If you’re feeling lonely, call up the night operator Google Calendar. She’s not sure how you got her number but she’ll bling you to the hottest lines and let you know about events as they are announced.

WHERE TO JAUNT – TORONTO GAME EVENTS

Wednesdays, September 6 and 20

Our friends at Interaccess wanna make sure you go through the grant-writing process as unscathed as possible, which is why they’re hosting two media arts grant-writing workshops. Join them on the first Wednesday to hear from a Toronto Arts Council officer, and the latter with the Ontario Arts Council’s counterpart. Won’t be as game-specific as the one we hosted last month, but still a great general primer and chance to question council reps one-on-one.

Thursday, September 7

Rokashi Edwards, Leisha Riddel, and Gabriela Aveiro-Ojeda from Dames Making Games (DMG) host Creating Appealing Character Narratives,  a diverse representation workshop for game developers.  *This is a DMG event. Check the link to make sure if it is open to the public or for members only.*

Saturday, September 9

In case you didn’t know, Mississauga’s been trying to pop off on the game scene (as our Sauga Cohort Kadeem Dunn has been saying for years). triOS College will be making a valiant attempt at fortifying the city’s rep by hosting a game art workshop and party game social on campus.  

Wednesday, September 20

For artists who want to break into game development, Trinity Square Video is hosting an intro Unity 3D workshop. Here’s a lil newsletter cheat code for HES members: Unlock a discounted rate ($30 instead of $50!) by e-mailing sagan@handeyesociety.com, and she’ll notify TSV after verifying your HES membership status. This is applicable to any TSV workshop!

Sunday, September 24

If you’ve been looking for a space to share your VR game with fellow creators or just wanna bounce ideas, the VR Creators Meetup group wants to see what you’ve got. The monthly group encourages a jam-like structure, where they hope folks bring new projects every meetup.

Wednesday, September 27 / Thursday, September 28 / Friday, September 29

The Hand Eye Society is partnering with the Oakwood Village Library branch to run a program connecting game creators with the general public, while giving them some time to work on their own projects! The Art of Play artist’s residency runs for 12 weeks from the end of September to December. The artists, who will be announced soon, will spend 3 hours once a week working on their own projects and being available for public visits, followed by an activity aimed at expanding participants’ perceptions of playing and making games. All free, no registration required. Join us for Screenless Game Makers on Wednesdays, Interactive Fiction Writer’s Circle on Thursdays, and Game Curious on Fridays! Click the program links for exact times and dates, and stay tuned for more details.

Friday, September 29 to Saturday, September 30

Toronto fills that indie game festival void with Damage Camp, a two-day celebration of local indie game cuture. Friday’s opening party accompanies a showcase of SPF 90 FPS, DMG’s summer VR intensive. After a night of arcade fun, the full-day conference on Saturday will be filling attendee noggins with indie game wisdom. Going by the topic names on their site, Damage Camp’s got a full roster of awesomeness, with talks on Muslim representation, eSports accessibility,  as well as a panel on getting funds and accolades. *This is a DMG event. Check the link to make sure if it is open to the public or for members only.*

WHERE TO HAUNT – TORONTO GAME SOCIALS

Tuesday, September 5

Hop on your pogo stick and make your way over to a Commander Keen discussion with the 2-Bit Game Club. And if the IRL meetups weren’t enough, get your chatty fix with their new Discord server URL. At Civis, starts at 6:30 p.m.

Friday, September 22

Remember the Toronto Skillswap? If you’re like me and weren’t around to see this regular gamedev talk series in its hey day, you’re in luck; Randy Orenstein is restarting the meetup (which you can be a part of should you sign up to be a speaker!); the first of what’ll hopefully be many is “Being Agile with Agile,” a project management talk from Mighty Yell Studios’ Dave Proctor. At 160 Kendal Ave, starts at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, September 27

Indie game devs, enthusiasts, and just plain thirsty folks can get their fix at this month’s Torontaru social. At the Get Well, starts at 8 p.m.

Monthly, date TBA

We’re not saying Molly Ringwald will make an appearance but there’s nothing to stop you from heading over to Breakfast Game Audio Club, a casual A.M. game audio social over eggs and hash. Meetups so far have been at Black Cat Espresso, specific dates will be announced via Twitter (or try hassling/gently interrogating its founder Jake Butineau about it.)

A BREADWINNER IS YOU – JOBS, GIGS, AND OPPORTUNITIES

Might be a good time to apply to Ubisoft Toronto. Liz England tweeted that six level designer spots are open on her project.

If one of you smarties is up for some relocation, the University of California at Davis is hunting for a game design prof with experience making weird, personal, and/or political games. If you’ve got questions, hit up current UC Davis associate professor Stephanie Boluk.

Level up your business and marketing skills with the IDM Fund Futures, our new program for emerging game makers in partnership with the Ontario Media Development Corporation! You’ll learn critical skills, get hands-on experience with the pitching process, and will be able to access several OMDC funding options with less than 3 years of full-time industry experience. *** Applications are due on Sunday, September 10. ***

Reptoid Games just launched a Kickstarter campaign for Fossil Hunters. With help from supporters, they’re hoping to bring this puzzle adventure to daring dino enthusiasts everywhere. Their tier perks are worth dusting off, including beta-testing at the $45+ mark and a digital copy of the finished game at $14+. If your irrational fear of lizard people is holding you back,  I stopped by their Fan Expo booth to snap the lovely picture above that finally verifies these devs are mostly human. You’re welcome, Toronto.

On the interwebz, there’s an online game jam for everyone: Queer women, GameBoys, and dragons. Bonus points to whoever makes one with all three.

Secret Location is not-so-secretly looking for a contract level designer.

La Isla Bonita was so 199-whatever. Check out Blue Isle Studios for less Madonna, more gameplay programmer opening.

An Ubisoft-partnered TDSB program is looking for a student video game coordinator to teach kids how to make games in Construct. If you or anyone you know fits the bill, direct inquiries for the job listing to info@fusionjeunesse.org

MVP

This month’s MVP is Chris Tihor, a game writer, programmer, designer, and lucky for us, this year’s Wordplay director. He’s an emphatic supporter of Words and Play and every combination of the two. We’re proud to know such a wordsmitten wordsmith! (His momma is too, considering how his game Mandatory Upgrade: X Marks the Spot nabbed all the votes for Toronto Game Devs’ Game of the Year Award.)

Chris is duty-bound to inform you that there’s still time to submit a Wordplay showcase game application (deadline: September 30, open to local and international titles) because he can’t get enough of writerly and narrative games. No need to feel shy over your game or talk’s content. He’s starred in a few indie movies about murderous circus performers and undead psychiatrists, so it’ll take a lot to faze him. Maybe a murderous undead psychiatrist in a circus? Who knows!

That’s all folks! Thanks for reading yet another edition brought to you by our membership. Not a member? Join today! 

Gig Alert!

Our interactive fiction festival Wordplay’s back in Toronto and a new look’s in order! We’re on the hunt for an illustrator to design the next Wordplay logo. Fabulous riches await the chosen one, totalling a grand sum of $50 and a full year’s membership, perks and all! Fill out this Google Form to apply before Friday, August 25.

STUDIO MVP

This month’s studio MVP are the fine folks from Capybara Games, who we can neither confirm or deny are enjoying on the outside post-Toronto zoo escapades. You’ll recognize their pawprints all over games like Super Time Force, Critter Crunch, and several mobile masterpieces. They recently collaborated with Cartoon Network’s OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes and word on Twitter is they’re looking for a freelance background painter for a ‘lil something.

#ICYMI

#GetALook: WIP trailers galore! Tanya Kan’s Solace State got one, as did Bitr Blok Games’ TTC-inspired Tram Panic.

#CGXHookup: Your game might qualify for a free showcase spot at Montreal’s Canadian Game Expo in October. Email contact@jillianmood.com for more info!

#WESHOULDLUNCH: oh god, game artist Lyndsey Gallant’s viral tweet about adulthood got so popular I’ve heard two non-game people quote it in real life.

#BitBazaarLineup: Find out who to see and what to play at Bit Bazaar with this nifty list (selections still being being announced!).

#DamageCamp: Toronto just got a new videogame festival. Dames Making Games announced plans for Damage Camp, a conference taking place in September.

#PassiveArcade: Household Games built an arcade cabinet for their game Way of the Passive Fist and it is CUSTOMIZED FIRE.

#RuggedGames: Hannah Epstein built an arcade cabinet out of yarn during her Roundtable Residency. It’s fully capable of running games and mouth-on-mouth interaction (・ε・｀)

#WaterfrontArcadeTO: The Waterfront Arcade was a smashing success! From the excellent outdoorsy games made by locals to the commendable scurrying undertaken by volunteers, we all managed to convince passerby to play with us. (Helps that we got a neat BlogTO shoutout!) Check out footage from the night by Jason Bond and expect to see HQ photo tomfoolery soon.

COMING AND GOING ATTRACTIONS

Have an early bird heads-up: Odd Bird Studio announced a Steam launch date of Thursday, September 21 for Arrow Heads.

Finally, some rogue entertainment! Numizmatic Games’ developing magical thievery with Light Fingers. Get a sneaky preview at Bit Bazaar.

Cross-platform joys! Use Your Words and Severed are now on the Switch, while Switch fave Graceful Explosion Machine is now on Steam. How the turntables…

If you’re looking to get connected and learn from the industry’s most user experienced, passes are now on sale for Ubisoft Toronto’s Game UX Summit in October! Our members will be getting a discount code. (Might be a good time to mention that our handy dandy membership plan comes in unwaged/student, volunteer, and studio flavours.)

Submissions are open for our interactive fiction festival Wordplay. Talks and workshops are due August 25. You’ve got a wee bit more time to submit games, which are due by September 30.

PAPER TRAILS – GAMING IN THE MEDIA

They’re back! Toronto Game Devs have pumped out two podcast episodes in August so far.

Developer Jason Bond’s been vlogging about creativity and his game-making processes. It’s a pretty refreshing watch from the usual vlog slush of PR and expensive experiences, since Jason lays out what he’s feeling and thinking pretty candidly, while lounging in the comfort of his backyard or brewing a cuppa.

If you’ve ever wanted to hear about what exactly our Game Curious program’s about, Amaze Berlin posted a talk by Hand Eye co-founder and funding dude Jim Munroe from earlier this year.

Will O’Neill‘s Little Red Lie saw miles of bylines, with insights from Mashable, Financial Post, Paste Magazine, and PC Gamer. The Scarborough Mirror, gave it a hometown take too. In more O’Neilling, PlayStation Lifestyle did a sweet retrospective of Actual Sunlight.

Was really exciting to see this game blow up my feeds. Alanna Zablocki developed In/Patient, a narrative-driven game about navigating the psychiatric system, drawing from her lived experiences. Her work was covered by CBC, Metro, and The Mighty. Watch out for this emerging game creator!

Game Dev Cafe interviewed Odd Bird Studios and our fearless leader Sagan Yee for their “Get to Know A Game Dev” series.

The Curious Cabinets got love! SpriteBox’s garbage-eating hardware got from  VICE’s Motherboard and Mic, as well as . Look for our full recap post later in the year.

This digest is brought to you thanks to our dedicated membership. Hope to see you at our volunteer and member appreciation party on Sunday, August 20! Also, got a hot tip for a game launch, job or volunteer opportunity, neat event, or anything else that may be of interest to the Toronto/GTA indie gaming community? E-mail al@handeyesociety.com the month before it happens so we can add it to next month’s newsletter!

We asked GTA game makers to submit their best-suited games for the great outdoors, and they delivered! After rigorous play-testing and lively debates over vegan pizza, we’re pleased to announce our selections for the Waterfront Arcade on Friday, August 18. Was a real nail-biter narrowing down our top picks, since many of the games were loaded with interesting multiplayer mechanics. Big thanks to all who entered and special shout-outs to those who made the innovative decision to use a browser-based mobile game tool! Tres chic.

We’re projecting in a park like we did last year, at Sherbourne Common (right beside the George Brown building on Queen’s Quay) with two huge projectors beaming local videogames right onto the side of buildings. We’ll also be featuring 2 physical games custom-made for running around in the great outdoors.

Facebook Event RSVP

LOCATION NOTE:
Facebook has the wrong address for Sherbourne Common — it’s actually 67 Dockside Dr. However the visual map location is correct!

Without further ado, we’re happy to congratulate the game makers selected for this year’s arcade. Game makers will be receiving a $200 artist fee and our undying gratitude. Come relax in a park, give these analog/digital games a whirl, and enjoy the last fleeting moments of summer!

Waterfront Arcade’s 2017 Selection

SHU’S GARDEN (Jason RT Bond & Colin Sanders)

As Shu, a space-cactus of the bouncy persuasion, you spring from planet to planet, spreading plant life and finding new friends. Create a forest! Enjoy a splash in a pond! Play tag with a bee! Make weird hybrid plants! Launch a giraffe into orbit!

Shu’s Garden is a fully open playground with no hard goals, scores or missions. Just kick back, explore and experiment in this space-garden full of friends, foliage, and fun.

THE DEPTHS TO WHICH I SINK (Bigpants)

Descend into tubes, pass through hoops, avoid moving walls and smash windows into pieces. In the Depths to Which I Sink, stereoscopic 3D is an integral part of the gameplay – not just graphics. It’s impossible to play without 3D glasses. Your screen becomes a cube, and you will feel like you’re floating inside of it. The goals and objectives force the player to think in Z – not just X and Y. The Depths to Which I Sink uses 3D to enrich gameplay and the player’s experience.

FLOCK TOGETHER (Alexander Hulsmeier, Jesse Baker, Joshua Bresler, Benjamin d’Abadie, Liam McAlinden)

Flock Together is a game where birds must work together to stay in formation, and avoid imminent death via meteor shower. Flock Together supports unlimited local players, who connect to the game using a phone, tablet, or any device that can connect via web browser.

BLEED 2 (Bootdisk Revolution)

Bleed 2 is a relentless arcade action game featuring air-dodging, bullet-reflecting, and tons of bosses.

Wryn is the world’s greatest (and only remaining) hero. Help her battle an invading force of villains and live up to her title as the Greatest Hero of All Time!

JUGGER (Evan & Valkyrie Savage)

Jugger is based on a post-apocalyptic 80s movie, and is now an international sport. To win you must fight through the opposing team to place a foam skull in the goal while dodging swings from foam weapons. It is fast-paced and requires teamwork, coordination, and spatial awareness to succeed. If you’re looking for a fast and exciting alternative sport, Jugger is the way to go. 

GAMES FOR GIANTS (Yifat Shaik)

Games for Giants is a series of simple childhood games/toys blown up to giant proportions and converted to team sports.

And no judgments if you wanna chase after the ice cream truck baby driver Google Calendar. He’s Mozart in a go-kart and Beethoven with a waffle cone. Take him out for a test drive to find out about events when they are announced, or subscribe to our newsletter to have half-melted goodies delivered directly to your inbox. 

WHERE TO JAUNT – TORONTO GAME EVENTS

Tuesday, August 1 to Sunday, August 13

Vector Festival’s free flagship exhibit Pattern Recognition as well as their online exhibit Local Host continue to run until mid-August at InterAccess. As in previous years, the exhibition showcases both emerging and established artists, and brings into dialogue an exciting mix of creative perspectives that experiment with new and established digital technologies.

And what a coinkidink! Curious Cabinets, Hand Eye Society’s arcade game arts showcase with Spritebox Arcade and Electric Perfume, will be doing the same. We’ll be posting a blog post, along with media coverage of the trash-chomping cabinet, shortly. Check out Electric Perfume’s site for exhibit hours and keep an eye out for some Taste of Danforth hijinks. (Preemptive answer: no, you can’t stick your leftover souvlaki in the SpriteBox…probably…)

Also Tuesday Aug 1: 2-Bit Game Club is back with a discussion of puzzle/adventure game Myst (1993)! Like a book club, 2-Bit Game Club is a moderated discussion group that looks at classic games from a production history, design, and weird facts perspective. Join them at 6:30 PM, Civis Toronto, and also take a gander at their digital trading cards on the 2-Bit Patreon!

Friday, August 4 to Sunday, August 6

If you’re planning on heading to the third bi-annual PTBO Game Jam in Peterborough, make sure you sign up before this Thursday! If you can’t make it, the weekend portion will be streamed live on Twitch and the Discord channel will be popping before and during the jam.

Saturday, August 5

Finally, a con you won’t catch the flu at: you can attend online conference Enjoy Game Dev from the comfort of wherever you’re scaramooching wifi from. Among speakers are Toronto’s own Tabby Rose. The Axon Interactive co-founder will be speaking on best practices for nabbing financial opportunities.

Tuesday, August 8

Guess what the chat dragged in? Free movie tickets!  HES has partnered with Open Roof Festival to send a few esteemed Hand Eye comrades to an outdoor screening of KEDI, a documentary about the wild cats roaming Istanbul. Keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook for this purrfect giveaway!

Saturday, August 12

The escape game genre gets political with The Puzzling Madness of John A. McDonald, a live-action adventure that’ll take players around Toronto’s historical sites. Savage Internet will be hosting a preview day, where early birds can get the full 19th-century experience for $19 per person.

Sunday, August 13

The Dames of Dames Making Games continue their summer steaminess with part two of their writing romance games workshop, with participants raring to delve into their short romance game scripts. If you’ve enrolled for this, be mindful of the script submission deadline prior to the real-life check-in. *This is a DMG event. Check the link to make sure if it is open to the public or for members only.*

Friday, August 18

We love any opportunity to infest the great outdoors with videogames (see: that surprise Trini-Bell lan party we threw last year), but especially ones that make you rethink a space’s capabilities. Enter HES’ Waterfront Arcade, an exciting showcase of physical and digital games by GTA creators that’ll be taking over Sherbourne Common’s walls and exteriors. Submissions end tonight, and the curated games will each be given $200 in artist fees! Thanks to the Toronto Arts Council for funding this initiative.

Saturday, August 19 to Sunday, August 20

Fulfill your fantasy of becoming a Lovecraftian coral reef in Manimal Sanctuary, an upcoming VR game prototype at Camp Wavelength. Deliberate use of “slow VR,” the artistic fingerprints of Jim Monroe, Jason Bond, Mathew Borrett, Laura Barrett, a mobile demo will be out in the next few weeks.

Tuesday, August 22 to Sunday, August 26

If you happen to be in Germany, the Indie Arena Booth at gamescom will feature two Toronto creations: Spooky Squid’s Russian Subway Dogs and Massive Damage’s Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander.  

Friday, August 25 to Sunday, August 27

The carnival’s in town, and so is your favourite indie arts and games market Bit Bazaar courtesy of Gamma Space! Scarf down your funnel cakes and fried Mars Bars at the CNE, then head over to the brand new Gaming Garage and meander through the aisles, featuring games by  Stitch Media, Alientrap, Asteroid Base, and more.

We’ll be having some fun exhibiting party games too! Our very own David Fono, Ken Cho, and Kadeem Dunn – as well as a bevvy of other HES staff and volunteers – will be bringing the likes of Johann Sebastian Joust, Invisiball, and other physical games of Fono’s own making. Expect much flailing and stabbing with Playstation Move controllers, pool noodles, and other zany props.

Sunday, August 20

Freelance audio producer Katie Jensen leads two inclusive podcasting workshop sessions for people of colour, low-income individuals, and artists. Pay-what-you-can at the door and free for Dames Making Games members. The two Sunday sessions will cover  the same material.  *This is a DMG event. Check the link to make sure if it is open to the public or for members only.*

Tuesday, August 29

Learn accessible ways to make VR with just your computer in DMG’s Intro to WebVR!  *This is a DMG event. Check the link to make sure if it is open to the public or for members only.*

Thursday, August 31 to Sunday, September 3

Dry-clean your cosplay and count up that artist alley fund, it’s time for Fan Expo! 

WHERE TO HAUNT – TORONTO GAME SOCIALS

Thursday, August 3

If you work with the programming language Go TO: Hack Night and Social is the place to be for real-time feedback. Participants are invited to work on whatever project they want; the organizer mentioned they’ll be chugging along on their battle bot game, so don’t be afraid to crack open that Unity file.

Tuesday, August 8

Soundhackers’ upcoming meetup is music to our ears. (And hellooo, get a load of that kindred imagery! We’d love to give them a good handeyeshake.) Hackers, musicians, and audio amateurs are invited to a night of making tunes with hand gestures. From a hacked commodore power glove to Leap Motion, get ready to make a sonic commotion with retro and modern technology.

Tuesday, August 15

Bonus Stage’s new mystery location has been unravelled! Join in the open mic night fun over at Power Up! Bar.

Saturday, August 19

No Tokens, a social for people of colour interested in game-making and playing. *This is a DMG event. Check the link to make sure if it is open to the public or for members only.*

Sunday, August 20

Time for our annual reminder that we love ya! Join the Hand Eye Society’s volunteer and member appreciation party for free food, drinks, and a chance to dance/duel/chill with your fellow HandEyers (HandEyeians? HandEyites? IDK! Help us settle this at the party lol.) Before the festivities, we’ll be doing a postcard drive for those who want to rack up extra volunteer hours.

Wednesday, August 30

Summer’s almost over, so drink up while you can at monthly game community social Torontaru.

A BREADWINNER IS YOU – JOBS, GIGS, AND OPPORTUNITIES

Toronto will soon have an interactive writer-in-residence! We’re proud to announce the Oakwood Library Residency, a weekly artist residency at the Oakwood Village library. Made possible by the Toronto Arts Council’s Artists in Libraries initiative, this paid opportunity is open for one or two interactive fiction writers and runs from September to December. Applications are due on Thursday, August 24.

We’ll be announcing open submissions for our annual interactive fiction and writerly games festival WordPlay very soon, so stay tuned for that announcement in a couple days!

The tinkering minds at Little Dada are hiring a Make Change Administration intern.

Little Guy Games wants to hire an ass kicker. Bonus points if you happen to be a Unity gameplay programmer too.

Secret Location is hiring a producer for their VR distributor Vusr.

Rockstar Toronto’s got several positions open, in the fields of game design, production, and programming.

If higher learning is your higher calling, Sheridan College is looking for a part-time game design professor.

Slide your art portfolio into the Unbreakable Kim Koronya’s DMs; the 6ix queen is looking for a Twitch pixel artist.

Testers wanted! Lightning Rod Games is looking for locals to try out their new puzzle platformer.  

Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2018 is still a ways away, but if you’re keen on presenting be hasty; the deadline to submit for the main conference tracks and day-long tutorials is open until Thursday, August 17.

GaymerX East is coming up in November! If you’re interested in presenting a panel, workshop, talk, or networking event, send your submissions in by Thursday, August 31.

To celebrate selling a quarter-milly games, Christine Love is offering a massive discount on Analogue: A Hate Story and Hate Plus. Until Monday, August 7 you can get the Hateful Days bundle for 80 per cent off!

The Rhizome Commissions Foundation is awarding four to six micro-grants for web-based art projects; games are likely to be considered, as a previous winner made one based on the Kardashians. Applications are due Monday, August 14.

Project Play hits London’s Forest City Comicon on Saturday, September 23, and is offering free table space for digital and tabletop game exhibitors. No deadline on this, but is likely on a first-come, first-serve basis so apply while you can.

Not a job posting, but the reverse! Gabriela Aveiro, DMG co-director and the creator of upcoming game Don’t Wake the Night, is seeking employment opportunities starting in September. Skilled in storytelling, art, animation, design, and community organization, she’s giving preference to full-time positions, and is A-OK with remote work. If you want to support her, consider contributing to her Patreon.

MVP

This month’s MVP is A.W., for her stellar secret service with the [REDACTED] project and [REDACTED] work with [REDACTED.] She’ll be our new [REDACTED]!!! We’d tell you more about her, but eep, spoilers :B You’ll uncover exactly what makes this Intialled Enigma so special in a Hand Eye announcement very soon.

Thanks for reading the Hand Eye digest, brought to you by our wonderous membership! Just wanted to remind y’all that if you want your game, project, work, call for submissions, tweets, memes, or anything you’re doing mentioned in this bi-weekly newsletter, hit up calendar@handeyesociety.com the month BEFORE the first of the month in which the event will occur so we have time to include it. Make my inbox less lonesome!

Disclaimer: Many of the events and organizations listed in the monthly digest and calendar are not affiliated with the Hand Eye Society and are tagged as such. These are simply compilations of local videogame arts/culture events in an easy-to-read format. Always double-check the event link for the most accurate info!

Hello beloved volunteers and members! First off, we want to thank you all for being super awesome. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to do all the stuff that we do: From helping to fund amazing initiatives like our Camp Make-A-Game for kids in underserved neighbourhoods and the downtown core (wrapping up this week with very positive feedback so far!) and allowing us to go the extra mile for special programs like the Curious Cabinets Arcade Exhibit, as well paying our lovely staff to coordinate programs and write this very newsletter, every dollar you send our way makes a huge difference. And it’s through the hard work of our volunteers that all of our programming, including Comics x Games, WordPlay, the Hand Eye Society Ball and our upcoming events at the Waterfront and the CNE run smoothly and are inclusive to people of all ages and backgrounds.

To extend our thanks, we want to show our appreciation with a Volunteer and Member Appreciation Social!

Volunteer and Member Appreciation Party

Where: It’s a secret Those invited have been emailed!

 

Postcard Drive Info

And take note of your gossipy crocodile auntie Google Calendar. She’s got the dish, fork, and spoon on everyone you know, all while keeping abreast of game events as they are announced.

WHERE TO JAUNT – TORONTO GAME EVENTS

Tuesday, July 4

Check out the latest TorontoVR meetup, where developer Mark Lapasa will get into their adventures re-creating analog pinball in virtual reality. Lapasa’s got a pretty neat video up with some backstory of the experiment.

Saturday, July 8 to Sunday, July 9

Craftsfolks converge on the Toronto Reference Library this weekend for Maker Extravaganza, a free festival celebrating all things DIY. Not just for techies, the all-ages event will be featuring over 100 tinkerers in fields including hacking, lasers, 3D printing, robotics and more!

Sunday, July 9

I was in the throes of a what-even-is-life episode a few nights ago when I stumbled into a sports bar on the Danforth. Big Buck Hunter Safari loomed in a corner, and I found myself rooted in for a few coins worth of brainless shooting. The game is problematic as hell, but lemme tell you, there was something about the single-purposed physicality of this giant machine that was a grounding comfort in this time of slimsleek, avocado-depleted uncertainty.

Long story short: Arcade cabinets are boss. Contemporary indie games in custom cabinets are even better. Drop by Electric Perfume on Sunday for the Curious Cabinets launch party, our very exciting exhibition of games made for the SpriteBox and the One-Button Torontron. From competitive blobs to peaceful planets, abstract puzzlers, colourful jumpers, meditative brushstrokes and adventures in single-input interactive fiction abound! And instead of quarters, bring knick knacks: the SpriteBox’s been hijacked to accept any small item.

Thursday, July 13 to Sunday, July 16

The annual Vector Festival is back! Come out to Pattern Recognition: Five Years of Vector for new media performances, panels, exhibits, and workshops all over town. And if you’re into vaporwave, ooooh boy.  

As part of Vector programming, composers foci + loci are running a workshop on making virtual instruments within the game LittleBigPlanet. Give some of their past sounds a listen for an idea of what the PlayStation software can do.

Wednesday, July 19

Wanna make applying for a grant less of a headache? Hand Eye head honcho Sagan Yee’s hosting a grant-writing workshop for game artists. Hand Eye members get $10 off their tickets and if you need financial support, hit up info@handeyesociety.com. Buy tickets here, and RSVP/share the Facebook event!

Thursday, July 20

Hypergame Storytime blasts off for another installation of their live choose-your-own-adventure experience with Chip Beepers in Robot Apocalypse Friendship Adventure.

Sunday, July 23

Make something useless at Stupid Shit No One Needs and Terrible Ideas Hackathon 2.0, a weekend of technological anti-advancements. Among advised categories are gamified debt collection, clash of clans for medical bills, and “like, a VR uh but with AR uh yeah you know snapchat right.”

Friday, July 28

This summer’s getting steamy with Kaitlin Tremblay, Ben Gelinas, and Natalie Zina Walschots, your navigators in this two-part workshop series on writing romance in games. The July session features a talk where all three share what fans their flames (creatively!), as well as an open discussion on topics like sex scenes, consent, and more. *This is a DMG event. Check the link to make sure if it is open to the public or for members only.*

Friday, July 28 to Sunday, July 30

Gaming and Youtube festival Con Bravo hits the hammer for July’s last weekend. Included in the festival’s programming is Paper Bag Jam, a non-digital game jam included in the price of admission. Participants will get a paper bag containing an item that becomes the theme for their game. Be sure to keep your creation 80 per cent non-digital. Other than that, any other medium goes!

Saturday, July 29

Randy Orenstein continues the monthly mayhem with George Brown Jam at the Casa Loma campus, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

WHERE TO HAUNT – TORONTO GAME SOCIALS

Tuesday, July 4

Everybody’s favourite retro koopas have moved their monthly get-together. 2-Bit Game Club has found a new home in co-working space Civis, conveniently located beside the Mystic Muffin’s noms. For August, the club will be jumping into Super Mario Bros 3, a game that we can all agree is *Italian plumber kisses fingers.*  Bonus points if you listen to their podcast episode before attending.

Saturday, July 15

Dames Making Games (DMG) will be hosting their monthly speaker social. July’s speakers are Sophia Park and Penelope Evans from the narrative meta-game hit Arc Symphony! *This is a DMG event. See link if it is open to the public or for members only.*

Tuesday, July 18

What’s happening to Bonus Stage? The monthly open mic night for the game community is transforming, although we aren’t quite sure into what. Only hints so far is that the event’s new location will be revealed on Monday, July 10.

Wednesday, July 26

Set phasers to maximum chill at this casual Wednesday game night with Toronto Gaymers at Power Up Bar.

#ICYMI

#AwNuts: Derek Quenneville made a quick game in Scratch, inspired the cover of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #20. The cover pays homage to arcade leaper Q*Bert.

#ColossalCash: The Interactive Fiction Competition (IFComp) has started the IfComp Colossal Fund, a crowdfunded moneypool for top-tier entries.

#LetsGoToTheEx: Some news that warms my ex-carny heart. This year’s Bit Bazaar dazzles at the CNE. Would-be exhibitors showing off their interactives and vendors looking to hawk geeky merch should apply before applications close on Monday, July 31. Also, HES will be there with some physical games courtesy of David Fono!

#FlavourNexus: As if Jazzpunk couldn’t get better, Necrophone’s released a mouth-watering DLC.

#GDOCTalks: If you couldn’t trek to the Game Devs of Colour (I refuse to un-u that) Expo in Brooklyn, all the microtalks and panels are now on Youtube.

#TGDGold: Toronto Game Devs has crash-landed on Reddit! Head to r/TorontoGameDevs for your community hub fill.

#TornSaleRecs: Torn Banner Studios, who are generous supporters of our summer camp initiatives, have made a list of Steam sale games by Toronto developers.  

COMING AND GOING ATTRACTIONS

Developer Penelope Evans made Flesh 4 Boy a little over a month ago, but I wasn’t ready to be a parent. I still ain’t, but maybe you are?

Get ready to flex your flair for falsehoods with Will O’Neill’s long-awaited  Little Red Lie, heading for a release on Friday, July 7. Honest.  

You’ll soon be able to PUNCH IT ALL with Fight Knight, an upcoming brawler by Zeke James, Tom Schley, and Tommy Trinh that’s conquered Kickstarter goal.

No clowning around, this argument/performance simulator is years in the making. Hand Eye pal David Fono has released Morro & Jasp: Unscripted, a mobile two-player game starring the red-nosed duo at their funniest. Their IRL award-winning counterparts are Fringe darlings and Toronto locals too, so if you see these sisters around there’s no need to wonder if you’ve somehow been Jumanjied. We’ve also got word that maybe a PC port may be in the works, so stay tuned for that.

PAPER TRAILS – GAMING IN THE MEDIA

Dork Shelf did a post-mortem on the mini-conference Different Games Toronto, which really felt full-sized, as well as a round-up of their faves. (Full disclosure: Sagan Yee was keynote and I was a microtalk person/exhibitor.) More from Dork Shelf: Play Dead’s interview with Zoink Games’ Klaus Lyngeled and a Q & A with Arc Symphony’s Sophia Park and Ariel Grimes.

The Financial Post found that out of 100 games at E3 (oh yeah, that happened), nine were from Canada. Not a lot, but silver lining: the nation was the third-largest source, behind Japan and US.

Waypoint gushes over sex as development over victory in Christine Love’s Ladykiller In a Bind (pssst, which is on sale at Humble Bundle until the end of the week.)

PC Gamer’s done a review in advance of Will O’Neill’s long-awaited Little Red Lie, I swear! It’s due to come out Friday July 7.

ZeMind Game Studio’s been killing the Youtube game, pumping out let’s plays for Cryptark, Bendy and the Ink Machine chapter two, and Pitfall Planet.

Polygon did a video on Cuphead’s surreal propaganda cartoon inspirations. ALSO CUPHEAD SEPTEMBER RELEASEEEEEE.

On Twitch, Game Dev Cafe interviewed Jon Remedios of Shoot Shoot Mega Pack (SSMP) and Jen Stienstra of Monster Girls: Gaynerations. Continuing their video streak, you can catch their let’s plays of TO Jam games,

CGMagazine did a round-up of great Canadian titles, including a shout-out to the indie game dev scene and a mention of Towerfall.

MVP

This month’s MVP is Nawaf Bahadur, a developer by ways of Sheridan College. Besides being a reliable purveyor of the best goddamn dates you’ve ever eaten, Nawaf’s also been hard at work being very, very cryptic–particularly, with his toil on Cococucumber’s Riverbond, which you can peek at over on GameSpot.

“I had a an amazing time working on Riverbond and can’t wait for everyone to see the things that have yet to be revealed *winky face*,” he etched onto a stone pillar that I walked directly into. Looking forward to it Nawaf, wherever you are!

STUDIO MVP

Studio MVP is our spotlight on the wonderbar groups who’re helping us put on Camp Make-A-Game for kids. We’re spending July with Stitch Media as our summer fling. They can turn any story into an interactive one, be it investigative journalism or a children’s book. Game-wise, you may recognize their craftiness in Trailer Park Boys’ Drunk and On Drugs or the mobile card game Rival Books of Aster.  

A BREADWINNER IS YOU – JOBS, GIGS, AND OPPORTUNITIES

Registration now open for the third annual Peterborough Game Jam, taking place in that grand old city from Friday, August 4 to Sunday, August 6. The jam also includes two blocks devoted two game-making 101 sessions for youth and adult first-timers, so don’t be shy now.   

Caught wind of some Stitch Media openings from Aaron Bernstein. They’re looking for a bookkeeper/financial data analyst and a contract Unity animator.

Tanya DePass, the founder of the I Need Diverse Games initiative, is editing an anthology of essays by marginalized game developers and game-adjacent locals that’ll come out next year. Essay submissions are due Tuesday, August 15.

Time for some Facebook group-specific opportunities! Jillian Mood is looking for an experienced 3DS Max animator for a project that could lead to long-term work. Message Mood for deets.

Much love for reading! The Hand Eye Newsletter, or HEN as I’ve started to call it as of right now, clucks along solely cos of support from our dastardly membership. Join them today!

WHERE TO JAUNT – TORONTO GAME EVENTS

Thursday, June 1 to Saturday, June 3

Different Games Toronto is finally here! Featuring an arcade exhibit at OCAD for the rest of the week, the mini-conference will include a very vaporwave keynote from Hand Eye executive director Sagan Yee on Saturday, followed by micro-talks from local developers like Gabby DaRienzo, Alex Zandra Van Chestein, Rokashi Edwards, Tabby Rose, and, Nadine Lessio.

Friday, June 2

Hitting up Congress at Ryerson? Drop by our thing! The annual social sciences and humanities conference is hosting an hour-long Hand Eye roundtable where some of our staff and friends will be chatting about the organization and game inclusivity in Toronto.

Later, shrug off the academia and get freaky Friday on House of VR’s horror night, which showcases the 2spookiest of horror games in individual booths until midnight.

Tuesday, June 6

Relieve terrorizing your citizens with Godzilla attacks all over again with 2-Bit Gaming Club. They’ll be chatting about Sim City at their June meetup.

Thursday, June 8

Kaitlin Tremblay and Natalie Walschots are back at it with an interactive fiction workshops, this time themed around non-linear storytelling.

Saturday, June 10

You won’t wanna miss Game Up! Diversity and Decolonization in Video Games on Saturday. The panel of Latinx game developers will discuss how their identities, the industry, and their practices collide, touching on language and culture. Brought to you by aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival, Gamma Space, Gabriela Aveiro-Ojeda, and us as a co-presenting partner–somehow. AluCine. Gamma and Gaby did all the heavy-lifting, we’re just sort of gesturing proudly in their direction!

Tuesdays: June 13, June 20, June 27

No experience required to get into DMG’s Intro to Maya workshop series. First off is modelling, then texturing and rendering, and ending with rigging and animation.

Thursdays: June 15, June 29

Game artist Dan John Cox will be teaching two art tool classes. On June 15 he’s running Intro to Z Brush, a sculpting, painting, and illustration tool.  Two weeks later, peep his Substance Painter intro workshop, a hands-on introduction to the texturing tool. Be sure to download the programs ahead of time!

Thursday, June 15 to Sunday, June 18

Disrupting the Toronto-centric flow for a brief heads-up: creatives will flock to Detroit for the annual Allied Media Conference, now in its 19^th year. Hand Eye’s Sagan and Your Humble Digest Writer will be speaking about Game Curious, then showing folks how to make and teach game development and critical play in their own communities! *Pitbull voice* GC worldwide….dale…

Saturday, June 17

Paper prototype your way into a playful experience at DMG’s intro to game design workshop at Gamma Space.

Friday, June 30

Do not go into July quietly. Enter it armed with terrifying literary prowess thanks to DMG ‘s writing horror games workshop.

WHERE TO HAUNT – TORONTO GAME SOCIALS

Saturday, June 3

Head to Gamma Space for DMG’s artist talk with Zeesy Powers, who’ll be discussing her VR game in development with TAIS Studios. Starts at 6 p.m.

Stick around for the Different Games after party ♪┏(・o･)┛♪┗ ( ･o･) ┓♪  Starts at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, June 6

RyePride and the Ryerson Trans Collective are holding a Gayming Night for queer and trans students. At the Ryerson Student Centre, starts at 6 p.m.

The Dames are hosting their monthly VR social; show-and-tells are encouraged! At Gamma Space, starts at 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 10

Time for another No Tokens, a social for Indigenous, Black, people of colour in the game development community. Focusing on skill swappage this month, so come with an open mind (and stomach for the snackage!). At Gamma Space, starts at 12 p.m.

Tuesday, June 13

There’s a ton of workshopping going on this month, so give your skill meter a rest and listen to your comrades at game dev open mic night Bonus Stage. At Page One, starts at 8 p.m.

Sunday, June 25

Get your Pride festivities off to a bumpy start, in the best kind of way. Toronto Gaymers will be hosting a 90’s themed Pride party at Tilt. At 296 Brunswick avenue, starts at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, June 28

Torontaru! You! Do you even need a reason? At Get Well, starts at 8 p.m.

A BREADWINNER IS YOU – JOBS, GIGS, AND OPPORTUNITIES

Frolic Labs is looking for a game producer/project manager. Position is remote and part-time, so no need to bust out the thrift blazer and tie for this one (except maybe for a Skype interview, but you know, tuxedo pajamas work wonders).

More work-from home options: Lightning Rod Games is hiring a full-time 3D animator, with a start date of July or earlier. Fire your resumes and cute puppy photos at jobs@lightningrodgames.com

2-Bit Game Club does THE MOST. Every month, the crew there hosts a discussion group devoted to a retro game, making available playthroughs, articles, and videos for free. The amount of effort and resources rivals those of a post-secondary institution course, that’s how thorough they are. For their year-round dedication, consider throwing some change at their Patreon to make sure they can keep blatantly disregarding the rose bouquets left by desperate advertisers on their doorstep. (BTW! If you too would like your game-related crowdfunding campaign featured, email calendar@handeyesociety.com!)

Hand Eye Society’s Curious Cabinets will be premiering in July, but if you want to satisfy your own arcade machine fix, check this out: OCAD grad Colin Brannan is selling off a custom cabinet (frame and buttons only) they built for their final project for a cool $450 buckeroos—open to deals though, so crack out those TTC token rolls and 12-packs.

(Pic credit:  Melissa Boone)

MVP

Our MVP this month is Krystle! A long-time Hand Eye volunteer (we’re talking years here — since the first Game Curious in 2013!) and local laser-evading legend, she’ll be doing more newsletter stuff  and general cool things. Whaddya gotta know about Krystle? “I really like adventure-type games and am bitterly thirsty for games starring queer dark-skinned Black Women. The less respectable the hair, the better.” ONE MORE TIME FOR THE DEVS IN THE BACK.

Thanks for tuning in! This won’t be the last you’ll hear from us, expect a few more posts before June implodes into July.

STUDIO MVP

Every month we highlight a game dev team that’s brought joy to our hearts and twitching to our thumbs. May’s studio MVP is Asteroid Base, one of several Studio Members whose contributions are making programming like our Camp Make-A-Game summer camps possible. Their meteoric rise to indie game awesomeness is due to a steadfast commitment to Bruce Cockburn/Barenaked Ladies references and their co-op blaster Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. For eons, Lovers and its galactic bunnies travelled across Toronto, pit-stopping at showcases and parties and arcades. They’ve since crash-landed on XBox One, PS4, and Steam, with a new four-player feature!

JAUNTS/HAUNTS 2: THE SQUEAKEL

May 26

IGDA Toronto is hosting Getting into Games, where Big Viking developer Nathan Lutz will be dispensing industry wisdom to game students who are graduating or close to graduating.

May 31 to June 3

The Different Games conference is in town! The mini con-by-way-of-Brooklyn got a shout-out in the last digest, but we thought we’d let y’all know that the conference now has a schedule, along with a Facebook event page where speakers and games are announced every day. (Full disclosure: our radical leader Sagan Yee and Your Humble Digest Writer will be saying words at people there!)

#ICYMI

#ComicsxGames: Our annual coupling with TCAF was spectacularly fun. Games were played, panels were panelled, tweets were tweeted, and after-parties were crashed. Big thanks to everyone who came, as well as our formidable fleet of volunteers and staff. Expect a big ‘ol mega-recap soon!

#ArcSymphony: The ‘90s PS1 game experienced a massive wave of nostalgia in May, although some Amnesiac Andies seemed to completely forget this critically acclaimed classic.

#CutRokashiACheck: @SEGA *riri voice* PAY HIM WHAT YOU OWE HIM.

#SSMPUpdate: Jon’s milk mayhem ended, so guess which developer has the strongest goddamn bones in this city.  

COMING AND GOING ATTRACTIONS

A Toronto developer got the Stream Greenlight for their Shiba Inu visual novel. While One Summer With Shiba Inu is still in-development, you can watch developer Quill Studios post progress on Twitter and play a demo via Itch.io

Hand Eye member and artist liaison Alicia Contestabile released B-, which is a must play if you’re into colour-blocking, impeding senses of doom, and getting crushed.

No sunburns, no excuses. Dames Making Games is now accepting applications for SPF 90 FPS, a summer VR intensive welcoming non-binary, Two-Spirit, trans, and women developers of all skill levels. Perks include one-on-one mentorship, access to Gamma Space, state-of-the-art equipment and software, and more.

Who needs a life when you can play through 94 TOJam entries? Game Dev Cafe braved through a few during a livestream.

PAPER TRAILS – GAMING IN THE MEDIA

Dork Shelf ventured into TO Jam’s depths and came out with a profile of Jarryd Huntley, a first-time TOjammer by ways of Cleveland, and a behind-the-scenes round-up of how a few jam teams fared. (Spoilers: survivors, mostly!)

Itch.io did a short and sweet rec of SSMP, calling it a fusion of Geometry Wars and Mario Party.

OK forreal, the actual Arc Symphony was released. Created by Sophia Park and Penelope Evans, the RPG/fan community deconstructive interactive got write-ups from Polygon, Boing Boing, Kotaku, Nerdist, and freshly launched Toronto-based games journal 3rd Person!

Toronto Game Devs have been incredibly active on Youtube over the past few weeks, with tons of news recaps, hot takes, reviews, podcast episodes, and interviews.

Bleeding Cool did a write-up on TCAF that included a lovely Comics X Games mention! Heart eyes to the crew there.

By the way, if you’re heading to E3 let Mobile Syrup editor Patrick O’Rouke know! I’m assuming this is journalism-related, but if O’Rouke is just collecting victims for his next sacrifice to the Vidya Gods hey, that’s on you.

Over and out! Thanks for following along. Just as a heads up, Your Humble Digest Writer will shortly become two: expect these two digests to be written by myself and someone else (???) within the next month or two. And as always, if you dug what you read, give perpetual thanks to the Hand Eye membership! Not a member? Well not yet you ain’t.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to thank your fire marshall Google Calendar! They’re trapped sliding down an infinity pole, dropping lower and lower without ever hitting steel-toe boots to fire station floor.

WHERE TO JAUNT – TORONTO GAME EVENTS

Wednesday, May 3

Write off your Wednesday evening as a success if you’re at this: Dames Natalie Walschots and Kaitlin Tremblay are back with another installment in their wildly popular interactive fiction + narrative game-making workshop series.

Friday, May 5 to Sunday, May 7

Over 400 of Toronto’s most sleep-deprived pizza-gobbling developers will spend this weekend coding a game from start to finish at TO Jam: What Twelves Below. The theme this year will disappoint you.

For real, that’s the theme.

Sundays: May 7, 14, 21

The kids are all right, if they’re learning how to make Scratch games at this weekly Codezilla workshop.

Tuesday, May 9

King me! Actually, king that Sir Graham kid, he clearly wants it more. The Two-Bit Game Club is holding a King’s Quest discussion group. Made by Roberta Williams, King’s Quest: Quest for the Crown was one of several graphic adventures that pioneered the genre. If you haven’t played the game before, never fear! There are ways…

Saturday, May 13 to Sunday, May 14

The Hand Eye Society’s lovefest with TCAF is back! Comics x Games, a FREE annual celebration of the intersections between comic books and videogames, returns for this year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival. Come through for tons of local and international games, as well as two panels for your viewing pleasure.

What might be the hypest thing is the return of our Comics x Games jam, which hasn’t run round these parts since 2012. We’ve paired up local artists and developers for jam teams, slapped ‘em a hefty honouranium wad, and asked them to blow our minds. The results will be getting their debuts at TCAF, so be prepared for some cranium splattering.

May 30 to June 3

We’ll come back to this at the end of the month, but just a heads up that the annual Different Games event — held in Brooklyn in previous years — is coming to Toronto as a mini-conference! The arcade exhibit, organized with the help of Little Dada, starts May 30. More details coming soon, but in the meantime, the Different Games Collective seeks sponsorship funding from like-minded companies and individuals who wish to support and attach themselves to a positive, community-oriented project. Contact differentgamesconference@gmail.com to get in touch.

WHERE TO HAUNT – TORONTO GAME SOCIALS

Tuesday, May 2

Leave the Macbething at home for this edition of Dames Making Games’s monthly VR meetup. Aside from the usual snax and virtual reality hangz, Dames Making Games is hosting a talk with software dev Bernie Roehl. Before VR was a millennial household name, Roehl was innovating Canada’s early VR scene. With a background in theatre, he’ll be teaching attendees theatre principles they can apply to their VR projects. (Edit: Unfortunately we didn’t post this quite in time, but DMG lists all their events ahead of time on their front page!)

Monday, May 8

Play Games With Friends is Gamma Space’s monthly, inclusive, free and open to the public game playing event! Come play video, tabletop and social games of all kinds. Bring one with you, or jump into something unfamiliar when you arrive. Ambassadors from the Gamma Space and Dames Making Games community will be present to help you get into the game, and will help organize some of the activities.

Tuesday, May 9

Bonus Stage is back at its regular scheduled Tuesday. Show up for the community’s monthly open mic night, giving five speakers five minutes to rant, rave, or test out some new bars for a possible Gorillaz game collab. (I mean the latter isn’t happening, but I’m hoping by writing this some Secretesque energy is gonna make this a thing.)

Wednesday, May 31

Another Torontaru, on the house! The monthly bar social for everyone interested in indie games is running again. At the Get Well, starts at 8 p.m.  

A BREADWINNER IS YOU – JOBS, GIGS, AND OPPORTUNITIES

For the social media mavens out there, #here’s #something #of #interest: Massive Damage is hiring a community manager. When you apply, don’t forget to also let ‘em know your fave games! They wanna know why you like them and what could make them even better.

If you’re a student developer with a disability, keep this scholarship on your radar. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and Microsoft have partnered for a scholarship worth $5,000 USD (That’s $6831.25 in loonies) that’ll go to a student developer who identifies with having a long-term health issue. Apply before June 1.

Aaron Bernstein is looking for a 3D modeller/sculptor, who Aaron can pay or trade for their services. See the Facebook post in our group for more details. (And if you haven’t already, join upppp.)

Submissions are now open for Curious Cabinets, our arcade with Electric Perfume and Spritebox! The deadline is next Wednesday on May 10. Curated games will be exhibited on our Torontron one button machine and a SpriteBox cabinet in July.

MVP

This month’s HES MVP is Jon Remedios, a game developer and designer at Actual Humans. Honestly, they are. Remedios is our May MVP for a very simple reason: until Friday, you can make him drink milk.

You see, Remedios is the creator of Shoot Shoot Mega Pack (SSMP), which you might remember from its dazzling HES Society Ball debut. The 2D multiplayer mayhem is out on Steam and Itch.io and is a Very Good Game you should pick up anyway. But a little incentive never hurt anybody, which is why Remedios is drinking milk for every copy of SSMP sold before Friday, May 5.

As seven percent dairy was soon to be ebbing from his ears, we asked him what other things he had swirling in his system. Turns out, he’s got some sage advice on player engagement.

“Getting people to care about your game is never a given and that can be tough. Try not to worry about it too much. There are many different metrics of success, if you can focus on how you succeeded rather than failed you’ll at least be in a decent headspace,” he says. “I think you’ll be broke as heck*, but… you know.”

(* He said the F word instead of heck ooooooooh. Sagan feel free to keep the blasphemy if you wanna! Sagan’s Edit: I think I’m just going to leave all of this here…)

Three frothy cheers to him!

Thanks for reading the newsletter, kindly brought to you by Hand Eye’s membership. Now’s a great time to join up, since we’ve rolled out student and studio plans for your walletary pleasure.

We’re halfway through April, a.k.a. teetering on the brink of Allergy Season. Before those itches scratch back, read this recap of indie game releases, media, and misc happenings like your watering eyes depend on it. Heads-up, expect a small trickle of blog posts from us in the coming weeks. You know we don’t like to clog your feeds like pollen clogs your nose, but sometimes your sinuses deserve some extra love and affection/Cool Announcements.

STUDIO MVP

This month’s studio MVP is Reptoid Games (also one of our new Studio Members)! The winners of last year’s Ubisoft Indie competition, who are not lizard people so stop accusing them of various unsolved reptile crimes, have churned out games like this one where you slide drinks down a bar, this one where you appease goat gods, and this one where you are a very hungry triangle.

If you’re curious about their upcoming work, the team’s just released a gameplay preview of Fossil Hunters on Youtube.

JAUNTS/HAUNTS 2: RELOADED

Tuesday, April 11 to Tuesday, April 18

Get the royal treatment at Play Palace, an exhibition of games by digital media students from York University. I literally only found out about this because a high school friend was exhibiting, which is a damn shame because it’s over

Friday, April 21

If you want to learn how to manage game dev teams the right way, seasoned industry developer Keith Fuller is giving a full-day leadership workshop, or as he puts it, a “Talk Gooder And Make People Things Go Better” thing.

Monday, April 24

Come hear long-time HES collaborator and maker artist extraordinaire Nadine Lessio talk about her work in alternative controller games in the intriguingly titled Too Dangerous For GDC! Over the past few years Nadine has been making weird art devices and peripherals. Here’s a look at some of the slightly more notorious experiments. You can RSVP for free at Networking Mixer for Makers at FITC Toronto.

Tuesday, April 25

Get ready for Sheridan’s Game Design Open House! Come meet the Honours Bachelor of Game Design class of 2017 in their studio to experience their work and see their portfolios. This event is targeted to industry representatives interested in learning more about the work of the graduates, including but not limited to designers, developers, game executives, producers, directors, artists, and recruiting professionals.

Wednesday, April 26

It’s that time of the year: Pull up to PULL, a year-end showcase of student games and interactive media works by George Brown’s school of design.

Saturday, April 29

Submissions are now open for Curious Cabinets, our public arcade that’ll be running for an entire month in Toronto’s east end. In partnership with Electric Perfume and Spritebox, we’re looking for six game artists (or creatives working in interactive media) to showcase their work on two unique arcade machines: the One-Button Torontron and a SpriteBox arcade cabinet.

If you want to learn more, we’re holding a Curious Cabinets information session at Electric Perfume to answer your burning questions and inflamed inquiries.

#ICYMI

#LevelUp:  Sheridan reigned supreme at the student showcase; students from Third Floor Games’ swept the dance floor for Best Technical Innovation, Best Artistic Acchievement, and Best Overall with their zombie-slapping game Disco Is Dead! 5Horsemen Games galloped to top pick for Audience Choice with their eco-friendly Unspokin. Congrats to all Level Up devs! (And oooh, our newly elected board of directors member Emma Westecott got on TV!)

#GEMbangerz: Vertex Pop’s Graceful Explosion Machine premiered on the Switch! Shortly after, we also got an earful of its crystal-powered soundtrack by local music maestro Robby Duguay.

#CxGWIP: What could this possible be about hmmmm hmmm HMMMMM.

…or this too HMMMM

COMING AND GOING ATTRACTIONS

Forget Stuart Little and the rat from Ratatouille whose name I don’t even wanna google, there’s a new mouse in town! If you’re a kid or a stressed student (there’s really no difference except one has a bedtime and the other thinks sleep is a theoretical concept), squeak your worries away as the charming country mouse from Tales of the Blue Valley, a puzzle adventure by developer Meagan Byrne.

If you’re a fan of Jackbox, you’ll dig Use Your Words. By Toronto-based studio Smiling Buddha, the minigame collection is for “funny people and their unfunny friends.” If you count yourself among the comedically gifted, you can get Use Your Words on Steam.

Jonathan Levstein and Kaitlin Tremblay have curated a game anthology called What Can I Get You? about different relationships with food.

Preschooler can’t stop won’t stop industrializing the downtown core? Beg them to sate their condozilla desires through Sago Sago’s Sago Mini Town! The kid-friendly app will have them building island towns inhabited by fuzzy friends on your iOS device, therefore saving Toronto’s decaying infrastructure…for now…

PAPER TRAILS – GAMING IN THE MEDIA

Game Dev Café made a list of their favourite Level Up games, which include Shots Fired and Detective VR. They also did a profile of Mark Laframboise from Lightning Rod Games, where he talks about what it’s like being in a long-distance relationship and designing a game around one.

More morbid buzz: Kotaku and Rock Paper Shotgun did teaser posts for A Mortician’s Tale. Related, Gabby DaRienzo posted a throwback to the game’s PICO-8 prototype days.

In an episode of the Shelf, Dork Shelf chatted with developer Ian Campbell, the brains (and presumably body, unless Ian’s figured out some sort of actual ghost in the shell nonsense) behind Bleed and Bleed 2.

Play Dead released an episode about death in VR and RIP special Volume Two, where host Gabby DaRienzo asks guests from season two what their favourite videogame deaths are.

Vertex Pop’s Graceful Explosion Machine got love from CBC, Inner Space, Giant Bomb, IGN, Financial Post, Destructoid, Nintendo Wire, and Geek (as part of its “Switch Games That Aren’t Zelda” series).  The Vertex crew also did a Reddit AMA, where they were asked gems like “Favourite pizza toppings?” and “Why did you guys do this to me?”

Okay! That’s it! Get out!

Wait,  I was too hasty. Sit, sit. f you host indie game events and want your events or game organizing to be mentioned in newsletters to come, feel free to send calendar@handeyesociety.com any future events! And as always, Your Humble Digest Writer is always happy to read your press releases about your giant Unreal racing game or quick cry-typed emails about that 10-second Twine game you made hungover yesterday morning.