Village Gamer

Got a killer videogame idea? Skills strong enough for a spot on a game development team? Then get paid to build your game this summer in the 2009 GameGarage on beautiful PEI.

Charlettetown PEI – Canadian gamers who are graduating from or are recent graduates of interactive media programs are invited to compete for five spots on the 2009 GameGame Videogame Incubator Team where they will work with mentors from PEI’s gaming industry to build a functioning game prototype. And they get paid.

GameGarage is co-presented by Telefilm Canada and PEI Business Development Inc. and managed by the Interactive Media Alliance (IMA), a PEI-based interactive media industry association based out of the Atlantic Technology Centre, Charlottetown, PEI.

GameGarage gives participants the necessary studio space, hardware, software, salary and
mentorship required to make their game idea a reality.

Read the rest of this entry »

Introducing ‘Upopolis’, Canada’s first secure online community keeping kids in hospitals connected to each other

Vancouver – BC Children’s Hospital, TELUS and Kids’ Health Links Foundation today announced the launch of Upopolis, the first secure online social network for kids in hospital care in Western Canada.

Created by Kids’ Health Links Foundation (KHLF) and powered by TELUS, Upopolis.com provides the best features of social networking for young patients who often feel disconnected when they’re in the hospital. Upopolis provides a personal profile, personal blogs, instant chat and child-friendly games. The site also provides unique features to kids in hospital like a homework site to stay up-to-date with their schoolwork, links to kid-friendly health and wellness information, and connections to other children with the same condition.

“Our hospital offers very specialized pediatric care that is unique in the province, so we take in some seriously ill and injured kids who will really benefit from Upopolis to help them stay connected to their loved ones,” said Larry Gold, president, BC Children’s Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, agencies of the Provincial Health Services Authority. “We are committed to bringing the best possible care for our young patients and Upopolis will help to enhance their hospital experience.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The countdown has begun for yet another title on our 2009 Most Anticipated Games List

Vancouver – Radical Entertainment and Activision Publishing, Inc. have confirmed that the long-awaited open-world action thriller video game PROTOTYPE will ship in European territories on June 5 and to North American retailers on June 9, arriving in stores shortly thereafter. Fans of the infamous Alex Mercer should also be sure to check out the newly updated official game web site to gain access and view newly added game information and content, including the first half of PROTOTYPE’s must-see intro cinematic.

PROTOTYPE lets gamers feel the power of being the ultimate shape-shifting weapon. You are the PROTOTYPE: Alex Mercer – a genetically mutated man without memory, armed with amazing shape-shifting abilities, hunting to discover what created you and determined to make those responsible pay. As Alex, gamers tear through a densely populated contemporary New York City moving with Parkour-style fluidity, consuming anybody that gets in their way… assuming their physical form, memories and abilities. Fueled by a three-way war between Alex, the Blackwatch (military) and a viral outbreak known as the Infected, players venture into a deep, dark conspiracy 40 years in the making!

PROTOTYPE is currently rated “RP” (Rating Pending) by the ESRB with an expected “M” rating (Mature – Content that may be suitable for persons 17 and older) and will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Games for Windows® and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Assassin’s Creed II is one of the Most-Anticipated Games for 2009 here at Village Gamer

Montreal – Today Ubisoft announced that Ubisoft Montréal is developing Assassin’s Creed II on all current-generation platforms for a scheduled Holiday 2009 launch. The initial installment of Assassin’s Creed® was released in November 2007 to popular and critical success, selling 8 million copies worldwide, and garnering awards such as Best Action Game 2007 from 1UP and Outstanding Achievement in Animation from the AIAS.

Assassin’s Creed II is the product of over two years of intensive development by the original creative team behind the Assassin’s Creed brand. In a vast open world environment, the game invites players to incarnate Ezio, a privileged young noble in Renaissance Italy who’s been betrayed by the rival ruling families of Italy. Ezio’s subsequent quest for vengeance plunges players into a captivating and epic story that offers more variety in missions, surprising and engaging new gameplay elements, diverse weapons and a profound character progression that will appeal to fans of the original Assassin’s Creed as well as entice players new to the brand.

“Our creative team is working hard to top the experience of Assassin’s Creed,” said Patrice Desilets, creative director at Ubisoft. “We’ve made improvements to every aspect of the game. And we’ve plunged ourselves into the stunning history of the Italian Renaissance so that we can offer fans a unique, varied and innovative Assassin’s Creed experience.”

Victoria BC – Tecagora Solutions Inc. is pleased to announce the release of Snapact Photo Manager update v1.3.

“Since the initial release of Snapact Photo Manager in September 2008, the team at Tecagora has been working on implementing design workflow changes and integrating new features to the Snapact Photo Manager”, states Bruce Kwan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tecagora Solutions. “We want our users to enjoy the best experience possible with Snapact when viewing, organizing, and sharing their photos.”

The v1.3 update includes minor bug fixes and other usability features such as Batch Rename and Batch Resize that will allow for renaming and resizing of multiple photos at the same time. Other improvements include the addition of templates in the Print function. “We plan to continue improving the workflow design and add more features to the software from now until the end of this year,” states Kwan.

Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver – Get your digital black belt during a day of intensive training and professional development workshops at the Centre for Digital Media, Great Northern Way Campus.

Bringing together experts and leaders from an array of sectors in digital media, this workshop offers a full day of interactive sessions to help inspire new ideas and develop them into realizable goals. Participants will be treated to insider techniques for the conceptualizing, visualizing, prototyping and pitching of ideas, as well as insights into current industry trends and technologies. This is your opportunity to get a crash course in digital martial arts – Register Today!

Most of the proceeds of this workshop will be put towards scholarships for students in the Masters of Digital Media program.

Who is it for?

Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver – Research has shown that brain health begins to lag as early as age 25. However, the same research has shown that with regular brain fitness training, the brain can create new neural connections and pathways at any age.

In response to this research, Vancouver’s Vivity Labs has created FitBrains.com, a new online brain fitness platform that hosts fun, casual games developed by brain fitness experts, specifically designed to exercise the brain and improve the five major cognitive brain functions – memory, concentration, language, executive functions (logic and reasoning), and visual-spatial skills.
Read the rest of this entry »

Toronto – WinMagic® Data Security, the innovative leader in endpoint security, will demonstrate SecureDoc 4.6, the first comprehensive enterprise-class full-disk encryption solution for heterogeneous computing environments, at the RSA Conference 2009 (booth 831). WinMagic will show how SecureDoc 4.6 provides centrally-manageable and fully-transparent, ‘always-on’ full-disk encryption for Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac – making it simple for organizations to protect all data on all servers, desktops, laptops and removable media.

Mac computers are often not included in encryption deployments – many enterprise networks are primarily Windows-based, and Mac platforms are used by select departments or individuals (including many executives). SecureDoc offers the ability to configure, deploy and manage encryption for Mac desktops and laptops from the same console that is used to manage the Windows machines. This drives greater efficiency for IT and security staff while ensuring sensitive data is protected. Centralized escrow and management of encryption keys also ensures continued access to data for authorized users in the event of lost passwords, departing employees or other challenges.
Read the rest of this entry »

Ontario Venture Capital Fund Invests in Jobs of the Future

Toronto -The Ontario Venture Capital Fund is committing $20 million in EdgeStone Capital Venture Fund III (EdgeStone) to help support innovative, high-growth businesses, including high-potential companies in Ontario.

EdgeStone is an Ontario-based venture capital firm investing in early and growth stage Canadian information technology companies. EdgeStone’s track record of successful investments includes Ontario-based companies such as Workbrain, SlipStream Data, Protus IP Solutions and Varicent.

The $205-million Ontario Venture Capital Fund, managed by TD Capital Private Equity Investors, is a joint initiative between the provincial government and leading institutional investors to invest primarily in Ontario-based and Ontario-focused venture capital and growth equity funds.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ghostbusters MP Dev Diary – Written By Threewave Software

It’s Crazy Enough that it Just Might Work…

When I first heard about doing the Multiplayer for the new Ghostbusters game, I was excited but very cautious as well. Movie licensed games are not something that Threewave, being a group of mostly hardcore shooter fans, usually get excited about. We were proven wrong.

If you don’t know, Threewave Software has made great shooter content for a long time. Threewave developed the original Threewave Capture the Flag (“CTF”) mod for Quake, and followed it up with work on top brands as Quake III, Doom 3, Jedi Academy, Soldier of Fortune, Turok, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Army of Two.
Read the rest of this entry »