You might know that the Hand Eye Society is a not-for-profit videogame arts organization. But you probably don’t know that we’re not just the first in Toronto — we’re actually the first in the world. Our mandate of showcasing and nurturing games made primarily for creative expression is a fairly new one, but it’s one that’s inspired many similar organizations internationally.

Up til now, the only way to get Hand Eye Society membership was to contribute 10 hours of volunteer time per year to any game project in the city. But we’ve regularly heard from people who don’t necessarily have the time, but who still want to support us.

So we’re adding a paid membership option. Membership dues will be $7/month, and this is what you get:

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• a free Toronto (or Toronto-affiliated) game each month;
• discounts at Iceman Games and The Beguiling/Little Island/Page & Panel: The TCAF Shop;
• our official membership card (as above) mailed to you;
• voting rights at the Annual General Meeting.

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That’s right! For the price of a craft beer, you don’t just support videogame arts in Toronto and help decide how the organization is run — you also get discounts and a free, locally-sourced game each month!

Plus, your support will also help us fight the cultural perception that games are sugary candy or murder simulators. By showing the diversity of what the medium is capable of we help prove this bias unfounded — and open people up to amazing things they were missing out on. To expand the circle of game enthusiasts we run game literacy programs in underserved neighbourhoods, high-profile game exhibitions at cultural institutions, game-making incubators for artists — check out our 6 year history & highlights here.

We’re doing a game a month for the first twelve months of our paid membership offering, and hoping to extend it depending on community response. Get in while the getting’s good!

STARTING WITH A HEAVY HITTER…

We’re delighted to announce that our first game for this program is Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition from the awesome folks at Drinkbox Studios.

This super-fun, award-winning Toronto-made brawler and dimension shifter draws its aesthetic from the colourful Mexican luchadores. Check out the launch trailer here. It retails for $14.99 but it’s free for Hand Eye Society members this month!

SIGN ME UP!

Choose to pay dues month-by-month or annually.

Annual payers get a limited edition American Apparel Hand Eye Society t-shirt (m or f) with Superbrothers art as a thank-you bonus — that’s a $25 value!

Monthly Dues : $7.00 CAD – monthlyAnnual Dues : $84.00 CAD – yearly

We will be in touch with the email provided to complete the membership process. The subscription can be cancelled at any time.

FAQ

What kind of games will I get?
We will be curating a variety of Toronto & Toronto-affiliated games, both commercial and non-commercial — but all interesting & worth your time. It’s less of a Netflix/PlayStation subscription thing and more of a perk for supporting your videogame arts organization.

What will my membership dues go towards?
The vast majority of our budget goes towards paying people to run the programs. While no one is full time or salaried, once someone contributes 10 hours of volunteer time, we pay people an hourly wage.

Don’t you get support from arts councils and other public funders?
Yes, we do, and we make a small amount of funding go a long way. But public funding is always vulnerable to political changes, especially with the cultural bias against games. To continue to do the work we do we need to be bringing in a mix of income streams to keep the organization viable. (Incidentally, all of our revenue and expense information is accessible to our membership.)

Does this replace volunteer memberships?
Absolutely not. People who volunteer 10 hours to any game project in the city and who register at the Annual General Meeting will get membership and all the monthly supporter perks. It’s really important for us to continue to engage volunteer power, both to expand what we can do and to give an outlet for passionate community members.

Are there company memberships?
We want to focus on the individual memberships first, but we will be rolling these out. We do have some exciting plans for perks for gamemaking collectives and companies, however — why not get in touch and we can loop you in?

I love the Toronto game scene and/or what you guys do but I don’t live in Toronto. Can I become a member?
You can! International pals welcome.

Any other questions? Please email us!