Village Gamer

Toronto – The $250 million dollar Ontario Emergent Technologies Fund is now officially open for business, ready to co-invest – along with qualified venture capital funds and other private investors – directly into companies in high-growth sectors that are aligned with Ontario’s Innovation Agenda:

• Clean technology
• Life sciences and advanced health technology
• Digital media and information and communications technology.

The fund is designed to help innovative technology companies find the capital they need to grow in Ontario. It was announced by the province in March, 2009, in response to the current economic conditions and the reduction in investment capital available to emerging and high-growth companies.

Guidelines for investment are now available on the Ontario Capital Growth website.

“The Emerging Technologies Fund is one more step the Ontario government is taking to help ensure that innovative people and companies have access to the capital they need to continue growing their business and creating jobs in Ontario,” said Minister of Research and Innovation, John Milloy

QUICK FACTS

• Ontario’s Emerging Technologies Fund will address a lack of venture capital activity by co-investing with qualified investors directly into high-growth technology companies.
• Eligible companies must have a significant corporate footprint in Ontario.
• This initiative complements the $205-million (£112 million) Ontario Venture Capital Fund, a partnership between Ontario and leading corporate and institutional investors that is investing in venture capital and growth equity funds that support innovative, high-growth companies.

I am so pre-ordering this package!

Montreal – Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed® II Limited Edition: Master Assassin’s Edition will be on store shelves this November 17th. The Master’s Edition for PS3 and Xbox 360 has an MSRP of $89.99 and will include the following in a premium collectible tin:

*Ezio collectable statue (8.5 inches tall)
*Exclusive in-game map: Santa Maria Dei Frari – Limited Edition Exclusive
*Exclusive in-game map for Gamestop Pre-orders: Plazzo Medici
*The Art of Assassin’s Creed II hard-covered art book

Additional Bonus Disc which includes:

*Behind the scenes of Assassin’s Creed II
*Assassin’s Creed II soundtrack

…along with much more.

Don’t forget to give the Government your input on the Copyright Consultation process. The eConsultation web site has transcripts from the past Town Hall meetings held across the country, as well as areas for direct participation such as the site’s forum and the online submission centre which both give you an opportunity to respond to a few specific questions on copyright. You can also submit your own paper or report to on the site so that other people can view your work. Both the Copyright eConsultation process and the ongoing CRTC hearings have a direct impact on the digital media industry, so it’s important to get involved and have your say. The Education Medias web site also has important information for educators in regards to the new copyright process.

How many of you have been holding out for the new Palm Pre instead of snapping up the iPhone 3Gs? The new Palm Pre is now available for pre-order exclusively through Bell Canada in anticipation of its August 27 shelf date. The Palm Pre is comparable in price to the new iPhone – $199.95 with a three year contract or $599.95 without a contract, with a minimum 500 MB data plan. Bell smartphone clients can choose from a wide variety of voice and data plans, including Smartphone Combos that offer unlimited Internet browsing, personal email, text messaging and Windows Live Messenger.

Toronto’s digital distribution company YANGAROO Inc. has announced that, subject to regulatory approval, American media services company Horizon Media Inc. will acquire warrants to purchase 750,000 YANGAROO common shares. The warrants will become exercisable after various phases of a digital media workflow solution are successfully completed. These warrants will have an exercise price as permitted by the TSX Venture Exchange policies at the time of issuance and an expiry date of five years from the date of issuance.

Meanwhile, Science Daily has reported that researchers in the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering are developing programming tools to enable engineers in the defense industry to utilize the processing power of GPUs without having to learn the complicated programming language required to use them directly. These tools are designed to take advantage of videogame computer and console GPUs.

“As radar systems and other sensor systems get more complicated, the computational requirements are becoming a bottleneck,” said GTRI senior research engineer Daniel Campbell. “We are capitalizing on the ability of GPUs to process radar, infrared sensor and video data faster than a typical computer and at a much lower cost and power than a computing cluster.”

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Toronto – The Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA) has developed BTSidekick, a free BlackBerry application designed to help business travelers find the things they need while on the move, including hotels, restaurants, banks, gas stations and coffee shops.

Since its release on July 16, BTSidekick has become one of the most downloaded applications from BlackBerry App World™ and remains as one of its top 25 downloads. “Convenience is key when you are on the road and need to find a hotel or other businesses quickly and easily,” says CPSA president and CEO Harvey Copeman. “BTSidekick determines where you are, what’s nearby, and how to get it – all in one easy-to-use application.”

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Thank you to my friends, readers and colleagues for the many notes of condolence and support after the passing of my Grandmother, they are all greatly appreciated – as is your patience while I try to get back up to speed on thought processes and writing. Thanks to Scott’s place of employ, we were able to enjoy a nice distraction Friday evening with box seats at the Opening Ceremonies for the 2009 World Police and Fire Games at GM Place. The Opening Ceremonies were extremely well done and very entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the drumming and cultural dancers at the official start of the ceremony. All of the athletic events which are taking place around the Lower Mainland are free to attend, great family events, and if you get the chance I highly recommend them. The schedule of events can be found on the official web site.

For those who haven’t had enough of the recently-ended Toronto garbage strike and the mess in the city’s parks, check out Q-kmbr’s free browser game, Trash Wars. Game play involves keeping the rats from taking over a garbage dump by shooting them. You have unlimited ammo and three available upgrades for your gun.

Fuel Games has released their latest mobile game for the iPhone and iTouch. Lifeboat’s gameplay has players frantically fighting to save passengers as they topple overboard from a rapidly sinking ship. It’s the player’s task to tilt them into the available lifeboats and try to save as many as possible. If passengers fall in the ocean, players will need to tap them to bring them back onto the boat before they drown, or worse, become shark bait.

Saving passengers will net players cash, which can be used to upgrade the experience for quicker controls, sturdier ballasts, and swimming lessons for the passengers. The game also makes use of OS 3.0’s customizable music feature, allowing players to play god to rhythms of their choosing.

Featuring both accelerometer and touch-driven casual gameplay, along with humorous original voice acting and incredible 3D visuals, Lifeboat is now live on the App Store at a limited introductory price of 99 cents.

Vancouver’s IUGO Mobile Entertainment has also just announced a new iPhone – iTouch title from the Toy Bots universe Thief Bot, the greedy kleptomaniac, has kidnapped Toy Bot, and plans to use him as a shiny, golden trophy. Enter Spy Bot, the only one who can rescue him! Take control of Spy Bot as he jumps, shoots, and hacks his way through a varied 2D world of fun and adventure. Find Thief Bot’s hideout, save Toy Bot, and recover all the other stolen goods Thief Bot has swindled throughout the galaxy!

Features Include:

* Innovative hack ability allows Spy Bot to change the world around him
*4 different zones (content is equivilant to TBD 1,2,3 COMBINED)
*Hidden levels to find
*35 unique collectibles
*Over half a dozen characterful enemies
*Distinct music for each zone and major challenges
*Interactive animation and art

IUGO’s latest release, Star Hogs is currently available for an introductory price of 99 cents (USD) in the App Store. Rig up your hogs, strap yourself in, and head out into orbit for the fiercest turn-based battles this side of Uranus. Obliterate the competition with a Cruise Missile or close in for some potshots from your Vulcan gun. Not your style? Don’t worry, you’ve got more than 20 ways to kill someone. Nuke some asteroids for an extra payday, but remember, they’re the only thing protecting you from a re-entry hangover you won’t wake up from. Take out some chumps and unlock heaps of new gear in 32 campaign levels, or ride into the online arena to face curly tails from all over the universe. But remember, in space no one can hear you squeal.

Features Include:

* 32 levels for hours of gameplay
* Loads of weapons and customization options
* Global online leaderboards
* 3 game play modes: Freeplay, Campaign and Multiplayer mode
* Gorgeous 3D graphics
* Elegant, intuitive HUD and UI

Upcoming Event Reminders:

The BC Chapter of the Graphic Designers of Canada will be holding their annual free barbeque in partnership with New Media BC, Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators in Communications, National Advertising Benevolent Society, and the British Columbia Industrial Design Association. Members of these participating associations are encouraged to RSVP for this event, which will be featuring burgers, socializing, games and more for the whole family at Trout Lake Park in Vancouver on August 27.

BCIC has announced that tickets are now on sale for Connect 09, which takes place on October 19th in Vancouver. Early bird pricing is in effect until August 28th, and every early bird ticket offers a chance to win one of two seats in the Strategic Sales Leadership course offered by the Sauder School of Business. Tickets purchased before August 28th are $40.00 each, after August 28th the price increases to $50.00. Internationally recognized technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist and best-selling author Leonard Brody will be presenting a featured keynote, and there will also be a showcase of many “must-see” technologies developed at several BC academic institutions. Tickets also include the BCIC Awards and a stand-up buffet.

Just a reminder that if your Canadian organization, school or studio has news, we’ll be happy to post it on Village Gamer for you, all you need to do is send in the information to news.at.villagegamer.net

We here at Village Gamer apologize for the rather abrupt end to this article, and the lack of news posted today.  Due to a family emergency, any pending news stories and articles will be posted a little later than usual.

Vancouver – Yesterday afternoon we braved the heat and Vancouver traffic to make a quick stop at Radical Entertainment for our PROTOTYPE prize draw. Alright, so we have A/C in the little truck, but traffic in Vancouver is still awful. We will be very glad when the new Pitt River Bridge is completed, because when traffic is bumper to bumper over the Port Mann, the new Golden Ears Bridge is way faster and with a QuickPass, it’s also cheaper than creeping forward on Highway 1.

Dave Holding The Bag

Anyway, on to the prize draw. We had many entries, but alas only one copy of PROTOTYPE to give away, so a winner had to be chosen. For those who don’t know, the answer to our question was “Deadly shape-shifting action.”

Radical President Kelly Zmak and Vice President, Technology Dave Fracchia conducted the draw. As expected, the moment was full of amusement and mockery as Dave was left holding the bag while Kelly drew the winner, and we are pleased to announce that J. Berg of Langley is the chosen one. Our thanks to Kelly and Dave for participating in our first give-away. We have other freebies planned

Vancouver – tweetmyride is a Twitter-driven global charity campaign, created to raise money for 10 charities around the world in the lead up to Vancouver-based Australian, Gavin Romanis, participating in the international mountain bike race, La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica from November 11-14, 2009 – known as one of the toughest on the planet.

Inspired by Ashton Kutcher and CNN’s challenge to gain 1 million followers on Twitter, and fuelled by the vibrant biking community of Vancouver, Canada, the basis behind the tweetmyride global campaign is to encourage global giving to a variety of causes. Co-founders Leoni Milano and Gavin Romanis integrated these ideas to create a campaign with global reach, utilizing Twitter to help achieve their goal to raise $1 million over the 4-month period that runs from July 30 – November 30, 2009.

“When I realised how gruelling La Ruta de los Conquistadores was going to be, I knew that I would need more than my own determination to get me through it – so the idea of doing it to help charities across the world seemed like the ideal inspiration” says Gavin Romanis, who has no prior experience in mountain bike racing, but was seduced by the challenge’s combination of travel and outdoor adventure.
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Calgary – There’s a new playmate in town, and it comes in the form of Mom or Dad’s iPhone with the release of Mantaray Creative Lab’s newest app, iBabyBuddy. Designed to keep babies and toddlers entertained when there’s not a toy box in sight, the first release of iBabyBuddy features iconic animal characters that make noises and vibrate in response to baby’s movement and interaction.

“Busy parents often find themselves juggling fussy babies and a long list of errands and there’s rarely enough time to pack a bunch of toys for the road,” said Tamara Rosenblum, principal and creative director of Mantaray Creative Labs. “Most people have their phone at their disposal regardless of where they are so with that in mind we developed iBabyBuddy to be a traveling playmate that never leaves your side,” she said.

Designed to work with both the iPhone and iPod Touch, iBabyBuddy entertains, stimulates and teaches through interaction and discovery. The first release includes three must-have themes: animals, musical instruments and whimsical toy sounds. Combined with a Shake-n-Change feature, iBabyBuddy guarantees an endless array of non-stop, educational fun…and an opportunity for Mom or Dad to take a quick break from being the constant entertainer.

New themes will be added regularly (free of charge) to ensure iBabyBuddy grows alongside its earliest fans. iBabyBuddy is available in the iTunes App Store for $1.99 usd.

Toronto – Organizers of SecTor (Security education conference Toronto), Canada’s premier IT security education event, are proud to announce the creation of the Canadian IT Security Awards, to be awarded at the third annual SecTor Conference, taking place October 6-7 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The three award categories include:

Non-commercial Security Product
Commercial Security Product
Overall Security Solution

“The awards dovetail nicely with the momentum that we’ve been building in the industry over the past two years” says Brian Bourne, Co-Founder, SecTor. “There’s no other IT Security event in Central Canada that brings together the industry’s top professionals and vendors from Canada and beyond. It makes perfect sense to call out and award the best products and practices at SecTor.”

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After 4 days of seminars and networking events, I was beat. But, boy was it worth it.

Day 1

The first day was devoted almost entirely to the Casual Connect Leadership Conference organized and supported by Women In Games International (WIGI) and Women In Games Vancouver (WIGeh). Numerous speakers presented a variety of topics, each with a particular interest in the role that women play in games, games play in the lives of women, and the portrayal of women in games.

As a person interested in the breakdown of stereotypes, thus allowing everyone’s true potential to shine, I was very engaged in the presentations of the day, which in the end left me feeling very hopeful and empowered about the potential of gaming.

Not long after, a set of roundtable discussions were set up with a variety of topics ranging from working as a contract vs employed worker, owning a small business, and moving up in the games industry.

A networking event followed with the inclusion of other folks from a more general Casual Connect audience, and it was a great night!

Highlight of my day: Megan Gaiser of Her Interactive’s presentation on “The Importance of Leadership”

Day 2 (Day 1 of Casual Connect officially)

Audio day! The entire day had an option to hear speakers who are professionals in the audio for casual games environment. Great ideas were shared including a glimpse into how other professionals create their sound design assets. It was entertaining, welcoming, and I learned a great deal. Speakers covered a wide range of aspects including the creation of stings, sfx, composition, recording, and producing. I would recommend this to any person interested in the audio for casual games arena. A very cohesive day in the audio stream.

Highlight of my day: Barry Dowsett of Sound Rangers on “The Birth and Life of a Sound Effect”
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