If you regularly browse online for the latest game news, then you know by now that you’re about to be hit by a ton of fake April Fool’s news. Some of it will be funny, some of it will be obvious, and the worst things will make you wish they were true. Well, this calendar comes with a guarantee of 100 percent serious news only. Everything happening this month is really taking place, and these games all really came out. So, enjoy a little island of sanity on this day of lunacy.

Don’t forget to check out the Toronto Gaming Calendar, now available on our homepage, which will be updated as more events become announced throughout the month. (Remember, the calendar can also be added to your googlecal.) Note only the events marked with an asterisk are Hand Eye events — for the rest, we’re just signal boosting for this amazing community.

Toronto Game Events

Thursday, April 2: The 2015 Level Up Showcase, spotlighting the most talented students in design, animation and computer science programs from colleges and universities across Ontario.

Tuesday, April 14: IGDA’s Grab-bag of Developer Chats.

Saturday, April 18: Dames Making Games April Speaker’s Social.

Tuesday, April 28+29: Thank You For Playing doc about That Dragon, Cancer at Hot Docs

Wednesday, April 29: Torontaru monthly social.

Local Game Releases

Created entirely by developer and graphic designer Peter Lacalamita over two and a half years, Sky Battles (pictured above) is 3D air combat simulator, where you take on a variety of giant monsters on your plane, or other players in an online battle mode.

Toronto Folks In The Media

DMG member and indie game developer Soha Kareem wrote a piece for Offworld about how the games she’s developed have personally healed her. It’s touching, and well worth a read.

GamesTM has published a list of the top 50 best developers in the world, and without spoiling it, anyone in the know should see a few familiar names on that list…

Drinkbox Studios will soon be publishing a new title, Severed, which generated a lot of positive buzz at Pax East. Instead of linking all of the articles here, Drinkbox itself made a blog post rounding up all the positive buzz.

Special Announcements:

TO Jam, the free annual, 3 day game making event, needs volunteers to make the magic happen. They’re looking for casual volunteers for a day or two, or superstars who are willing to take on more. If you want to support the community, contact Arthur.

If you didn’t already get the memo, the Hand Eye Society has helped create a new game-related television series, YYZ Gameshow, dedicated to Toronto game culture. Have a look here, and if you have any story ideas, or things to present, be sure to drop a line.

Autodesk is looking beta testers for the next edition of 3d Studio Max. They want local 3ds Max users who use a 4k (high resolution) monitor. If that’s you and you’re interested in participating in the beta program for next year’s version of 3ds Max, you can send a message to Ian at ux.team@autodesk.com

To all the indie devs out there, IndieCade 2015, a showcase of independent games, is looking for submissions. You have until May 1st to get them in!

The Bit Bazaar is a celebration of independent games, comics and food, where you can showcase and sell your wares. The next one is in May, and if you have a game to show off, apply before April 3!

PTYVO Gaming is setting up a cultural display project for indie devs to show their games off. Here’s how you can apply to that, too.

Say hello to Local Sound, a newly-founded GTA organization dedicated to bringing the Toronto audio community together, including indie game makers, and professionals looking to pick up new skills. Stay tuned to it for lectures and talks by indie professionals starting in May!

Help Wanted

Drinkbox Studios, developers of Guacamelee, are looking for game designers and a gameplay programmer. If you’re interested, have a look on their website.

Enjoy our Game Event Roundups and want to make a contribution? The Hand Eye Society is looking for game enthusiasts with excellent writing and research skills to help out with this monthly digest, on a volunteer basis to start. Please email Jim with a either a sample of your writing, an event in April we missed, or a typo you found in this post!

That’s all for now! If there’s any events, Toronto games news, new releases, or rad media coverage, don’t hesitate to pass it along to Anthony via email or to @HandEyeSociety on Twitter.