This month on the Hand Eye Society newsletter: It’s a zombie-slapping, ghost-dating, friend-mounting, fossil-hunting, anti-fascist, sex-positive jamboree of videogame events, news and assorted happenings!! Hand Eye Society and Dames Making Games both have Annual General Meetings, our first two Experimental Game Design workshops roll out, EGLX and GDC are upon us, TO Jam and Camp Make-a-Game registrations go live, grant deadlines incoming, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.

In other news, Google Calendar says it’s okay to wear jean jackets outside. I sense a trap.

WHERE TO JAUNT – EVENTS

March 1

Get together to drink coffee and write code! This group runs a bunch of meetups all month, so check them out!

March 3

Oh hey it’s the Hand Eye Society’s Annual General Meeting! As always, while the first half is open to the public and a great way to find out more about what we do and how to get involved, the second half of the event is only open to official members. We’ll be voting on such scintillating topics as our revised Conflict of Interest Policy draft, and our 2017 Financials. Please RSVP so we know how many of you are coming. Snacks, coffee, and Chinese New Year treats will be provided, the latter courtesy of our Director of Ops, Amanda Wong!

Afterwards, stick around Electric Perfume for the intriguingly mysterious Start With Anything, a collaborative VR improvisation. An enigmatic artist, known only as Dogson, invites attendees to come, create, and contribute to an evolving digital world with their own photos, words, music, and sculptures. There is no skill required to participate, and all are encouraged to join.

March 4

Our Systems and Simulators workshop is happening at 1PM at the Brandscape. Make your own ultra-low-budget Breathe of the Wild or The Sims as you learn about needs-based AI in Unity. Run by the fantastic Jonathan Carroll of Tough Guy Mountain, this is the first of our experimental game workshops! Tickets on sale now, discount for HES members.

March 7/14/21

Are you an animator who wants to learn more about coding? The Toronto Animated Image Society is running a Coding for Animators Workshop. It’s three weeks long.

March 10

Come hang out at the Game:play Lab at OCAD U with Little Dada to celebrate International Women’s Day! This is a free event, for women* curious about or involved in technology in any capacity.

March 9 – 11

It’s the EGLX weekend! Come out and play games, try some VR, have a Nerf Battle, and check out a bevvy of indie game devs, special guests, Artist’s Alley, talks, pitches and more. Industry folks include Erin Robinson Swink (Gravity Ghost) and a whole bunch of familiar faces like Chris Tihor, Dave Proctor, Tabby Rose, Stephen Crane, Yifat Shaik aaaand I would go on but by then I’ll just have named everyone on this page. HES Members get a discount on tickets if you haven’t got yours yet.

March 15

The SCMS Annual Conference is in town, and there’s one panel local game folks should take notice of: Toronto the Geeky: A Panel Discussion on Building Scenes and Communities Around Media! Join moderator Benjamin Woo (Getting a Life: The Social Worlds of Geek Culture), Chris Butcher (TCAF and VIZ Media), Janice Poon (food art designer for Hannibal and American Gods) and HES exec director Sagan Yee as we discuss popular media and community-building in the GTA. Lillian H. Smith Branch, panel starts at 8:30 PM after a tour and reception.

March 17

Want to unlock the secrets of game design, without being bound by digital rules? Thinking about how to explore play as a social experience, using human behaviour and face-to-face interaction as the basis for a game? Tickets are ON SALE NOW for Forget Virtual Reality, Try Actual Reality with Damian Sommer (Friendship In 4 Colours, The Yawhg, Chesh, Bravery Network) starting at 1PM at Electric Perfume! The second in our series of experimental game workshops. Discount for HES members.

March 18

Want to fight fascism and make games?  The International Anti-fascist Game Jam will be held in multiple locations on March 18, including local sites in the Canadian cities of Hamilton and Montréal, and with participants from different Brazilian cities. While technically not in Toronto (yet… we’re looking into it), you can still participate online until March 31. See also: 2017’s Punch Nazis Jam by local dev David S Gallant.

March 19-23

It’s GDC time! For those of you who will be enjoying sunny San Francisco, we hope you have a fantastic week and are definitely not at home with FOMO because all our friends are out of town.

March 24-25

Positive Play brings together aspiring game designers, public health students, sexual health experts, and gender-equity organizations to explore positive depictions of sex and sexuality through games. Participants in this two-day jam (March 24-25th) will work collaboratively to develop games with learning outcomes related to one of the following topics: sex positivity, LGBTQ2S+ inclusivity, consent, and destigmatizing sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections. Brantford, Ontario.

WHERE TO HAUNT – SOCIALS

March 1

It’s the Breakfast GA Club! 9AM as always at Black Cat Espresso

March 28

Torontaru time, get out and make some new friends!

March ???

It’s unannounced yet, but keep your eyes peeled for Eat Play Mingle‘s Bonus Stage. Don’t forget, they’re always looking for speakers!

#ICYMI

TMAC, which includes Gamma Space and Dames Making Games, have accepted the City’s offer of settlement and have begun moving into their shiny new space at 36 Lisgar! More news is expected to follow. Take note: DMG will be moving its Annual General Meeting to late March to give them time to settle in, so watch for the new date soon.

Our third FebMoVid came and went. We learned how to make Full Motion Video (FMV) games in Unity with Sagan Yee, then played through Steven Spielberg’s Director’s Chair (1996) with Derek Quenneville. On Feb 28th, Laser Blast Film Society successfully blew everyone’s minds with a glittering montage of FMV sci-fi goodness, followed by their screening of Fortress.

COMING AND GOING ATTRACTIONS

Speed Dating for Ghosts by Ben Gelinas and Mikey Hamm is out!

Mount Your Friends 3D by Daniel Steger is out!

You can buy Aether Interactive’s entire gameography for $9.86!

Fossil Hunters by Reptoid Games is out, and we look forward to the console release!

The zombie-slapping crowd-pleasing Disco Is Dead will be at alt.ctrl.GDC this year!

Registration is now open for Camp Make-A-Game, the Hand Eye Society’s awesome indoor/outdoor game design camp for kids. This year we’re once again partnering with Ryerson Summercamps, running every week in July. If you know any aspiring game-makers between the ages of 8-12 who’d be interested, please share widely with them and their parents!

We’re also looking for sponsors for our FREE Camps offered to under-served communities around Toronto, in partnership with organizations like the Toronto Public Library and UrbanArts. For just $200/year, you make it possible for kids to learn about digital screen-based games, but also physical and social game design in parks and playgrounds. Help us make game-making accessible for all and get in touch at info@handeyesociety.com, or sign up for paid membership here. Huge thanks to everyone who supported us last year!

PAPER TRAILS – GAMING IN THE MEDIA

Gabby DaRienzo interviews Dan Salvato about Doki Doki Literature Club on Play Dead Podcast, now in its 3rd season! She’ll also be at GDC giving a talk about A Mortician’s Tale as part of the Indie Summit.

Local game journos Third Person got their GOTY on with end-of-year lists from the staff, with an excellent selection of games beyond the usual blockbuster fare (although there’s some of that too, 2017 being a pretty good year for ye olde AAA).

Yifat Shaik of The Really Serious Game Company was interviewed on Dreaming Polygons, discussing the games industry age barrier, issues with crunch and the debate over the cost of games, and what design trends the industry is heading towards.

Our very own Mississauga ambassador Kadeem Dunn has an entry in Game Devs & Others: Tales from the Margins, along with Ubisoft Toronto’s new Narrative Designer Kaitlin Tremblay! This anthology of essays edited by Tanya DePass tells the true stories of life in the industry by people of colour, LGBTQIA and other marginalized identities. Pre-order, stat!

BREADWINNER – JOBS/GIGS/OPPORTUNITIES/DEADLINES

Get Well Gamers Canada is a charity that takes donated video games and consoles to hospitals across Canada. Video games are an effective and proven pain management tool and provide much-needed entertainment for young people during long hospital stays. Their website is still being worked on, but you can also find them at the links below or contact rachael@getwellgamers.org.uk.

Twitter: @gwgcan
Instagram: @gwgcan
Facebook: Get-Well Gamers Canada

March 14

Are you a student? Do you go to a school partnered with Level Up Showcase? Follow your heart!

March 28

TO Jam registration goes live! George Brown is giving the event 7 more classrooms to fill this year, for even more jammers! That doesn’t mean you should procrastinate on signing up, though; we bet it’s like car traffic or Tim Horton lineups where greater capacity just leads to greater demand. Unlike either of those things, more TO Jam is something to celebrate.

Also March 28

Remember that time we ran a Grantwriting Workshop for Game Artists workshop last year? If you were there, or if you have an artsy videogame idea burning in your soul and want actual money to make it, apply for the Ontario Arts Council Media Arts grant for up to $10,000 in Emerging Artist funds!

April 9

The OMDC deadline for Concept Definition and Production is due April 9, which means you should probably work on your application this month, instead of trying to do it all the week before… I know we’ve all been there, but trust us, it’s not a good idea!!

*takes a deep breath*

Torn Banner Studio is looking for a Senior Game Programmer, Senior Environmental Artist, Lead Environmental Artist, and a Generalist Programmer

Gameloft is looking for an Android Game Programmer

Qublix Games is looking for a HTML5 Game Developer

Toronto Film School is looking for a Program Coordinator, Video Game Design and Animation

triOS College is looking for a Video Game Design Technology Instructor

Dark Slope Studios is looking for a VR Unreal Engine Programmer

Big Viking Games is looking for a Senior Game Designer

Real Programming 4 Kids is looking for a Video Game Programming Summer Instructor

Rockstar Studios is looking for a Character Artist, a Procedural Animation Programmer, and a Character Programmer

Prodigy is looking for a Senior Full-Stack Developer

Albedo Informatics is looking for a 3D Character Artist

Bevertec is looking for a C++ Game Developer

Alientrap is looking for a 3D Artist and Unity C# Developer

*Phew!!*

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Disclaimer: This is a monthly compilation of various Toronto game news and events in and around the city — many of which are not organized by Hand Eye Society — and is by no means comprehensive. Always check official links for accurate details and credits, and please send any corrections, additions, or submissions for future months to calendar@handeyesociety.com