Toronto Games Week Kick-off

📍 See-Scape

Special guest Ryan Clark (Crypt of the Necrodancer, Phantom Brigade) will be doing a talk about market fit and 20 years of making indie games, followed by a social. Hosted by Dirty Rectangles. FREE!

Night Parkcade

📍 Trinity Bellwoods

Pop-up arcade in a park after dark! We'll be projecting videogames for people to play near on the tennis courts close to the Queen St. W. Entrance of Trinity Bellwoods. We'll start at sundown and go until our batteries run dry! Featuring queer games curated by Sagan Yee and Lee Wilkins. FREE.

Preservation Through Play: Saving Videogame History and Context

📍 Toronto Public Library (Fort York branch)

Collector and preservationist Derek Quenneville and game curator Chris Young will give a talk on various approaches to keeping videogame history alive, including 3D scanning, cultural context, and hands-on play.

Attendees will get to try ancient artifacts of Nintendo, including the Game Boy Sewing Machine (2000), Game Boy Camera and Printer (1998), the Family BASIC keyboard (1984), and the Nintendo Virtual Boy game system (1995). Hosted by Derek Quenneville. FREE, but registration is required.

Walking on the Web: An Introduction to Unity through Personal Walking Sims

📍 InterAccess

We'll discuss the tools Unity has to offer, as well as games as a form of autobiographical expression. No game development experience necessary, you'll leave this workshop with a personal digital museum created by you & playable in a browser. Participants will have the opportunity to showcase their creations in an online exhibition during Vector Festival 2023. Tickets required. Hosted by InterAccess.

Indie Superboost: Refining Your Game Hook Workshop

📍 OCAD Game:Play Lab, 3rd Floor

Ryan Clark (Founder & CEO at Brace Yourself Games) will be joining us to discuss refining your game hook. Members of the indie dev community are invited to bring their game ideas and trailers to this interactive workshop where Ryan Clark will walk people through his thoughts on market fit and game hooks, offering critiques on how to improve. Hosted by Interactive Ontario. Supported by CMF and Ubisoft Toronto. Register here.

NextGen Showcase

📍 OCAD (205 Richmond St W, 7th Floor)

A showcase of some of the most promising young creators from York University, Sheridan, OCAD, and others, selected by visiting curator Susie Buchan. Zuraida Buter, a veteran curator of world-renowned festivals A MAZE. / Berlin and IndieCade EU, will be giving a short talk geared to advise young creators on how to get their games into international showcases, and why they may want that. Hosted by Yifat Shaik and supported by Digital Media at York University. FREE!

Nuville Augmented Walking Game

Nuville is an augmented walking game for smartphones with a cyberpunk twist. You are a hacker (obviously), disguised as a tourist (?!), scrambling the data of the AI building the megapolis Nuville. This process is a no-code operation. Use your whole body and observational wits as you execute a series of whimsical prompts hidden in an out-of-this-world podcast.

Nuville is a Raaralab production, made in partnership with the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Center and supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and Myseum of Toronto. Find out more at nuville.net/ and sign up here.

Pekoe Tea Party & Cribbage with Grandpas

📍 Grange Park

Come meet the creators of two of Canada's coziest videogames, the upcoming Pekoe releasing at the end of June (stay tuned!!) and Vancouver's Cribbage With Grandpas!

Bring a blanket and some tea (literally and/or figuratively), we’ll dish on a variety of cozy subjects and even play some cribbage together! If you are interested, just come to the park. It's a small park. We'll be easy to spot!

WE ARE RACCOONS Book Launch

📍 The Local, 396 Roncesvalles Ave

Six game designer friends get a non-player character to work in each of their very different games—and accidentally create the first superintelligence in the process. Sci-fi novelist Jim Munroe will be launching his seventh book WE ARE RACCOONS and signing copies. (Conveniently located right next door to the following screening event!)

Saturnalia Talk and Screening

📍 Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles Ave

A talk by Pietro Righi Riva, the Italian director of the survival horror videogame Saturnalia, followed by a screening of a classic of Italian Giallo cinema that influenced its visual style, Blood & Black Lace. Supported by the Italian Cultural Institute of Toronto and the Sardegna Film Commission Foundation. Hosted by Rue Morgue and Stompbox. Click here for more information and tickets.

Game Arts International Assembly (GAIA)

GAIA is a three day professional development symposium serving 20+ international game curators, festival directors, and community organizers hailing from almost a dozen countries. Hosted by Game Arts International Network (GAIN) and supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. This is a closed event, for further info contact info@gameartsinternational.network.

“If You Don't Like the Game, Change the Rules” Comic Launch

📍 Palmerston Public Library Theatre, 560 Palmerston Ave

Join us for a lively conversation about games and work! At the launch of a comic exploring alternative labour modes like co-ops and unions, attendees will read the comic and then participate in a panel discussion with co-op studio workers and union organizers.

Hosted by Marie LeBlanc Flanagan (Game Arts International Network) and featuring Pablo F. Quarta (Matajuegos Coop, Argentina), Michael Iantorno (Concordia University), D. Squinkifer (Soft Chaos cooperative, Montreal), Skylar Hinnant (Zenimax Workers United - CWA, USA), and Daniel Korn (Game Workers Unite Toronto). Supported by CMF.

Branching Stories: Unraveling Narrative Design

📍 George Brown College, Room 240

Discover the captivating stories behind your favourite games as we bring together a stellar panel of esteemed narrative designers! Nuha Alkadi (she/her), Josh Labelle (he/him), and Kait Tremblay (they/she) will delve into the realm of narrative design and its many permutations and processes across different studios and games. We'll then move across the street for drinks and snacks, our usual monthly meet and mingle.

Moderated by narrative designer Franci Dimitrovska, we're excited to bring you an engaging exploration of the storytelling craft that shapes the very fabric of gaming. Whether you're an industry veteran, an aspiring narrative designer, or curious about the magic behind unforgettable stories, this panel is not to be missed! Join us for a celebration of the rich narratives that make gaming an art form.

Don't be shy. First-timers are definitely welcome! These events are FREE to attend and YOU DON'T NEED TO BE AN IGDA MEMBER. If you're planning to come, please RSVP in advance so we can prepare our headcount and after-drinks venue.

Creators Spotlight: Rise of the Indie Game Entrepreneur

📍 Artscape Daniels Launchpad

Featuring successful indie game creators who are also emerging entrepreneurs. Join us on Wednesday June 7th for a panel discussion with Emily Flynn-Jones President and CEO of Killjoy Games, Shala Chen Co-Founder and CEO of City From Naught, Sally Luc Co-Founder of Thousand Stars Studio, moderated by Victoria Evans of Digital Vic. Discover their journeys and transformations into entrepreneurs. Get an inside look at the realities of starting your own studio, building your team, and navigating the ups and downs of indie studio life. Tickets here.

IO Connect: Summer Showcase

📍 Artscape Daniels Launchpad

Join the Ontario video game industry for the IO Connect: Summer Showcase closing off Toronto Games Week. The event includes food, drink, networking, and the showcasing of a selection of Ontario Indies, including several 2023 Toronto Game Jam participants. The event will also feature the launch of Endlight, from Toronto's Bigpants Studio. Hosted by Interactive Ontario and supported by Ontario Creates, Canada Media Fund, Toronto Film School, XP Gaming, Artscape Daniels Launchpad, ACTRA Toronto & TOJam. Tickets here.