We are a videogame arts organization. Our mission is:

● to help people create games;

● to connect gamemakers with each other and with an audience;

● to foster diversity in game creation and the public perception of games.

What We've Done: Socials

Programmed game culture events with the energy of a book launch, art gallery opening or rock show as opposed to a networking event.

What We've Done: Torontrons

We retrofitted classic arcade cabinets to play modern games by local developers and put them in public spaces as curated "galleries" of videogame arts. The idea inspired an international indie arcade network.

What We've Done: Initiatives

TIFF Nexus has allowed us to experiment with and publicise different models of gamemaking, increasing diversity and strengthening cross-sector collaboration.

The Hand Eye Society set the stage for what I believe is one of the most important new movements in global games culture... All of us, everywhere else in the world, are still simply following the trails they've blazed.

—Brandon Boyer, IGF Chairman, Austin TX

Why We Started An Arts Organization

● because it's more fun to work together● just saying the words "videogame arts

organization" together surprises the general public: it's a kind of cultural activism

● we found the business focus of a lot of existing meetups to be kind of boring

● we wanted to celebrate interesting game culture regardless of indie/corporate divide

How We Started

● we got together and figured out something we needed, ourselves

● we divided up the work (avoid burnout, keeps it fresh)

● we stuck a flag in the ground and invited people to participate

● we made membership available for anyone who pledged 10 hrs to a videogame community project, expanding what projects we could take on

Volunteer Power

● did you know that people LOVE videogames?● by offering volunteer opportunities we give

people an outlet to express this love● it's a volatile but clean burning way to

power your projects: solar power● where it gets tricky is when some people

get paid and some don't: we started to pay people who put in more than their 10 hrs at $25/hr (arts admin wage)

● give people small things to do, then bigger

http://handeyesociety.com/event/arcadian-renaissance-video/

Case Study: Arcadian Renaissance (2010)

● our first Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) partnership

● Nuit Blanche is an all-night art thing● Nidhogg was fascinating even to non-

gamers, something we playtested in a Social: how games are presented is still totally open and exciting

● sponsorship from individual indies, most who kept their cabinets

● cabinets are very heavy

Incorporation

● to qualify for the TIFF Nexus funding, we incorporated as a not-for-profit

● don't do it til there's money on the table as it's either costly or boring and stressful

● adds $3K/year to pay for accountant/ins.● we chose not-for-profit to distinguish from

a business approach but this has additional onerous requirements

● it does open up possible funding, but it's still not easy to get: we've never had operational

Funding

● since 2009 we've received three $2K arts council grants and about a total of $60K for the four initiatives we did with TIFF Nexus

● we were able to carve out about $6K for HES operations, but it was a fight

● we strive to never be dependent on a single funding stream

● we never want to be one of those orgs that primarily exists to continue existing

Partnerships

● find small ways to work together first● with similarly sized orgs● with larger orgs: more money, more

paperwork, cultural differences ● with smaller orgs: commit to consensus, be

conscious of the power difference

http://handeyesociety.com/difference-engine-initiative/

Case Study: Difference Engine (2011)

● one of our most impactful initiatives and one of the most problematic

● there were a few conflicts, mostly where we made decisions without consulting the participants

● all-women/homogeneity? all under-repped group will be sensitive to power dynamics -- key thing for future DEI iterations

Now We are All-Powerful...

● the growing pain is that to get initiatives like that funded, we have to read as large and credible, which means that we read as large and credible to people in the community too: this distances us from our original base

● increasing transparency: board members online, meeting minutes

● increasing member agency: AGMs and bylaws ● bylaws are basically the rules of the game,

so you can think of it as system design

Don't be ashamed of starting really really small. I think in many cases people get these great ideas and shoot for the moon before they figured out how the cannon works. Their gusto is amazing and inspiring, and frankly there's nothing wrong with it, but you can burn yourself out if you bite off more then you can chew too early.

-- Derek Ledoux, Dirty Rectangles (Ottawa)

Teaming up with a local school (DePaul University) gave us both a venue and limited sponsorship (e.g. for chips and soda). And having one of the cofounders be an instructor at the school meant we always had a key to get in.

--Erin Robinson, Indie City Games (Chicago)

Making connections with artist-run centres and other orgs that aren't explicitly game-affiliated has been invaluable to us... More diversity and more cross-pollination with non-games folks means more weird, interesting stuff happening.

--Stephen Ascher, Mount Royal Game Society (Montreal)