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27th August 2010

Canadian Social Media Marketers Pressed To Stay Current

apezoneNow you can compete against your Facebook and Twitter friends in the latest release of ApeZone’s SoliScare card game for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. The new version adds 11 leaderboards and 18 achievements to this already addictive little card game.

SoliScare lets you embark on a fantastic journey through graveyards, haunted houses, and spooky castles. Put the beat down on ghosts, zombies, and classic movie monsters in 100 levels of play.

Game play follows one simple rule: move monster cards to your hero pile by choosing cards that are one higher or lower than your current hero card. As you make longer card runs, you’ll capture these creatures and add them to your jailhouse. Capture all 37 ghosts, zombies, and monsters to become the new Van Helsing.

LudiaLudia Inc., and Sony Pictures Consumer Products announced today that Ludia will create video games based on the hugely popular Pyramid series of television game shows. The licensing deal will result in games across major console platforms, PC/Mac, iPhone/iPod touch and iPad, the first of which games is slated for release in Q1 2011.

“Pyramid is a classic TV game show favorite, and we are thrilled to create games around the property so that fans of the show and broader audiences alike are able to feel the thrill of reaching ‘Winner’s Circle’ from home,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia Inc. “This deal serves to further expand Ludia’s prominence across platforms in the game show video game category, which has been a successful growth strategy for us.”

Pyramid will feature all the favorite elements from the show as the game pits pair against pair in a bid to reach the coveted ‘Winner’s Circle’. Players pick from six categories on the pyramid-shaped game board, and guess a series of words or phrases as described by their team mate. The duo that scores more points than their opposing team wins the match, and gets a shot at the grand prize. Additionally, the Pyramid video games will incorporate thousands of questions, connected gaming elements, single and multiplayer game modes, as well as reward systems to fuel the competitive fun between players.

“Pyramid has been a long-standing and successful game show franchise, and we are delighted to work with Ludia to create new opportunities that will bring an engaging entertainment experience to fans of the show,” added Mark Caplan, Vice President Licensing, Sony Pictures Consumer Products.

Three of EA Sports’ titles are vying for the top spot in the Golden Joystick Awards. FIFA 10, Skate 3 and 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa are all in the final run to the top. Ubisoft Canada is also competing against itself in the Action Title category, with both Assassin’s Creed 2 and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction in the running.

Assassin’s Creed 2: Bonfire of the Vanities and FIFA 10 are finalists for Downloadable Game of the Year while Next Level’s Punch Out!! and EA Sports’ Fight Night Round 4 have entered the ring for Fighting Game of the Year. EA Blackbox is trying to be first over the finish line in the Online Game of the Year with Need For Speed World while franchise twins Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines and Assassin’s Creed Discovery are both in the running for Portable Game of the Year. We have a cross-country showdown going between EA Montreal’s NFS Shift and United Front’s Modnation Dragon AgeRacers in the Racing Game of the Year category.

Bioware fans will have a real problem voting in the Role Playing Game of The Year category as Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age Origins Awakening have all made it to the final list. In the soundtrack category, we have Mass Effect 2 competing against Assassin’s Creed 2, and in the RTS category we have household favourite Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising from Relic. The voting for Ultimate Game of the Year is going to be hot and heavy with Assassin’s Creed 2, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins all hoping to take the podium. Read the rest of this entry »

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26th August 2010

Zeros To Heroes Set To Launch AR Transmedia Project

zeros to heroesVancouver studio Zeros 2 Heroes Media Inc. has announced the imminent release of their alternate reality game featuring the use of augmented reality technology on mobile smartphones.

Animism: The Gods’ Lake alternate reality game will be unveiled Aug. 28 with a live action event at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto. It introduces a unique digital media twist to the conventional broadcast of a TV show based on Aboriginal legends. The show’s pilot episode will be premiered online on Oct. 31, 2010 and broadcast on APTN, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, on Jan. 1, 2011.

Alternate reality game (ARG) technology involves interactive narratives in which physical real-world objects and images are augmented with virtual computer-generated imagery. In this game, participants use a mobile smartphone to scan posters, thereby unlocking a series of clues to the Animism plot. Full instructions on how to play are available online.animism the sacred sites

The “Animism” story is a mixture of modern urban fantasy with traditional First Nations mythology. Centred in a contemporary city with modern characters, the situation starts to unravel when an unscrupulous property developer unwittingly devastates an ancient sacred site, unleashing powerful forces. The heroine must somehow restore balance to a city where giant mythical creatures skulk in back alleys, demons drift through corporate boardrooms and the Wild Hunt is about to start once more. More information on the story will become available online on August 28th.

“We’re excited not only to introduce new digital entertainment technology to Canada, but also to add to the fan experience by giving them an active role in the narrative,” said Matt Toner, President, Zeros 2 Heroes. “By extending the Animism story to live action, mobile, Internet and traditional broadcast media, we can reach more fans in all the ways they like to be entertained.”

The ARG and motion comic were created by a team of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal writers, artists, designers and programmers. Both are aimed primarily at fans 13-25 years old, both male and female. While based on First Nations’ legends, the use of contemporary urban settings is intended to appeal to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal audiences.

“There is a wealth of untold stories and undiscovered characters with themes that are still relevant today,” Toner said. “We’re just updating the settings to something more contemporary and understandable for modern audiences.”

Funding for “Animism: The Gods’ Lake” has been provided by the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and British Columbia Film.

Zeros 2 Heroes will unveil the new alternate reality game at a special Aug. 28 event at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto. The event will feature actors playing roles from the Animism story. Participants will be the first to unearth the mysteries behind the motion comic plot at this live action event. By downloading a unique alternate reality mobile app, they can unlock a series of clues by scanning various Animism posters on-site with their mobile devices.

The showcase runs 4-5 p.m. on Saturday Aug. 28 in room No.103A at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and will also be present throughout Fan Expo at booth No. 4007.

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26th August 2010

Good Guy Robots Set To Launch Debut Title

Good Guy RobotsGood Guy Robots Inc. (GGR) has just released Codex, a puzzle game that has gotten gamers to scratch their heads and think. Codex is a spatial logic puzzle with one goal in mind: to solve Codex Stage Selectthe puzzle in the fewest moves to earn gold medals. The gold medals are showcased in the leaderboards, where players are ranked based on score with an option to display their medal haul. The medal haul shows off how each player did on each level.

Codex has 30 levels in progression of puzzle size and difficulty grouped in 6 stages. Finishing a puzzle will unlock the next one as long as you finish the puzzle within the prescribed moves. You can go back and play any puzzle you’ve already completed, however this feature is disabled in trial mode.

Codex Visualization PlaylistCodex also has music visualizations during gameplay that are hooked into the music shared to the Xbox from your computer or USB device. The music visualization has each of the gears tuned to a specific frequency as the music is playing. GGR felt that this added to the look and feel of the game as well as allowed for a better experience by allowing gamers to listen to the music they enjoy.

Codex will be available on Xbox Live Indie Games on August 28th for 240MSP ($3 USD). GGR chose that price point because they will include new levels in future updates that would normally be bought as DLC in other markets. GGR plans to release the game on iPhone and iPad as well with the option to buy new levels as they are available. Codex Easy Seven

GGR felt their price strategy was risky since console gamers who buy Indie games are used to buying games at the bargain basement price point (80 MSP), however, as GGR plans to absorb the cost of developing the new levels in the initial cost of game, there are no plans to drop the price after the 90 day price freeze from initial release. GGR is proud of this release and hopes that the market is receptive to it so that they can continue to make high quality games on Xbox Live Indie Games. Codex can be queued for download to your Xbox360 via web or by perusing the Xbox 360’s community games section.

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20th August 2010

IN2010 Early Bird Ends At Midnight

Interactive Exchange 10A reminder to all those planning to attend IN2010 – if you haven’t yet purchased your tickets, Early Bird pricing ends tonight at midnight. The event is also looking for a few good volunteers, so if you’re interested in helping out, click here.

Along with the opportunity to hear from 65 industry speakers, IN2010 offers:

3 keynote presentations
Facilitated one-on-one meeting opportunities
4 Networking breaks
2 Evening receptions
Fully catered lunch and breakfast on both days

Plus over 22 conference panels and lectures on a variety of topics, including:

Games Stream
• Concept to Screen: This will focus on the actual creative arc that individuals trace in order to create a piece of work that is exploitable along multiple entertainment verticals. Mark Long, Style Driver, Zombie Studios.

Mobile Stream
• Managing Mobile: Challenges & Opportunities Facing Mobile Projects. Creating projects for the new set of mobile platforms can present it’s own set of challenges. What types of issues can you expect to face and what opportunities can the mobile platform present? Featuring Rick Segal, Co-Founder, FixMO.

The BlackBerry Social Media Stream
• Bend It!: A discussion about pushing boundaries of social media and future trends between an assembly of innovators from several different sectors. Featuring Juliette Powell, Author, Pundit, Integrated Media Specialist.

The Rogers X-Platform Stream
• Branded Entertainment: A breakdown of brand-supported entertainment properties. Featuring creation, brand integration and ROI measurements. Featuring Paul Bennun , Owner, Somethin’ Else.

Visionary Stream
• Weird Science: From thought-controlled devices to biotechnology, this Visionary Presentation session will showcase leading work being done locally and aboard that has the potential to usher in a new era of interaction. Andrew Hessel, Co-Chair, Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Singularity University.Bioware Corp

If you are a Dragon Age fan but couldn’t go to Gamescom, do not despair. You, too can take part in a Dragon Age 2 live chat tomorrow (August 21st) via the magic of the internet. The live chat will begin at 12:00PM CEDT, which translates to 6:00AM EDT (or 3:00AM here in Vancouver).

xmg studioXMG Studios has released its first Android title.  Little Metal Ball is a top-down full-tilt platform adventure which features 20 levels of twisted labyrinths and challenging puzzles controlled by precise tilt control and physics. You will race against the clock, trying to obtain bronze, silver and gold record times along with power-ups and more.

Disney Interactive StudiosAccording to recently released data from comScore Media Metrix, Disney Online, the No. 1 ranked community-family and parenting destination on the Web, reached a record-breaking 36 million unique visitors in July, beating the previous all-time record of 34 million uniques set in June 2009 by two million unique visitors. This growth was in great part due to increased traffic to areas of the site such as Disney Games, Disney Channel and Disney Movies. Most notably, Disney Games climbed to the No. 3 spot in the Online Gaming category. Read the rest of this entry »

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3rd August 2010

Fall Conferences and New Films On The Horizon

We’re back after a break over the BC Day long weekend and trying to get back into the swing of things. News out of Toronto this morning is that Virgin Gaming has partnered with Ubisoft to be the online tournament provider for some of the publisher’s most anticipated multiplayer console releases. Leading the charge is Tom Clancy”s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier™, the latest chapter in the award-winning franchise.

“Ubisoft is one of the leading video game publishers in the world and we are thrilled to offer our members the opportunity to compete in some of their best multiplayer console games,” said Rob Segal, CEO of Virgin Gaming. “Virgin Gaming is a unique convergence of social networking, video games and Ubisoft and Virgin Gaming Partnershipcompetitive gaming, and we are excited that Ubisoft shares our vision for the platform and its potential.”

“Ubisoft is thrilled to be partnering with Virgin Gaming on its new venture. We have an exciting lineup of multiplayer titles this year that we believe will be a perfect fit for gamers to play and compete against each other in a tournament setting,” said Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America.

Sir Richard Branson unveiled Virgin Gaming to an enthusiastic reception at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The overwhelmingly positive response helped Virgin Gaming to quickly take the industry by storm, being the first online platform for gamers of all skill levels to compete in some of the best games for the biggest prizes. In true Virgin style, Branson kicked things off with dramatic flair, announcing that Virgin Gaming would give away over $1 million in cash and prizes over its first 12 months. Ubisoft headlines a slate of industry partnerships with key publishers and retailers to be announced by Virgin Gaming in the coming months. Additional details on these partnerships will be announced soon.

nextMEDIA has just opened up for 2010 Design Exchange early-bird registration. The conference, which will be held in Toronto this November 29th and 30th, will help you create opportunities for your business by bringing together the highest growth areas of the converging next-generation entertainment marketplace.

Highlights for this fall’s conference include:

* 2 days of learning, strategizing and collaborating across all areas of digital entertainment, including advertising, gaming, TV, mobile, music and publishing.
* Facilitated meetings and networking between established industry leaders and emerging new talent from multiple sectors.
* Sessions, discussions and workshops designed to drive your business forward and provide you with the connections and info you need to stay ahead of your competition.Match Up
* Insight into emerging technologies and platforms that can change your business.

Digital LeisureDon’t forget that Digital Leisure’s Match Up!, designed exclusively for Nintendo’s DSiWare™ game service is available as of today for only 200 Nintendo points.

Flip, match and…kaboom! – How fast can you find the right set in Match Up!? Whether you’re 4 or 40, Match Up! will have you captive for hours. Reveal shapes, colors and even hidden bonuses with a new take on a childhood favorite. Quick hands and a sharp mind are the only way to beat the clock and disarm the explosive cards riddled throughout. Not quite ready for the explosive action? Then start with the absolutely addictive classic concentration play, and see if you can level up. So come on – get matching! Read the rest of this entry »

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30th July 2010

There Is Travel In The Future For Canadian Digital Media Companies

Province of BCIn conjunction with the British Columbia Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development, the BC Trade and Investment office in Japan is organizing a BC Pavilion at Tokyo Game Show 2010 (TGS 2010) from September 16-19, 2010. The pavilion will be prominently located in the International Zone in order to highlight British Columbia’s digital media and game cluster, and the BC Trade and Investment office would like to invite BC game developers to join them. Here’s why your company should consider attending:

Japan is the 3rd largest market in the world for gaming industry sales; in 2009, sales of game hardware and software in Japan were US$5.9B. The Tokyo Game Show is the largest videogame show in Asia with annual attendance of 185,000 participants over four days. Attendance at this show is an opportunity for BC organizations to market their products and services to the Asian market and forge new business relationships with companies from Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan.

Recognizing the changing nature of videogames in society, TGS 2010 will also focus on next-generation mobile game devices, smartphones, PCs and other new interface models for home consoles. For BC organizations wishing to attend TGS 2010, the BC Trade and Investment office is pleased to offer the following support:

· Booth space at Tokyo Game Show in the BC Pavilion
· Bilingual staff (Japanese/English) to facilitate on-site meetings
· On-the-ground support for business matching
· Assistance with logistics in planning your trip and preparing to do business in Asia

If you are interested in participating in the BC Pavilion, the BC Trade and Investment office needs to hear from you by the end of July so that they can secure adequate resources and booth space for this event. Please contact Rob O’Brien, Japan Manager with the BC government’s International Relations and Business Development branch via email or at 604-505-5896 to express interest, ask questions, or obtain more information about costs involved.

IUGOOur congratulations to Sarah Thomson, who has been promoted to the position of Vice President of Business Development at IUGO Mobile Entertainment. Sarah has been with the premium games developer for nearly 3 years, and since her joining, IUGO has significantly elevated its reputation and awareness amongst industry peers and mobile game enthusiasts. They also have seen success in the challenging App Store marketplace for iDevices.

“This was a well-deserved move for Sarah,” states IUGO’s CEO, Hong-Yee Wong. “She’s grabbed the reins here and produced significant results for IUGO. I have no doubt she’ll continue to take IUGO into new and exciting areas of growth and prosperity.” Thomson has also been speaking regularly at industry conventions, most recently Casual Connect in Seattle.

“I’m very excited and proud of my accomplishment,” beams Sarah. “The company as a whole has been working very hard to make our mark in this competitive space. I feel like we’re only getting started. IUGO’s foray into social games currently and in the future is going to usher in our next phase of success. I am grateful to lead the company towards its next evolution.”

Digital LeisureDigital Leisure Inc. has entered into a partnership with Minnesota game developer and publisher Destineer to develop Dragon’s Lair Trilogy, bringing three timeless arcade adventures together on one disc for Wii™: Dragon’s Lair, Dragon’s Lair 2: Time Warp, and Space Ace. For the first time ever on a console platform, you can experience the stunning visuals and engaging storylines from all three of these classic arcade games created by legendaryMatch Up American animator Don Bluth.

The Dragon’s Lair Trilogy will be completely arcade authentic with the original arcade gameplay modes
and remastered animation. There will be standard and wide-screen editions, an all-new movie guide for beginners and a watch mode which will let you check out all of the Dragon’s Lair awesome animation without playing the game, which will be available for the Wii this fall.

Digital Leisure also has a new title coming out on DSiWare this coming Monday, August 2nd. In Match Up gamers will reveal shapes, colors and even hidden bonuses with a new take on a childhood favorite. Quick hands and a sharp mind are the only way to beat the clock and disarm the explosive cards riddled throughout. For a bit of a slower paced gameplay, you can opt for classic concentration play. Match Up will be available for 200 DSiPoints.

Canada Media FundNew policies in regards to Performance Envelope Calculation Factors were sent out by the Canada Media Fund late yesterday. As a result of the consultation with the industry and funders of the Canada Media Fund (CMF), and in view of the policy direction from the federal government, the Board of the CMF has determined that the following factors will apply in the calculation of the performance envelopes for 2011-2012: Read the rest of this entry »

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22nd July 2010

The Casual Connection

Casual ConnectYesterday I went down to check out some of the goings-on at Casual Connect Seattle, and once again it was a huge event – evidence that the casual gaming market has grown, and continues to grow, exponentially. The conference is also a reminder about the many corners of today’s culture that casual gaming is spreading its influence into, and I noted many new companies who were attending Casual Connect for the first time. The only real downer this year was not related to the conference itself – when I went out to my car to drop off some of the materials I had picked up, I noticed that someone had removed the magnetic yellow ribbon showing my support for our armed forces from the tailgate. I feel that this was an act of total disrespect to not only our Canadian troops, but also to the United States’ closest ally. Karma will get the person responsible for the small theft, I’m sure. I hope that such a trite act made their day. Thank you to Scott though, who picked up a new magnet for me from our local Royal Canadian Legion on his way home from work.

I would like to personally thank Victoria Hayes, Neil Swain and Duane Robson from our federal Trade Commissioner Service for the opportunity to finally meet many of the developers from eastern Canada whom I had previously only known through email, twitter and Facebook. A special shout-out to my twitter buddy Sasha, who toils daily at the creative studios of marblemedia, and to another twitter friend, Rob Anderson, a.k.a. the “head cheese” at New Brunswick’s Noise2Signal. I also had the chance to chat briefly with  Dan Kratt, Senior Designer at Ph03nix New Media/Big Stack Studios, creators of my current match 3 addiction, Sigma for the iPhone.

Many thanks to the government and association representatives from Ontario, Quebec and of course BC for their support and interest in what we’re trying to accomplish here at Cerebral Vortex GamesVillage Gamer. The social gathering at the Canadian Consulate was great. It was great to catch up with Cerebral Vortex President Keith Makse, whom I met at last year’s Casual Connect. By the way, if you’re in the Toronto area, Cerebral Vortex is hiring, and if you’re a fan of word games, grab their iPhone game Word Burst from the App Store.

Once again the Casual Connect team has offered a top-notch venue for the global casual gaming industry to share experience and find new opportunity. If you are a Canadian casual game studio and didn’t attend this Untold Entertainmentyear’s event in Seattle, may I suggest that you put it on your conference schedule for 2011.  Of course, a day trip to Seattle and no internet access means that I am now a day behind in what’s been going on north of the 49th, and there’s plenty going on across this vast country of ours.

I got a sneak peek at how things are going with Untold Entertainment’s new word puzzler Spellirium. I can safely say that what I saw looks very polished, colourful and high quality – much nicer than the mock-ups I’ve been playing through with each iteration’s beta test interface. What I saw of the more finished product makes me all the more impatient for another high-quality word game to challenge my word-making abilities.

A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. GamesOne other thing I did learn while visiting with Sandy Spangler and Murray McCarron from A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games – the WipeOut game recently released by Activision was – you guessed it, developed by A.C.R.O.N.Y.M., an apparently little-known fact as there was no mention of the studio in Activision’s game launch press release. I received that email, but as you all know, we are a Canadian content site, and as I received no reply from Activision to my question of where the game was developed, the news went unannounced on this site. wipeout

Rated E by the ESRB, Wipeout: The Game for Nintendo DSTM and WiiTM is based on the Endemol USA produced hit TV show Wipeout. Wipeout: The Game  features the contestant demolishing Dreadmill to the fan-favorite Big Balls, pitting friends and family against each other in the world’s largest, messiest, and most hilarious obstacle course out there.

“When developing the game our goal was to capture all the elements that people love about the hilarious reality ABC show, and to above all make it fun,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “So far, we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from fans, who clearly can’t wait to step up to the challenge of the obstacle course.” Read the rest of this entry »

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20th July 2010

Canadian Game Industry Continues To Expand

Silicon SistersVancouver game dev industry veterans Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch and Kirsten Forbes have officially announced the formation of Silicon Sisters Interactive, a new Canadian video game company based in Vancouver that will create games for a predominantly female audience.

According to the Entertainment Software Association, female gamers are one of the industry’s fastest growing demographics, with women currently accounting for 40% of the overall gaming audience. Silicon Sisters plans to capture and grow this rapidly expanding market by tailoring games to these players’ daily lives and personal interests. Their target customers — women of all ages, from tweens and teens to hard-working women worldwide — comprise an audience that the company’s all-female design staff inherently understands.

“We’re not interested in ‘pinkifying’ games, which is how girl games are typically designed,” says Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, Silicon Sisters’ CEO. “It’s no coincidence that the games I and many other female gamers are most drawn to have had women involved in their development. Girls and women game differently than boys and men. Silicon Sisters has studied these differences so we can make games that truly appeal to and resonate with the female audience.”

It’s an objective perfectly suited to the founders’ backgrounds. During their combined 18 years in the industry, both have been vocal champions of female representation among video game developers and audiences. The former COO of Deep Fried Entertainment, Bailey Gershkovitch chairs the Vancouver chapter of Women in Games International (WIGeh) and sits on GDC Canada’s Advisory Board. Forbes, previously an Executive Producer at Radical Entertainment, has delivered eleven top-selling games and is a veteran industry advocate for girl gaming preferences.

“The video game industry is experiencing a rebirth of sorts,” says Kirsten Forbes, Silicon Sisters’ COO. “PC online gaming is up, social networking has become pervasive, and mobile platforms are ubiquitous. Women are adopting games on these platforms in droves. It’s time to get serious about delivering quality games into this burgeoning market.”

Silicon Sisters’ predominantly female team, which includes noted designer Brenda Brathwaite as a consultant, is working on two projects for PC and mobile platforms. This summer, company representatives will attend Casual Connect, GDC Europe, and GamesCom to pursue publishing opportunities for their own properties, as well as potential work-for-hire projects that correspond to Silicon Sisters’ corporate vision.

TransGamingTransGaming, Inc. is crossing the Atlantic and entering the European market after securing its first in a number of active agreements to deploy GameTreeTV in the European market before the end of 2010. The first deployment will be with a European Managed Service Operator (MSO) who will begin releasing the new generation of set-top boxes to their subscriber base of multi-millions of households. Financial terms were not disclosed due to confidentiality reasons. TransGaming will be working closely with this MSO over the next few months to prepare for the commercial launch of GameTreeTV, which is currently slated for late 2010.

“This agreement is a major milestone and demonstration of TransGaming’s leading role in revolutionizing the delivery of high-end interactive content in the digital home,” said Vikas Gupta, President and CEO of TransGaming. “We are excited that European consumers will be the first to enjoy the ability to play great games directly through their set-top box and conveniently will be able to transact their games through a variety of consumer friendly business models.”

The GameTreeTV Gaming Platform is an on-demand video games service that gives consumers access to high quality games directly from the comfort of their living rooms through any Intel CE Media Processor based device. Consumers will be able to access a broad assortment of well-known, popular arcade, puzzle, family and adventure style games from the growing library at GameTreeTV. TransGaming first unveiled its GameTreeTV platform at the Intel Developer Forum in September last year while announcing a strategic collaboration agreement with Intel Corporation and an investment by Intel Capital.

Developers are invited to sign up for TransGaming’s Content Developer Program in order to gain access to their SDK game emulation tools, documentation, and hardware requirements to bring your games direct to consumers through the GameTreeTV Games Platform.

Big Blue BubbleBig Blue Bubble Inc. announced today that Home Sweet Home Online, the next evolution in the Home Sweet Home series is released on Facebook.

Do you think you have what it takes to be a home decorator? Now you can with Home Sweet Home Online! Build your dream home and show it off to your friends and the rest of the Home Sweet Home users.Home Sweet Home Online

Home Sweet Home Online gives the player complete freedom when it comes to designing rooms, kitchens and bathrooms. They can paint objects different colors and they are not restricted to a grid when placing items. This freedom combined with thousands of furniture pieces allows the player to create a virtually infinite amount of different rooms!

Travel to your friend’s homes to see what ideas they come up with. You can even travel to their friend’s homes and check out what they’ve done. Meet new and interesting people and become an active part of the Home Sweet Home community!

The player can also play mini games to earn coins, unlock new furniture by gaining experience, and visit virtually everyone else’s home to rate their rooms get decoration ideas. With weekly updates of new content and features, players will continually try to outdo each other and win the Room of the Week prizes. Read the rest of this entry »

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7th July 2010

Great Things In Store From The Indie Dev Sector

indie fundAttention Indie Developers – the Indie Fund has just announced that it is now open for business. Get yourself over to their website (after you finish reading today’s news) and check out what is required of you and your project in order to apply for funding from this great group of people who would like to see you succeed. The Indie Fund was created by successful indie developers Jonathan Blow, Kellee Santiago, Ron Carmel, Kyle Gabler, Aaron Isaksen, Nathan Vella and Matthew Wagner. According to the Fund’s web site,  it was established as a serious alternative to the traditional publisher funding model. Our aim is to support the growth of games as a medium by helping indie developers get (and stay) financially independent.

apezoneAfter eleven years of making PC games, Quebec-based ApeZone has released its first iPhone game, SoliScare. Use the solitaire skills you’ve honed while killing time at work on SoliScareyour Windows PC to whack Zombies, smack Ghosts, and mash Monsters on your iPhone. As you work your way through the game, you will travel to graveyards, haunted castles, and other spooky locations. Put the beat down on things that go bump in the night, collecting all 37 ghosts, zombies, and classic movie monsters by making extraordinary card runs. As your skill level increases, you can unlock 100 unique, hand-crafted levels and use coins to purchase in-game enhancements, giving you a new experience each time you play. SoliScare is available in the iTunes App Store for 99 cents.

frima studioFrima Studio announced today that the Summer of the PlayStation Mini is officially here with the arrival of Widgets Odyssey on the PlayStation Store in North America for only $1.99 USD. As a PlayStation Mini title, playable on both the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Widgets Odyssey takes players on the first of two interstellar puzzle-platforming adventures that will continue in Widgets Odyssey 2, also releasing later this summer.Widgets Odyssey

“The launch of Widgets Odyssey marks an exciting day for puzzle-platforming fans everywhere, and we’re also happy to be kicking off a series of summer releases for the PlayStation Minis platform from Frima,” said Steve Couture, CEO and co-founder of Frima Studio. “The Minis platform has allowed us to deliver our proudest creations to players on both the PSP and PS3 without them having to break the bank. We couldn’t be happier to continue the tradition this summer with both installments of Widgets Odyssey, as well as our upcoming action-epic, Young Thor.”

In Widgets Odyssey, five robots aboard their space vessel have just one simple mission: to save the universe from the tyrannical Yagor and his evil henchmen! Armed with the abilities of Spad, Cosmo, Bruce, Helmut, and Monk, players will guide each robot along their exciting adventures filled with puzzles, mazes and minigames. Players can also look forward to the continuing adventures of the ‘S-Space’ crew in Widgets Odyssey 2 when it launches later this summer.

RatRod StudioRatrod Studio Inc. is proudly announcing their latest iPhone game title “Drift Mania Championship” which has been developed in collaboration with the official Drift Mania Canadian Championship league (DMCC). This exciting video game will be available worldwide in mid July 2010 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game is rated 4+ (for everyone) and can be purchased on the Apple App Store. Drift Mania

Already entering its 5th season, DMCC is the only professional drifting series and sanctioning body in Canada developing over 600 drivers, hosting 10 competitions from Vancouver to Quebec and capturing hundreds of thousands of fans every year. Like real drifting, the Drift Mania Championship video game is a combination of driving skills, style and showmanship. It’s all about loss of the rear wheel traction while keeping the race car in total control.

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21st June 2010

Mentor Programs and Competitions Expand Futures for Young Canadians

bookriffLet me start the week by sending out a huge congratulations to our friend Rochelle Grayson on her new position as CEO at Vancouver startup BookRiff. Rochelle is an incredible lady, and I know that with her awesome talent and drive, great things will be happening for BookRiff and its parent entity D&M Publishing. Congratulations also to the Deus Ex: Human Revolution team over at Eidos Montreal for all of their nominations and awards from E3, including Best of E3 from Gamepro and 1up, plus Best E3 trailer from JeuxVideo.

CIXCIX, the Canadian Interactive Exchange has sent out their annual call for showcase presentations. Submissions deadline is October 1st, so companies who “consider themselves to be the very best in the fields of ICT, Digital Media and Cleantech should complete a profile in order to be selected to present live at CIX in the showcase of Complex GamesCanada’s Hottest Innovative Companies.” CIX takes place at Toronto’s at MaRs Discovery District on December 7th.

Complex Games has announced that BattleBears -1, a prequel to Skyvu Pictures’ BattleBear Zombies, has been sent off to iTunes for release approval. Check out this trailer for a preview:

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There are two Canadian creations out on Nintendo’s DSiWare today. First up is Puffins: Let’s Fish from Other Ocean Interactive. Available for only 500 Nintendo DSi Points, this E-rated title lets gamers dive into the deep blue sea and fill their virtual bellies with delicious fish. Puffins: Let’s FishOther Ocean Interactive is an action game that has you swimming the beautiful ocean in search of a puffin’s favourite meal: the elusive capelin. However, the ocean can be a dangerous place, and you’re not the only one hunting for food. Throughout 18 underwater stages and two game modes, you’ll be avoiding sharks, jellyfish and other fearsome predators who are very interested in making you their next meal.

Digital LeisureToday’s other new DSiWare title comes from Digital Leisure. Also available for 500 DSi Points and rated E (with cartoon violence) is Mega Words, where you need to put on your thinking cap and see how many of the hundreds of puzzles you can solve in Mega Words. Three classic puzzlers are included in this puzzle pack: Word Scrambler, Anagram Hunt and Hangman. There’s no need for erasers here! These portable editions feature extensive dictionaries to challenge novices and expert players alike. See how fast you can unscramble words, sharpen your vocabulary and stretch your mind with Mega Words.

EA SportsWinnipeg-born Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks will be the new face of the NHL® 11 videogame from EA Sports™. With last year’s title featuring Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane, NHL 11 marks the first time that EA SPORTS has put back to back players from the same team on the cover of the NHL franchise. The 22 year old’s image will be on the front of all packaging when NHL 11 is available in North American retail stores this September for the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360® with an MSRP of $59.99.

“I am really excited to be on the cover of NHL 11,” said Toews. “It’s been an amazing year for me and the team, and it’s nice to end it by being a part of a game I played growing up. The NHL games have always been great, so it’s an honor for me to be a part of the EA Sports family.”
Jonathan Toews
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary with NHL 11, the EA Sports NHL® franchise has won 22 Sports Game of the Year awards over the past three years and is poised to raise the bar yet again. With a revolutionary real-time physics engine that brings an unprecedented amount of realism to the franchise, gameplay innovations like broken sticks and a revamped face-off system, as well as the addition of the Canadian Hockey League, NHL 11 is set to be the most complete hockey videogame ever created.

After being selected third overall in the 2006-07 entry draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, Toews has emerged as one of the most skilled centers in the NHL after just two seasons. After helping lead team Canada to a gold medal win during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Toews locked up the Conn Smythe, given to the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs, after playing a crucial role in leading the Chicago Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1961. Toews is currently the youngest captain in the NHL, and has registered more than 65 points in each of his first two seasons. Read the rest of this entry »

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posted in Action Adventure, Awards, Business News, Careers, Casual, Contests, Digital Products, Education, Educational, Events, Everyone, Everyone 10+, Mobile, National News, New Releases, Puzzle, Shooters, Sports, Teen, Upcoming Releases By: | Print This Post Print This Post

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