Village Gamer

Kelowna, BC – Club Penguin is encouraging its players to embrace the spirit of giving this holiday season with a unique online giving opportunity that allows children to donate the virtual coins they accumulate playing games in the popular virtual world to real world causes that matter to them.

The second annual Coins for Change campaign runs from December 12, 2008 through December 22, 2008. During that 10-day period, the kids who play Club Penguin can choose to donate their virtual coins to one of three causes dedicated to helping children. At the end of the campaign, the donations will serve as votes which will help the New Horizon Foundation, an organization started by the founders of Club Penguin, determine what portion of a $1 million donation will go to charities selected by the Foundation to represent those causes.

“Our hope is that Coins for Change helps children in the Club Penguin community understand there is more to life than just earning coins, and encourages them to make a difference in the lives of kids throughout the world,” says Lane Merrifield. “Last year more than 2.5 million players donated in excess of two billion virtual coins. They’ve been asking us for another opportunity to give ever since and we can’t wait to see the results!”
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Ottawa – Corel Corporation today announced that the company will participate alongside members of its Corel® Painter™ Master program as part of a Macworld 2009 Conference & Expo® panel entitled “Digital Art Pioneers and Trendsetters.” The panel will feature noted artists including Andrew Jones and Jason Manley of Massive Black, Jeremy Sutton, Fay Sirkis, and Bruce Dorn, as well as Corel Painter Product Manager, Rob MacDonald. It is part of the show’s Users Conference “Inspire” sessions and will take place on Thursday, January 8, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. in Room 2002, West Hall.

The “Digital Art Pioneers and Trendsetters” session will explore the new trends and technologies that will push digital art to new heights, and how this will impact traditional art tools and techniques. The panel will also explore how their industries have evolved with the medium and offer their predictions as to where the market is headed. Attendees will learn about the latest digital art tools, techniques and technologies affecting a wide variety of professional artists including photographers, concept artists and graphic designers.
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Vancouver – The brand new Women In Games International Vancouver Chapter was officially launched last evening at a networking mingler hosted by Wired Woman at Subeez Cafe. Well over one hundred members of the local digital media industry were in attendance to welcome the new Chapter, witness a little guy vs. gal Rock Band play, network and win a few prizes.

The Women In Games International Vancouver Chapter came into being after a similar event was held in September, when strong local interest was expressed in regards to having our own WIGI Chapter. The new local Chapter, led by Krissie Franco and Maria Ruiz-Isaac is still in the organizing stages and new members are welcome to join. In the very near future, an Advisory Board, Board of Directors and Steering Committee will be formed. There will be ample opportunity for community input as solid goals and directives are investigated.

WIGI Vancouver will be striving towards adding value to the gaming community through mentorships, scholarships, industry awareness programmes and of course networking minglers. WIGI will be an active participant in local events such as VFS’ Game Design Expo and GDC Canada, and an online community willbe launched in the near future. WIGI Vancouver currently has a group page on Facebook, which interested parties are welcome to join.

Sponsors for the WIGI Vancouver Launch included: Big Fish Games, Radical Entertainment, Blue Castle Games, Vancouver Film School, Deep Fried Entertainment, 7 Group Digital Media, Hydrogen Whiskey, Relic Entertainment, New Media BC, EA Canada, Captain Morgan, Ketel One Vodka and Subeez Cafe – my apologies to any sponsors I may have missed. Many thanks to all of you for sponsoring, and for everyone else who helped to make this launch event a great night.

A Note From Social Media Consultant Monica Hamburg: Hi, I’m doing some promotion for a contest DreamBank.org is running. It allows a person to win an Ipod – or the equivalent amount of $ towards their “dream” which could certainly be money or prizes related to education (if that’s what they want). Please post if you feel it is appropriate to your audience.

Here is the info:

Contest Name: DreamBank Giving and Getting Survey
Deadline: January 10, 2009

More Info:
DreamBank is running a quick, three-minute survey about how you feel about giving and getting gifts.

By completing the survey and providing your email address, you’ll be entered in a draw to win an iPod Nano or the equivalent contribution to your DreamBank dream. (If you want to post a DreamBank dream, you can do so for free at www.dreambank.org.)

Vancouver bloggers “shocked” over last-minute nomination of Currents

VANCOUVER – Bloggers in the run up to a major vote in the tech mecca of Canada’s west coast are up in arms over a surprise nomination for the Best of 604 Awards.

A late-in-the-campaign nomination for Vancouver-based political commentator Jonathon Narvey under the Best Politics Blog category for his blog, Currents, has outraged some voters. They suggest Narvey’s blog should be disqualified on a technicality.

“It’s not really a political blog at all,” says social media consultant Dave Olson, author of the Choogle On With Uncle Weed blog. “Sure, he’s been on top of the crisis in Ottawa, and his posts on the local election were not entirely lame. But half the stuff Narvey writes about isn’t even politics. He wrote about his favorite iPhone song on Saturday! Sure, he’s a nice guy, but he doesn’t have the right experience.”
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A note from MDM’s Dennis Chenard – On Wednesday December 3rd the Masters of Digital Media programme held our first ever ‘Tournament of Hearts charity food drive event’…We had around 80 participants in the evening complete with a free poker tournament, pizza, pop & popcorn as well as ping-pong, big screen Wii and foosball.

Students, staff and players from companies like Threewave Software, ACRONYM, Bardel, Radical Entertainment, PowerUp Studios, Deep Fried Entertainment, Shift Control Media, Piranha, Fit Brains, Microsoft Game Studios, and many others spent time hanging out in ‘The Hangar’ of the Centre for Digital Media in an evening of casual games and networking.

With generous item donations from our friends at Annex Pro, EA, Microsoft, Radical, Hothead Games and Big Fish Games we raised $631 in cash (between our silent auction table and other donations) and pile of can goods and other food items for the Vancouver Food Bank!

Sidenotes:

1. The ‘Tournament of Hearts’ is actually a Curling Tournament… We borrowed the ‘Tournament of Hearts’ name as we located free old curling trophies and it seemed like the heart reference fit well with ‘giving back’ and poker!
2. The bounty prizes for knocking out our ‘Wanted players’ included a sheriff’s badge (Sheriff is a common term in poker) (The prizes were Wild West play sets purchased from the Salvation Army)
3. The ‘Big Fish’ prizes used at the final table also have a special poker reference as ‘FISH’ are players that are known to like to see a lot of cards while trying to catch a good hand

Photos courtesy of the MDM Tournament – you can see more event photos by clicking here

The Vancouver chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH is pleased to present a special preview showing of The Tale of Despereaux this Saturday, December 13 (2:00 pm) at the VanCity Theatre on Seymour Street. The show begins at All tickets are $10.50 each for members and non-members alike, with all proceeds to benefit the Vancouver Food Bank. Tickets can be purchased online through the SIGGRAPH Vancouver site.

About The Movie:

Framestore Feature Animation, a new UK-based animation house, has just completed their first feature length film, an adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s book, The Tale of Despereaux. With a fairy tale palette and images full of whimsy and wonder, directors Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen, together with the talented artists at Framestore Feature Animation have brought the characters and the story magically to life. Follow Despereaux, Roscuro and Mig as they struggle to overcome their mousiness to rescue their world and their Princess from the gloom that has besieged them.

The all-star line-up of actors voicing the characters includes; Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, Robbie Coltrane, Ciaran Hinds, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Tracey Ullman, Emma Watson and Sigourney Weaver as the story’s narrator.

Universal Studios and Framestore Feature Animation have kindly donated a print of the film, and our friends at the Vancouver International Film Centre have generously provided the space for this pre-screening event. All profits from the screening will be donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society, so come and see a great film for a great cause!

The Tale of Despereaux opens in theatres everywhere December 19 2008.

Today, Jason Michael Paul Productions, Inc. announced that video game composer Jeremy Soule will be attending the all new PLAY! concert in Edmonton, Alberta on January 9, 2009. You could be one of 150 lucky attendees to win a chance to meet with special award winning composer Jeremy Soule! Known for hits such as: Guild Wars, Guild Wars: Factions, Guild Wars: Nightfall, Guild Wars: Eye of the North, Company of Heroes, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the Harry Potter Series. As a result, Soule’s music is amongst the highest in circulation in the video game industry. Jeremy has also worked on major motion films such as Chronicles of Narnia and The Walk. Tickets now on sale at Ticketmaster.

Richmond, BC – Sierra Wireless today announced the availability of a new software development kit (SDK) supporting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) using the Linux operating system. This addition expands the company’s suite of available SDKs for developers working on applications utilizing Sierra Wireless products.

“Sierra Wireless is committed to supporting the widest possible range of customers and applications for 3G mobile broadband,” said Trent Punnett, senior vice president, Marketing and Corporate Development for Sierra Wireless. “The Linux SDK allows developers integrating Sierra Wireless products into Linux-based systems – including portable devices, machine-to-machine systems, fixed wireless terminals, vending, and fleet management systems – to do so in a cost-effective way that supports their tight development schedules.”
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Toronto – Simulation fans will be pleased to know that leading video game publisher Lighthouse Interactive and developer Discus Games proudly announced that Steel Fury: Kharkov 1942 (PC) has become available at direct download sites as of today. Their exhilarating WWII tank simulation game is also available in the Online Lighthouse Interactive North-American Shop.

Do not wait any longer and plunge yourself into the monstrous roars of tanks and blaring sounds of war in the realistic tank simulation world of Steel Fury: Kharkov 1942, recreated from archives and photo references of the real-life events that took place during the World War II from May 12 to 28 in 1942.

GAME SUMMARY

Steel Fury: Kharkov 1942 is based on real-life events that took place from May 12 to 28, 1942, which engaged the Red Army in the fight of their lives. During a vicious German counterattack that began on May 17, 1942, three Soviet Armies were surrounded and were forced to fight in what has become known as the “meat grinder.” Through the monstrous roar of tanks and military vehicles, and the blaring sounds of war, players will experience bitterness at the loss of their comrades during battle and elation when they are victorious.
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