Technoculture, Art and Games (TAG) is an interdisciplinary centre for research/ creation in game studies and design, digital culture and interactive art

Events


Oct 26, 2015 - Nov 12, 2015

LEVEL UP! GAMERella Workshops

 

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We’re back! Once again, TAG invites self-identified women, gender non conforming game makers, as well as anyone who feels they haven’t had a chance to make a (video or board) game in a city ruled by industry giants. TAG welcomes everyone, not just women, to join them in November and change the scene of indie game-making.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR GAMERELLA!

Unsure of what skills you might contribute to making a game? We can help!

In the weeks leading up to GAMERella, we will be holding no less than FIVE workshops about how to use several amazing pieces of free or almost-free software! As with GAMERella, itself, attendance is open to anyone! Here’s everything you need to know about them:

Workshop #1: Alternative Controllers with Makey-Makey

Monday, October 26th from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at TAP (Concordia University, SGW Campus, EV 11.425)

Facilitator: Ana Tavera Mendoza (BFA Computation Arts)

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Turn everyday household items into buttons and touchpads with Makey Makey! It’s a simple and accessible kit for Beginners and Experts alike, and ideal for both quick prototypes and long-term projects. Participants must bring their laptops and download required software and drivers.

Please bring a computer with these files downloaded and ready to go!

 

Workshop #2: Twine

Monday, November 2nd from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm at Notman House (51 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest)

Facilitator: Kara Stone (Artist, Game Maker)

twine

In this workshop participants will explore the possibilities of interactive fiction by writing multi-linear stories and personal choose-your-own-adventure videogames in Twine, software for creating hypertext-based videogames. Twine has been an influential tool in creating radical, personal, and accessible games. Come learn the program and experiment with writing your own interactive stories, poetry, and adventures. By the end of the workshop, you will have a game hosted online and ready to play!

Please bring a computer with a web browser and Twine installed!

 

Workshop #3: Audacity and Introductory Sound Design for the Jammer

Thursday, November 5th from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at TAP (Concordia University, SGW Campus, EV 11.425)

Facilitator: Jessica Rose Marcotte (PhD INDI, game designer and Co-Director, Critical Hit 2015)

audacity

This workshop is an introductory-level look at Audacity, sound recording and sound design on a budget and on a very tight schedule. Participants will be introduced to the basic functions of Audacity, to resources for music and sound creation, free sound libraries, and how to record sound for themselves using a minimal amount of equipment.
 
Please bring a computer with Audacity and the LAME MP3 encoder plugin installed!

 

Workshop #4: Stencyl

Monday, November 9th from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at TAP (Concordia University, SGW Campus, EV 11.425)

Facilitator: Rebecca Cohen Placois (Pixelles co-founder and director, UI Developer/Artist at Ubisoft Montreal)

stency

Make a Zelda-Style RPG with Stencyl!

You’ll learn to create a world where your character can walk around, talk to NPCs, collect items, and manage an inventory.
Stencyl is a free, visual game-making tool for both Windows and OSX that literally lets you snap together the building blocks of your game. There’s no coding knowledge or previous experienced needed.

Please bring a computer with Stencyl installed!

 

Workshop #5: Pixelart

Thursday, November 12th from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at TAP (Concordia University, SGW Campus, EV 11.425)

Facilitator: Carolyn Jong (PhD Humanities)

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Learn some of the basic skills needed to make your own pixel art. We’ll be covering topics like finding inspiration and resources, colour palettes, lighting and shading, scale, and simple animations, all while creating our own game characters using a simple tool called PyxelEdit!

Please bring a laptop with PyxelEdit installed (It costs only 9$!).

 

If you would like to sign up for any or all of these amazing workshops, CLICK HERE!

 

IMPORTANT

PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN COMPUTER / EQUIPMENT FOR ALL WORKSHOPS! You must have all required software downloaded and installed prior to the workshop!

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Not in Montreal? You can still participate by
watching the Concordia-based workshops LIVE at www.twitch.tv/tag_lab_tv/

 

This set of GAMERella workshops is kicking of this year’s LEVEL UP! series. Keep an ear to the ground for more workshops in the future!

For more information about GAMERella, please visit: https://tag.hexagram.ca/gamerella/

Sign up for GAMERella here!