It was discouraging to not have a "group" I could talk about work, life, food or whatever. Where I could socialize and meet new people, compare drawing/animating tricks, hear about interesting projects they where working on, weekend adventures... I felt like a nomadic high school student trying to find a club.
Then this purple, inebriated octopus came into my life.
About a year ago Kris Piotrowski (Capy), Marie-Christine Bourdua (Polytron) and Renaud Bédard (Capy) made this thing called "Torontaru". It was inspired by a casual social night for game developers that they had attended in Japan called "Otaru". I had already been going to game development events, collaborations and presentations and caught news of this new social night.
When I arrived I was immediately greeted by Marie-Christine as if I was a childhood friend she had not seen in years even though we never officially met until that night. This welcoming wave continued throughout the evening with everyone I met and I knew I was in the right place. Since then I have attended each one and have met some incredibly friendly, talented people, many of whom I have became friends with.
Torontaru recently celebrated it's first year anniversary. I was trying to think of something I could do to say "thanks" and that's when I was approached to design a new logo (obviously I said "yes"). I was nervous because Dominique Ferland did such a great job on the first one, but I took my best crack at it and think it came out quite nice. I also made this little announcement animation just for kicks.
If you are in the Toronto area and looking for a fantastic evening to spend with the game development community and friends, then be sure to check it out. Additionally, I must add as a beer drinker, Get Well is a great bar with a awesome beer selection, friendly staff and arcade cabinets. Details can be found at...
www.facebook.com/torontaru
Twitter: @torontaru
Cheers
-Gavin
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