Gamercamp Update: Grab The App, Catch The Iron Chef Competition, and Prepare For The 8-Bit Cereal Breakfast

We’re just one week away from Gamercamp Lv3, the annual celebration of the artistry, innovation, and power of play. This year’s programming is our strongest yet, with inspiring talks, brilliant demos (including the neat Hand Eye-led Peripherals Initiative), an afternoon game jam, film screenings, tournaments, and more.

For a glimpse at some of the neat things going on, check out our infographics-loving poster, snazzily designed by Benjamin Rivers!

The Gamercamp app, powered by Guidebook, was just released and is the best and easiest way to organize your time at the festival. Just head to m.guidebookapp.com and you’ll find our event listed on the home page. If you have an Apple or Android smartphone, you can download the Guidebook app and search for Gamercamp in it—one advantage is that the app saves the information locally, so even if you lose connectivity, you still have that goodness available.

We also have news that 12 brave competitors will be entering into Gamercamp Stadium for our Iron Chef Competition held on Friday as part of MakerU! Co-organized with Game Prototype Challenge, the Iron Chef Competition will be an intense three-hour jam where our competitors will have to make up a game around a secret ingredient.

In addition to Iron Chef, MakerU is an afternoon of creating where attendees can try their hands at video games, board games (with Board Game Jam co-organizer Adam Clare), and physical games (with Recess.TO’s David Fono and Kate Raynes-Goldie).

Finally, we need some help. We’re bringing back the 8-Bit Cereal Breakfast, where attendees are encouraged to dress in their pajamas, bring a bowl and spoon, and prepare for a fun morning of cereal and cartoons. Except we need to decide what cereals to bring: head over the our Facebook page to answer what we should feature for Lv3. Crushed cookie bits, anyone?

If you haven’t picked up your passes yet, do so now! Grab some buds and get set for what is destined to be another epic festival. Full details are available at www.gamercamp.ca!

Thanks and see you there! 

- Jaime

[Bonus Gamercamp content unlocked: Listen to this TIG Podcast interview with GC organizers Jaime and Mark!]

Difference Engine Round 2 Game Presentation

Wednesday November 23rd (doors at 7pm, start-time 7:30)
CSI Annex (720 Bathurst St., south of Bloor)
Free

The second round of the Difference Engine Initiative, a six week gamemaking incubator for women, is nearly over and we will be presenting the games that they made at the Centre for Social Innovation. The gamemakers will be presenting lightning talks about their games and their experiences making them. Una Lee, who co-facilitated the incubator with Sagan Yee, will be introducing them.

Check out some photos to see what the first round game presentation was like, and the first round games themselves here. It’ll be a great way to gear up for Gamercamp on the weekend!

The first and second rounds of the Difference Engine Initiative are part of the OMDC-funded TIFF Nexus.

Torontron Twinstick Release at Animation Bash

The Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI) is hosting an animation industry night this Thursday in support of the launch of their fest next summer. Tickets and more info available here.

Our newest indie arcade cabinet, the Torontron Twinstick, will be released at the event. Curated by Jim McGinley, this cab features dual joystick games made in our fair city: that’s twice the stick of the original Torontron, folks. Warning: early field tests at the Toronto Underground Cinema and Mississauga’s Celebration Square indicate that exposure to the Twinstick can cause intense excitement and spontaneous geekgasms. Luckily, usage will be monitored by cross-media HES member Matt Hammill.

The TAAFI folks have told us that their fest is about the animation arts, not just the linear cartoon form, and that they want to showcase videogame work as well. It’s happening June 22-23 2012 at the TIFF Bell Lighbox and they’re starting to take submissions in January. More details here.

T-Shirt and Hoodie Pre-order

We are printing Hand Eye Society t-shirts and hoodies with this amazing design by Craig D. Adams (AKA Superbrothers). Level up by layering up!

UPDATE: Sorry, we’re no longer taking orders.  Read more »

Play a Different Role Today

This being the day of dressing up, why not change up your usual videgame role and assume the identity of a Victorian eloper, a white girl rapper, a Yeti, a noir girl geek, an anatomy skeleton, a salsa gardener, an Icarus with dad issues, and a unicorn pooping colour trails?

The videogames for the first round of our Difference Engine Initiative, a six week gamemaking incubator for women, are all out! Play these free, cross-platform games in your browser right now.