Until June 1st, 2013, videofag and TeamVector invite you to submit work that relates to the theme “Queer Arcade.” The exhibition will be a pop-up arcade taking place at videofag in Toronto, Ontario July 27-28, with a reception on the evening of the 27th.
We are open to works that address the theme “Queer Arcade” in unexpected ways. Feel free to submit video games made for any platform, experimental GAYmes, Queering of traditional games, ROM hacks, machinima, board games, RPGs, card games, arcade ephemera, and works in any other medium that address the the theme of Queerness in video games.
The Hand Eye Society is nearing its 5th anniversary (our first Social happened in February 2009) and we’re going to be taking stock of where to go from here at our Annual General Meeting. Things have changed a lot since we started the project, and we need to explore what the community needs now as opposed to when we started — and to empower the people who have the fresh energy to make it happen.
If you have volunteered any time (to any game culture project in town, not just a HES event) since March 2012 or are interested in volunteering in the future, you are encouraged to attend. This is a great time to get involved and have a real impact on the organization.
But did you know about the crazy star-studded panel happening on Saturday, conveniently close to the Bit Bazaar happenings?
Comics vs Games: Narrative Intersections Featuring Scott C., Bryan Lee O’Malley, Ben Rivers, Jim Zub, Moderator Miguel Sternberg Saturday, May 11, 1:00pm-2:30pm @ Bit Bazaar, Bento Miso, 862 Richmond Street West (Queen & Strachan) FREE
A huge component of TCAF 2013 is our one-day, off-site BIT BAZAAR! An exhibition of more than 20 indy game developers and studios, with games, art, and crafts that mix comics, games, and narrative. At the center of the event is this special presentation featuring some of the greatest names in the comics & games crossover! Scott C. (Doublefine, The Art of Brutal Legend), Bryan Lee O’Malley (Scott Pilgrim), Benjamin Rivers (Snow, Home), Jim Zub (Skullkickers, Street Fighter HD Remix), and Moderator Miguel Sternberg (They Bleed Pixels) will discuss the intersection between comics and games, how comics and games borrow from each other to tell stories. The participants will talk about their relationships with games, how they borrow and adapt ideas from games and comics into the other. A signing with book sales will follow!
Seeing as there’s so much awesome happening in town game-wise, we’ve revived the Toronto Videogame Event calendar just to keep track of it all (easy to add to your googlecal). As well as maintaining the calendar, Hand Eye volunteer Kaitlin Tremblay will be compiling the events in a monthly email. (Note that only the events marked with a * are Hand Eye related — we want to signal boost for the community, not steal credit.)
(VOLUNTEER ALERT! Comics VS Games 2 needs people to table for a few hours at TCAF. Training provided. Email kaitlin@handeyesociety.com if you can help out on May 11 or 12.)
Where: TCAF - Toronto Reference Library – 789 Yonge Street When: Sat May, 11 9am-5pm – Sun May 12, 11am-5pm
Last year the Hand Eye Society teamed up with TIFFnexus and paired indie comic and game makers to create five original games. This year we’ve curated four existing independent games from around the world that borrow structural elements from comics in their game design and presentation. Each of these games explores space, sequence and narrative in unique ways that show great things can happen when the two forms are combined! All four Showcase games will be playable at the TCAF main location for the entire weekend.
Framed by Loveshack Entertainment – Australia Framed is a novel, dramatic, panel-shifting game experience where every panel tugs on the outcome of the story. Presented as a storyboard each panel depicts an important action/event. Players must rearrange the order of the panels to change the delivery and outcome of the narrative. With each action framed by the last, context is everything. Coming to multiple platforms in 2013 including PC, Mac, tablets and phones.
Where is My Heart by Die Gute Fabrik – Denmark / Germany Where is My Heart is a 2D puzzle platforming game starring three monsters, each with unique abilities. It uses the Comic Panel Effect in which the screen has been fractured into panels and re-arranged to disorient the player. With its charming art style, odd creatures and surreal internal logic Where is My Heart is evocative of comics like Ojingogo. While Where is my Heart has been available for PSPmini for some time, TCAF will be a rare chance play the upcoming PC version! Available now on the PSPmini (PSP, PS3 and PS Vita) coming soon to PC and Mac.
Storyteller by Daniel Benmergui – Argentina Storyteller is a puzzle game where you build your own visual stories. Each level has a goal like “make a murder of jealousy” or “a tragedy of love”. It’s played by placing characters and props into a strip of frames like a comic, where actors react to each other. Many classic soap opera complications like amnesia, dark secrets and returns from death are part of the toolbox. The IGF award winning Storyteller makes its second appearance at TCAF Comics vs Games. As a game still in development players will get a chance to play the newest build and see what’s changed in a year! Available late 2013 on PC, Mac and iOS.
Gorogoa by Jason Roberts – United States Gorogoa is a lovingly hand-illustrated world suspended inside of a unique puzzle. To solve the puzzle, the player rearranges a few panels on a simple grid, placing them next to or on top of one another. But each panel is also a window into a different part of the game world–or perhaps into a different world–and each window plays like its own little game. Even so, the key to progressing never lies within one panel, but in the connections between panels. Coming out late 2013/early 2014 for PC, Mac and subsequently on mobile platforms.
More info on TCAF Comics vs Games 2 programming coming soon!
Inspiration | Jim Munroe | 
May 18, 2013 1:23 pm | 
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