This weekend, Toronto starts playing the best kind of mind games. GAME/CHANGE is this Saturday, a full-day forum exploring games and mental health as part of the Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival. Along with panels and Let’s Plays featuring members from orgs like Dames Making Games and Every1Games, it will also feature the games made as part of the Extraordinary Mind Games workshop that the Hand Eye Society organised with our friends at Workman Arts and support from the Canada Council for the Arts. These video games explore a range of themes from aspects of mental health or addiction to fun arcade experiences, and have been created by artists with lived mental health experiences over a 6 week period.

We are immensely proud to present this arcade, thanks to the efforts of seasoned pros like our Mind Games coordinators Arielle Grimes, Kaitlin Tremblay and Marishka Zachariah; volunteers, mentors, participants, the Hand Eye tech team a.k.a. Ken Cho, as well as the Workman Arts crew (Cara Spooner and Geoff Pevere, y’all know you’re <3)! Thanks also to DMG for the use of their arcade cabinets and lovely members.

You can buy tickets for Game/Change on EventBrite and HES members can get in for only $10 using the discount code that was recently mailed out; however the Mind Games Arcade is completely free and open to the public! We are also co-presenting a screening of pinball documentary Wizard Mode that same evening; tickets are separate and can be purchased here.

Throughout the day, a de-stressing sensory lounge will be available and there will be morning programming. Here’s the deets on everything that’s happening in the afternoon:

The Panel, 12:30 – 2 p.m.

Kick back after lunch for a casual chat on how games and mental health intersect with Kait Tremblay, Marishka Zachariah, and myself.  Moderated by Sarah Saucier from Every1 Games, this panel will delve into mental health representation in games, who’s making games, community-building, artistic expression, and probably other wonderfully maddening things.

The Let’s Play, 2:30 – 4 p.m.

Play games with us! Forget YouTube and livestreams, we’re taking the let’s play experience IRL with this event. These games use lived experiences of mental health, making them unique jumping points for dialogue.

The Arcade, 4 – 7 p.m.

The forum will wrap up with some exciting stuff: several simultaneous game launches from Toronto-based indie gamemakers! Here’s a partial list:

Several emerging artists have been making games from start to finish through our “Extraordinary Mind Games” incubator. These brave souls toiled over their computers for six weeks, with some making their very first game and others learning how to code for the first time. Participants were chosen from Workman Arts’ members, as well as those who answered a public call-out for game makers with lived mental health experience. Here’s a sneak peek of a few games that will be playable on Saturday:

“Asylum Squad: Code White” by Saraƒin

“Asylum Squad: Code White” (demo version) is an RPG teaser based on the webcomic/graphic novel series, ‘Asylum Squad’ by Saraƒin: a long running comic critique of the mental health care system.  Help Liz Madder navigate her way through the inpatient wards at St. Dymphna’s Psychiatric Hospital, where she finds herself after a botched suicide attempt.  Along the way, you can make new friends, fight hospital vermin, and hope for acceptance into the coveted Ajna Project.  Psychiatric incarceration has never been this much fun – really, it NEVER has!

“Obfuscation” by Brianne Dove

You’re learning how to drive. What could possible go wrong? An interactive story told in Twine, “Obfuscation” is based on the author’s own experiences and has multiple endings. Face traffic signals and the inevitable conclusion head-on.

“Strain 51,” Wakening,” “Sugar War,” “Underwater Pong” by Anthony Canali

Mind Games participant Anthony churned out four games in our six-week program. Something tells us he’s got a bright future in game jams!

“Strain 51” is  a post-apocalyptic disease-ridden FPS, where millions of flu-sick droves hunger for human flesh. Made in Anthony’s own software, this 3D biochemical adventure calls on players to find an antidote ASAP.

“Wakening” is a traditional Halloween romp. You know, the age-old “your psychiatrist is a sinister figure and you gotta go Matrix to survive” dilemma. Coded in HTML5 and told non-linearly.

Anthony also made two Scratch games. “Sugar War” is bananas for good sugar, where you try to lead a monkey to healthy sweets amid a junk food jungle. In “Underwater Pong,” you get exactly what it says on the snorkel.

“The Adventures Of Slippery Monkey” by Corey Funt and Josie Parisi

Introducing a furry hero that refuses to sit still! Slippery monkey is a sliding, jumping retro-inspired game by dynamic duo Corey and Josie.  Still in early demo, so expect platforming fun and the usual prelim stage state.