Say hello to the 2019 Comic X Games speakers and a special guest!
Wowowow! Comics X Games at TCAF is almost here, and I think it just might be our biggest one yet! You have more than enough time to get cozy with all the games and programming we have planned, ‘cuz it’s going to be shoulder to shoulder. Speaking of shoulder to shoulder, here’s a topic that has nothing to do with shoulders: Our guests of honour, the real-deals, the rad folks… Our speaker lineup for Comics X Games 2019!
Reptilian Animation and Playful Collaboration in Later Alligator!
Lindsay Small-Butera and Alex Small-Butera, SmallBu Animation
Twitter/Patreon
Jo Kreyling and Conrad Kreyling, Pillow Fight Games
Twitter/Ko-Fi
Two indie studios talk about translating traditional 2D animation to interactive play, long distance collaboration, and answer any questions you may have about their upcoming reptilian urban adventure game, Later Alligator!
Saturday May 11, 1:30 – 2:30 PM
Learning Centre 1, Toronto Reference Library 1st Floor
Speaker Bio: SmallBu Animation is Lindsay and Alex Small-Butera, who have applied their traditional animation style and charming sense of humor to television, commercials, music videos, their indie web series Baman Piderman, and now a video game. After winning an Emmy for their work on Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, they are currently animating their own feature-length film.
Pillow Fight Games is Jo and Conrad Kreyling, who create art-forward, narrative games including We Know the Devil, Rose of Winter, and their latest release, an existential war epic about lesbian mecha pilots, Heaven Will Be Mine. On top of games, they also publish interactive projects like websites, apps, and augmented reality tools.
Gorogoa and the Mosaic of Mystery
Jason Roberts, Buried Signal
Twitter
A discussion of how the design of award-winning puzzle game Gorogoa arose from inspirations in comics, card games and religious icons; how it evolved into its own expressive but ornery medium; and how it might point the way to a larger world of multi-panel narrative game design.
Speaker Bio: Jason Roberts was once a software engineer who did some pencil drawing in his spare time. Having never made a game before, he left his job in 2012 to work full time on a project that would involve thousands of drawings, absurd design challenges, five years of his life, and all of his personal savings. The end result was the award-winning and critically acclaimed game Gorogoa.
Finally, a special off-site co-presentation between TCAF and Comics X Games:
Kid Koala and JonJon presents FLOOR KIDS JAM!
Floor Kids is a new breakdance battle game featuring unique freestyle gameplay, rhythm challenges, and multiplayer sessions. Discover stylized hand-drawn graphics by award-winning animator JonJon set to an original soundtrack by world-renowned scratch DJ/producer Kid Koala. Bring your skills. Build your crew. Find your style. Available now for Switch, Steam, PS4, XBOX One.
Bios: Jonathan Ng, a.k.a. JonJon, is an award winning, multi-disciplinary animation filmmaker whose unique set of hand-made styles focus on merging themes of action, experience and fantasy. Kid Koala is a world-renowned scratch DJ, music producer, composer, and award winning graphic novelist. Kid Koala attends TCAF in support of his book Space Cadet, his new album Music To Draw To: IO, and his video game project with artist/animator JonJon entitled Floor Kids.
TCAF Presents: FLOOR KIDS JAM: ART X MUSIC X GAMES, @ Marriott Bloor Yorkville, Conference Level, 80 Bloor St. E..
Saturday May 11, 11am-5pm & Sunday May 12, 11am-5pm. Free.
TCAF Presents: Kid Koala: Music To Draw To, @ The Masonic Temple Concert Hall (Red Room), 888 Yonge St.
Sunday May 12, 2pm-5pm. Free.
Stay tuned for more information on programming location and times. And hey, don’t forget to check out our mega-post of all the games being shown at the Comics X Games arcade that will be showcased on the 2nd floor during TCAF! Come support game-making, visual novels, playful experiences, and unique collaborations between the worlds of independent comics and games.
