Tech Blog

[#1]

 

Wow, I feel like this post has been a long time coming.  I've been working on gathering all the right content for this article off and on for about two months now but it was well worth all the time and effort.  Better yet, I think this is my very first post that contains a photograph, an audio interview, and a video.  Of course all three media types are not quite flawlessly delivered, but I like to think of myself as a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.  Well, except for maybe video games, but that's because I pretty much eat and sleep games everyday.

So I'm sure you're likely wondering by now what has taken me so long to coordinate and produce.  Well, see that guy there?  That's Jim McGinley, the founder of Bigpants Games, and one of the most recognizable indie developers in all of Toronto.  I met up with him, along with Karen Halloran, a developer currently residing in Toronto, and the three us spent a good fourty minutes talking about the Toronto indie video game scene.  Take a listen to the interview (an embedded flash player below) and jump below as I expand on what was discussed.

Here's an alternative link to the interview on the NextGen Player Mevio channel:  http://www.mevio.com/view/?kId=167755&tId=2

We began the interview by talking about the Toronto Independent Game Development Jam (more commonly known as TOJam), a free, annual indie game-making event that he founded back in 2006.  The idea is this: gather an eclectic mix of enthusastic coders, artists, musicians, and designers and challenge them to finish a good, small, game in only 3 days.  It sounds quite daunting, yet the results have been astounding.

The last TOJam took place from May 1-3, 2009 at a warehouse provided by Innovation Toronto.  It featured 90 registrants -- comprised of 29 teams and 8 individuals -- from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver.  In total, the game-makers produced an impressive 37 games.

What's more, after each TOJam a publically held Arcade event is held to show off all the neat games that were produced over the weekend.  In total, 29 games were on display at the Blue Moon Pub in downtown Toronto on May 22, 2009.  I was there to play the games, talk to the developers, and record some of the fun.  Check out this montage I created highlighting some of cool games at the show:
Listing of games (in order of appearance):

1. ITTI (I Think They're Insects)
2. Bloom
3. Category 5
4. Pipes in Space
5. Traffic Experience Xeno Monster Ex
6. Happy Happy Mouseland
7. Attention Shoppers
8. Light Cycle
9. Enthrapagatia

The next section of the interview briefly touched upon Jim's involvement in the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) - Toronto chapter.   According to Jim, the IDGA is the "best and only way to network in Toronto if you're a game developer".  So if you're looking to get into the industry, say you're a student or just starting your games career, that's definitely an organization you want to check out.  There are a number of chapters in Canada including Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Montreal.  Check out the full list of chapters online here.

 

Lastly, we focused on Jim's involvement with The Hand Eye Society, a new Toronto-based coalition dedicated to meshing Toronto's video game communities.  The group plans social events approximately every two months and encourages anyone with a passion for gaming to attend.  I had the opportunity to visit their second social which took place back in April and snapped a number of photos over the course of the evening.  Jim posed an interesting question during our talk -- "why do we just play games in our house?"  He continues by saying:

"It doesn't make any sense, why is it just something you do with you or maybe a couple friends on a couch at home, you listen to music at home but you also go out to see music, you can watch movies at home but you also go out to see movies, there's a community aspect.  So Hand Eye Society is touching on that."

It's a noble mission statement and certainly ambitious.  Going by the growing list of The Hand Eye Society members, at least there's no shortage of people willing to come and volunteer their time.  I certainly think it's great to see the video game community in Toronto come together, and I look forward to watching the community grow.  With Ubisoft soon opening shop in the city, I personally think there's no place to go but up.

Thanks for your time Jim! 

(and a special thanks to Karen Hollaran and Rob Segal for all your help putting this piece together)

Message Edited by PaulH on 07-29-2009 11:49 PM

Message Edited by Laura on 08-21-2009 10:52 AM

[#2]

You are welcome Paul.  Jim is captured in his most excellent form here talking about TO Jam.  Thanks for coming out to the arcade and I'm sure our paths will cross at future Toronto gaming events.  We've got nowhere to go but up here in TO.

[#3]

Hey Rob,

Thanks again for welcoming me to the TOJam Arcade event, it was a lot of fun.  I look forward to next year's jam and to see what the indie mind's here in Toronto will think of next.  Can't wait.

- Paul