Village Gamer

Calgary – Two announcements from Ph03nix New Media today. First they announced their rebate offer for Hottie Hookups through their innovative iPhone Game Rebate program. Starting today through March 10, customers who purchase Hottie Hookups from the App Store qualify for a $1.99 cash rebate. There are only 1,000 rebates available so act fast!

Hottie Hookups is a unique time-management game from the creators of the acclaimed #1 iPhone game Sally’s Spa. Blending elements from line drawing and castle defense games, Hottie Hookups is an irreverent, ironic game where you must connect hotties on the dance floor while defending them from nerds, fatties, and geezers using a variety of techniques.

To receive iPhone Game Rebates, follow these three simple steps:

1. Register
2. Send in your iTunes receipt
3. Receive the cash rebate once the proof-of-purchase has been confirmed

The second announcement from Ph03nix New Media involves their casual games division, Triple Hippo Studios, who has released their much anticipated casual PC title, The Tarot’s Misfortune. Available exclusively for the next month on Big Fish Games, The Tarot’s Misfortune leads players on a mysterious and dangerous adventure as they solve puzzles and uncover intriguing clues about the missing Villagers of Luzio.

“We believe we’ve succeeded in creating a game that will keep players of all levels captivated by intertwining challenging puzzles along with an intriguing storyline,” said Michael Grills, Director of Operations at Triple Hippo Studios.

In The Tarot’s Misfortune, players take on the role of tarot reader, Rosalee, who awakens disoriented in prison and must embark on a thrilling journey. Exploring the town of Luzio, players will piece together cryptic clues and find the lost tarot card deck to uncover the secrets of the village. To advance through each of the 12 beautifully detailed levels, players must uncover specific hidden objects in Luzio. Gameplay is intuitive yet addicting so both experienced casual gamers and newcomers to the genre will be entertained and enchanted. The Tarot’s Misfortune will be released to other game portals at the end of March 2010.

Montreal – The MODSIM World Canada organizing committee has put out an official call for speakers and Papers. MODSIM World™ is a unique multi-disciplinary International Conference & Exposition for the exchange of knowledge, research experience, and technology in modeling and simulation across industry, government and academia. Issues include:

* When and where does my organization implement the use of M&S technology or solutions?
* How can my organization benefit from the adoption of modeling and simulation today?
* How will I, my organization, my economy and my society be impacted in the future?

These issues and questions will be explored by our Speakers, educational activities, presentations, and product demonstrations. The conference will focus on using modeling and simulation tools and practices that will meet the challenges present now and in the future. Attendees will learn about new applications and practices and have an opportunity to network with other industry professionals.

Participants must submit their abstracts electronically before the deadline for submission, April 5th, 2010. MODSIM World Canada will take place June 14 – 17 in Montreal.

Banff – Reminder that the entry deadlines for the Pilot Competition at the Banff World Television Festival are rapidly approaching. The Early Bird deadline is Monday, March 1 with the final deadline on March 15. Motivated by the great success of the 2009 Banff World Television Awards, the Banff World Television Festival is proud to announce a new competition for the 2010 season that aims to honour the raw talent and creativity behind the Pilot.

The inaugural Banff International Pilots Competition and Awards aim to recognize the talent and creativity it takes to conceptualize and create a pilot, be it online or on television. The competition accepts submissions from both “virgin” producers who have never had a show or program broadcast in any way, as well as “veteran” producers with at least one show broadcast on cable, satellite or the Internet, or with a show in full production.

In each one of these two groups, the three categories are based on the length of the pilot submission:

* 2 to 5 minutes,
* 5 to 20 minutes
* more than 20 minutes

Winners of the 2010 Banff International Pilots Competition will be presented in June 2010 at the 31st Banff World Television Festival.