The article examines the USC Games Expo, an annual student showcase presented as a significant launchpad for emerging independent game developers. It highlights projects including Aftertaste, Sisyphus’s Worst Day (Again) and Unrealtor, while arguing that the event gives students practical experience of presenting work to players and prepares them for the games industry.

USC Games associate professor Jim Huntley said the Expo has run for more than 10 years and has expanded over time, describing it as the world’s largest academic games showcase. Its Advanced Games Project capstone course places multidisciplinary teams of about 30 students on original games for roughly 18 months, now including an added pre-production semester; the programme also consults studios and publishers while seeking to avoid following short-lived industry trends.