Village Gamer

We had a great time yesterday afternoon over at United Front Games with PlayStation Canada’s Matt Levitan.  We were able to get a more in-depth view of ModNation Racers, and our venerable CaveChild got some hands-on time with the upcoming title. He had plenty of fun roaring around the track and seeing many of the little details that UFG included in the game to make it even more fun and entertaining than it seems at first glance. While we don’t yet own a PS3, Mike said that ModNation Racers is a game he could see himself playing with his sister, which I think was a big part of UFG’s goal in developing the kart title – attracting core gamers and casual gamers in fun family play.  Congratulations again to the entire dev team at United Front Games on their big win last night for Most Promising Game at the Canadian Videogame Awards.

We’re looking forward to a great day at GDC Canada in Vancouver – so many sessions to take in and people to meet! Be sure to stop by the Women In Games Vancouver booth and say hi – that’s where we’ll be when not in a session, talking to people or checking out the cool sights on the expo floor.

Just a final reminder that Video Games Live will be performing tonight in Vancouver, BC at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at 7:30pm.

Aside from updated favorites like Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Warcraft & Halo, they will be playing a lot of new music that hasn’t been played before in Vancouver such as Shadow of the Colossus, Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed II, MegaMan, Bioshock & Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and much more – except for some music suites, which were showcased at last night’s Canadian Videogame Awards, that is – Mass Effect and Assassin’s Creed II are fantastic additions to the show. If you’ve never seen a Video Games Live performance before, you will not be disappointed.

Due to VGL’s generous sponsors, 3 new sections of seating have just opened back up this morning and they are some of the best seats in the house!  So if you were thinking about catching the performance tonight, now is a great time to get tickets!

Make sure to go early for the pre-show festival presented by Future Shop, which will include the latest game demos, prize give-a-ways, a costume contest and Guitar Hero: Van Halen competition (with the winner to perform with the orchestra on stage!).  You are also invited to stick around after the show for a composer meet & greet.

Attendees at next week’s sold-out Canada 3.0 2010 digital media forum will be living proof of the benefits of going digital when they tap into the power of Open Text Corporation’s latest mobile and social workplace solutions using their BlackBerry and iPhone devices. As a key sponsor and supporter of the forum, Open Text is providing the software capability and content so that forum attendees can network, communicate and have access to a full suite of information available regarding the forum including schedules, breakout room locations, speaker data and more. Open Text is the preeminent provider of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software and Canada’s largest software company.

“We announced our Open Text Everywhere mobile platform this spring and we’re pleased to have an opportunity to support a leading digital event with our solutions,” said Eugene Roman, Chief Technology Officer at Open Text. “It gives us the opportunity to showcase the power of mobile applications as a great way to deliver rich content to users in real-time.”

Roman said that smartphones have the potential to take over the role of laptops as technology enables more and more sophisticated capabilities for BlackBerrys, iPhones and other devices.

“They offer an entirely new platform to extend the productivity of workers and change the way people collaborate,” said Roman. “Seeing this empower people at a digital media forum really ‘walks the talk’ of a digital nation.”

Tom Jenkins, Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer at Open Text, chairs the Advisory Board of the Canadian Digital Media Network which is the organizer of Canada 3.0 2010 with the support of the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus. Jenkins is a fervent supporter of the Canadian digital media sector and will be leading a forum breakout stream on ‘Imagining’ what Canada’s role in digital media is and should be – and how to get there.

“We want all Canadians to have anytime, anywhere connectivity and equal access to content, and our mobile and social media application showcased at Canada 3.0 is a great example of why that’s important,” said Jenkins. “This is going to help to enhance how people collaborate and will have a positive impact on overall productivity.”

The Open Text Social Workplace and Open Text Everywhere applications enable collaboration between attendees and access to the full suite of forum information. Attendees will be able to use those applications and many more leading-edge Enterprise Content Management solutions at Open Text’s display in the Digital Showcase area where more than 50 companies will have exhibits at Canada 3.0 2010.

“This is a great way for attendees to stay connected during the forum and demonstrates how companies can share content in a secure social workplace context,” said Kevin Tuer, Managing Director of the CDMN. “Digital is the way of the future and this is a prime example of what’s driving the digital revolution.” The Canada 3.0 forum is staged in Stratford’s Rotary Complex where digital connectivity has been improved through the efforts of the City of Stratford and its wireless and cellular providers. An innovation at this year’s forum is an Internet café also intended to help attendees connect.

While the conference is officially sold-out, there are still spaces available for the local general public. If you live in the Waterloo-Stratford region, be sure to register early for your free ticket to avoid disappointment.

Security begins with a plan. Yet when that means planning where hundreds of new surveillance cameras should optimally go, creating that plan is not a simple job. With the just-launched Omnipresence 3D Version 2.3, security directors and consultants can now use the intuitive interface of the 3D Planning Tool to design a new surveillance camera layout in minutes, instantly seeing the benefits and drawbacks of numerous configurations.

“With Omnipresence 3D, we’ve always had one goal: find simple approaches to complex security challenges,” said Christian Laforte, President of Feeling Software. “With tools for planning, live monitoring, and investigation all built on a common underlying 3D technology, Omnipresence aids security directors through complex challenges over many years, as they build, use, and upgrade their security system.”

By focusing on the full security life cycle, from planning to live security monitoring, to incident investigation and future upgrades, Feeling Software leverages its paradigm-shifting 3D technology to create solutions for the long-term demands of high-security facilities.

What’s new in Omnipresence 3D Version 2.3?

* 3D Planning Tool
* Ability to conduct complex “big-picture” investigations in minutes
* Reverse suspect tracking
* 360 degree panoramic lens support (ImmerVision Panomorph) & advanced functions