Alessandro Cuzzocrea

I got into Digi Game Expo 2026!

September 19, 2026
screenshot of an email from the Digi Game Expo 2026

Big news!

I got an email the other day saying that I’ve been accepted to exhibit at this year’s autumn edition of Digi Game Expo 2026, an indie game exhibition where developers bring their own games for the public to play!

I’m extremely happy, but also kinda freaking out.

Why?

I don’t have a game. And I have less than two months to make one. 😬

The exhibition is on November 8, so… wish me luck lol.

What is Digi Game Expo?

Held twice a year in Akihabara, Tokyo, Digi Game Expo (デジゲー博 in Japanese) is an indie game exhibition where developers bring their games and let the public play them.

It’s about as indie as it gets, with relatively little involvement from bigger companies.

I’ve been there four or five times since moving to Tokyo, and every time has been a pleasure. I get to try out new indie games, chat with developers, and spend the day hanging out with people who are just as interested in making games as I am.

Everyone I’ve met has been friendly and eager to show off what they’ve created.

There’s also so much amazing stuff and so many interesting concepts that you rarely see in AAA games, or even AA games.

To me, it’s a celebration of human creativity, curiosity, and the joy of making games.

And this year, I’ll be on the other side of the table.

Assuming I actually manage to make something, that is.

My history with game development

I’ve been making indie games for a while now.

I spend most of my free time on game dev. At least, that’s what I like to tell people.

The reality is that my last game development project was Push Golf, which I submitted to the 21st Unreal Engine 5 Petit Contest in 2024.

Push Golf by Alessandro Cuzzocrea

Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly my greatest work.

Before that, my biggest project was Tearful Heart, a story-driven RPG I published in 2023.

Tearful Heart by Alessandro Cuzzocrea

But it didn’t get nearly as much attention as I’d hoped, either.

Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time daydreaming about game development. I still think about game ideas almost daily, and I still want to make them a reality.

But actually sitting down and working on something?

That’s another story.

For whatever reason, I’ve had very little energy or motivation to get started on anything new.

Almost three years have passed since I released Tearful Heart, and I still don’t have much new to show for it.

It’s extremely frustrating when I think about how much time I’ve spent dreaming about making games rather than actually making them.

What I had to submit

The application process itself was pretty straightforward. I had to provide:

There are different booth sizes available, and since I’m just one dude, I went with the smaller half-table option.

There’s one catch, though.

The event has 250 spaces available. If there are more applications than available spaces, exhibitors are chosen by lottery.

If you win a spot in the lottery, you’re in. If you don’t, your participation fee is refunded.

I submitted my application and paid the fee before the September 1 deadline, but I still had to wait for the results.

Then, on September 16, the email finally arrived.

Woohoo, I got in! 🎉

Why I applied even though I don’t have a game to show

So why did I apply in the first place?

Honestly, I figured a strict deadline would give me the much-needed kick in the nuts to finally get started on something.

Without a deadline, it’s easy to keep procrastinating. There’s always tomorrow, next week, or whenever I finally feel motivated. And before you know it, months have passed…

If I show up at the exhibition with nothing to show, it’ll be pretty embarrassing. Maybe that’s exactly the kind of pressure I need.

But there’s another reason I wanted to exhibit at a physical event.

You get to put your creation in front of actual people, watch them play it, and see their reactions in real time. That’s something you can’t really replicate by just uploading a game online.

I love creating things and sharing them with the world, but it’s easy for your work to go completely unnoticed online.

This time, I’d rather have a handful of real people play something I’ve made than watch another game disappear into the void.

The game I’m going to make

I want to take a shot at an idea I’ve had in the back of my mind for a couple of years now.

Imagine a mix between a golf game and a turn-based RPG/roguelike.

You’re an RPG hero exploring a dungeon, but instead of simply walking around, you move using golf clubs and balls.

Along the way, you’ll encounter classic golf hazards, dungeon monsters, treasure chests, traps, and all the other stuff you’d expect from an RPG dungeon crawl.

Basically, golf meets dungeon crawling.

I think it could be a fun combination if I can get the mechanics right.

Here’s a quick prototype I started putting together the other day:

It’s still super early, but at least there’s something to build on now.

So, what’s the worst that could happen?

I know what you’re (probably not) thinking.

Isn’t it a little crazy to apply for an indie game exhibition without actually having a game to exhibit?

Well, yes.

But that’s kind of the point.

I have less than two months to put something together. It doesn’t need to be perfect or even a full-fledged game. A small, playable prototype should be enough to give people an idea of what I’m trying to make.

Whether that’s actually enough, I’ll find out on the day.

For now

Honestly, I have no idea how this is going to turn out.

Maybe I’ll manage to put together a fun little game that people may enjoy playing.

Or maybe I’ll end up with a barely functional prototype that’s less of a game and more of a punishment, with gameplay that feels like psychological torture and graphics that make your eyes bleed.

Either way, I want to use this opportunity to get back into making games instead of just thinking about making them.

And if everything goes catastrophically wrong beyond my wildest dreams?

Well, at least I’ll have a funny blog post about exhibiting at an indie game convention without a functioning game lol