Mayor Olivia Chow says video games are cool, actually

The waterfront got a supersized screening of Toronto-themed video games last night, when the historic Canada Malting Silos served as a silver screen for puzzles, platformers and more. The event was the kick-off for Toronto Games Week, a grassroots festival comprising dozens of independent events held under one banner. It’s a celebration of not just video games but board games, immersive theatre and other forms of play.

On display were a hand-painted puzzle game and an atmospheric skating game as well as established indie hits like A Short Hike—an open-world game about animals exploring a provincial park—and a hotdog-based platformer complete with a hotdog-outfitted game developer. Other titles could be played on custom arcade-style game cabinets called “Torontrons.”

Toronto Games Week was co-founded by Jim Munroe and Marie Flanagan, whose goal was to bring people together. “Play can transform peoples’ lives,” says Flanagan. “I want people to come out and find new ways of playing that wake them up and make them feel curious, excited and connected.”

Mayor Olivia Chow has declared June Toronto Video Game Month, which encompasses Toronto Games Week as well as other game-industry events. In a speech at last night’s event, she emphasized the industry’s role in Toronto. According to Chow, the region’s video game industry directly employs 7,000 people and supports thousands more in industries like VFX and software development.

Related: “At 21, I was making six figures playing League of Legends competitively. Then I walked away”

In an interview, Chow also expressed the cultural importance of Toronto’s games. “Toronto has the most diverse population,” she said. “We have people from around the world living together, and we have a lot of stories to tell. The video games we create are unique, worthy of celebration, and the industry is exploding.”

For up-and-coming developers like Parth Soni, co-founder of Thousand Stars Studio, Toronto Games Week is an opportunity to put their games in front of a large audience. Soni’s Aikyam, a Bollywood-inspired RPG, was one of the games projected onto the silos. “I’m so happy people got to see it,” Soni says. “I’m even more excited now to let it out into the world.”

For players like Ben Reiskind, Toronto Games Week is a place to build community. Reiskind moved to Toronto during the pandemic and felt isolated for the first few years. Over the next week, he’s looking forward to making new connections.

“This is the difference between video games and scrolling on your phone,” he says. “There’s a community. There’s art, joy and friendship.”

Toronto Games Week runs until June 18, and Toronto Video Game Month runs until July 20.