July’s Juicy Jubilee: Monthly Newsletter
It’s a cruel, cruel summer, but you don’t have to be here on your own! There’s plenty of cool video game events taking place in and around the city. If we knew which ones had AC we could have labelled them ahead of time, but as it is, you’ll just have to attend all of them to find out, won’t you? Mwa ha ha! Remember to drink water, stay in the shade, wear sunscreen and subscribe to your pal with the backyard pool, Google Calendar.
Don’t forget: You can also submit news to calendar@handeeysociety.com at any time before the month in which the event takes place (preferably with a week to spare), post to our Facebook Group (as long as it’s relevant to games/playful media and doesn’t violate our Code of Conduct), or @ us on Twitter for an RT. Have a great summer!
WHERE TO JAUNT – EVENTS
July 3
Interaccess is running a workshop on Large Scale Projection Mapping with TouchDesigner! This three week course is an intermediate class, meaning you’ll have to have a pretty good grasp on TouchDesigner already.
July 7/8
It’s that time of year and Maker Festival rolls around! Head over to the Reference Library and check out all the amazing projects, admission is free so come out!
July 12
Square Boys are releasing their first EP! The video game party brass band will be playing at the Linsmore Tavern with Octorock at 8PM
July 12-16
It’s time for Vector Festival! The event showcases emergent, critical, and experimental new media art across a series of events that include exhibitions, performances, workshops, discussion panels, and screenings. Vector Festival is presented annually by InterAccess, and Hand Eye Society is proud to be a Communtiy Partner. This year’s festival, entitled Born Digital, features over 30 pioneering new media artists from Canada and abroad and includes a multitude of performances, screenings, and panel discussions at sites across Toronto. Venues include Jackman Hall at The Art Gallery of Ontario, The Bachir/Yerex Presentation Space at 401 Richmond St. West, 918 Bathurst, Celebration Square, The Brandscape, and InterAccess. This year’s festival is curated by Katie Micak and Martin Zeilinger.
You can view the 2018 program and buy festival passes here. The Opening Party on July 12 is free at InterAccess!
Festival Pass | $30
Performance Ticket | $15
Workshop | $80 regular | $60 passholders
July 13/14
Come check out Bit Bazaar at TMAC, courtesy of Gamma Space and DMG’s Jennie Robinson Faber! Play minty-fresh games, buy one-of-a-kind, limited-edition and handmade/DIY items—pins, zines, boxed games, card decks, art prints, posters, comics, t-shirts, game soundtracks on vinyl, mixtapes, papercraft and toys—direct from 50+ independent game developers! PS: Their volunteer application is still open if you wanna get involved!
This year will also have the first Yami-Ichi in Toronto: Calling all vendors of internet-ish things— be prepared to gather and exchange goods from the backstreets of the Internet on July 13, 2018 afternoon into evening. This is all followed by The Temper Tantrum 1-Year Anniversary Party!
July 14
Learn about how to capture AR/VR objects in Interaccess’ Intro to Reality Capture for Virtual Places. This day long workshop will teach you everything you need to know about the concepts, techniques and production pipelines involved in the creation of alternative virtual places.
July 17
Intro to Tabletop Roleplaying games is happening at the DMG, come and learn about all of the amazing ways in which you can play with your friends! The event starts 6PM
WHERE TO HAUNT – SOCIALS
July 3
The Bi Weekly (ish) Board Gaymes Night is taking place at Glad Day, come hang out and pay some games, doors open at 6PM.
July 9
Want to stretch your narrative legs and try out some roleplaying? The Toronto Gaymers: D&D Adventures might be for you! Join the group at the Fox and the Fiddle fortnightly!
July 11
Time for the DMG VR Meetup! Check it out at TMAC, doors open at 7PM
July 12
Game Dev Book Club #5 is of Unity in Action by Joseph Hocking, happening at TMAC with the DMG. Discussion begins at 6PM
July 17
Eat Play Mingle’s monthly Bonus Stage is back at Power Up Bar! They’re looking for speakers, so sign up at the link.
July 26
The Indie Mixer is a new game dev meetup in the style of speed dating! The main event of the night will be a mix of 1 on and 4 on 4 sessions with peers, presenting a great space to talk with others in the community and create the possibility of collaborating with others in the future. There will be a time to mix and mingle before and after, so bring your business cards and your game ideas and head on over! Door open at 7PM at Dames Making Games/TMAC. More details at the Facebook event.
July 28
It’s time for the Dames Making Games Speaker Social! Listen to Gabriela Aveiro-Ojeda talk about mending technology with brujeria and ancestral teachings, Keana Almario with “People Die When They Are Killed – The Art and Culture of Fansubbing”, and Sally Luc about Project Milkway. The talks kick off at 7PM!
COMING AND GOING ATTRACTIONS
June 15 – July 28
Check out Meagan Byrne’s work Wanisinowin | Lost at Trinity Square Video until the end of the month! The original game has been replicated here as a non-interactive video installation piece. Wanisinowin|Lost is a letter of hope to the artist’s 10-year old self who struggled against lateral violence and the restrictive question of “Are you Native enough?” Here it has been transported back in time into the TV of that 10-year-old. And as she plays the game her future-self has made for her you are invited to watch as she struggles, along with the character Wani, to overcome the obstacles in front of her and complete the game.
AnyWare by Jane Tingley, Cindy Poremba & Marius Kintel is a distributed sculpture that includes three identical objects that can be located in three different locations, anywhere in the world. The objects encourage playful interactions that are designed to inspire experimentation, exploration, and potential “conversations” with other interactors. AnyWare Toronto is up at Electric Perfume until July 4, and will be connected to two other sculptures located in Ottawa and Montreal, allowing you to play remotely with people across different cities!
The Hand Eye Society is prepping for a bunch of big events in the fall/winter and 2019, but by no means are we resting on our laurels! We’re running several weeks of kid’s game design summer camps at Ryerson (Camp Make-a-Game), as well as a youth training program with Art Starts at Chester Le Community Centre in Aug/Sept. If you live in Scarborough, watch for our announcements about when our Game Curious public programming will start!
PAPER TRAILS – GAMES IN THE MEDIA
Lightning Rod Games reveals the first preview trailer for A Fold Apart! You can support their crowd funding campaign on Fig here until July 19. From their press release:
Canadian game studio Lightning Rod Games reveals the first preview trailer for A Fold Apart: an award-winning 3D puzzle game about the emotional struggle of a long distance relationship, set in a world of folding paper. This reveal comes alongside their launch on the Fig.co platform, and the first public opportunity for either investment or backing of A Fold Apart.
Inspired by origami and papercraft, the award-winning game mechanic in A Fold Apart is completely new, allowing players to fold and manipulate a paper world so as to navigate a long distance relationship. Based on a true story, players can choose any gender combination for their character couple while exploring over 50 unique puzzles and a heartfelt, emotional narrative.
Reptoid released Fossil Hunters on the Switch! Congratulations!
Congratulations to former HES Board Member Cindy Poremba, on her research VVV: Volumetric Video in Videogames!
#ICYMI
Our pals Little Dada had Phonopticon – An Era of Mass Surveillance: A Make Friends Monthly Workshop in which Mudit Ganguly talked about all of the fascinating (and terrifying) ways in which we’re all being tracked.
Congratulations to local devs Marishka Zachariah and Adam Ryu-Robinson who are at Stugan now! We hope you’re having a great time in the woods!
June 26 was the date of Game Workers Unite: Toronto Chapter’s second meeting. Follow their Twitter for more updates!
BREADWINNER – JOBS/GIGS/OPPORTUNITIES/DEADLINES
The Brandscape is currently accepting applications for studio and co-working space! They’re looking specifically for digital artists, designers, photographers, programmers and organizations to occupy the space and create community.
Have you heard? Our annual fancy videogame party the Hand Eye Society Ball is back! We’re currently looking for sponsors, games, and volunteers. Submissions will be open until mid August. Contact ball@handeyesociety.com to find out how you can support or get involved (if you’ve already done so, you’ll hear from us very soon!)
Damage Camp submissions are open for the September conference. They’re expanding in 2018 to include a full day of hands-on workshops prior to the conference, so you can learn new skills or brush up on tools and techniques! Submit your Talk, Workshop or Game before July 30 (not sure if this is a hard deadline, but best to get it in as early as possible)!
July 1
Little Dada is looking for submissions for the Long Exposure Festival. Have an outdoor game you’d love to showcase? Make weird alternative controller? You can get tickets for the event itself here.
July 6
Different Games submissions close, get those games and talks in!
July 8
- Past work writing, developing, and releasing interactive fiction in Twine
- Experience customizing interaction in Twine, including adding features using javascript
- Data management skills
- Ability to work on a creative team
- Ability to work in Google Drive
- Familiarity with Trello is an asset
The project contributes to a game-based learning program at the Ted Rogers Leadership Centre creating digital education tools for university-level education. The candidate will work closely with the project lead, Hilary Martin, and a team of ethics case writers at the Centre. Working with the team and content identified for five game scenarios, the candidate will assist with tasks such as:
- Storyboarding and design
- Integration of features (built into Twine or created using javascript) through design sprints
- Data collection within the game
- Five completed games (simple to complex narratives) with functional features identified through existing research and user testing
- A system and structure to continue building games with these same features
July 20
Interaccess is looking for an artist in residence!
Night in the Woods
TimePlay is looking for a Game Artist
Blue Isle Studio is looking for a Unreal Engine 4 Gameplay Programmer
Little Guy Games is looking for Graphic Arts Technician and a 3D Artist
Ubisoft is looking for a Team Lead Artist
Rockstar is looking for a Associate Producer
Prodigy is looking for a QA Analyst
The Vancouver Animation School is looking for an online Video Game Design Instructor
Lifeform Studio is looking for a 3D Modeller
The Toronto Film School is looking for a Program Director for Video Game Design and Animation
Sheridan is looking for some to teach Fundamentals of Game Mechanics and Game Playtesting Methods
