Village Gamer

Voice actors take note! The finalists for the 2009 Voicey Awards, sponsored by Voices.com, have been revealed

Toronto – After much waiting and anticipation, finalists of the 3rd Annual Voicey Awards recognizing voice talent have been announced. Voice talents record various projects for organizations, companies, and institutions requiring voice over services including commercials for radio and television, promos, movie trailers, audio book narration, podcasts, videos, animation, videogames, telephone recordings and more. Theirs are the voices of the unseen narrator, heard but not seen.

The only awards show of its kind to exclusively honor voice-over professionals, the Voicey Awards features 9 categories of significance and prestige, including Best Male Voice, Best Female Voice, Best New Voice, Best Child Voice, Best Teen Voice, Best Voice Team, Best Foreign Voice, Best Personal Branding, and Lifetime Achievement. Similar to awards such as the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, honoring actors and filmmakers, the Voicey Awards recognize voice actors and voice talents for their contributions and efforts over the year in the voice over industry.

“The finalists for this year’s Voiceys, organized by category, and in no particular order are…”

Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver International Partnering Forum and New Media BC’s Digital Media PopVox Awards return with bigger outreach and expanded programs

Vancouver – New Media BC announced its second annual Vancouver Digital Week will be held May 11-14, 2009 at the brand new Vancouver Exhibition and Convention Centre. Partner events include the Game Developers Conference (GDC) Canada, marking the first time the famed gamers meet up has come to Canada; Cossette West’s Convergence Conference, a digital marketing and social media gathering; and nextMEDIA’s first Vancouver event. New Media BC will present its own Vancouver International Partnering Forum and its People’s Choice PopVox Awards during Vancouver Digital Week. For a full list of events, visit: www.vancouverdigitalweek.com

“British Columbia is a global leader in digital media”, says Kenton Low, President of New Media BC. “Vancouver Digital Week is a partnership of top notch events focusing on digital media that brings attention to the world class talent and companies we have here in BC.”

The Vancouver International Partnering Forum (VIPF), to be held from May 12-13, 2009 was first launched in 2004 by New Media BC and continues as a significant annual event for leading Canadian digital companies to meet international decision makers, to explore partnership opportunities and negotiate deals. The forum attracts high calibre delegates from all over the world including the UK, USA, France, Germany, Korea, Australia, China, Singapore, Thailand and Japan. 2009 ushers in a new two day format allowing participants more networking components and the opportunity to double the number of business meetings during the hand-picked B2B sessions. Companies that have confirmed interest to attend this year’s forum include Google, Disney, Nokia, Rainmaker, Mediasense and Next Level Games. On-line registration is open at: www.vipf.ca

Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations to the team at Quebec City’s Beenox Studio, winner of the Quebec Chamber of Commerce’s Fideides Award for Best Team at a middle to large sized company.   This award recognizes the excellent work atmosphere and human resources policies at Beenox.

Coming on the heels of the Mass Effect2 announcement, Bioware’s Mass Effect has been named to the list of Xbox 360 Classic titles.

QuickPlay Media of Toronto has been named as a finalist in the “Most Innovative Mobile Service” category in the 2009 Andrew Seybold Choice Awards. Established by Andrew Seybold, the Choice Awards recognize products and services that reflect the initiative, ingenuity and influence of wireless industry organizations in business and society. QuickPlay Media is being recognized for its role in powering the Bell Mobility Media Player.

High definition streaming video is now just a click away for online viewers across Canada. CTV.ca, Canada’s online destination for news, sports and entertainment, is bringing high definition video to the computer screens of Canadians with the launch of the CTV HD Beta Player. CTV becomes the first Canadian network to deliver HD quality content on the web.

Think Services has announced an open call for speaker submissions for its 2009 Game Developers Conference Europe (GDC Europe), taking place August 17-19, 2009 at the Cologne Congress East Center in Cologne, Germany. The pan-European conference – dedicated to the art, science and business of creating games – is soliciting session proposals now through April 30th via the official GDC Europe website.

GenieKnows today announced the latest release of its local search engine, GenieKnows 2.0. This newest release gives users the ability to sign up and add their own personal reviews on restaurants and other businesses across Canada and the USA. Business owners can also leverage GenieKnows.com by adding or updating their own business data through a simple business submission form. GenieKnows provides business owners with the opportunity to connect directly to consumers and generate leads and have a visible presence on the Internet as GenieKnows business listings feature prominently in sites such as Google, Yahoo and MSN amongst others.

The Dark Second Chapter to the Epic Science-Fiction Trilogy – Coming Early 2010 for Windows PC and Xbox 360

Edmonton – Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. today officially announced Mass Effect™ 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the multi award-winning 2007 hit, Mass Effect. The Mass Effect trilogy is a masterful science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life forms and mysterious uncharted planets. In this dark second chapter, Saren’s evil army of Geth soldiers has just been defeated, and humans, who are still struggling to make their mark on the galactic stage, are now faced with an even greater peril…

“We’re going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, EA. “Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action.”

Mass Effect 2 is coming to PC and the Xbox 360 video game system in Early 2010. To see the exclusive new teaser trailer check out the website here: www.masseffect.com

Canadian game studio strives for something different

Toronto – Untold Entertainment Inc., a Canadian game studio specializing in online casual games for kids, happily announces the development of Kahoots. Kahoots is a challenging game of nonsensical crime and silly intrigue, modelled entirely from plasticine.

The game is set in Londonton, a fictional and foolish vision of London, England. Drawing its inspiration from British board games like Cluedo (AKA “Clue”), and absurdly humorous series like Monty Python’s Flying Circus and The League of Gentlemen, Kahoots immerses the player in sepia-tinged Edwardian (fake) England at the height of a crime wave. As Spotland Pond’s newest detective, the player must track down cabals of criminals, all in pursuit of the evil mastermind behind their reign of (mostly harmless) terror.

A Very Hands-On Approach

Kahoots is being modeled from top to bottom in plasticine. Every character, set and prop is lovingly (and squishingly) hand-crafted by the team at Untold Entertainment. The world of Londonton is being brought to life through careful photography and digital image manipulation, resulting in a seamless (but smudgy) game experience. The creators hope that the game’s clay graphics will set it Read the rest of this entry »

Ottawa – The Honourable Helena Guergis, Minister of State (Status of Women), today announced federal support for a project entitled Supporting Women’s Leadership in the Advanced Technology Sectors. Run by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, Women in Technology (CATA WIT), the project will encourage more women to consider the advanced technology field, and help those women already working in the field to improve the skills, knowledge and expertise they need for success.

CATA WIT will receive $405,000 over two fiscal years for the project entitled Supporting Women’s Leadership in the Advanced Technology Sectors. It will use mentoring and other tools to help break down barriers facing women. During the project:

• 135 women will participate in development and mentorship workshops on networking
and improved leadership skills;
• 75 women will help identify leading practices for women in the sector;
• 60 women will help develop the tools that support and promote the participation of
women; and
• 25,000 men and women business leaders will increase their knowledge of best practices
with respect to growth-oriented, women-owned firms.

“This industry is growing by leaps and bounds – estimates are that up to 89,000 new information
and communications technology jobs will be created over the next three to five years,” said
Minister Guergis. “There are thousands of women ready to explore and expand the opportunities
available to them in this exciting sector of our economy. Through partnerships with organizations
like CATA WIT, our Government is working to ensure that those women have the tools they need to succeed in this field – for when women prosper, Canada prospers.”

Read the rest of this entry »

LOOK OUT WHISTLER – THERE ARE NEW PRODUCERS IN TOWN

Toronto – The Whistler Film Festival presents, in association with Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Film Centre’s GO WEST Project Lab, an intense five-day business and marketplace immersion experience held in Whistler June 21-25, 2009. The CFC GO WEST Project Lab is open only to western-Canada-based producers (from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Yukon) and is intended to advance a producer’s dramatic feature project, facilitate relationships and collaboration on and investment in film projects that have US & international appeal. The deadline application for the Project Lab is April 6th, 2009.

“We are once again excited to showcase the many skills and projects of western-based producers,” said CFC Director of Film & TV Programs, Kathryn Emslie.”The CFC GO WEST Project Lab strives to build strong collaboration between Canadian talent and industry professionals that will create widespread appeal in Canadian and international markets.”

“The CFC GO WEST Project Lab is unique in Canada, providing western-based producers with invaluable project feedback as well as insights into the international marketplace from some of the best in the industry,” says WFF Director Shauna Hardy Mishaw. “We are thrilled to collaborate on this initiative with the Canadian Film Centre.”
Read the rest of this entry »

A Good Life for Youth with Disabilities Beyond High School

Toronto – PLAN Institute for Caring Citizenship and TakingITGlobal announced today the launch of a new online community to support young people with disabilities. BeyondGraduation.ca is a facilitated online community focusing on employment and ensuring opportunities for contribution and community engagement beyond high school.

“Beyond Graduation is about providing a safe and comfortable environment for young people to share inspiring stories and plan for a bright future” says Jennifer Corriero, co-Founder and Executive Director of TakingITGlobal. “It provides youth and their families networking tools and resources, enabling access to the available opportunities that can help them reach their goals.”

Community building is an important component of the new social networking site. Connecting members to each other creates a support network of friends who share their experiences. TakingITGlobal used its expertise in managing a global online community for social change to inform the development of BeyondGraduation.ca.

Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver – The March 22 launch of the Pokémon™ Platinum Version video game for the Nintendo DS™ system is almost upon us, and Pokémon fans are already buzzing with anticipation. This new game in the storied franchise brings a host of new features, including the mysterious new Distortion world, never-before-seen forms of powerful Pokémon, exciting online games in the all-new Wi-Fi Plaza and strategic battles that are the hallmark of the main Pokémon game series.

“Some of the world’s most faithful fans are Pokémon enthusiasts,” said Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada’s vice-president and general manager. “Pokémon Diamond Version and Pokémon Pearl Version, the two previous releases in the core Pokémon series, have sold over 5.3 million copies in North America. With Pokémon Platinum Version, fans will be excited to see Giratina in its Origin Forme and lots of other fun and new experiences.”

It has been over a decade since the Pokémon series launched in Canada and close to 2 million Pokémon video games have been sold here. Since their debut, Pokémon video games have become one of the top three video game licenses in Canada, along with NHL licensed video games and Mario™ himself. But the devotion Canadians have for the franchise extends beyond video games; along with the Pokémon Trading Card game and licensed products including clothing and figurines, fans can also enjoy the Pokémon animated TV series and a host of movies.
Read the rest of this entry »

Toronto – Equipped with an amazing array of gadgets, including a mallet-wielding robot arm and spring-loaded shoes, the world’s first bionic detective, Inspector Gadget™ has crash landed onto Apple iPhone and iPod touch devices and is available from the AppStore for $5.99.

Inspector Gadget makes its iPhone debut with a little help from Namco Bandai Networks Europe, who developed the game in conjunction with Cookie Jar Entertainment, the producer of the hit cartoon series. The game is being published internationally for Apple iPhone and iPod touch devices by Namco Networks America, a publisher and developer of mobile games and entertainment for mass-market casual gamers.

Using various gadgets and gizmos, players help guide the world’s most absent-minded detective battle against the evil Dr. Claw in a classic platform action game. Players guide the Inspector in his mission across six action packed levels and six mini-games. The game features both Story mode and Quick Play mode, which allows players to play previously unlocked levels.
Read the rest of this entry »