WordPlay is our free festival celebrating the most interesting uses of writing and words in contemporary games. Since 2012, Wordplay has been well known for its curated game showcases, talks by creators about the craft, and opportunities for the public and the games community to learn more about making games. Each year there is curated game showcase alongside talks by creators about the craft and ways for the public to learn about making games. We’d like a Word and that word is Play.

Wordplay has been held both in-person at the Toronto Reference Library and online through our FEST platform & Twitch Channel. At the moment, it is currently combined with Super FESTival. You can read about past versions of WordPlay below.

P.S. Sign up for our regular newsletter to get all the latest updates on WordPlay and our many other initiatives.


WordPlay 2021

WordPlay 2021 was our 9th annual Festival and was held online, this time we also expanded the event using our FEST platform. Featuring more games and talks, this was our best WordPlay yet!

Wordplay 2021 FEST Archive

Wordplay 2021 Twitch Talks

Supported by


WordPlay 2020

As a ray of hope at the start of the Pandemic, Wordplay 2020 shifted online to celebrate a curated showcase of games and deliver many insightful talks through our Twitch Platform. This was the Hand Eye Society’s first festival held entirely online, first use of our Twitch Channel for a major event, and the first time WordPlay was held over 2 days instead of one.

Games Showcase 2020

Speakers List 2020

Wordplay 2020 Twitch Talks

Supported by


WordPlay 2019

WordPlay 2019 was our biggest and last in-person festival before the Pandemic. It featured a plethora of games and guests at the Toronto Reference Library.

Games Showcase 2019

Guest List 2019

Supported By


 

WordPlay 2018

During WordPlay 2018, we had one of our biggest festivals yet! With over 20 games like Hypnospace Outlaw, Boyfriend Dungeon and Doki Doki Literature Club, there were games that covered all corners of the narrative genre!

Not only that, but we had incredible speakers featuring from Laura Michet,  Greg Buchanan, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Miriam Verburg, Arthur Protasio and more!

Schedule 2018

Speakers 2018


WordPlay 2017

WordPlay 2017 Info


WordPlay 2016

In 2016, we brought the festival to the UK with WordPlay London. Co-presented by Press Play to Win, it was hosted at the British Library as part of International Games Day @ your Library.
See here for our photo recap, credits, and listing of the showcase games.
We livestreamed all the programming! For a session-by-session breakdown and links please refer here.

WordPlay 2015

WordPlay 2015 featured mainstage presentations and interviews from guests Sam Barlow, Christine Love, Emily Short and the team of Night in the Woods. Also included was our curated, annual showcase of playable writerly games, the Choosatron, and interactive workshops in Twine, Ren’py and Inform 7. See here for our photo recap and listing of the showcase games.

WordPlay 2014

See here for photos and the Wordplay 2014 Showcase. WordPlay 2014 also featured the world première of a Porpentine game played live by our audience. The week prior we also had an exhibit of new writerly games.

Hadean Lands: The Alchemy of iPhones and Social Capital

Interactive fiction legend Andrew Plotkin from Boston, MA discusses Hadean Lands, a text adventure made for iOS which he Kickstarted 4 years ago and released just the week previous. He is introduced by XO podcaster Keith McNally. Download the MP3.

United We Fall: Storytelling Systems in Dungeons of Fayte

Montreal’s Brent Ellison and Tanya X. Short talk about their cult narrative game Dungeons of Fayte, which was a big inspiration to The Yawhg. Yawhg co-creator Damian Sommer and Hand Eye Society co-founder Miguel Sternberg introduce them. Download the MP3.


WordPlay 2013

See here for the Wordplay 2013 Showcase. WordPlay 2013 also featured the world première of the Kentucky Route Zero release “The Entertainment.”

Panel: Where Prose Meets Play

A panel that investigated the intersection between books and games, by people who have one foot in both worlds: webcomic writer Ryan North (To Be or Not to BeDinosaur Comics), Hugo-award winner Peter Watts (Crysis 2 novelization), game & comic creator Rachel Kahn (By Crom!), and author/illustrator/game maker Matt Hammill (Sir Reginald’s LogbookLovers in a Dangerous Spacetime). Moderated by novelist and game maker Jim Munroe. Video | MP3

Discussion: Kentucky Route Zero

Hand Eye Society co-founder Miguel Sternberg (They Bleed Pixels) sat down with the Chicago-based creators of Kentucky Route Zero, a magical realist point-and-click adventure game with Flannery O’Connor influences that’s charmed the festival circuit (Independent Games Festival, Indiecade). Miguel asked Jake and Tamas thoughtful questions posed by the community. Video | MP3

Festival identity: Beehive Design
Founder: Jim Munroe