Dames Making Games

What Dames Making Games does

Dames Making Games (DMG) was a Toronto-based community organization founded in 2012 by Cecily Carver, Alex Leitch, and Jennie Robinson Faber to support women and marginalized creators in video game development. Operating for nearly 12 years, DMG delivered workshops covering programming, illustration, game design, and end-to-end game development; the annual Feb Fatale speaker series (2013-2020); a continuous roster of game jams (Jamuary, Junicorn, NO JAM, Dreadcade, Hyperreal Jam, RPG Zine Jam, and many others); and specialized initiatives such as Damage Camp / Damage Labs (2017-2020), Indigicade (2014-2016), Jeuxly, and the Textile Game Controllers Jam. The organization's primary "customer" was a community of women and gender minorities interested in game creation, and DMG functioned as a gateway into the games industry for participants without prior access to mainstream development communities.

DMG did not sell a product or service. The source data discloses no pricing model, no commercial revenue mechanics, no funding rounds, no investors, and no parent company. The entity was founder-led, volunteer-driven, and operated as a community organization with no equity ownership structure. Programs were funded (mechanism undisclosed) and offered either free or at low cost to participants. Distribution was in-person at Toronto venues (notably Bento Miso on Adelaide Street) and through conference circuit engagement across North America (GDC, Indiecade, Different Games, VRTO, ImagineNATIVE, FanExpo, and others). Marketing relied on community word-of-mouth, earned media coverage in outlets including CBC, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, VICE Canada, Kill Screen, Wired UK, and Financial Post, and appearances on CBC Radio and podcasts. The organization had no app, no API, no patents, and no proprietary software product.

On April 22, 2024, DMG declared insolvency, deleted all historical data from its domain, and ceased operations. Co-founder Jennie Robinson Faber subsequently began independently archiving the organization's work and community history at jenniefaber.com.

Name

Dames Making Games

Legal name

Dames Making Games

Website

https://dmg.to

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dames Making Games was a Toronto-based community organization (2012-2024) that supported women and marginalized creators in video game development through workshops, game jams, speaker series, and incubator programs before ceasing operations after insolvency in April 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Game Development Community Education

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Coding, Game Design & Computer Science Camps (EDAMALAD)

Keywords

• Game development education
• Community workshops
• Game jams
• Diversity in games
• Creative incubator

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Dames Making Games provided a community and venue for women, girls, and marginalized genders to confidently explore playing, critiquing, and creating games. Its offerings centered on hands-on game development workshops, an annual speaker series (Feb Fatale), recurring game jams and arcades, and an incubator program (Damage Camp / Damage Labs) supporting marginalized game makers. The organization operated as a non-commercial, volunteer-run community entity focused on education, mentorship, and community building rather than product sales.

Product overview

Dames Making Games (DMG) was a Toronto-based community organization (2012-2024) focused on getting women and marginalized people involved in video game development. The organization offered a portfolio of programs including workshops (Jeuxly, New Game Makers), annual speaker series (Feb Fatale), game jams (Jamuary, Junicorn, Dreadcade, etc.), and specialized initiatives (Damage Camp/Damage Labs, Indigicade, Textile Game Controllers Jam). The organization archived numerous projects including Origin Stories, Remote Realities, SPF90FPS, The Codex, Artistic VR Tech, Member & Organizer Manual, and iV Engine. Following insolvency in April 2024, the domain expired and former co-founder Jennie Robinson Faber began building an archive of the community's work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Feb Fatale: Annual event series focused on games, interfaces, and community building for women and marginalized creators (2013-2020)
• Damage Camp
• Damage Labs
• Jeuxly
• Junicorn

Products and services

• Feb Fatale Series Annual speaker series held each February from 2013 to 2020, featuring themed talks on game design, interfaces, cyberpunk, transgression, and other thematic explorations of games. Targeted at women and marginalized creators in the Toronto game development community.
• Game Jams & Arcades Recurring game jam and arcade events including Jamuary, ANNAJAM, NO JAM series, Digicade, Jeuxly, New Peripherals Jam, VideoVideo Jam, SystemFailure Jam, Junicorn, Spookcade, Ad Hoctober, Julivewire! Hardware Game Jam, Digital Media Art+Cade, Gym Jam, Dread Jam, Dreadcade, Dames Demaking Games, Global Game Jam: DMG Edition, Hyperreal Jam, Adventure Jam, VVV Jam, Party Party Party! Jam, CREEPIN-IT-REAL, RPG Zine Jam, Textile Game Controllers Jam, and Stationary Stationery Jam. Designed for hands-on game creation and community building.
• Damage Camp An incubator-style program (2017-2020) designed to support marginalized game makers and help create an alternative system for underrepresented developers.
• Damage Labs A successor/continuation of Damage Camp, serving as a space and community for marginalized game makers (damagelabs.ca).
• Indigicade A program (2014-2016) focused on Indigenous game design and supporting Indigenous developers in the games industry.
• Jeuxly A workshop/incubator program (launched July 2012) for first-time women game creators that produced games and was featured in press coverage.
• Workshop Programs Ten-week workshops teaching women to develop their own games from start to finish, covering skills such as programming, illustration, game design, and the complete game development process.
• Textile Game Controllers Jam A 2020 game jam exploring e-textile techniques as applied to alternative game controllers, documented in academic research.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants credited the organization with launching careers in game development
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Black Girls CODE: US-based nonprofit providing technology education and computer programming exposure to young Black women. Comparable mission and program format (workshops, summer programs) with a more specific demographic focus.
• Girls Who Code: Larger US-based nonprofit running clubs, summer immersion programs, and college-loops to close the gender gap in technology. Comparable mission of supporting women in tech/computing with structured educational programs, though at much greater scale.
• Games for Change: Nonprofit that facilitates the creation and distribution of social impact games through grants, festivals, and educational programs. Overlaps with DMG's community-building approach in the indie/educational games space.
• IGDA (International Game Developers Association): Largest global nonprofit membership organization for game developers, with diversity and inclusion affinity groups (including Women in Games). Comparable advocacy mission at much larger industry-wide scale.

Direct peers

• Pixelles: Montreal-based nonprofit running free workshops, game jams, and mentorship programs to support women and non-binary people in game development. Directly comparable community/educational mission and program format to Dames Making Games.
• AnyKey: Industry-supported nonprofit advocating for diversity and inclusion in esports and gaming communities. Directly comparable mission of supporting marginalized groups in gaming, with industry sponsorship model.
• Women in Games International (WIGI): International nonprofit advocating for women and marginalized genders in the games industry through mentorship, networking events, and educational programming. Comparable community-building mission serving the same target audience as DMG.

Emerging players

• Indie MEGABOOTH: Organization that helps indie game developers showcase their games at major conventions through collective booth presence. Comparable support for indie developers in the games industry, though focused on commercial exposure rather than identity-based community building.
• A MAZE. Berlin-based international games festival and platform supporting indie and artistic games with a focus on diversity and experimental work. Comparable cultural positioning and support for independent/non-traditional game creators.
• Take This: Nonprofit providing mental health support and education to the games industry and community. Comparable mission of supporting marginalized groups within gaming culture, though focused specifically on mental health.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dmgtoronto
• Facebookfacebook.com/dmgtoronto
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dmg-toronto

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dames Making Games