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Toronto’s Indie Game “Society Ball” Preview!

Hand Eye Coordinators

The Hand Eye Society–Toronto’s first and largest indie game development showcase, advocacy and social group–hosts a special event at Masonic Temple in Toronto on October 9th, 2015.

A new batch of games from some of the city’s finest developers and more from abroad will be showcased with most developers also in attendance.

Here is a sneak preview of some of the games we can expect at this glitzy ludological love-in:

Chesh

by Damian Sommer (Toronto, Canada)

Chesh

You’ve played chess, now play Chesh, a two-player digital board game where the pieces are pixellated insects and the moves change at random with each new game. In addition to making its world premier at the Hand Eye Society Ball, Chesh will be housed in customized SpriteBox arcade cabinets for the event.

Donut County

by Ben Esposito (Los Angeles, United States)

Donut County

A cartoonish physics puzzler, Donut County puts you in control of a massive hole that devours everything in its path, a bit like Katamari Damacy in reverse. Donut County was also a finalist at the Independent Games Festival.

Mushroom 11

by Untame (New York City, United States)

Mushroom 11

Another IGF finalist and another physics puzzle game, Mushroom 11 features squishy blob motion across beautifully surreal, apocalyptic environments.

Runbow

by 13AM Games (Toronto, Canada)

Runbow

Frantic party platformer Runbow features multiple game modes, support for up to nine players, and more indie game character cameos than you can shake a multi-colored stick at. Shovel Knight makes an appearance, but so do characters from The Fall, Chariot and more.

Shoot Shoot Mega Pack

by Jon Remedios, Gavin McCarthy and Ryan Roth (Toronto, Canada)

Shoot Shoot Mega Pack

Evolved from a Global Game Jam entry, Shoot Shoot Megapack is a minimalist set of tools and images that lets you build your own multiplayer shooter variants. Don’t let the simple graphics and muted color palette fool you; they wouldn’t have been allowed to put “shoot shoot” in the title if the action wasn’t frantic.

Edgar Rice Soiree

by Douglas Wilson, Adam Henriksson, David Kanaga and Thomas Perl

Edgar Rice Soiree

Team up with friends to navigate a “jungle” of Playstation Move controller “vines” in what its creators call a “game of awkward body contact.” Edgar Rice Soiree has a fine pedigree, sharing a designer with Johann Sebastian Joust, a similarly “physical” game that blew minds at the Hand Eye Society’s Fancy Videogame Party last year.

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

by Asteroid Base (Toronto, Canada)

lovers_in_a_dangerous_spacetime

Finally out on Steam after making waves in Toronto’s indie game scene for a couple of years, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a couch co-op game where you and a friend (or lover…) pilot a spaceship together. Think a more madcap, neon-colored FTL for two players.

Push Me Pull You

by House House (Melbourne, Australia)

Push Me Pull You

Its Australian developers describe Push Me Pull You as “physics-based sumo soccer.” That’s a more appealing description than “weird worm-looking things with people heads and arms at each end pushing a ball around.” Get past the slightly off-putting visuals, though, and this two-on-two sports-monster game actually looks like a lot of fun.

N++

by Metanet Software (Toronto, Canada)

N++: screenshot courtesy official site
N++: screenshot courtesy official site

The original N was one of the most addictive indie games of all time. N++ brings more stick figure ninja action, wall jumps, traps and brutal deaths than ever.

PaperDude VR

by Globacore (Toronto, Canada)

PaperDude VR

Remember Paperboy? This is the VR version of that, complete with exercise bike, Oculus Rift and Microsoft Kinect controller. Such a perfect combination of technology for creating a VR version of an ’80s classic! (Apparently they also tried something similar with Joust, but the ostriches didn’t like wearing the Oculus Rift headsets.)

Techno Tarot

by Kara Stone and Cecily Carver (Toronto, Canada)

Techno Tarot, screenshot courtesy official website
Techno Tarot, screenshot courtesy official site

Let the Tarot Bot tell your future with pixellated fortune-telling cards. (At the Society Ball, the digital cards will be represented by a pack of physical cards.)

Non-Simulated Health Potions

cocktails

What’s a party without drinks? In addition to the games listed above (not to mention a bunch more that haven’t been announced yet), The Hand Eye Society Ball will feature custom cocktails inspired by event sponsors Globacore and Ubisoft Toronto and craft beer from Double Trouble Brewing Company.

Strictly Ballroom

Drinks are covered, but how about music? Dualryan, Coins and Ryan Henwood, all of whom got the crowd moving at the Hand Eye Society’s most recent Fancy Videogame Party, will be in full effect, as will newcomer DJ Dilettante. Make sure you wear your dancing shoes.

Get tickets and event info for Hand Eye’s Society Ball.

HandEyeSocietyBallPoster