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 20: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm
[ PANEL ]Indiepocalypse: Indie Game Small Press and Anthology Roundtable

Indiepocalypse

The world of video games and video game publishing is massive, but what if it was a little smaller? Join 6 multi-hat wearing creators/publishers/organizers/etc. of indie game anthologies as they discuss their work. Smaller scale and collaborative publishing in games opens up countless opportunities for creative expression in games. Learn how it all works! (and maybe think about giving a try yourself). Featuring Andrew, Michael Klamerus, npckc, Stuffed Wombat, Ryan Brown, and Cesca

7:45pm
[ LIVE TALK ]Making Story Choices Matter, Fair, and Scaleable

Alfe Clemencio (He/Him)

Ever wanted to make “choices that matter” in your game? This talk is for you! Featuring examples from games you may have heard but never thought of. Also featuring tips and tricks on how to make those choices “fair” and scalable.

Tues, Nov 21: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm
[ PANEL ]Videogame Workers’ Co-ops!

Pablo Quarta, Emile Brodeur, Squinky, Daniel Korn

A candid conversation between members of game workers’ cooperatives from Canada. Panelists will discuss their personal experiences organizing and working in worker-owned, democratic game development studios, and the ways in which cooperatives present an empowering alternative to traditional top-down company structures. Their conversation will tackle issues such as: basics principles and structures of cooperatives, horizontal decision making, building a culture of care, common misconceptions, financing, and more!

7:30pm
[ TALK ]Learn How To Make Bundles!

Taylor McCue (She/They)

Have you ever wanted to learn how to design a game bundle? In this talk by Taylor McCue you’ll learn all of the ins and outs of designing a bundle. By the end of this talk you’ll have all the basic knowledge you’ll need to raise money through collective organizing.

8:30pm
[ TALK ]How To Build a Supportive Game Studio

Dave Proctor (He/Him)

“Sustainability” can take a lot of shapes, but for me it means a work environment that doesn’t result in exhaustion and enables people to feel secure and comfortable as part of a team. A sustainable workplace is one that prioritizes the mental and physical well-being of the people in its employ. Sustainable management acknowledges that people make games, and that nothing is more important than those people.

So here’s what I’ve found contributes to our team feeling like they want to stick around without being on the precipice of burning out.

Wed, Nov 22: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm
[ WORKSHOP ]Make a Visual Novel for the Web

Geoffrey Golden & Josh Grams

Want to make a visual novel or a choice-based narrative game? You might be considering Ren’py or Godot as your game engine. But if learning those seem like a whole thing, we’ll show you how to create a simple visual novel for the web using nothing but Inky and a CSS template we’ll provide. No programming experience necessary. Take your VN idea from your head to the screen!

7:30pm
[ WORKSHOP ]An Introduction to Adventure Game Studio

Julia Minamata (She/Her)

Do you love adventure games? Have you ever wanted to make your own, but don’t know where to start? Adventure Game Studio is a user-friendly, open source game engine that has been used for hobby projects and commercially released games alike. Join Julia Minamata (The Crimson Diamond) as she gives an overview of AGS and walks through some of its basic features!

Thurs, Nov 23: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm
[ WORKSHOP ]What Indie Games Can Learn from Indie Rap

Shawn Alexander Allen (He/Him)

When the term “indiepocalypse” dropped, I was in the early stages of my own big indie game, Treachery in Beatdown City. But instead of freaking out, I thought “have they tried making music?” Because during that same time, I had been making friends with indie rap artists, who exist in a space where music is expected to be free, whereas we, as game devs, can at least still charge for our games. In my decade of getting to know indie rap as an artform, and as a business, I’ve seen so many different strategies for artists getting out there, handling themselves, and general dedication to enduring even the worst shifts in their art, that I’m always inspired. This talk will dive into what inspires me about indie rap in my pursuits as a game developer.

7:30pm
[ TALK ]Introduction To Screensavers

Ash K (They/them)

Screensavers are often thought of as a relic of the past- but they’ve only gotten more intricate as time goes on. Now, they can showcase generative art, play a game, display a gallery, and more! In this workshop, we’ll look at why screensavers are still relevant, and how to create our own.

Fri, Nov 24: 6pm – 9pm

6:30pm
[ LIVE TALK ]Video Games as a Medium for Change

Amyr Said (He/Him)

Ever played a game and it completely changed your life? Whether through a character that compelled you to grow or a narrative that blew your mind, games are able to reach us in ways that were never possible before. In this panel we will be talking about game development with these experiences in mind.

7:45pm
[ WORKSHOP ]Virtual Realms, Real Adventures

Natasha Ramoutar & Alyssa Rodriguez

With the lockdowns during the pandemic, developers and players alike began adapting existing TTRPGs and LARPs for digital spaces like Zoom and Discord. What resulted was an accessible and approachable introductory space for players who had been interested in roleplaying games but may not have known where to start.

In this workshop Virtual Realms, Real Adventures, Alyssa Rodriguez and Natasha Ramoutar will discuss some of the best types of games and most accessible games suited for virtual gameplay, share healthy practices, and run through a playthrough of For The Queen to see these aspects in action.

Sat, Nov 25: 1pm – 6pm

1:30pm
[ LIVE WORKSHOP ]Designing Puzzle Games 101

Ludipe (He/Him)

I’m a game designer currently working as Head of Fellowship at Astra Games. I’m always working on small games, and I’ve published a few commercial ones (most of them are thinky games). I also work as a university teacher and I have experience organizing game events.

2:45pm
[ LIVE TALK ]Using serious topics to design fun games

Anzal Faran (She/Her)

Anzal will speak about how we can reconcile the idea that a game can be both “serious” and “fun,” lessons we can learn from studying games which aim to do more than entertain, and share some tools game designers can use to meaningfully design interactive experiences which can have a social impact.

4pm
[ LIVE TALK ]Stopping to start understanding

Tigran Bleyan (He/Him)

Has our understanding stopped to start or are we stopping so we can start to understand? Stop to look at games in the eyes of someone taking it slow. This talk will address how and why we reflect to understand not just games but ourselves.

5:15pm
[ WORKSHOP ]Intro to Plunderludics: how to make videogames out of videogames

Jonny, Moochi, Gurn Group

Plunderludics’ is a word we use to talk about games that use other games as source material. Think collage/sampling/remixing but for videogames. In this workshop we’ll show you how to make your own using some tools and techniques we’ve been working on.

Sun, Nov 26: 1pm – 6pm

1:30pm
[ WORKSHOP ]Playing Games Badly: Manipulating Analog Signals

nilson carroll (He/Him)

Playing Games Badly: Manipulating Analog Signals’ is an overview and exploration of materials based on my live glitch performance practice. Through the manipulation of the audio and video analog signals that flow between our consoles and monitors, we gain new expressive freedom within this type of play. We will build a simple DIY video “dirty” mixer, and make use of guitar pedals to create chaotic, experimental audio-visual art.

2:45pm
[ WORKSHOP ]Cute, Quick and Easy 2D Animations in GOOGLE SLIDES?!

Charlotte Pang (She/Her)

Do you need quick and easy animations for your game? Don’t know where to start with Animation Software? Hop on into this talk to find some quick, easy animation tips to animate in Google Slides! Here you’ll learn some basics of animation (which ones to focus on), tips on character design, a rigging technique in Google Slides and Animating!

4:15pm
[ LIVE TALK ]How To Make And Finish A Little Game When Everything Is Hard

littlerat (They/Them)

Anxiety, depression, stress and exhaustion can make it hard to get out of bed every day, let alone express ourselves creatively. Despite that, you may still wish to make your own games, even though it may seem overwhelming or even impossible.

This talk will cover how to turn the vague desire to make games into little, concrete projects which you can make progress on even when everything is hard. It will also discuss how you can actually finish those little projects when it feels like they will never be good enough to be complete.

Thank You To Our Partners & Sponsors!

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

Champion Tier

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