taking place from Friday, March 10 to Sunday, March 12, 2023, and it promises to be a fantastic showcase of retro gaming and local game development talent.

One of the main draws of the Louisville Arcade Expo is the chance to play retro arcade, console, and computer games. Whether you're a die-hard fan of classic games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders, or you're more interested in retro PC games like Doom and Quake played on a LAN, there's something for everyone at this event.

But the fun doesn't stop there - Louisville Makes Games and other local game developers will be there too, showing off our latest game projects and giving attendees a chance to play them before they're released. It's a great opportunity to see what kind of creative talent is brewing right here in Kentucky, and to get a glimpse of what the future of gaming might look like.

Of course, attending the Louisville Arcade Expo isn't free - but it's definitely worth the price of admission. A weekend pass will set you back $65, while day rates range from $20 to $35 depending on which day you attend. Kids under 10 get in for free, so it's a great way to introduce your little ones to the world of retro gaming and game development.

We can't wait to see you at the Louisville Arcade Expo! Whether you're a die-hard gamer or you're just curious about the local game development scene, this event is not to be missed. See you there!

Get your tickets for LAX!

Locally-made indie games

available for all ages to try out at LAX

When creating a game project, it can be tempting to use assets found online as a shortcut to creating original content. However, it is important to pay attention to the license associated with each asset to ensure that it can be used appropriately.

Understanding Creative Commons Zero and Other Licenses

Creative Commons Zero (CC0) is a public domain license that allows for free use of an asset without attribution. However, most other licenses do require some form of attribution, which means giving credit to the original artist for their work. The MIT license is one example of a license that requires attribution. Game developers should also be wary of "viral" licenses like the GPL v3, which requires that any derivative works also be released under the GPL v3 license.

Giving Credit to Artists

When using other people's work in game projects, it's important to make sure that the artist receives proper credit. This can be done through including the artist's name in the game credits or on the game's page on a jam site, for example. Some licenses may also require a link back to the originaly work or the creator's website.

TL;DR:

Use Creative Commons or MIT licensed assets, be wary of GPL, and credit the artist.

Jason Thompson, Local Louisville composer

Photo by David R. Lutman, Courier Journal, Aug 4 2019