Sit and Listen: A Dames Making Games Speakers Social
Thoughtful writeup by Royel Edwards of DMG’s most recent social.
Jennie: I think it’s really important to emphasize that hard skills like programming and design aren’t even the most important skills for making a game. Patience and problem solving are much more important.
Cecily: Yeah, there’s definitely this attitude that says that to make a game first you have to learn programming, so you sign up for a programming course, and then you say, “OK, now I have to learn illustration,” so you go and learn illustration, and then once you’ve amassed all these skills you can apply yourself to making a game. But game making is really be more of a “learn as you go” kind of endeavour. It’s definitely a lot easier to pick up a skill like programming when you’re applying it to something like a making a game.
—The Toronto Standard interviewed me and Jennie about Dames Making Games.
Dames Making Games featured on InnerSPACE
InnerSPACE talked to me, Jennie, and some of our amazing members for this segment about Dames Making Games. You can watch it online here!
I'm on the Feminism and Games Panel at Vector
Come hear some smart people talk feminism and games at Vector Game Art Festival tomorrow afternoon at Bento Miso!
Afterward, stick around for the DMG February social featuring games from Feb Fatale.
Moderated by Alison Harvey
Panellists: Cecily Carver, Sandra Danilovic, Cindy Poremba, PartyTime! Hexcellent! (Rachel Weil), Emma Westecott.
While marginalization and exclusion within the production and play of games has been a recognized issue for some time, over the past year attention…
My Feb Fatale Game: Company Loyalty
For the recent Dames Making Games 2-day game jam, Feb Fatale, I made “Company Loyalty.”
I was in business school (with vague plans to become an accountant) when the Enron/Arthur Andersen scandal unspooled, and the image of frantic document-shredding always stayed with me.
And the Year Turns Over
It’s perhaps a bit late for a Year in Review post, but I’m going to do one anyway. Here’s what my 2012 looked like.
Professional:
My role at the COC changed up a bit, from “Social and Interactive Media Co-ordinator” to “Associate Manager, Digital Marketing.” Moving into the digital marketing/managment side of things has been a tremendous learning experience for me, and I’ve added a lot of new tools to my toolbox.
Also the Domingue/Carver productions continue (we jointly edit the video montage for each production):
Extra-Curricular:
Dames Making Games Toronto got up to a lot in 2012. Here’s the breakdown.
Against the Grain Theatre had a fantastic year, particularly with its production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.
Creative:
Adeline’s Elopement got a facelift, along with a major rework of the mechanics and level design. If you played it before and enjoyed it, you should play it again. It was showcased at the TIFF Nexus Arcade in September.
In February I made the rather lacklustre Minor Celebrity on the Red Carpet for Spam Jam.
Books I Read:
When I count up all the books I logged on Goodreads last year, they total 29 (there are a couple more than that, but they’re the kind I won’t admit to reading). The ones that stood out the most to me were Les Liasons Dangereuses,The Devil in the White City, Middlesex, Lolita, and A Visit From the Goon Squad.
Things I Saw On Stage:
Opera-wise, the productions I’ll probably remember the most were Love From Afar (COC), Salome (ROH), Semele (COC), and The Turn of the Screw (AtG).
This wasn’t a good year for non-operatic theatregoing. I didn’t get out to much. I will be remedying that in 2013.
Travel:
The major event this year was a week-long solo trip to London. It wasn’t kind to my bank balance but it was the perfect trip and it was good to see some old friends.
Dames Making Games Project: Jeuxly
It’s been a very busy few months for me and Jennie Faber at Dames Making Games in Toronto. We introduced the first speaker social (or “show and tell social”) at the end of March and have been holding them monthly since, we accomplished some modest fundraising goals, and most importantly, we held DMG Toronto’s second incubator, Jeuxly.
This was the most ambitious project we’ve undertaken as a team. Jennie and I took the format of previous incubators and, with a group of amazing volunteer mentors, built one-on-one skills-based mentoring directly into the structure to help the participants learn the skills they needed quickly. The participants brought a ton of skill, creativity, and hard work to their projects and there was a packed house at Bento Miso for the final showcase.
You can learn all about the talented participants and their games over at jeuxly.com. Each and every game is bursting with creativity. We will have them available for you to download or play online by September 1st!
In the future we’re looking at tweaking the incubator structure to increase its reach and inclusiveness. We’re also hoping to introduce new programming so that previous incubator participants can take their games to the next level (as JAMuary participant Kyra Kendall did with her workshop game, Shop or Die). Stay tuned!
This is what I do when I’m not doing opera stuff. It’s been fun and inspiring and challenging and I’m looking forward to seeing where this whole “games thing” takes me next.
Minor Celebrity on the Red Carpet
My newest game, “Minor Celebrity on the Red Carpet”, was made in about 7 hours over the course of a single weekend for Pirate Kart V.
The idea is, you’re a low-level celebrity at an awards ceremony. Raise your status by talking to the other celebrities passing by on the red carpet and hoping they don’t ignore you. A-listers will gain you more status points than C-listers, but they’re also more likely to reject you. Choose your targets carefully and keep an eye on the clock - the awards show is starting soon!
Infographic: Difference Engine Initiative Ripple Effect
View high-res
The Difference Engine Initiative was comprised of two six-week game jams for first-time women developers. The ripple effect of the DEI has been extraordinary, with participants pursuing careers in game development, creating new community initiatives, and making more games. While some of these successes can be considered under the rubric of “Women in Games,” more have been due to the talent and dedication of the participants, the excitement generated by their games, and their leadership skills. The women of the Difference Engine continue to make awesome things happen.
Learn more about the Difference Engine and the games that came out of it:
CBC
Torontoist
Gamasutra
AV Club
Game Sugar
Indie Games
Button Mashers
All Games
Career Mash
Level Save
