Village Gamer

Vancouver-based Genius Factor Games has announced their first video game release for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. The company has also launched a new corporate Web site and a gaming industry blog.Genius Factor’s first title will be available on iTunes and the Apple App Store this spring. “It’s a fun puzzle game with a unique twist only possible on the iPhone and iPod Touch” indicates Cory Yip, Creative Director. “These mobile devices make great gaming platforms, which really surprises some people” he adds.

“In light of recent news for our industry, with serious layoffs, delays, and cutbacks at several major studios, some people wonder why we have chosen to launch now,” says Genius Factor’s president, Ted Nugent. We’re a small and nimble group, allowing us to react quickly to obstacles and opportunities in these challenging times. More importantly, however, we saw a real gap in the market for engaging, professionally-built casual games.”

The Genius Factor Games team is composed of industry veterans from some of the top studios in Vancouver and California. “That’s another reason we’re excited to launch the company at this time,” Nugent says. “The talent pool right now is incredible. Here we have people who revolutionized some of the most popular video games of the last two decades working side by side, pioneering a whole new field of casual entertainment.”

A new Web site at www.GeniusFactorGames.com has been launched to support the company and the announcement of their first title. It will feature an industry blog to keep tabs on video games, mobile devices, the game development process, and other news and opinions.

Focusing on a pick up and play, two to five minute gaming experience, Genius Factor plans to release a series of on-the-go titles throughout 2009.

Vancouver – 3vis, in collaboration with Autodesk, Craft Animation and Seven Group are pleased to present “An Evening with Duncan Brinsmead’s Brain” beginning at 6pm on March 3 at The Caprice (967 Granville Street) in Vancouver.

Duncan Brinsmead, who will be accompanying his brain, is the Autodesk Maya principal scientist. Duncan Brinsmead, with support from Louis Marcoux, a Solution Specialist in 3D animation and Visual Effects, will discuss and demonstrate the newest features of Autodesk® Maya®, Autodesk® 3ds Max® (including the new plug?in CAT) and Autodesk® Mudbox™.

3vis, an Autodesk reseller whose head office is in Montreal, recently opened a Vancouver location and will be hosting this free evening to introduce themselves to the local digital media industry.

Nationwide – It’s a bird! It’s a plane…it’s a train! Everyone’s favorite #1 engine, Thomas the Tank Engine™, welcomes friends aboard as he steams across the nation visiting more than 45 heritage railroads in Canada and the USA as part of the Day Out With Thomas 2009 – The Hero of the Rails Tour presented by HIT Entertainment and sponsored by The LEGO Group.

This fun-filled event offers preschoolers and their families the opportunity to take a ride on a 15-ton replica of Thomas the Tank Engine, star of the Thomas & Friends™ series seen on Canada’s TreehouseTV, and features a variety of Thomas & Friends-themed entertainment.
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Microsoft invites IT professionals and software developers to prove their mettle

Ottawa – In an interactive game promoting the benefits of Microsoft certification, the software company asks IT and development professionals to prove their know-how in a series of tech knowledge challenges.

Created by Canadian interactive marketing and branded entertainment developer Fuel Industries, Are You Certifiable? is a Silverlight-based quiz game which will dig deep into the mental resources of technicians and developers alike in the process of determining who can meet and who can fly beyond the rigorous standards of Microsoft Certification. The game is a unique approach which will not only spread awareness of the benefits of MS Certification and the Second Shot promotion, but also provide a valuable primer for professionals interested in taking an exam.

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Toronto – Despite the global economic downturn, new technology and consumer media consumption trends have created a host of employment opportunities in Canada’s publishing industry.

As the Canadian magazine sector rushes to adapt to an online audience, the shift is fueling a need for technology-savvy professionals who can help take the publishing sector into a brave new world, says professor Denise Schon of The Centre for Creative Communications, Centennial College.

“Traditional magazines are quickly evolving into a multi-platform medium including not only print, but online with the advent of web 2.0 technologies and live video streaming,” Schon says. “As such, we are seeing our grads working in a much wider variety of jobs across the magazine industry. Our program prepares students for that new world.”

The Centre for Creative Communications, Centennial College, has been offering its unique Book and Magazine Publishing program, known as a cornerstone of the industry, for more than 30 years. More recently, it responded to publishers’ needs with intensive, new courses in web 2.0 digital media publishing skills.

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Toronto – G4BOX Inc and Wicked Interactive Ltd., North American publishers and distributors of interactive entertainment media, together announced today the tremendous success and popularity of the open beta for their military first-person shooter, Cross Fire. The beta, which began on Friday, January 30, 2009, has since gathered more than 25 000 registered players and made a major splash in the online first-person shooter scene. Cross Fire will continue in Open Beta through February.

“We knew there was an audience out there that was really anticipating Cross Fire, so we expected a good result,” said Garvin Yeung, Chief Executive Officer of Wicked Interactive. “But even we are amazed by the overwhelming response that Cross Fire has garnered thus far,” added Howard He, Chief Executive Officer of G4BOX.”
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Vancouver – *content warning – please see below* – Over 22 uncensored animated films including great titles such as the recently acquires masterpiece “Eleven Roses”, “Home Honey, I’m High”, “Fantaisie in Bubblewrap”, “Happy Tree Friends”, “Washington”, “Crab Revolution” “The Mosquito Who Gave Up Blood” & “Dr. Tran” will be featured during Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Animation Festival which opens on February 20th at The Rio Theatre in Vancouver.

It’s been over ten years since Spike himself made the trip up to Vancouver he will be present opening weekend to sign “everything” and introduce the show. The Sick and Twisted Animation Festival will include a few of the all time classics plus a ton of premiers! Spike handpicked the films himself and invites everyone to watch ninety minutes of the sickest, most brilliant, artistic and funniest animation shorts he’s ever put together!

Show Times: February 20th – March 5th will have daily shows at 7 and 9pm with weekend matinees at 4:30pm. Friday and Saturday will also feature midnight showings with Bar Service provided by R & B Brewing for the late shows on opening weekend. There will also be FREE Spike & Mike DVD’s to the first 25 people Fri & Sat night as well as free Happy Tree Friends swag PLUS you can get in FREE if you bring your refrigerator with one of the Festival’s flyers attached to it. There will also be some in-house contests happening with great prizes.

*Content Warning – Content on the Spike & Mike Festival Website and at The Sick & Twisted Animation Festival may offend some viewers. We are not responsible for the content on their site or at their Animation Festival.*

Vancouver – The folks over at the Centre for Digital Media would like to let our readers know about these upcoming events taking place on the Great Northern Way Campus:

MDM Programme Open House Hosted by Electronic Arts
Join MDM on the evening of February 25th for a special Masters of Digital Media (MDM) Program information session sponsored by Electronic Arts. Get your questions answered about the MDM curriculum, admission requirements, the application process and career prospects by current MDM students, faculty, staff and industry affiliates. Pre-registration is required as space is limited. To register, email rsvp-at-gnwc-dot-ca with “Feb 25 – Open House” as the subject. A confirmation with event details will be sent to you once your registration is received.

MDM Program Portfolio Showcase

Join MDM on February 26th for a showcase of portfolios and select industry projects developed by students of the Masters of Digital Media Program (MDM). The Centre is excited to open our doors at the Centre for Digital Media to prospective employers, projects and industry affiliates in advance of their first graduating class in May 2009.

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Toronto – In a documentary which may be of special interest to many Canadian game developers, COMBAT SCHOOL follows – for the first time ever – Canadian infantry soldiers as they undergo the most technologically-advanced, intense and realistic combat training in military history.

Premiering Tuesday, March 10 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery Channel, this six-part, one-hour Canadian documentary series goes directly to the heart of modern warfare by following a platoon of 40 men and women from the time they commence their training until they are declared battle-ready and deployed. Granted unprecedented access by the Canadian military and combat trainers, cameras are then embedded with the platoon in the war fields of Afghanistan where viewers witness how the soldiers’ skills are put to the ultimate test when they encounter insurgents for the first time.

In COMBAT SCHOOL the training is intense and the expectations high. Those who are unprepared won’t make it, and those who are ready leave everything behind to risk their lives in a war zone. Following soldiers from 1 Platoon, Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment – based out of Petawawa, Ontario – COMBAT SCHOOL captures every step of the mission-specific training as the men and women prepare for the most intense combat situation they have
ever faced.

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Montreal – Expanding on its existing lockdown delivery service, MXI Security™ today announced it is now allowing customers of its ACCESS Enterprise device life cycle management suite to order portable security devices preconfigured with a unique management code. This guarantees that devices that leave the factory cannot be used or modified by anyone except the end customer.

This expanded service complements an already rigorous production process that ensures devices are free of malicious software and sealed in tamper-evident packaging before they leave MXI Security’s US-based manufacturing facility.

The management code capability has been an in-hardware security feature of every MXI Security MXP portable security device for the past several years. Known only to the issuing organization, the code ensures that no attacker can alter the contents of the read-only drive, protecting it against malicious software such as Trojans, worms and viruses. Furthermore, if a device is ever lost or stolen, the code prevents anyone from recycling the device to reuse as their own.

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