Village Gamer

Montreal – Bug-Tracker Laboratories, one of the world leaders in quality assurance dedicated to the interactive entertainment industry, holding their main offices in Montreal, confirms it will widen its range of services by acquiring Monde Media Solutions, a young Montreal based institution specializing in translation, localization integration and cultural adaptation for video games.

“We are very happy with this new acquisition and the synergy that it creates between both companies”, declares Antoine Carre, President of Bug-Tracker Laboratories. “The combination of our respective services allows us to offer all-encompassing proposals to our customers, bringing an operational solution to recurring needs felt by many major players in the video game industry”.

Bug-Tracker’s presence in Canada, Europe and Asia affords many new outlets and opportunities for Monde Media Solutions in these territories.
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Vancouver – Yummy Interactive, Inc. today announced the release of GameShield Version 4.5 that provides protection and licensing options for Flash-based games. By supporting Adobe® Flash applications, GameShield’s Digital Rights Management system delivers new distribution and revenue opportunities for game developers and publishers who create content with Adobe® Flash.

“Flash developers can leverage GameShield in order to sell their Flash content alongside other types of games on retail websites, or on their own websites, in ways they may not have considered before,” said Christopher Hennebery, Director of Software Distribution at Yummy Interactive.

With GameShield Version 4.5, Flash application executables can now be protected and packaged in the same way as standard Microsoft Windows® executables are. SWF movies can also be directly protected with minimal effort. Unique to GameShield’s wrapper technology is the ability to embed resource and peripheral files, such as audio, video, dlls and data, along with the source code, into a single wrapped executable.
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There is so much to catch up on after being away for two days. I hope you’ve enjoyed the book reviews I’ve been sharing with you – I still have a rather large stack of books to read, so there are more on the way.  I have a few press releases to catch up on as well, which I will be posting shortly. This was my first year at Casual Connect, which offered dozens of very informative and entertaining seminars and panels. I had a great time at the conference and definitely plan to attend next year – hopefully for the full conference. 

First, I want send a shoutout to a few of the people I met at Casual Connect and the Women In Games Leadership Development Forum. It was great to meet people from three eastern Canada studios – Alien Concepts, Big Blue Bubble and Cerebral Vortex – it’s always nice to finally meet people from the studios whose news gets posted on Village Gamer. Thank you also to Krissie Franco of Hydrogen Whiskey for all of the great introductions. There were so many Vancouver people at Casual Connect – including Ryan Arndt from Certain Sound, James Karg of Twisted Majic, consultant Adrian Crook, game producer Mart Lume,  and EA talent recruiters David Chandler and Brooke Coade. There were many Canadian companies present at the conference, but unfortunately I didn’t locate them all. I would’ve liked to have had a chance to meet all those others from studios which we write about – but that will be a goal for next year!

It was also nice to finally meet Sarah Thomson from IUGO Mobile Entertainment – funny that while we are both from the Vancouver area, we finally got to meet in person at a conference in Seattle. Sarah participated in the Leadership Development Forum as part of the Marketing Casual to the Hardcore roundtable discussion along with Dell Monson of Hidden City Games, Carolyn Carnes of Flash Fire Communications and Tracy Williams from Activision. Also attending the conference were Michael Cole and Mark Baxter of Fit Brains, another great Vancouver studio. Mark had some very interesting information and views on designing casual games for women, the panel which he took part in along with Dierdra Kiai of HotHead Games, Charmie Kim from Big Park, independent designer Tara Mustapha and A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games‘ Sandy Spangler. I would also like to thank my panel co-participants: Paige Meekison from No Robots Interactive, independent consultant Naomi Kawase of Vancouver, Lani Blazier of NCSoft and our moderator, Dell Monson of Seattle’s Hidden City Games.

The first exhibit table I saw at the conference belonged to the folks from Vancouver’s Yummy Interactive, who are celebrating the release of Game Shield 4.5, which now delivers DRM for Flash games (full details in my next post).  Many thanks again to Kerry Corlett of Annex Pro and Brenda Bailey of Deep Fried Entertainment for a fantastic dinner at Wild Ginger on Monday evening. Annex Pro was one of the sponsors who helped make the Leadership Development Forum a success, and Brenda Bailey participated as both a moderator and panel member for the Forum. We were also joined at dinner by Dennis Chenard from Masters of Digital Media, Rochelle Grayson, and Asra Rasheed.  I also had a chance to meet Tom Higgins of Unity 3D; he will be in Vancouver on Friday night for the official launch of the Vancouver Unity 3D Users’ Group (which we will be attending, and we hope to see you there, tickets are still available, get some). Last but not least, I want to thank Plimus for drawing my name in the iPod Shuffle prize draw – what a great way to end my visit to the conference!

I would be entirely remiss if I did not thank everyone from Women In Games Vancouver, Women In Games International, the IGDA Women In Games special interest group and the Casual Games Association for an incredible job of pulling the Leadership Development Forum together. General consensus about this inaugural session was that it was a great event, and everyone is looking forward to expanding the concept and repeating the Forum at next year’s Casual Connect.

A very special thank you to our sponsors, without whom this event would not have been possible: AnnexPro, Big Fish Games, Pandemic, Massive Black, Ubisoft, Slant Six Games, EA, Sheppard Mullin, 31337 Recruiters, Konami, Flash Fire Communications,  Hotel Max (comfortable rooms, very courteous and helpful staff) King.com and Mary-Margaret Networks. Congratulations to all of the groups, organizers, sponsors and participants for a very memorable day.

Seattle – I will be making several shorter update-like posts over the next two days, as time and battery power allows. As many of you know, I am in Seattle at the Women In Games Leadership Development Forum, followed by the Casual Connect Conference.

We are currently enjoying a luncheon at the Triple Door while Megan Gaiser, President and CEO of HeR Interactive presents a keynote address on the importance of leadership. A very entertaining and engaging presentation, Megan emphasized the importance of mentoring and developing talent, as well as encouraging girls to consider game development as a career choice. Megan gave a brief history of HeR Interactive, and then went on to talk about the Nancy Drew franchise and how it has helped to draw women into the industry. She also went over business culture and how studios can further develop the working. Several excellent questions followed Megan’s presentation which looked at different aspects of girls and women in gaming. I personally liked Megan’s statement at the end of her presentation  – “Creative Opportunities are Limitless!” …and so they are. It has been said before that we are only limited by our imagination.

I’m looking forward to a very educational and entertaining forum, and as I said above I will post updates when possible. For those unable to attend, the Forum is being streamed live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/leadership-development-forum

Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling
Author: Chris Crawford
New Riders Games October 2004
Paperback: 384 pages

As a writer, this book opened up a whole new pattern of thinking for me. The information Mr. Crawford conveys in this publication is invaluable to any writer seeking to break into new areas-particularly gaming and other applications utilizing interactive storytelling. Writing for this genre requires a whole different mindset from traditional genres and Mr. Crawford succeeds at moving the reader towards that mindset.

Time and again I see in game reviews how a particular game has “awesome graphics and great gameplay but the story and dialogue” were severely lacking. With Mr. Crawford’s extensive experience in the gaming industry, he very capable gives aspiring writers every tool he or she will need to get a very good start in the industry. Throughout the book, he stresses how important it is for the “artsie” thinkers (the writers & artists) to work together with the “techie” thinkers (the programmers) and I think this is a valuable lesson that many current game producers have yet to learn. Mr. Crawford reminds the entire programming industry that one sector of development cannot succeed without the other. He more than adequately investigates and chronicles how the different development teams can work together and bridge the “communication” gap between the “artsies” and the “techies.”
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San Francisco – The Global Game Jam™ (GGJ) today announced the 2010 Global Game Jam and is looking for additional venues to grow this year. With 1650 participants last year across 14 different time zones and 54 venues including SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver, the GGJ produced 370 games in just 48 hours. For 2010, the goal is to triple the size of the event to 150 locations and more than 3,000 participants. The 2010 GGJ will take place January 29-31, 2010.

“We’re looking to make the 2010 Global Game Jam even more global, with more games, more people, more interaction, more fun, innovation and creativity,” said Susan Gold, founder of the Global Game Jam. “Now is when we’re starting the search for new venues, leaders and sponsors to grow the event and draw attention to the amazing diversity and talent in game development around the world.”

Game Jams foster innovation and experimentation. If you have ever wanted to make a game, be a part of a team, or go outside of your usual working method, then a game jam is for you. It’s all about making games and in the GGJ you’re part of a global experiment in creativity. A game jam is not for the faint of heart though. It’s two days of hard work, experimentation, little sleep, collaboration, cramped quarters, new friends, great idea, laughs, technical issues and the time of your life.
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Developer: Radical Entertainment
Publisher: Activision
Official Site
ESRB: M

Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation3 and PC
Release Date: June 2009

It was a long wait for me to play Radical Entertainment’s newest title – from the day I first heard about the game at the 2007 Game Design Expo. The Activision – Blizzard merger didn’t help the matter by delaying the game’s release, and my envy grew as there were reports back from various conferences and expos where people were getting hands-on playtime. So, was it worth the wait? Oh yes – although this has been a difficult review to pen, simply because PROTOTYPE is so full of things to do and accomplish.

One bit of caution, though – PROTOTYPE is rated M by the ESRB for a very valid reason. The game is violent and involves massive amounts of blood and gore, which I do mention in further detail throughout this review. If you do not want your kids playing games like PROTOTYPE, the ratings are there for a reason, please don’t blame the industry if you allow your kids access to a game outside of their age rating. Okay, end of brief soapbox stance on that topic. On to the review.

First, a quick plot rundown for those who may still be in the dark as to what the game is all about.

Alex Mercer Concept Art

PROTOTYPE takes place in New York City, more specifically on Manhattan Island – but in actuality the story began decades earlier in a small town called Hope, Idaho. It appears that the US military was engaged in a partnership to develop a deadly virus – one which affects not only humans but the environment as well, and along the way Alex, who apparently worked for Gen-Tek, the private contractor developing the virus strains, became some type of host, turning him into a part human-part super weapon entity. Or maybe he is a viral PROTOTYPE, released on the American public for in-the-field testing. Even with watching the Web of Intrigue vignettes a few times, I’m still not 100% sure – and to be honest, I kind of like it that way. A little mystery is good – and it makes for good fodder among the conspiracists out there on the web.

PROTOTYPE is a single player game, with the gamer taking on the persona of main character Alex Mercer. Whether Alex is good or bad is unclear at the beginning of the game, but either way it does appear that he has a conscience, which is revealed in mysterious cinematic vignettes between each task – but like all other parts of this game’s story, Alex’s motives remain infected (pun intended) with intrigue.
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Eidos Montreal is looking for programmers for its Thi4f development team and also has a few other job openings. Interested? Apply online.

Vancouver’s Klei Entertainment has entered into an agreement with Creative Artists Agency. “The CAA are quite selective in their clients, so I’m happy that they’ve agreed to represent us,” says Jamie Cheng, CEO of Klei Entertainment. “Klei is known to create great original properties, and the CAA will help spread that love around.” Creative Artists Agency also represents such celebrities as Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg and has offices around the world, with a Canadian location in Calgary.

For Cheng, their partnership with CAA signals how within the gaming industry, the importance of creative talent is becoming more important. “It’s inspiring to see the industry grow as a creative medium and this is another step in the right direction,” continues Cheng. “And with their experience and backing during negotiation, we are able to focus on building the best creative studio possible, which of course is what Klei is all about.”

Longueil’s D-BOX Technologies has announced that the next movie title to feature its immersive motion technology will be Focus Features’ new film, “9” debuting on Sept. 9, 2009. “We are proud to announce our first agreement with Focus Features and the fourth movie title to feature D-BOX Motion Code™,” said President and CEO of D-BOX Technologies, Claude Mc Master. “Since unveiling D-BOX motion technology in movie theatres in April, we have continued to experience steady growth and enter new markets in the U.S. and Canada. This latest film will be the first animated film to feature D-BOX’s innovative motion technology and we look forward to announcing additional movie titles and theatre locations in the near future.”

The NPD group has released stats that show EA Sports Active finished in the Number 3 spot for games, with more than 289,000 units sold in the USA last month, while Radical Entertainment’s PROTOTYPE finished in top spot for console titles.

The report continues with other important sales stats: Nintendo’s consoles and handhelds still own the markets in United States – despite reports of console and game sales falling by 31% in June. According to their figures, Americans purchased more than 424,000 Nintendo DSi systems and more than 342,000 Nintendo DS, more than all current-generation consoles combined. The Wii™ marked its 21st consecutive month as the top-selling U.S. home console, with nearly 362,000 finding new homes in America – all while experiencing a 45% sales drop. Even with the Wii’s sales figures falling and with sales increases for the Xbox 360, Microsoft still could not break Nintendo’s stranglehold on the top console spot. The Sony PS3 experienced a 59% drop in sales, once again leaving it in the dust of the other consoles. We have considered several times purchasing one, but until the price comes down, we simply can’t justify buying one just for the few PS3 exclusive titles we may or may not play.

Ever had dreams of quiting your job and moving out to a farm to try your hand at growing crops or animals?

Well now you don’t have to thanks to Zynga’s new game for the Facebook platform called FarmVille, which was released to the general public this year.

FarmVille puts you directly on the farm with a nice piece of land to call your own. You start the game by customizing your farmer’s look from suspenders to glasses. As soon as you get your virtual farmer looking snazzy you’re taken to your farm where your job is to plow some land and plant some seeds. Zynga must have spent some time thinking of this concept because it’s really quite unique.I know comparisons can be made to the other farm games on Facebook or other systems, but we’re here to look at FarmVille itself.

This game is identical to farming and because it’s played in real time and mimics the pains/pleasures of farming. Once you have farmed some plots of land you’re asked what kind of plants/trees or animals you would like to grow and are only limited by the amount of coins in your virtual account. Each type of plant/animal has a certain amount of grow and harvest time. Strawberries grow in 4 hours so you’ll find that if you plant these, you will have to come back to your farm so you can cash in your crop. If you don’t, they will wither and die. This is a unique mechanic because it makes you think how farming fits in your schedule like a real farm. You can’t just plant and walk away, this game requires a little attention each day since each crop of produce is different. With this mechanic Zynga has been able to increase their ADU (Average daily users), but at the same time it is strangely satisfying when you are harvesting and thinking what to grow next.
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Canada – Seattle in July means it’s time for Casual Connect, hosted by the Casual Games Association. This is the first year that I will be able to attend the event, and it looks like I’m going to be in some very good company. While some of us are venturing down to take part in the Leadership Development Forum being held the day before the actual conference, many others will be looking to make business connections and display their products to the thousands of attendees. It is through the assistance of the Consulate General of Canada in Seattle and the Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade that many of the Canadian companies are able to attend the show, and I know that they will be taking full advantage of the opportunity. I know that I am looking forward to meeting many of the people I have until now only known through email and press releases.

When I asked our Consulate representative for a list of the Canadian companies who were confirmed through his office to be attending, I had no idea that the number would be so high. I had planned on doing a nice blurb about each company, but for the sake of brevity and time consumption, I have opted to list each participating company or individual with a link to their respective sites.
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