At any given Artery draw jam, there's a healthy representation of the game industry, including programmers, designers and producers. In fact, draw jams are fast becoming a fixture in the creative side of the videogame industry as a whole. Elliot noted that game development companies in San Francisco and San Diego are now hosting their own internal draw jams.
The Artery isn't just for artists looking to enhance their portfolios, though. The community also nurtures an ongoing collaborative game development project titled Hang 'em High. Conceived as a four-player cooperative game set in the Old West, Hang 'em High places players in the roles of the four horsemen of the apocalypse - only in this story, they're trying to prevent the end of the world rather than hasten it. A team made up entirely of members of the Artery community continues to work on the game both in-person during draw jams and over the Artery's website, while Elliott oversees the project as its acting Producer and Lead Designer. The game could be the first of many Artery projects, as Elliott still has plenty of dream games to bring to fruition.
For those who might not have time to attend a draw jam or contribute to a project as ambitious as Hang 'em High, the Artery's website is an important hub of interaction between local developers. It features an online forum for industry chatter, work feedback, contests, idea exchange, networking, socializing and portfolio consultation. The site provides a stable medium of communication for those in the industry, making the Artery unique among other draw jam communities.
With the recent onset of a global recession, the Artery's brand of local social networking has become even more essential to both its members and the community at large. According to the June 2009 issue of BC Business magazine, over 800 people in the game development industry have lost their jobs in British Columbia since January of this year. Under these conditions, the Artery isn't just a place for developers to blow off steam and get their creative juices flowing - it serves as an active forum for local game companies to find prospective employees. The group's status as a focal point within Vancouver's game development community has attracted local recruiting companies to draw jams as well - 31337 Recruiters' president, Jared Shaw, is a regular at these sessions. Given the gloomy economic outlook, groups like the Artery have become even more vital to the well being of the individuals and companies that they serve.
That extra competition hasn't put a damper on the Artery's supportive atmosphere, though. The group's organizers are emphatic that the best way for people to succeed in the game industry is through collaboration, not self-promotion. Says Elliot, "The only way we'll improve is if we share."
Murray Chu is a freelance writer living in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
