Village Gamer

Vancouver’s Gnosis Games, developer of award winning Facebook games Candace Kane’s Candy Factory and Piñata Bash, today announced the release of Seek and Find, a fun, fast-paced, and colorful brain and reflex trainer exclusively for the Apple iPad that will have kids and adults alike clamoring to grab high scores while also sharpening their recognition and memory skills. Seek and Find is available for immediate download and is priced at $2.99.

Seek and Find features 45 levels and various mini-games that require players to find and identify cute, funny faces hidden among a plethora of different faces. With each game type, players will be given the task of locating a particular face amidst a slew of others and touch it with their finger, nabbing more points the quicker a face is found. Mini-games like Find the Odd One or Find Three of My Kind will require the player to seek and find one or several faces among static or moving faces. As levels progress, the movement and speed at which faces are to be found increases, challenging even adults as they play along with their children. Seek and Find also supports multiple profiles and tracks each person’s score on a leaderboard, advocating friendly competition that will have everyone vying for that top spot on the ladder!

“As kids, we all remember playing board games with our parents, creating a bond through quality time shared over friendly competition. Seek and Find on the iPad can be used to create this same experience, with parents and children challenging themselves, and their dexterity and speed, with the hours and hours of content Seek and Find has to offer, ” said Dan Irish, CEO of Gnosis Games. “I’m sure kids will love trying to, and undoubtedly will, beat their parents’ best scores!”

Ubisoft® revealed it’s developing Petz® World, a massively multiplayer online (MMO) free-to-play game tied to its multimillion unit-selling Petz brand. Petz World is an online pet simulation adventure game for kids and tweens being developed by Frima Studios and will be available in 2011 for the PC.

“Ubisoft is excited to be propelling its popular Petz brand into the MMO space. This game is a unique way for children and parents to play games together,” said Chris Early, vice president of digital publishing at Ubisoft. “Petz World allows players to share their progress and adventures, helping each other to receive more coins, achievements and unlockables.”

In Petz World, players can adopt unique pets with their own personality and embark on remarkable adventures in realistic environments around the world. The Petz will be able to explore and learn about exotic locations, meet new and exotic animals and even save them. Petz World will be ever-growing with more locations to visit, more animals to unlock and more places in the world to discover.

On the heels of a successful weekend which saw the debut of ladder competition in Mission Against Terror (M.A.T.), publisher Wicked Interactive has announced that the World Online Gaming League (WOGL) will extend competitive gameplay for its popular free-to-play online shooter through the end of October. The competition, celebrating the third explosive week of the game’s open beta, begins today, Friday, October 1 and runs through Sunday of every weekend through October 31, Halloween.

“Last weekend was about getting players comfortable with the new ladder system,” said Stephen Tucker, CEO, World Online Gaming League. “Now we have teams in place as we add more and more players each weekend throughout the competition.”
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From stacking rocks to pieces of wood, the building block may have very well been the first toy ever played with by children, but with the help of MEGA Brands, the building block evolved and children can now create beautiful structures with Mega Bloks®. Today, the modern child is exposed to a whole world of digital entertainment and MEGA Brands is proud to bring the realms of children’s toys and virtual reality together with the release of their first iPhone and iPad application Mega Bloks Playground, developed by Quebec’s Budge Studios.

“What better way to celebrate 25 years of Mega Bloks, then by taking the founding construction toy to a whole new level for today’s preschoolers with our first-ever iPhone/iPad app,” said Jean Gauvin, Content & Creative Director at MEGA Brands. “With the help of Budge Studios, we are thrilled to bring the Mega Bloks® world to life for preschoolers, ages two to five, in an interactive digital platform with ‘Mega Bloks Playground’, a new creative and innovative way to build and play with Mega Bloks®, while developing fine motor skills.”

“It is not unusual for a parent to hand their iPhone or iPad to their child and allow them to play with it”, said Michael Elman Partner and Creative Director at Budge Studios “But not all of these applications are suited for toddlers and preschoolers. With the ‘Mega Bloks Playground’ application, our goal is to create something for children that engages their imagination and creativity. It is not a ‘video game’ by any means, that gives you set goals and sets you up to ‘win’ or ‘lose’. ‘Mega Bloks Playground’ is first and foremost a toy – which puts the control and the adventure back in the mind of the child using it. The goal is pure, engaging, and safe playtime.”

‘Mega Bloks Playground’ is available now on the Apple iPhone and iPad platform. The preschool interactive world includes two playable Mega Bloks® buddies, a boy and a girl, who interact with a full set of in-world elements, such as swing sets, slides, teeter-totters, playful animals, a lake with a sailboat, and even a hot air balloon. It’s the ultimate digital playset for preschoolers! Parents will appreciate how the app’s intuitive touch-play controls are designed to help foster fine motor skills in children two to five years old, while children will certainly be delighted in discovering piles of colorful bloks throughout the playground that will ultimately piece together to form new Mega Bloks creations.

Mega Bloks Playground At-A-Glance

– Discover over 15 active touch points with your two Mega Bloks® buddies.
– Drag or tap the Mega Bloks® buddies with your finger on the iPad/iPhone screen and watch them play in the playground.
– Explore an interactive playground featuring a hot air balloon, sailboat, pond, swing set, teeter-totter, slide and lots more.
– Collect piles of Mega Bloks® and build a variety of Mega Bloks® structures.
– Easy-to-use interface even for the tiniest of fingers
– Superior touch-play with rich graphics, vibrant sounds, and cheerful music.
– Open-ended, unlimited play; it’s always playtime at the ‘Mega Bloks Playground’

Both iPad and iPhone versions is available as of today. Mega Bloks Playground is $1.99 (iPhone) and $3.99 (iPad) and available worldwide exclusively through the Apple App Store in the Game – kids section. Starting on the day of the launch, the app will be 50% off for the first 48 hours.

The Canadian Toy Association and Waste Management will be providing a free collection event to recycle broken and end-of-life electronic toys (toys with a battery and/or electrical plug) on Saturday, October 2, from 9 am to 3 pm (that’s tomorrow) at the Walmart Supercentre, 3585 Grandview Highway in Vancouver.

This is the first electronic toy recycling event in British Columbia and is a trial event to assist the Canadian Toy Association in developing a new type of electronics recycling program to meet B.C.’s Recycling Regulation. The program, which is under development, will provide B.C. consumers with a convenient and environmentally responsible way to recycle used, unwanted, obsolete or damaged electronic toys.

Waste Management’s Greenplug™ project team will also pilot a new and exciting Greenopolis reverse vending kiosk at the event. This return kiosk has been designed especially for the Canadian Toy Association and is consumer interactive. Canadian Toy Association members will also be on hand to assist with drawings for gifts and prizes for children who return their electronic toys for recycling.

“The Canadian Toy Association is taking a proactive approach to helping consumers responsibly dispose of end-of-life electronics by offering this free collection and recycling program to Vancouver-area residents,” said Jeff Hurst, chair of the Canadian Toy Association. “This trial event will help us develop a province-wide sustainable solution for the recovery of electronic toys to divert them from the waste stream.”

Acceptable Electric Toys:

o Plush Textile Toys with Electronics
o Hard Plastic Toys with Electronics
o Electronic Powered Trains
o Electric Car Racing Sets
o Electric Cars and Trucks (remote control)
o Electric Ride-on Toys
o Hand-held Electric Game Devices
o Gaming Devices with PC/TV

Please do not bring toys which are not either battery or electrically powered.

The electronic materials received by the Canadian Toy Association will be processed at approved e-waste processing facilities that are ISO 14001 and 9001 certified. In addition, Waste Management recycling partners agree to conduct their electronics recycling programs transparently and in accord with rigorous environmental and worker safety standards, and to adhere to measures that prevent the export of hazardous eWaste to developing countries.

“We see this as an opportunity to help communities recycle electronic waste responsibly, conveniently, and economically, as part of our broader sustainability partnerships across B.C. ,” said Dean Kattler, area vice president for Waste Management. “It is our way of demonstrating a shared commitment with the community, by providing outstanding customer service and environmental stewardship.”

“The Recycling Council of British Columbia (RCBC) enthusiastically supports this event and we look forward to a full-time program,” said Brock Macdonald, RCBC executive director. “Industry stewardship programs such as this not only provide an environmentally safe alternative to disposal, but help recoup valuable resources that can become the feedstock for new products. It’s a huge step forward to further reducing our carbon footprint.”

For more information about the event, please call the B.C. Recycling Hotline at 604.732.9253 from 9am to 4pm Monday through Friday. The Recycling Council of BC would also like to remind everyone that October 18 – 24th is Waste Reduction Week across Canada.

Ubisoft has launched Assassin’s Creed Project Legacy beta, a social role-playing game on Facebook Platform. Assassin’s Creed Project Legacy will serve as a companion to the gameplay experience of Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood, which will be available on November 16, 2010 for the Sony PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. It also marks the first time that Ubisoft has integrated a social game into a console title. Utilizing the web services functionality of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, players can move from game to web and web to game, unlocking hidden features throughout the Assassin’s Creed universe.

Players of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood will be able to unlock up to 25 exclusive missions in Assassin’s Creed Project Legacy, allowing players to earn currency and experience points within the Facebook game. Assassin’s Creed Project Legacy players will also be able to unlock extra content in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. By piecing clues together, players will learn the hidden mysteries within the Assassin’s Creed universe.

EA Mobile™ has announced the availability of EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 11 in the App Store™. The popular soccer franchise features over 30 officially licensed leagues, 35 authentic stadiums, 500 licensed teams and more than 15,000 players from around the world for thunderous matches on the iPhone and iPod touch.

“With FIFA Soccer 11 for iPod touch and iPhone, we have tapped into what makes this game so universally loved delivering an engaging and genuine soccer experience for fans and casual players alike,” said Travis Boatman, Vice President of Worldwide Studios for EA Mobile. “With the latest release of FIFA, we’ve unlocked the horsepower of these new devices, stepped forward the expectation of what can be achieved and delivered the best footy experience out there.”

FIFA Soccer 11 features new dual control options providing gameplay sophistication for veterans and simplicity for casual players. The game features unprecedented ball-control and fluid animations with 360° player movement while gesture-driven skill moves dazzle the opposing team with defense-splitting passes, rifling shots, penalty kicks and pro-style tricks.

Players can also pick between two modes, either electing to play as their favorite team and battle the entire league or trying their luck in a tournament knockout. FIFA Soccer 11 features officially licensed teams and the world’s best players enabling gamers to play with their favorite superstars including Real Madrid’s Kaká and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney.

FIFA Soccer 11 is available today from the App Store for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch.

Toronto-based start-up DrinkBox Studios today announced that their alien-invasion-themed co-op platformer Tales from Space: About a Blob will be released in early 2011 as part of Sony Computer Entertainment America’s “Pub Fund” program.

Developers looking to release a game through the Pub Fund initiative must be prepared to build it to completion and commit to a period of console platform exclusivity. In return, approved developers receive a development-budget-matching royalty guarantee from SCEA. A number of popular PlayStation®Network games, including Burn Zombie Burn by DoubleSix and Joe Danger by Hello Games, have already been released through the program.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M44usucUWpg]

DrinkBox CEO Ryan MacLean had this to say about the initiative: “Pub Fund has been a good fit for us. The royalty guarantee and other Pub Fund terms have allowed us to confidently focus on finishing our game while retaining ownership and artistic control over the project. Working with SCEA has been a great experience in general: The advice they have given us over the course of development has helped us build a better game. We’re excited to be working with them on this project!”

Moncton software developer DOVICO Software has announced DOVICO Planning & Timesheet, a new software product from the makers of the industry leading DOVICO Timesheet. Building upon DOVICO’s Time Tracking foundation and user experiences, this new product answers the need for customers who want quick answers to simple questions such as: ‘Who is available and who is not?’, ‘How long will this project REALLY take to complete?’, ‘How much will this project cost us?’.

“Our goal for DOVICO Planning & Timesheet was a simple and easy project planning tool that satisfies a manager’s need to have a good insight into employees’ current and future availability – while keeping our core time tracking features in place.” said Bob Gorham, Product Manager at DOVICO. “Equally important is the ability to uncover what is keeping everyone occupied and , more significantly, a method to try ‘what if scenarios’ when planning a project and seeing the impact of these before moving ahead.”

DOVICO Planning & Timesheet: It’s easy to try and the first 30 days are free.

Immediate Benefits

* Determine whether you should take on a project or not.
* Ensure that your proposed project plan is accurate and profitable.
* Know which of your employees are being under/over utilized.
* Easy transition from a spreadsheet template such as MS Excel, simply copy and paste!
* Affirm that your best talent is working on your mission critical projects.
* Save time and costs in the planning process with our innovative tool that unites project planning and resource utilization.
* Reduce project overruns with our project forecasting tools so you can fix any issues proactively.
* Shorten billing cycles and get paid sooner.
* Deliver projects on time and on budget.
* Easily shift project priorities with our resource reassignment tools.
* High employee adoption with our intuitive time tracking solution.

I just received information from DFAIT that due to its relationship with San Diego’s high tech industry organization CommNexus, Canadian companies are welcome to apply to participate at MarketLink, which takes place in San Diego this November 17th & 18th. The deadline for interested companies to apply is October 22nd 2010. In conjunction with this invitation to participate, Verizon Wireless is looking for companies who specialize in these areas:

Privacy/identity management
Collaboration tools
Personal health & wellness monitoring
Consumer Cloud-based services (content sharing, gaming, etc.)
Mobile security
Mobile Services and Applications marketing tools
Mobile Application Development enablers (API management, porting, voice APIs, context awareness, mash-ups, etc)
Customer Analytics
In-car mobile experience
Hardware innovation
Voice innovation

Random House of Canada is pleased to announce its move into the mobile screen space with a first-of-its-kind app based on interesting and fun facts from new and bestselling books from Random House of Canada and McClelland & Stewart.

Conversation Starters is a first in the book publishing industry, an insightful collection of fun and interesting facts from new & bestselling books presented in an easy-to-use Did You Know format. Created for both the iPAD and iPhone/iPod touch, this free application has a leading edge mobile user experience and design technology with a personality of its own, engaging users both 1:1 with the app and 1:many when users of the app take what they have learned and share with others to spark conversation.

Conversation Starters allows people to boost their knowledge and keep the conversation flowing, and to share facts and tidbits with friends through email, Facebook and Twitter. Users can also read an expanded selection from each book with just one click, and to keep reading, they can easily connect to online retailers.

“This is just the beginning of our foray into the rapidly growing mobile space” says Lisa Charters, SVP, Director, Digital for Random House of Canada who oversaw development of the app. “We want to reach and engage with readers, providing them content from our books on the go and in an interactive fun way. We set out to build a unique app that people would keep coming back to on a regular basis. Conversation Starters is also another way we can help readers find the next right book for them and to help spread the word of mouth about our authors and their books.”

Deborah Hall, Managing Director at Web2Mobile, who worked with Random House of Canada on the development of the app commented, “Conversation Starters combines the best in breed digital content with a robust and innovative technology platform created by Web2Mobile. Our team is really proud of this project design and immersive digital experience unique for both the iPhone/iPod and IPAD platforms.”

Along with the launch of this app, Random House of Canada has optimized key content areas of the Booklounge.ca site for small mobile screens – the highest trafficked pages on the site such as bestsellers, new releases, and books in the news can now be found here http://m.booklounge.ca.

The iconic Mega Bloks® system, beloved by parents and children around the world, turns 25 and to mark this milestone, MEGA Brands is launching its biggest promotion and giving North American families the chance to win $25,000 towards their children’s future.

“We want to celebrate Mega Bloks®’ 25th birthday by giving back to the families who have helped us become the world leader in preschool construction toys,” said Stephane Boulay, Marketing Director at MEGA Brands. “We are thrilled to provide families with the chance to win $25,000 towards their children’s future, one of 25 Mega Bloks® prize packs valued at $500 each, as well as offering them $5 off their next Mega Bloks® purchase, which is all available in over 700 thousand 80-piece Mega Bloks® bags throughout North America.”

From October 1 to November 30, 2010, North American families can participate in Mega Bloks®’ birthday contest through two possibilities: in-store and online. At all major retailers in North America, participants can simply purchase the award-winning 80-piece Mega Bloks® bag and peel off their in-pack peel off contest card to instantly get the chance to win the grand prize of $25,000 for their children’s future or one of 25 Mega Bloks® prize packs valued at $500. Participants also have another chance to win one of 25 Mega Bloks® prize packs valued each at $500 by going online and registering at www.megabloks.com/25.

The 25th birthday promotion is one of the many marketing initiatives supporting Mega Bloks®’s 25th Birthday. The company is also celebrating this occasion through retail events at Toys “R” Us throughout North America, a Mega Bloks® 25th Birthday feature shop in Toys “R” Us Canada, and a new and exciting Mega Bloks® iPhone and iPad application for preschoolers ages two to five.

For those few of you who have not yet experienced the #1 RPG title, Bioware has just announced Dragon Age: Origins – Ultimate Collection. With an overall value of $114.00, this all-in-one package is retailing for $49.99 USD for the PC version to $59.99 USD for the console versions. It is interesting to note that the Ultimate Collection is not yet listed on Canadian retailers such as GameStop or Amazon, but it is available at their American counterparts, as well as in the EA Store. The Ultimate Collection includes:

Dragon Age™: Origins

Discover the groundbreaking RPG, winner of more than 50 awards including more than 30 ‘Game of the Year’ awards! You are a Grey Warden, one of the last of a legendary order of guardians. With the return of mankind’s ancient foe and the kingdom engulfed in civil war, you have been chosen by fate to unite the shattered lands and slay the archdemon once and for all. Explore a stunning world, make complex moral choices, and engage in bone-crushing visceral combat against massive and terrifying creatures.

Dragon Age™: Origins – Awakening Expansion Pack

The story of the Grey Wardens continues as you are named Commander of the order. As your first duties you have been entrusted with rebuilding the order as well as uncovering the secrets of the darkspawn and how they managed to endure. Fight new enemies, learn new skills and spells, and explore an all-new area of the world, Amaranthine.

All Seven Content Packs

Extend your adventure, collect new rewards, gain new party members, and more as you delve deeper into the Dragon Age™ saga.

* The Stone Prisoner
* Warden’s Keep
* Return to Ostagar
* The Darkspawn Chronicles
* Leliana’s Song
* The Golems of Amgarrak
* Witch Hunt

~ Key Features

* A limited-time offer of the 2009 ‘RPG of the Year’ Dragon Age: Origins, the Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening expansion pack, and all nine additional content packs
* Critically acclaimed winner of more than 50 awards including more than 30 ‘Game of the Year’ awards

Electronic Arts Inc. has introduced a comprehensive insights suite which provides marketers with actionable consumer data based on their activity in and around EA games. A first of its kind, EA’s insights suite is a cross-platform tool which pulls together campaign performance, brand impact, social buzz, and where available, ROI, across all platforms on the EA network – mobile, social, online and console. Over time, advertisers will be able to benchmark their performance against their competitive set.

“One of the biggest challenges for marketers is comprehensively evaluating and learning from their investments across disparate audiences, platforms and content,” said Elizabeth Harz, Senior Vice President of EA’s Global Media Sales team. “Our insights suite is the solution. For the first time, our partners will have actionable insights as a result of their marketing communications to key audiences across all of our content and all of platforms. I can’t wait to get this into our partners’ hands.”

The rich feature set offers many benefits for advertisers, such as:

* Overview of key campaign performance indicators such as impressions, clicks, unduplicated reach, demographic profiles, and social media buzz
* Segmented audience insights based on cross-platform demographic, psychographic and social data
* Ability to drill down into the factors that impact campaign effectiveness including audience engagement, audience profiles, type of creative, measured over time
* Assessment of the social media sentiment and change in the brand conversation the campaign generates Read the rest of this entry »

The Government of Canada has launched a program to help kickstart Canadian businesses by testing their innovative products and services within the Government of Canada before taking them to the marketplace. To make the announcement, the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, was joined by Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for the Greater Toronto Area, and the Honourable Rob Moore, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism.

“There is no question that in Canada we have enormous talent and potential when it comes to innovation,” said Minister Ambrose. “With this new program, our Government will be giving our talent a kickstart in getting their innovative products and services off the ground.”

This program is a new $40 million program announced under Budget 2010 to encourage federal departments and agencies to test innovative products and services in four areas: environment, health, safety and security, and enabling technologies.

“We listened to businesses across the country in developing Canada’s Economic Action Plan, and an important concern was how they could get their product to market in today’s economy,” said Minister Flaherty. “By testing their products and services within government, we are investing in job creation and in the future of Canadian companies that have innovative ideas.”

“Today’s new initiatives are among the important measures introduced by our Government to ensure Canadian small and medium-sized businesses can grow and prosper,” said Minister Moore. “We are proud to encourage Canada’s tremendous entrepreneurial spirit through this new program.”

“The government is recognizing that the gap between innovators’ ideas and the marketplace is simply someone willing to bet on them, willing to take a chance on their product and then willing to give them feedback so that they can grow their business,” said W. Brett Wilson of the Dragon’s Den. “This program is about giving entrepreneurs a chance, and I’m looking forward to watching as it performs over time.”

More information about the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program and Buy-Sell can be viewed online at their respective web sites.

The Canadian Embassy and DFAIT have extended an invitation to developers to a
Canadian Partnering Program at ModSim World 2010. The conference will be held October 12th – 15th at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virgina.

The program starts off on Tuesday, Oct 12, at 3:00 pm with an Information Session and Tutorial at Innovation Research Park at Old Dominion University, including a chance to practice your pitch with local companies, and will feature a site visit to see the school’s latest medical modeling and simulation technology.

The program will focus on finding partners for our Canadian participants. The Canadian Embassy will have a meeting room at the Convention Centre for one-on-one meetings, and will help set up meetings in advance for all participants, so get your company profiles in as soon as possible.

Wednesday will include a site visit to NASA’s Langley Research Centre, and all Canadian participants will receive a complimentary pass to the ModSim World VIP reception.

Thursday will feature the Canadian Happy Hour. This invite-only event will allow you to meet with invitees chosen to suit the Canadian attendees, as well as giving each participant the chance to invite conference attendees that they meet during ModSim.

Companies are encouraged to indicate their interest, and provide a company profile as soon as possible. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity! There is no fee for Canadian participants (ModSim World registration not included). If you are interested in participating and would like more information, please contact Daniel Zaharychuk or send your company profile to Assistant Trade Commissioner Stephane Eyer.

Open Text Corporation’s Open Text Records Management, a fully integrated component of the Open Text ECM Suite, has received the highest possible rating of “Strong Positive” in Gartner’s new report entitled “MarketScope for Enterprise Records Management” (by Kenneth Chin for Garnter, August 23, 2010)

Gartner’s MarketScope provides specific guidance for users who are deploying, or have deployed, products or services. A vendor with a “Strong Positive” rating is viewed by Gartner as a provider of strategic products, services or solutions, meaning that current customers should continue with investments while potential customers should consider the vendor a strong choice for strategic investments.

Open Text Records Management helps organizations safeguard against the liability, risk and cost of content and provides a way to verify the integrity of business practices. By ensuring that business policies and legal requirements govern the retention and disposition of content, Open Text Records Management helps organizations comply with worldwide regulations, standards, and certifications, such as U.S. DoD 5015.2, U.S. FDA 21 CFR Part 11, U.S. SEC Rule 17a, Europe’s MoReq, and Australia’s VERS. Open Text Records Management is a service provided to all applications of the Open Text ECM Suite and uses the core enterprise archiving capabilities of the suite.
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