Village Gamer

Edmonton dev studio Fluik Entertainment and Big Fat Simulations, a BC studio located not far from the Village Gamer cave in the Fraser Valley, have released a new free to play title in the iTunes App Store.  The ad-supported Office Jerk is available now for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, and if you prefer to torment co-workers ad-free, you can purchase the Remove Ads Pack for $0.99 USD.

For anyone fed up with people at their work place – and we’ve all been there – The Office Jerk is the harmless, feel-good game of the year for anyone tired of dealing with brown-nosing, know-it-all coworkers. From the comfort of your cubicle, unleash a barrage of comical destruction upon your unsuspecting victim – from office supplies like paper and pencils to hilariously dangerous staplers and dynamite. You can also purchase the ACME Pack ($1.99), which will add to your arsenal and up the damage you can inflict on your annoying office mate. The ACME pack includes pies, eggs and incendiary devices, while the $0.99 Ad Unlock will provide you with the stapler and coffee mug. The free version includes a wad of paper, a pencil and an eraser.

Of course, just tossing stuff at The Office Jerk isn’t always as easy as flinging the nearest stapler. The office fan adds to the challenge of nailing your target by intermittently causing a draft that can influence the flight path of your weaponry.

The Office Jerk is rated 9+ for Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, requires iOS 3.1 or later.

Decapod Studios has announced that its incredibly addictive puzzle game Murphid will be launching on Windows Phone 7 early next week for $0.99. I can vouch for the addictive quotient, as I have played…and played…and played Murphid on the Xbox 360 – you can read my review of the game here.

Just as in the Xbox 360 version of Murphid, players must use their puzzle solving skills and fast reaction to withstand attack waves of gorgeous marble hordes and bring those beasts under control in this Collapse-Match 3 styled game. Deep, yet simple core game mechanics coupled with astonishing graphics, immersive sound effects and adaptive gameplay result in intense climatic moments that modern gamers are craving. Murphid’s underlying FunQuantization™ technology has been optimized to run flawlessly on Windows Phone 7.

Time-tested, solid fun features include:

* Engaging Campaign spawning more that 70 levels of marble blasting madness.
* Three game modes for players to choose from to suit their playing style.
* More than 10 powerups to help players redefine the game field and wreak havoc in a blink of an eye.
* 8 exclusive Awards to boost the replay value further by throwing extra challenges at the player.
* Pre-filled Leaderboard to give the game nostalgic, old-school touch.
* Awe-inspiring HD visuals with full widescreen support.
* Charming sound effects to create the ambience.
*Adaptive gameplay technology for challenging and fun gaming experience for players of all ages.

Starmine, the debut title for Vancouver’s Zyx Entertainment is now available in the iTunes App Store for $1.99 USD. This colourful match 3-styled puzzle game currently features 120 levels, 3 game modes, multi-touch controls,and Retina Display support as well as  Game Centre Leaderboards & Achievements to unlock. Starmine can be played for a few seconds, a few minutes or as long as you can survive, and you can  join the Facebook community for game updates, tips and tricks.

Every puzzle has multiple solutions, and with no move restrictions, players can solve each puzzle in any way that works for them. Puzzle game veterans will appreciate the fast-paced puzzle action. Special blocks keep the game fresh while the deep scoring system, achievements and leaderboards will push you to your limits and keep you coming back for more.

System requirements:

iPhone 3G+
iPod G3+
iOS 3.2+ (4.1+ for Game Center)

Bunny the Zombie Slayer, the first iOS title from Hothead Games is now available on the App Store for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch for 99 cents USD.

In the game, players control a heroic but slightly unstable bunny who must protect children from relentless waves of Zombie Hordes. These once-deceased characters (nurses, businessmen, cheerleaders, chefs and more) will stop at nothing to reach the innocent children and spoil their fun. In response, Bunny unleashes his projectile weapons of fury to dismember and decapitate the undead, aiming at their heads for a clean knock out!

“At Hothead, we strive to produce the most innovative, fun games possible with a unique twist and I’m happy to say Bunny the Zombie Slayer follows that mold”, said Hothead Producer Joel DeYoung. “Like most heroes, we felt that this Bunny had attitude and a fearless streak and we are happy to give gamers of all ages a fun way to interact with a very brave rabbit.”

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

Bunny the Zombie Slayer is rated 9+ for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The game requires iOS 3.1.3 or later

Meetup: Vancouver Social Game Devs at Calabash this April 28th from 6 – 9pm. Sign up on the Meetup page.
Edmonton Game Pub: April 27th in the Bioware Theatre from 6 – 9pm. Sign up on the event page or on Facebook.
Speaker Session: Wired Woman Presents A Blueprint for Implementing a Successful Mentorship Program, 6pm at the Vancouver YWCA Royal Bank Room on April 27th.
Deadline: IGDA Scholarship Applications for E3 – get them in by April 29th.
Attention Canadian Students: If you would like to take part in the Impact Apprentice 2011 challenge, now is the time to start your plan of attack. Submissions open on May 11th.

Coming Soon: VI Technologies has announced that the company will be releasing VI Racing 964 3.3 Turbo: AI First Drive on April 30th.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT3EuqtmX5Q]

Digital Leisure Inc. has launched Word Searcher Deluxe exclusively on WiiWare for 500 Nintendo Points. In this follow up to last years ‘Word Searcher’, gamers will need a sharp eye and a quick mind to complete these 100 themed word search puzzles. Word Searcher Deluxe contains fun words from multiple categories including palindromes, pirates and painting. Packed with a huge assortment of subjects to choose from, there’s sure to be a puzzle anyone will enjoy.

Word Searcher Deluxe will help improve your vocabulary, memory and problem-solving skills with its addictive puzzles. Keep track of your progress and try to beat your own play through times again and again as words are scrambled every time you play. Get your thinking cap on and conquer all 100 today, or take on the whole family and your friends with the full cooperative and competitive multi-player modes. You will also be able to download and enjoy additional puzzles via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play

Toronto’s Mobile Game Studio will be releasing Web Swinger, the studio’s newest arcade game  in just a few weeks’ time. This new fun packed game will put you in the role of a tiny creature who despite his size, is determined to rule world, reaching incredible heights while defeating enemies in a life and death battle for barn supremacy. Arcade-styled Web Swinger will take you into the world of insects, casting you as a spider and pitting you against numerous insect enemies as you battle against time in your quest to the bottom of the barn.

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

Click on the down or up arrow to move the spider down or up the web and drag your finger on the screen to swing the spider. Web Swinger features 20 different levels of unbelievable fun, but it is up to you to make your mark and defeat your enemies. You will lose the game if your spider loses all of its lives or is crushed by time.  Stay tuned for the official release of Web Swinger in the Apple Store.

Parksville’s Pixton has been selected as an Official Honoree in the Youth category of the 15th Annual Webby Awards, one of the Internet’s most respected symbol of success.  This year’s Webby Awards received 10,000 entries from 60 countries and 50 U.S. states. The Official Honoree distinction is awarded to the top 10 percent of all work entered. Fellow Honorees in the Youth category include such powerhouses as Disney, Lego, Teen.com, and Nickelodeon.

“We’re incredibly honored that Pixton has been selected. It reinforces Pixton as one of the best websites for youth, and that wouldn’t be possible without our active, vibrant community”, says Clive Goodinson, Creator and Founder of Pixton Comics.

Pixton pushes the limits of creativity on the web by giving anyone the power to create comics, full of original characters with life-like expression and movement. Every element of a comic is controlled with an intuitive click-and-drag motion. Comics can be shared in print as well as across the social web, in browsers, mobile devices, tablets, and interactive whiteboards.

“Kids today want not only to get inside their favorite characters’ worlds, they want to actively shape those worlds, in an online social environment,” says Clive, “Pixton is that place. Kids can carve out their own niche while being part of a shared world of digital stories and comic conversations.”

Already available in 9 languages, the website is continually growing as Pixton expands its reach to homes, schools, and businesses around the world.

Vancouver based interactive digital agency Appnovation Technologies has become an official systems integration partner with San Francisco based Strobe Inc., a company founded by SproutCore creator Charles Jolley, enables the delivery of cross platform mobile solutions using HTML5 and SproutCore technologies.

Appnovation’s expertise lies in designing, building and deploying content rich web and mobile applications using open source technology platforms such as Drupal and Alfresco. By adding SproutCore and Strobe technologies to their services arsenal, Appnovation will now be able to blend the robust content and document management capabilities of Alfresco and Drupal with ability to deploy applications across multiple mobile platforms. Appnovation is already working with Strobe to bring the value of this partnership to market and continue to drive open source solutions for its customers.

Vircom, an award-winning e-mail messaging security software company in Montreal has released directQuarantine™, an Outlook add-on module for its modusGate™ email security software that provides end-user control of quarantine emails directly from Outlook. Vircom’s directQuarantine software is compatible with modusGate 4.7 or 5.0, runs on Windows platforms (2003/2008/2008R2 for the server and XP/Vista/7 for the client) and is available to order today.

directQuarantine provides a Spam folder in Outlook that allows end-users to search for quarantined emails in real-time using the Outlook search toolbar or the blazingly fast native Windows search – no more waiting for nightly quarantine reports, logging in to a Web portal, or depending upon IT to check for and release blocked emails. The directQuarantine folder contains all emails caught and filtered by modusGate and any false positives can be quickly and easily released directly from the Outlook toolbar. Any attachments, viruses, phishing links and all other electronic threats remain safely on the modusGate server and are not downloaded to Outlook, ensuring the highest level of security.

Toronto’s AVIX Technologies, Inc. has announced that its its proposed wholly owned subsidiary, Florida-based Actus Interactive Software, LLC has developed a suite of cutting edge graphical multi-touch capable interactive kiosk and active digital signage products that are intended for broad market and vertical appeal.

Divided between active digital signage and interactive kiosks, these solutions feature self service content management in an easy to use, dynamic way, deploying to countless end point devices in a real time or scheduled manner. ACTUS’ kiosk and digital signage owners can also dynamically brand or “skin” end point devices uniquely or in groups.

Cornelia Volino, President of AVIX stated that, “As the Company moves closer to completing the acquisition of ACTUS, our focus is shifting towards integrating vertical and horizontal industry segments and those that will be capable of supporting the development efforts of ACTUS, which include multi-touch capability and gesture based technologies built on the NUI.”

This suite of kiosk and interactive digital signage products has the potential to significantly affect competition in the kiosk and interactive digital signage spaces across multiple vertical industries. ACTUS kiosk solutions are multi-touch (and eventually gesture) capable based on the latest advances in Natural User Interface (NUI) providing for high levels of usability beyond what is normally seen in today’s web based kiosk software. ACTUS kiosk and digital signage solutions deploy to multiple form factors on multiple platforms including large HD screens, computers, slates, and mobile devices and all leverage a common web & cloud capable back end architecture.

Montreal indie studio Exequor has released a free, ad-supported beta of its debut game Heroes of Zulula on Android Market. Heroes of Zulula is a strategy RPG game which sees the vile Akolan declare himself as overlord of Zulula, and his first order of business is to ban the traditional tournaments of Zulula forever. Ex-champions Grunty the Cyclop, Ledouche the Knight and Oulette the Slime join forces along with other combatants to defeat Akolan and bring the tournaments back to Zulula.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KI1UWvrzvQ]

As you take on Akolan, you will move your armies around 10 battlefield areas in turn-based strategic play, establishing a battle plan and positioning your forces for action in real-time simulated combat. With over 30 items with which to equip your characters and improve their stats and powers, your ex-champions will soon become heroes.

Heroes of Zulula also features:

* Deep, emotionally charged storyline of brotherly love, redemption and more
* Returning champions include the Cyclop, Human Knight, Slime, Eye, Dog, Land Octopus, Stone Golem, Human Mage and Snakeman
* Among the minions of Akolan are the Dark Knight, Warlock, Slime, Mud Golem and Scorpak
* Face Yvan Shar Ooze, the horrific protoplasmic horror in his labyrinthine sewers
* Unlockable Feint achievements

You can keep up with the latest Heroes of Zulula news and provide game feedback on the official Facebook page.

Here are some recent and new releases from a few of our fine Canadian studios:

SkyModo has released free and paid versions of Dog Pile on the iTunes App Store and Android Market. The free version gives a bonus of 50 dog bones for the customization of your dog pack and comes with the Easter Pack that is also available in the full 99 cent version. The paid version of Dog Pile starts gamers off with a 250 dog bone bonus. Players can spend the dog bones in the store, purchasing items with which to dress up your Dog. I have not yet played this game, but it appears to use a combination of tilt physics, pachinko-styled levels and power-ups to match your Dog to the ones in the pile – in a match 3+ kind of way. Dog Pile is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. I have downloaded the free version of Dog Pile, but it will not load on my 2nd gen iPod touch, so I’ll have to get Scott to try it on his iPhone.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QPcqgWAmKM]

Chicken Balls (99 cents USD) by Endloop Systems has taken to the skies. You play as Crash, the bravest chicken this side of New Mexico. It’s the summer of 1947, you’ve just come back from the war and had hoped to hang up your flight cap for good. When a UFO crash lands just outside the nearby town of Roswell you knew you’d have to take to the skies – one more time. At launch, Chicken Balls features 50 levels of physics puzzles, with more levels in coming updates. The game makes use of an innovative mix of slingshot physics destruction and pachinko/breakout styled play, with the Farmaggedon power-up achieved by collecting all of the eggs on each level. Crash can also harness the power of alien technology to make himself bigger, faster and stronger. Chicken Balls is OpenFeint and GameCentre enabled. Future updates will offer more levels, more power-ups and more unlockable animals. Chicken Balls is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.1 or later.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xSDwg4AL34]

Loud Crow Interactive has a new children’s book out on the market. The studio has released its second Sandra Boynton book, Moo Baa La La La to the iTunes Store. This interactive version of Ms. Boynton’s best selling book “will intrigue and amuse little kids and big people alike, and perhaps even elicit an appreciative snort from the occasional uninvited rhinoceros.”

Moo Baa La La La is narrated by Keith Boynton and includes Country Air, an original instrumental soundtrack composed by Michael Ford. Each of the illustrations, which have been redrawn and recoloured by Ms. Boynton allows young readers to interact with the animals through touch and sound. This young reader app also features “The Big Guy Reads It” with word highlighting to help improve reading skills or the “I want to read it myself” mode which allows children to hear individual words pronounced with the tap of a finger. Moo Baa La La La is $1.99 USD for the iPhone or iPod Touch version while the iPad version is $2.99 USD. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c8KA1uZ9F8]

The debut title from Silicon Sisters Interactive, School 26, is available now for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. School 26 takes a less-trodden path in game play and is aimed at the female tween market, although some older gamers may find this title engaging as well. I do have a copy of the game and will be sharing my thoughts on this new title with you over the weekend.

School 26 follows the efforts of a female student named Kate, who, due to having nomadic parents, is now in her 26th school. Her parents have struck a deal with her, and if she can forge new and lasting friendships with people at the school, they won’t move. School 26 makes use of conversation, mini-games, puzzles and choosing the correct most appropriate emotional responses in advancing players through the game.

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

The iPad version is $4.99 USD while the iPhone version is $2.99 USD. School 26 requires iOS 3.1.3 or later and does have a content warning with a 12+ age rating for:

• Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes
• Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content or Nudity
• Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References

Gamerizon’s newest title is Chop Chop Rocket, a 99 cent (USD) game that features the adventures of lost space explorer Alexis Rocket. This fast-paced one finger tilt and play game features 18 achievements to unlock with GameCentre and OpenFeint leaderboards on which to compete for space supremacy. Chop Chop Rocket is rated 9+ for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. This colourful, cartoon-styled game is the 8th title in Gamerizon’s Chop Chop franchise and requires some pretty fast reflexes to use the power-ups, change your speed and navigate through space to make it through the game.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kln1bCYHhzg]

Flirting entered the 21st century today with the launch of Winnipeg-based Tipping Canoe’s new mobile application, Flurt. With location-based applications surging in popularity and many people viewing their digital presence as an extension of themselves, Flurt helps avoid the awkwardness of a traditional pickup line by sending an anonymous flirt instead.

“Flurt is the digital version of passing notes during class or approaching someone at a bar,” said co-developer Varun Mehra, a 25-year-old computer science graduate from the University of Manitoba. “Flirting is an instinctual behaviour of verbal and physical cues, and this mobile app provides a new dimension to the art of flirtation.”

With 2011 being billed as the year smartphones become mainstream, the International Data Corporation reports that the global smartphone market is expected to grow four times faster than the overall mobile phone market as customers switch from basic cell phones to devices that can download apps and connect to the Internet. According to IDC Canada, more than 50 per cent of smartphones in Canadians’ hands are Android phones or iPhones.

Once Android and iPhone users download the Flurt app, they can send anonymous flurts to anyone in their current location and see all flurts sent by others within 150 metres. As Flurt is a public application, anyone can be flirted with whether they have the app or not. However, to view or respond to a flurt, the mobile app needs to be installed.

“Flirting is universal and we’ve all been in situations where we wanted to compliment or flirt with someone, but have been shy,” said Jeff Friesen, 23, Flurt app developer. “For us, it was a logical leap to create a way for people to make that first introduction more easily and reduce the risk of something we all cringe at – embarrassment or rejection.”

Kelowna-based iRok2 Media Inc. has announced the Playbook App release of its iRok2 Online social music game. iRok2 for BlackBerry PlayBook, a free app available on BlackBerry App World, provides users with a new rhythm music game customized and synchronized to a YouTube music video every day.  As well, it serves as a gateway to the infinite choice of iRok2 Online – essentially all the world’s music, more than 16 million tracks.  The game is quickly gathering user acceptance, already logging over a quarter million play sessions with users from North America, Asia and Europe.  iRok2 is accessible from anywhere – home, office or remote connection and can be played through a computer keyboard or by plugging a Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitar into your computer. Online play is free as well.

iRok2 CEO, Dr. Robert Arn, commented on the PlayBook introduction, “The unique rapid development capabilitities, high performance video streaming and support of Adobe Flash on the PlayBook platform have allowed us to create a Playbook App from elements of our online game – even before PlayBook hardware was available and our iRok2 Online game was still in Beta testing.”  Dr. Arn added, “Such speed and flexibility allow us to experiment with building synergy between pad, mobile and computer game versions in a totally new way.”

iRok2 is based on new, patent-pending technology that automates the production of custom music games.  iRok2 servers analyze music videos as they stream from YouTube and create a unique custom game for each video.  If a user wants to play with a video that is not already in the catalog, it takes only a single click to request a new custom game which will appear in the catalog, available for everyone.  Users have already built up the iRok2 catalog to over ten thousand custom games and there is no barrier to it growing to match the scale of the tens of millions of available YouTube music videos – including the new ones that appear every day.  In play, the video streams to the player directly from YouTube and the custom game synchronizes to the video without storing or modifying the video or music in any way – in effect, an internet air guitar.

As well, iRok2 breaks down the barriers between players. iRok2 is a social game that allows players to connect to others of similar tastes around the world.  Players can issue direct challenges to other players or join in real-time multi-user tournaments.  A unique in-game scoring monitor allows players to directly see how their performance compares to others second-by-second, not just in final scores.

Talent Lab: Applications are open for the TIFF Talent Lab. Deadline is June 8th.
Nominate: Gemini Awards now accepting Digital Media nominations. Deadline is May 24th.
Apply: Mesh Prize is now open for submissions.
Register: BCIC New Ventures 2011 Competition applications open until April 18th.
Register: Search Engine Strategies Toronto is open for registration.
Survey: Vancouver’s Network Hub is looking for your input on a second location.
Open Today: Disney Store locations at Metrotown in Burnaby and Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga
Hiring: Hothead Games in Vancouver is looking for programmers

Smiles Zen and Smiles Drop, two mobile games by Sykhronics Entertainment have made their debut in the Ovi Store as a dual game pack for $2.99.  The games are also available on iTunes as a pack for $4.99 or you can buy them separately for $2.99 each. There is also a lite version of the two pack on iTunes that lets you experience both games. The Android pack is also priced at $2.99 for the dual game pack. Smiles works on both phones and tablets for iOS and Android.

Smiles Drop is an unconventional action puzzle game of the “match 3+” genre, but unlike other games, you don’t have to wait for the tiles to stop moving before you make your next move. You can also play at your own pace, making matches and using power-ups to work your way through the levels. Also unlike conventional match 3 games, you don’t slide the tiles to make your matches, you use the single tile at the bottom right of the screen, so placement of the tile becomes very strategic as you want to match as many at one time as you can while setting off more matches in succession.

Smile Drop’s companion game Smiles Zen is a relaxing game of strategy that borrowing heavily from the Solitaire and Sudoku style of game play. Instead of clearing the board of pieces, you need to make enough matches to light up the full board.

Smiles features 14 game modes, including Avalanche, where the ice constantly pours out, Hard Mode where the ice is harder to break, Long Play, where multiple matches and combos are easier, and Six, where you can lose in as few as two moves. The games also offer three different themes – blocks, vegetables and weather, along with 140 achievements. You can also keep track of your high scores and game statistics.

Vancouver middleware developer VI Technologies has released a beta version of their SDK, which is currently free. VI Technologies has two game development products based on AI and Animation available. The company plans to release programming tutorials on a regular basis, and its first tutorial is a soldier squad evolving on difficult terrain, which is part of this first SDK release. The next tutorial will be about racing.

Canada Post announced today the addition of a BlackBerry version of its Mobile Apps suite, which broadens its family of mobile applications and provides consumers and small businesses with new ways to access to its Track a Package and Find a Post Office tools.

The new application is available as a free download from BlackBerry App World and follows the release of the app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch a few months ago. These tools provide customers with the ability to track their packages and find nearby post offices, either by typing in an address or by using their device’s GPS feature.

“More and more, our customers are interacting with us on-the-go using their mobile devices,” says Louis O’Brien, Senior vice-president and Chief customer officer at Canada Post. “With this new BlackBerry application we are becoming as mobile as our customers. This is a great example of how we are embracing new technology to become a truly modern post.”

Canada Post is expected to release an Android version of the application this spring, and will also be adding a Find a Postal Code tool to its mobile applications on all three platforms within the next two months.