The GAMERella Game Jam is NEXT WEEK! While the in-person event is sold out already, there are still some online spots available for those who can't make it in person but still want to make something amazing together.

✨️Mentee Highlight - Darius Fang✨️ A game developer and software engineer, Darius is another talented member of the GAMERella mentorship program. @dariusfang.bsky.social

The Game Jam is almost upon us, so we're taking a trip down memory lane... We're grateful to be able to put on the GAMERella annual Game Jam every year and sell out every year, thanks to the amazing people like you who support us.

✨️Mentee Highlight - Inès Bouakkaoui✨️ Inès is a technical game designer and animator. She is passionate about scripting and technical integration in Unreal Engine 5. She gives her all to her projects and is always ready to learn new things.

GAMERella is proud to have hosted thousands of gamers over the years and been a home for them to foster their talent in a safe space.

✨️Mentee Highlight - Justin Roberts✨️ A recent MA Media Studies graduate from Concordia University, whose practice bridges the areas of academic research, intermedial work, and video game development, Justin joined the GAMERella mentorship with projects like Stream Evil.

✨️Mentee Highlight - Justin Roberts✨️ A recent MA Media Studies graduate from Concordia University, whose practice bridges the areas of academic research, intermedial work, and video game development, Justin joined the GAMERella mentorship with some projects in the works including Stream Evil.

Are you looking to try your hand at making a game from scratch?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Check out some of the GAMERella teams fav spooky games to get you in the spirit: 🎃 Psychroma by Rocket Adrift and Until Dawn by Supermassive Games ~ @jessromarcotte.bsky.social 👻 Signalis by rose-engine ~ @missmystie.bsky.social

Participating in a game jam is a fun and rewarding experience, but can seem daunting to a lot of people. In this workshop, we’ll explore the structures, best practices, and tips for a successful jam experience.

🌟 Have you gotten your FREE ticket for tomorrows @gamerella.bsky.social panel yet? 🌟 Some of our fantastic #IGDAFVirtualExchange alumni will be speaking about their unique paths to games--definitely one to make time for! 🎟️FREE SIGN UP www.tickettailor.com/events/gamer...

Indie or AAA? Game Designer or Project Manager? Narrative Games or Action? When you're stepping into the games industry for the first time, it can seem like there's so many choices to be made. But careers in the industry are never as simple as it seems.

#TBT to our Pitching Workshop last week! We had the amazing Jongwoo Kim, an award-nominated game designer, programmer, and the co-founder of Studio Imugi teach us all things pitching, and we are so thankful to have had his expertise. @studioimugi.bksy.social

GAME JAM OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT We have our 2025 theme... ✨️ i made this for you ✨️

Throwback to GAMERella at @qgcon.bsky.social ! Co-founder and co-director Gina Hara and one of our mentees, @justinrobs.bsky.social, both did a presentation as part of the annual Queerness and Games Conference.

✨️Mentee Highlight - Nicholai Avigdor Melamed✨️ A multimedia writer-artist making comics, games, poetry and illustrations, Nicholai joined the GAMERella mentorship program with an art style and ambition to make games. @artofnamelamed.bsky.social

✨️Mentee Highlight - Tuana Bıçakcı✨️ Now a member of the GAMERella mentorship program, Tuana came to our program with quite a few games under her belt as a developer and artist, including narrative roleplay games like Sleepy Haven Hotel and adventure survival games like Academic Weapon.

In honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we would like to highlight some Indigenous groups creating in the video game space to check out and support, including...

If you are at @qgcon.bsky.social come to the arcade and suggest a theme for this year's GAMERella Game Jam! If you sign up to our newsletter there, you can win a bundle of Canadian videogames!! ✨🤗

GAMERella Co-Director Gina Hara will be talking on the importance of queer-driven game research on Saturday with the amazing @alexcustodio.com

#TBT to our Unions Workshop presented by Game Workers Unite Montreal! What are unions? Why do they matter? What does this look like in practice? These are the questions our mentees got answers to last Friday. Shout out to our panelists @inspectorbeans.bsky.social and @vladadraws.bsky.social !

A special shout-out to a past GAMERella staff member, Michael Iantorno, who has created the ultimate post-jam resource, "What's Next Jammer?" Keep it in your back pocket post the GAMERella annual Game Jam this year! @michaeliantorno.com

✨️Mentee Highlight - Sarah Raine Wari✨️ One of her prior projects was Daughters of Ruin, a sapphic tactical RPG where you lead a band of rebels and witches against the oppressive chains of a holy empire. Check it out for yourself here: missmystie.itch.io/daughters-of... 🎮 @missmystie.bsky.social

🎮 MARK YOUR CALENDARS 🎮 The next GAMERella Game Jam is happening November 15–16, 2025! This inclusive, beginner-friendly, and super accessible game jam is made for you! Join us for a weekend of creativity, collaboration, and cookies. ✨️ Sign-up is now open ✨️ www.eventbrite.ca/e/gamerella-...

✨️Mentee Highlight - Hitesh Kumar Sharma✨️ Hitesh is a game Designer and game programmer for Detective Dotson, which has players explore cozy alleys, bustling markets, and colourful festivals as they solve intricate mysteries. Check it out for yourself here: www.hiteshks.com/detectivedot... 🎮

We wanted to give a special shout-out to our main sponsor at GAMERella - the Canadian Media Fund! We thank them for their help in creating this opportunity to aspiring game-makers, and we can't wait to see what we're able to do together in the gaming industry going forward.

✨️Mentee Highlight - @isabelaura.bsky.social✨️ Laura has teamed up with our mentor Nicolas Barrière-Kucharski to learn all things gaming from a Senior Game Designer at Behaviour Interactive.

🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️ Play for Peace Games for Palestine 2025 Charity Bundle 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️ itch.io/b/2979/play-...

🚨 READ ALL ABOUT IT - Our mentees are in the news! 🗞 Four of our cohort members had the opportunity to discuss their gaming experiences and the new endeavour they're undertaking through the GAMERella mentorship program. We couldn't be prouder of our talented folks! 👏 @justinrobs.bsky.social

Last Friday, we had the pleasure of hosting our 5th workshop of our mentorship: the Industry Panel!

✨️ Mentee Highlight - Kien Ho ✨️ With the mentorship well underway, Kien has teamed up with our mentor Nodi Ray to help explore what working in the gaming industry would be like for him.

We at GAMERella would be nothing without our amazing partners that help make our mentorship happen like: 🎮 Mentor Canada 🎮 Baby Ghosts Studio Development Fund 🎮 @dontnod.bsky.social 🎮 Pixels & Poutine 🎮 EA Motive 🎮 4th Space 🎮 Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology Thank you all!

#Throwback to our first networking event! Special thanks to Pixels and Poutine for hosting with us in Montreal and to everyone who attended.

GAMERella Is Raising Next-Gen Canadian Game Devs The Right Way Couldn't be prouder to be featured in @cgmagazine.bsky.social thanks to Ridge Harripersad, and we're even more proud of our inaugural cohort and what the talent they've brought to our first-ever mentorship program.

Introducing our Mentors!

Did you know that it took 20 years for some groundbreaking steps to be made in the video game industry to become more inclusive? These are some of the huge milestones for diversity in gaming and stepping stones to where we are today and where we continue to work towards.

Let's welcome our official 2025 GAMERella Mentorship Cohort! 🎉

If you haven't heard @softchaos.games in the pre-launch phase of crowdfunding their game 💻STRANGERS ON THE 'NET 💻 Follow and share their page through this link: gamefound.com/en/projects/...

At GAMERella, our goal is to continue to build on the work that is being done in the gaming industry so that everyone who has a passion for games has the opportunity to play, build and be a part of the communities that video games foster. The game is not over until we all get to play.

Last Friday was Media Training Day with our mentorship cohort! 📰 Special thanks to Teri Hart for helping support our mentees so they're ready to represent their work to the public with confidence. ✨️ #GameMentorship #MediaTraining #SoftSkillsMatter #GAMERella

Our biggest annual videogame arts festival, Super FESTival, is coming up, and we want YOU to submit! Showcase your work to a global audience, and get paid for it💸 We want games, talks, workshops, alt controllers & more! Deadline: July 20 Submit 👉 filmfreeway.com/HES-SF25

We’ve kicked off the mentorship with an essential workshop including: 🔒 Online Safety Training 🎯 Goal-Setting & Accountability in Creative Work Next up: Media Training with our friends at Route 504 PR 🎤✨️ #GameMentorship #DigitalSafety #SoftSkillsMatter #GAMERella

Submissions Open for Super FESTival Nov 1-7 Submit today: filmfreeway.com/HES-SF25 This year's Festival Logo and art by @anderkaya.bsky.social

We’re thrilled to announce this year’s mentorship cohort: 🎮 15 talented mentees 🤝 14 experienced mentors From AAA studios to indie collectives: we’ve paired folks from across disciplines and regions. Let the learning (and game-making) begin! ✨ #GameDev #GameMentorship #GAMERella #IndieDev

Just posted! 🎤✨ Catch the highlights from our recent Ludodrome exhibition, the weird, wacky, wonderful, and welcoming game arcade! Read the blog: gamerella.ca/news/en/ Want to stay in the loop for all future events, jams, and announcements? 📬 Sign up for our newsletter: eepurl.com/iSzpbk

Yesterday I got to see talks by @ginahara.com - @gamerella.bsky.social and Adam Saltsman - @finjico.bsky.social about game jams and Kim Gibson - Ontario Creates. Both were great and I was happy to meet Gina in person as GAMERella was my first jam and has given me many opportunities over the years!

One of our past jammers is hosting the Neurodiversity Pride Canada Game Jam on June 13 - 15! ⭐ For more info, check out their Itch page: tinyurl.run/gCdvVs They're also on the search for mentors! If you're interested in supporting the jam, apply here: tinyurl.run/8O0tds

Thanks to all that made LUDODROME a reality! The organizers, the gamemakers, and all the players that came out for a night of fun! We’ll be sharing more details (and all the itch links!) in an upcoming blog post…so stay tuned 👀 #ludodrome @satmontreal.bsky.social

It's so surreal to be showcasing a game so close to @wakayrd.bsky.social and I's hearts. Thank you #ludodrome and @gamerella.bsky.social for giving us the opportunity to showcase our game! Come by @satmontreal.bsky.social to check it out! #gamedesign #gameshowcase #gamedev #semisinful #gamemaker

Our friends at @gamerella.bsky.social are currently looking for mentors to assist emerging game makers in taking their first steps in the gaming industry! Check out the link below for more information ✨