Event Link Opens Nov 20: https://bit.ly/hes-superfest

We’re about to drop some knowledge on ya!

The Hand Eye Society has always had a strong educational tradition across much of our existence and this continues in Super FESTival 2023. As usual, we’ll be featuring Talks and Panels from experienced indie devs on a variety of subjects that will be broadcast on the Hand Eye Sociey Twitch Channel! This year, we have also added new a new category to our online broadcasts: Workshops! Our 17 Talks, Panels, and Workshops will be broadcast on every day of our Nov 20 – 26 event, occurring Monday – Friday from 6pm – 9pm (ET) and Saturday – Sunday from 1pm – 6pm (ET).

Of the 17 broadcast features, 11 will be pre-recorded, with 6 live events also occurring. Between every talk/panel/workshop will be short displays of all games featured in Super FESTival as well as videos from our sponsors. Our guests in these 17 features come not just from Canada, but from all around the world, so prepare to be exposed to diverse new perspectives! Find our Stream Schedule and Details below! Be sure to catch it all on Twitch starting Monday November 20, 2023!

(Please note that all times are in ET Toronto Time)

Mon, Nov 25: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm

[ TALK ] Let’s Talk Narrative Design!

Seamus Ly – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Let’s Talk Narrative Design!” is a crash course for new game developers looking to start writing their own games and for those who want to better understand how a narrative designer fits into a team. We’ll discuss what the role really means, examine the many different subsections of game writing, and gain an overview of common and easy-to-learn tools beginners should familiarize themselves with. In the end, you’ll come out with the knowledge on how to manage a game for a small team, and the understanding to carry you towards your first project as a narrative designer!

7:45pm

[ LIVE TALK ] Narrative Arts: Failing The Fun

Evgeni Puzankov – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

This talk is focusing on narrative design and interactive story-telling as a stand-alone discipline. Untethered from the game design, game industry, and the fun, narrative design can offer something beautiful, a wider design space, and an alternative way of developing interactive experience. Narrative arts is a wild frontier where few ventured. The goal of the talk is to empower the narrative designers, encourage failure, embolden the weird developers to be weirder, as well as offer an avenue to make better political and art-esque games.

Tues, Nov 26: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm

[ TALK ] What I learned from Playing Licensed Tie-In Games for a Year

Devon Wiersma – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Solo game developer Devon Wiersma – who has played Licensed Games every week for a whole year – will dive into the world of Licensed Games and their impact on their own works as a game developer. Devon will interrogate their reputation of being ‘low quality’, and use them to search for the nuance within them as potential artifacts of learning and growth full of important history.

7:30pm

[ LIVE TALK ] Comedy In Narrative Games – Lessons Learned Through Writing Lil’ Guardsman

Scott Christian, Matt Bernard, Jeremy Lapalme – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

How do you make comedic timing work in an interactive medium where that timing is in the hands of the player? Join the writers of Lil’ Guardsman as they unpack how they aimed for getting the biggest laughs possible by approaching their process with a comedy writers’ room structure. Tactics and perspectives on how to do ‘funny’ individually, but more importantly how to cultivate and support a funny team.

Wed, Nov 27: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm

[ TALK ] Tips to make programming your game less hellish

Caroline Clark – Germany

Making games in small teams or solo is more possible than it’s ever been, and you can see this in the explosion of indie games and game jams. Yet you might find that, as you take your three-day caffeine powered game jam project to being a fully fledged masterpiece, you have a sinking feeling that you’re building it “wrong”, but you can’t figure out why or what to do about it. I will talk about the time sinks I’ve found in coding, give examples for common pitfalls and give you practical tips to help you make your indie games.

7:45pm

[ LIVE TALK ] Games as Cultural Bridges and Research-Creation

Nico Valdivia Hennig – Chile

“Games as Cultural Bridges and Research-Creation” explores the research-creation process behind “Hawk and Puma,” a minimalist game developed by Niebla Games that reimagines Guaman Poma de Ayala’s “El Primer Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno” using the Bitsy platform. The project incorporates pixel art and Andean-inspired music and has evolved into a collaboration with the ÑawpaÑan community and Kusy Kawsay Andean Association in Peru, including the game’s translation into Quechua. A key component of this initiative involves workshops for local youth, teaching game development using tools like Bitsy and Twine to empower participants to create their own games. Valdivia Hennig will discuss the challenges and benefits of culturally sustainable game design, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement.

Thurs, Nov 28: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm

[ LIVE TALK ] “It’s Dangerous to Go Alone…” – Embarking on Our Indie Dev Journey

VCD – Lagos, Nigeria

This talk focuses on some of the common issues indie developers face when they actually begin their gamedev journey and offers some helpful hints to brace aspiring game developers for what awaits them in the industry. From picking a tool, networking tips and more.

8:00pm

[ TALK ] Game Making with Empathy and Taking Care of Yourself in Hard Times

Charlotte Pang – Edinburgh, UK

With such a difficult time in the Games Industry, it’s really important to take care of yourself and make sure you have tools to turn to when things are difficult. This talk will reflect on some difficult times, highlight your rights as an employee and things to look out for when facing potential lay offs or redundancy and provide some tools and potential resources for when things are at their most difficult. It’s important prioritise your own survival and stability especially in tumultuous times and we’ll go through some of the things you can do ensure that!

Fri, Nov 29: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm

[ TALK ] Creating Atmospheric Game Experiences

Farfama – Kanagawa, Japan

A strong atmosphere is a key component in making a game memorable. Feelings of awe, beauty, and mystery can be evoked through atmosphere alone, leaving a lasting impression on players. This talk will define atmosphere in the context of games and provide both technical and non-technical tips for enhancing the atmosphere in your projects.

7:30pm

[ WORKSHOP ] Transforming Hand Painted Art Into A Game

Sura Kamawi – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

This workshop explores the infusion of rich textures and emotional depth from traditional painting into the digital realm, creating unique and introspective gaming experiences. Led by the Art Director of the game Unleaving, the session will encourage attendees to stir their creative energy while providing hands-on insights into incorporating traditional artistic techniques into their video game projects, with a focus on developing emotional landscapes that enhance player engagement. Designed for artists, game developers, and enthusiasts eager to explore the intersection of traditional fine arts and modern video game design, participants are invited to bring their colors, crayons, and curiosity, as exploration and experimentation are highly encouraged to spark their creative spirit.

Sat, Nov 30: 6pm

Saturday, November 30 @ Hand Eye Society Ball!

6:30pm

[ LIVE PANEL ] We’re Finally Awake: How Workers at Bethesda Got Organized!

Game Workers Unite! – Toronto, Montreal, Austin, Dallas, and Rockville

This panel, moderated by organizers from Game Workers Unite Toronto and taking place live at the Hand Eye Society Ball, will tell the story of how workers at Bethesda Games Studios got together as One BGS between studios and across borders to form one of the first wall-to-wall unions in the games industry in Canada and the US. The discussion will focus on what motivated workers at BGS to get involved in organizing, and what they wanted to see change for the better. We’ll also discuss the unique challenges faced during the campaign as a union for games workers in a multi-national, remote studio. We’ll also have time for questions for anyone else interested in organizing at their own studio or workplace

Sun, Nov 26: 1pm – 6pm

1:30pm

[ TALK ] Bridging Traditional Panting and Video Games

Sura Kamawi – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

As the Art Director and Technical Lead for Unleaving, Sura Karnawi and Saif Jabur will share their unique perspective on the creative process of merging traditional art with modern game design. They will discuss how traditional painting techniques can be effectively translated into a digital format, maintaining high quality, while also exploring the technical aspects of using a game engine in the process. The talk will highlight the creative challenges and triumphs faced in shaping the game’s distinctive visual style, emphasizing their commitment to bridging fine art and contemporary game design. This presentation aims to inspire both artists and developers to explore new possibilities, offering insights and inspiration for those interested in the intersection of fine art and digital media.

2:30pm

[ WORKSHOP ] Production Tools and Taking Care of Yourself while Game Dev-ing

Charlotte Pang – Edinburgh, UK

Production Tools to Look After You (and Your Games!) is a workshop focused on how to take care of yourself, organise and plan with flexibility and changes in mind. Geared towards short and small projects such as Game Jams, we will go through ways to plan for tight deadlines while still being adaptable for changes. With the unpredictability of Game Development, we’ll also chat about planning for different stages in Production and some practices on how to reflect with retrospectives and post-mortems to continue growing!

3:30pm

[ TALK ] Sparking Playful Ambition

Duncan Corrigan – Melbourne, Austraila

The mainstream video game marketplace perpetuates an ideological concept of play that is necessarily commodified. In this spirit, our culture over-attribute the necessary conditions for our rituals of play to the formal structures of so-called playful artefacts such as video games. However, Duncan argues that people are playful, not video games. From this perspective, he offers an approach to game design that is not distracted by the endeavour to further consolidate the fidelity and formal structures of video games. Instead, this approach frees design up to centre around our players and sparking their playful ambitions.

4:15pm

[ LIVE TALK ] (Mine)Crafting A Better Future

Mashfiq Ahmed – New York, New York, USA

In 2020, Mashfiq Ahmed started an afterschool virtual Minecraft Club in order for his students to de-stress and socialize with each other during remote learning. However, it quickly became something bigger than what anyone could have imagined. In the past few years, Mr. Ahmed and his students have participated in and won esports championships, ran a Minecraft Student Ambassador program, were featured on the news, and so much more! In this talk, Mr. Ahmed discusses and shares his experiences with Minecraft in the classroom and the impact of game-based learning.

Thank You To Our Partners & Sponsors!

Interested in sponsoring the event? Send us an email at sponsor@handeyesociety.com

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