WordPlay 2021: Call For Talk and Game Submissions!
Hand Eye Society’s Twitch Stream Free
November 13th & 14th, 2021
DEADLINE: September 17th 11:59PM
The 9th year of the WordPlay Festival that celebrates the most interesting uses of writing and words in contemporary games is happening, again!
This year’s theme of WordPlay is “Comedy” as in lmao and lol and hahahaha and hehehehe and kkkkkk and wwwww and tee hee and lolololol and jajajajajaja etc etc. If your game can make us do any of that and more, apply!
We’re had such a wild past few months…may I even say year? And one of the things that helps keep us going is something that uplifts our spirits and makes us smile and laugh. It’s a powerful emotion and gives us that oomph that makes most situations bearable. We’re so excited and curious to see ways in which developers this year can make us and the community laugh!
Submit a Speaker Application!
We’re opening up the submissions for speakers! We want you to submit your talk, panel, workshop, round-table, or whatever-you-want-to-call-it. If it deals with the subject of interactive fiction and writing in contemporary games, it’ll be right up our alley.
We want to hear about new and innovative ways to combine storytelling, digital media, interactivity, and the craft of writing into potent new forms of creative expression in relation to our comedy theme. What experiments are being conducted to change the face of interactive fiction? In what ways are the boundaries being pushed? We want to know! Take a look at our WordPlay Page see what presentations we’ve put on for past WordPlay festivals. Then check out our Speaker Proposal Form below and submit your idea! Don’t delay, the form is only active until September 17, 2021. Artist fees of $500 CAD will be paid for 1-hour talks and workshops. As WordPlay is entirely online this year some content will be prerecorded based off of the nature of selected speakers.
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Submit a Showcase Game!
Would you like to submit or suggest a showcase game? What we’re looking for are games with exceptional writing or that uses writing in an integral way. Please do so via the form below before midnight on September 17, 2021. You can submit your own game, or a game you feel strongly about. There is no submission fee and Toronto-made, Canadian, and international games are all welcome. We will be selecting between 12 and 14 games from everything entered through the Game Submission Form below. Game creators with games accepted into the showcase will receive an artist fee of $250 CAD. Depending on the nature of submissions, games selected to be in the WordPlay 2021 showcase will either be presented as a pre-recorded Let’s Play to be hosted on our Twitch channel, or be made available for free online for the duration of the festival. We will work directly with artists to figure out the format best suited for their project.
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Volunteer for Wordplay!
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Stay tuned for more announcements coming soon about the showcase jury, workshops and special guests!
About WordPlay
WordPlay is our free one-day festival celebrating the most interesting uses of writing and words in contemporary games. Now in our 9th year, we will once again host a curated game showcase, talks by creators about their craft, and ways for the public to try their hand at making games. This year, we are supported by the following organizations:
