A month full of video game events will start early as speed runs, student workshops and gaming tournaments come to Central Florida. It starts tonight when independent video game community Indienomicon kicks off its 2020 schedule with a monthly meetup.

The schedule will then keep video game fans busy this month. Here’s a rundown of 3 big events coming this month, followed by a list of other events to keep on your radar.  

1. Indienomicon: The grandfather/grandmother of video game events in Orlando returns for the new year. Organizers say they hope to shift locations for the monthly event to feature venues in Central Florida outside of the Melrose Center at the Orange County library downtown. That’s not this month, however. Augie Lye, CEO of Chromatic Games from Gainesville, will be the featured speaker at tonight’s event.
2. Games Done Quick fundraiser: How fast can you finish Super Mario Bros. 3? Probably not as fast as these gamers. For the first time, the weeklong speed-run fundraiser Games Done Quick comes to Orlando. The event starts on Jan. 5 at 11:30 a.m. Now, unfortunately, tickets are sold out but if you want to watch the insane action, they will be streaming on their Twitch channel HERE.
3. Otronicon: The folks at Arcade Monsters will be bringing in several machines and the group Indienomicon (see above) has encouraged indie developers to show off their games at the Orlando Science Center’s technology showcase. The event will include a keynote speech by Kate Edwards, who will talk about career paths in the video game industry. Otronicon starts at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 17.

Here are a few other notable events to look into this month:

Jan. 4, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Design and Create Your Own Video Game with Microsoft at the Orlando Science Center, 777 E. Princeton St.

Jan. 10, 6-10 p.m.: Level Up Academy, 421 E. Robinson St., teaches kids game development while parents spend time out and about in downtown Orlando.

Jan. 11, 9 a.m-3 p.m.: Press Play Conference at FIEA helps students learn about opportunities in video game development.

Jan. 16-17, 2-3:30 p.m.: Create a 3D video game at the downtown library, 101 E. Central Blvd.

Jan. 26, 4-7 p.m.: Pokemon Sword and Shield video game tournament at the Cool Stuff Games store in Maitland,  8550 S. U.S. Highway 17/92.