DMG Toronto Codex

A Brief History

March 2012: Una Lee created the Ripple Effect infographic to demonstrate how participants in two rounds of the Difference Engine Initiative had connected with each other and started new projects after the programs concluded.

May 2012: At the Feminists in Games workshop, Jennie Faber, Cecily Carver and Alex Leitch chatted about how, at only a month old, the Ripple Effect infographic was already out of date and missing many new people and initiatives connected to the original DEI participants.

December 2012: Una, Bento Box, and DMG collaborated to produce a Web-based application that allows interactive nodes and connections to be mapped and projected over time. We dubbed it ThingViz and presented it at the Feminists in Games winter mixer. New data entered between May and November clearly demonstrated the explosive growth of the community and impact of its members’ projects.

2013: Project interfaces added to DMG site to begin collecting data in a structured way that can be fed into ThingViz.

Summer 2014: Una and Bento Box examined how elements of ThingViz could be used to demonstrate the effect Allied Media Conference programs had on activities and topics over time. Working with data provided by AMC director Jenny Lee, a demo was created that allowed attendees to add connections at various times to programs they participated in or led.

Fall 2014: Codex launches with a focus on DMG members and their projects.

The Codex records the work of members of the Dames Making Games community, visualizes connections between people and games-related projects, and provides a platform for useful tools to support those projects.

Its purpose is to collect and structure data that demonstrates the impact and reach of community projects over time so that we can support members and advocate for the success of their work.

Recording the Work

Hundreds of games have been created by DMG community members over the last 2 years — during our long programs and game jams, on whims and for contracts, for exhibits and for friends. We highlight a few of these works every month during our speakers socials, and frequently participate in festivals and arcade events, but want to do more to continuously support all creators part of this community.

A record makes this work concrete, citable, and visible.

Visualizing Connections

By linking projects to collaborators and other projects, we can track and measure the influence of events, projects and connections so that we can replicate good things, tell stories about resistance, understand each other better, and continue building the community we want to be.

A Platform for Useful Tools

With projects at the core of the codex, we can create services to support the ongoing work of members. Here are a few of the services we plan on launching soon:

• Fundraising: Set a project funding goal and collect online payments directly.
• Visualizations: Pan and zoom through time, across projects and people to see how we’ve influenced each other, responded to events, and grown as a community.
• Data: Download and use your project data, or grab a feed to embed on your own site.
• File hosting: Free storage and distribution for your game’s executable files.
• Certifications: Perform self-audits to get Arcade Ready certified or join a publishing track.
• Job/collaborator recruitment: Find a collaborator for the next game jam or identify contracts you may be qualified for.