Attendees play a round of Fernando Ramallo's "Panoramical" during the Night Games portion of the festival IndieCade East. View Full Caption Lauren Naefe/Museum of the Moving Image

ASTORIA — Gamers can head to Queens this weekend, as the east coast version of the popular independent video game festival IndieCade returns to the Museum of the Moving Image for its second year.

IndieCade East, which made its New York debut at the museum last year, will run Friday through Sunday and feature dozens of talks, panels and workshops dedicated to the world of indie-gaming.

"IndieCade East offers New Yorkers a great opportunity to dive into the world of independent games," Jason Eppink, the museum's associate curator for digital media, said in an announcement. "There's something for everyone from the casual gamer to the dedicated scholar and emerging gamemakers."

Highlights of this year's festival include keynote speeches from Auriea Harvey, co-founder of the independent studio Tale of Tales and Bennet Foddy, an an associate art professor at NYU's Game Center; a "Show & Tell" showcase where aspiring developers will display their creations; and a hands-on Saturday night session devoted to live-action and multiplayer games.

Museumgoers will also be able to check out the ongoing exhibit "Indie Essentials," featuring more than two dozen playable video games that were developed independently of large studios and publishers, on view until March 2.

Day passes for the festival cost $55 for Saturday, and $45 for Sunday. A full schedule of events can be found here.