The Start of TCP 2026

…Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.

Hello, intrepid readers! My name is Jess Yang; I’m a second-year Environmental Systems, Environmental Policy major, and the current writing lead officer for the projects team in VGDC. You may also notice I’m not the usual author of the blog, but your regularly scheduled host Joshua Nolasco has let an interloper from the projects committee commandeer the reins for a bit. Thanks Josh!

But, enough with introductions, let’s get on with why you tuned in: our Spring 2026 iteration of TCP!

…what exactly is The Chanel Project? Founded by our former director Chanel Lim, it’s VGDC’s long term community game development project. From pitch submissions to presentations, it’s an opportunity for anyone who has an idea to show it off to the whole world at Pitch Night! From there, attendees will vote on the game they’d like the club to work on for the rest of the quarter, and then it's off to the races for our developers!

Last year, I had the honor and privilege to pitch and be selected for TCP; Mariposa is a game about time, friendship, humanity, and the bittersweet beating of butterfly wings, and I could not be more proud and grateful for all the hard work that helped us get it onto Steam this last summer. Seeing an idea of mine come to life with so many passionate developers working on it—ah, I get mushy just thinking about it! If you want to learn more about TCP & Mariposa, you can click here!

Tamika Hsieh giving her presentation for KURAKLIK.

This year, we had 8 incredible pitchers bravely step up and give their game pitch to our VGDC community. All of them were fantastic ideas, and we’d love to highlight some of them in this blog post! Getting up and speaking in front of a crowd is no easy feat—we’d like to thank everyone who pitched for taking the time to do so!

KURAKLIK's proposed combat mechanic.

The premise of VGSIM, a game set in a world full of sentient plants. Original concept and artwork by Oleo Yu.

The premise for the game Campfire. Original concept and artwork by Cass Adefuin.

…the audience waits for the final vote to be counted. The seconds tick, the crowd deliberates. Finally, a hush falls over the room as our projects director, Ethan Schwartzman, steps to the podium, results in hand.

This year’s TCP Game is Spoilage, pitched by Eric Cai!

Spoilage is a 2D, narrative-driven, psychological horror cooking/doorman sim that draws inspiration from the culture and food of Eastern Europe. Set in the post-war fictional city of Verehn, the player serves a crowd of citizens struggling to survive under an oppressive warlord and must be cautious of civilians too far gone in their spoiling, which turns them monstrous and violent.

We’re so excited to work together to bring this game to life!

With that, my time taking over the blog has come to an end. Thank you especially to everyone who took part in this year’s TCP pitching and voting process; we appreciate all of your hard work!! Thank you also to Joshua Nolasco for giving me the opportunity to write this post for you all, I’ve had a lot of fun doing so! And finally, I’d like to thank you all for reading this!