26th November 2010

Global Game Jam 2011 In Vancouver

GGJ YVR 2011The annual Global Game Jam returns for the weekend of January 28-30, 2011. Game developers of all talents gather for the event to build mobile, console, web, and PC based video games in 48 hours. Yearly growth for this event has steadily increased since it began in 2009. In 2009, the Global Game Jam had over 1600 participants from 23 countries. In 2010, Global Game Jam was held in 39 countries with 4300 participants.

Based on past popularity, Global Game Jam Vancouver 2011 plans to host 100 games industry professionals, academia, and students of game coding, digital art, and design at the BCIT campus. Being able to work alongside professionals and new talent during the weekend makes the event a great icebreaker and networking venue.

Organizers at the event ensure you get mixed in with new groups of people who aren’t in your usual set of peers. The event is collaborative in nature so participants usually find they end up working with several teams and getting to know all of the participants and organizers well by the end. Indie coders like to attend because they can meet artists and designers – and vice-versa. Game companies like to get involved to spot new talent, to promote their products, and to get new game ideas from the grass roots. Many of the big game development schools are there also supporting their students in addition to meeting with industry players and independent developers.

This year’s expected attendance of 100 persons more than doubles Vancouver’s initial 40 attendees of 2009. Last year’s game jam in Vancouver sold out at a capacity of 60 persons and another sell-out is anticipated this year based on interest in the event. If you are considering attending sign up soon to reserve your seat.

For locations outside of the Vancouver area, please see the international Global Game Jam site.

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26th November 2010

Two New iOS Titles from EA Mobile

EA Mobile has announced two new iOS titles:EA Mobile

Pictureka challenges players to spot and tap objects hidden on their within pictures crammed with crazy cartoons – just like the original board game. Delve into the all-new Adventure Mode or Pass ‘N Play with family and friends. Get drawn into the popular picture-pointing puzzler that’s as easy to play as it is challenging.

PicturekaAdventure Mode: Turn Pictureka into an adventure! Hunt for quirky items on 5 intriguing islands. Encounter different game boards and bonus challenges. Race against the clock and score more time for every challenge you successfully complete. Think fast on your daring, drawing-filled journey!

Pictureka With Your Friends: Pass ‘N Play with up to 3 other players right on your iPhone or iPad. It’s great for play on the go or for a stay-at-home game night! Pictureka is made for fun with friends and family.

Pick Up and Play Solo: For casual fun, you can also enjoy a solo challenge or take on the crafty computer. Fun for everyone, Pictureka is easy and intuitive to play – especially on iPhone & iPad. So start right in!

Designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch, High Calibre Hunting is designed to maximize the visual intensity of Retina Display, focus on the strategy of the hunt as you escape into realistic natural environments and seek more than 20 types of wild game. Capture the noble feeling of the ultimate sport with brand-name firearms and precision gear. Whether you’re a dedicated or recreational sportsman, EA™ is proud to bring you the most authentic hunting simulation game on the App Store.High Calibre Bears

Enter A Wild World:
All the hunting environments spring to life in stunning detail, especially with Retina Display. Hunt in dawn, daytime, and dusk scenarios. No detail was overlooked to deliver the most honest hunting experience possible.

Encounter A Wide Range of Game: Hunt various Deer (including Whitetail, Mule, Sitka, and Fallow), plus Bear, Moose, Boar, and smaller critters like Squirrel, Fox, Rabbit, and Raccoon.

High Calibre DeerHunt and Shoot In Multiple Locations and Modes:
Use your best hunting strategies to make trophy kills up in up to 6 locations, including Texas, Alaska, Canada, and Iowa – plus additional downloadable treks in Africa and Australia available for purchase at a low price.

Get A Bullet’s Eye View: Strategically navigate the map, and then scope out an animal using “Vital Vision” to get an X-ray or thermal view of its heart, lungs, and brain. Trigger the “Bullet-Cam” with a heart shot and trace your ammo’s point-of-view from your firearm right to the heart of the animal for a clean kill. Experience hunting from a whole new perspective.

Access Over 30 Real, Brand-Name Firearms and Equipment Items: Remington® rifles and shotguns…Bushnell scopes…PSE bows, plus Calls and more. Equip yourself with the finest hunting products from real-world manufacturers and enjoy an added touch of authenticity.

robots and pencilsI’ve come across two release notices for two new iOS games from Calgary studio Robots and Pencils, but as these titles are not listed on their web site, I don’t know if they are the actual developers or are acting as publishers. I had sent the studio an email earlier this week in regards to CookBookie, another title credited to the studio, but as yet have received no reply or clarification from them. So, barring any response from them, here are three new products now available in the App Store: enchanted cave

For the iPad, there is Enchanted Cave, a classic adventure game with a casual play style. Equip your character with the best equipment as you dive into 100 levels of critter packed adventure, playing the hero in a quest to reach a horde of treasure and a princess in distress. If you run low on health, you can warp back to the beginning of the cave – but be warned, you will only get to keep the rarest of artifacts that you find.

TextTilesThe second title, which is compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, is TextTiles, a word game that is OpenFeint enabled and tests your word knowledge by challenging you to try and complete the words when given just a few letters as a hint. Any word that matches will work – but – answer quickly or your time will run out.

Test your brain power against TextTiles in an onslaught of words and puzzles. In Rapid Fire mode you’ll be given the first three letters of a word. All you have to do is enter any word that matches to keep playing. With each lightning fast response, you’ll earn bonus points and extra time. In Puzzler mode, you are given a word definition and the first three letters. If you can guess the word that matches, you’ll move on to the next round.

For the cooks in your house, this third app release listed for Robots and Pencils is CookBookie, which allows you to search for recipes in your cookbooks. Why search the internet for recipes when the thousands of dollars invested in your cookbooks sits unused on your bookshelf. Cookbookie has over 100,000 recipes from the Cookbookiemost popular cookbooks in its database so that you can search them as you would the internet.

Cookbookie comes fully equipped with the following features:

Recipe searching: Searching for “+beef pasta -parsley” will bring back all recipes that have beef, optionally pasta and no parsley in the title.
Ask a foodie: Take a picture of unknown foods and ingredients and Cookbookie will use its special network to identify what it is.
Socialize your kitchen: Use Cookbookie to post your favourite recipes to Facebook and Twitter. Just watch that all your friends don’t show up at your house asking for meals that have sugar, bacon, chocolate but no broccoli.
Recipe Diary: Keep track of your favorite recipes and keep notes about modifications to each recipe.
Great support: Can’t find your favorite book? No problem, Cookbookie will help you out by setting up an email to our team so we can get it in there right away!

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posted in Board Games, Casual, Digital Products, Everyone, Everyone 10+, Mobile, National News, New Releases, Puzzle, Shooters, Sports, Teen, Upcoming Releases By: | Print This Post Print This Post

26th November 2010

Harlequin and Big Fish Launch Mystery Files Sweepstake

HarlequinToronto book publisher Harlequin Enterprises Limited and Big Fish Games have launched the Blackpool series of Mystery Case Files® novels by announcing The Mystery of Blackpool $10,000 Sweepstakes. The Blackpool series of novels are based on the extremely popular Mystery Case Files franchise of games.
Big Fish Games
The Mystery of Blackpool $10,000 Sweepstakes allows entrants to experience firsthand the greed, jealousy and murder at the heart of the cozy English seaside town that is the setting for the Jordan Gray novels based on the popular Mystery Case Files game. Registrants are automatically entered into the $10,000 Grand Prize drawing and have the opportunity to instantly win one of fifteen copies of Stolen or Vanished, the first two books in the series. Also, thirty lucky Instant Win Game winners will receive an online coupon for a free game from Big Fish Games.

The next books in the Blackpool series, Submerged and Unearthed, will be published in February and May 2011, respectively. Meanwhile, Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull, the newest Mystery Case Files game, is available now from Big Fish.

One bonus entry per day into the Grand Prize drawing and the Instant Win Game are avMystery Case Files 13th Skullailable by locating codes posted on eHarlequin.com and the eHarlequin Community page, Harlequin’s Facebook and Twitter pages, the Harlequin Blog, the Paranormal Romance Blog and the I Heart Presents Blog. The Mystery of Blackpool $10,000 Sweepstakes website also features book excerpts where readers can enjoy a preview of the Blackpool series.

The Mystery of Blackpool $10,000 Sweepstakes is now open to legal residents of the 50 United States (and D.C.) and Canada (except Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their state, province, or territory of residence at the time of entry (void where prohibited by law). The Sweepstakes closes on January 26, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Instant Win Game Prizes available to be won: 15 copies of “Stolen” and “Vanished” by Jordan Grey (ARV: $10 USD each); 30 online coupons for Big Fish Games (ARV: up to $9.99 USD each). Grand Prize Drawing Prize available to be won: 1 – $10,000 cash prize. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.   Instant Win Game Sponsor: Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9 Canada. Grand Prize Drawing Sponsor: ePrize, LLC, One ePrize Drive, Pleasant Ridge, MI 48069 U.S.A Please see the Sweepstakes site for complete contest rules.

To date, more than 100 million people have played a Mystery Case Files game. Mystery Case Files is widely credited with establishing the popular hidden object puzzle adventure game genre. Games in the series include hidden object scenes, puzzles and engaging storylines that challenge players to solve mysteries in a quest to achieve Master Detective status. Harlequin is the first publisher to release women’s mystery fiction for Big Fish Games. Harlequin titles have enjoyed a total of 232 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists in 2009 with three titles achieving the coveted #1 position. Since its inception, Harlequin has sold approximately 5.93 billion books.

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posted in Casual, Contests, Everyone 10+, National News, New Releases By: | Print This Post Print This Post

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