Village Gamer

Vancouver – The thirteenth graduating class from Vancouver Film School has much to be proud of. We attended their Pitch and Play Presentation last evening, and it’s evident that they all worked very hard on their projects. I liked the new format for the show, and it was nice to see so many industry people turn out to take a look at work and put some hard questions to the development teams. We participated in five pitches, each unique in its own way. The presentations were quite well done, but something we missed that had been done in the past was the availability of game demos or other promotional materials for the projects to bring back to the office for later perusal.

The first presentation of the evening was from Fully Cooked Games, who presented their project titled HighMoon Express. This game was the first of two built using the Unity Engine. HighMoon Express was described by the development team as “a tongue-in-cheek western arcade-action game. Built on the concept of a tower defense styled game, the heroes consisted of Doc, The Priest, The Showgirl and The Gunslinger. The enemies were Trolls, Ghosts, The Cubs and The Feral. The character artwork sort of reminded me of the old Scooby Doo villains (not a bad thing), and the game play required some quick thinking on the part of the gamer. Power-ups were available in the game’s shop, and each player also had its own unique special move to defeat the onslaught of enemies.

Second to present was Team Heist with their flash-based game The Perfect Job. The presentation opened with a very humorous animated cut scene showing the game’s “hero” in his jail cell being presented with a large cake by the prison guard. Our hero has been broken out of jail by the local mob boss, and now must break into buildings to steal things for the boss, in order to pay him back for breaking the hero out of jail. In order to commit these heists, our thief must avoid security guards and cameras while picking locks, cracking safes and stealing the treasures – all within a set time limit. The player has the ability to hack the camera computers and turn them off as well as use some of his funds to bribe the guards, however there are bonuses for not adding bribery to his list of offenses. Should our thieving hero be caught, a large set of prison bars close with a clang over the screen, and the player has to start the level over again.

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Vancouver – Wired Woman is pleased to present a series of four Professional Development Workshops featuring Heather White. These seminars are designed to assist you with such areas as assigning action steps to goals, defining the skills that will set you apart, gain a clear vision about your professional reputation and understand the power of a professional network. Tickets to the entire series are currently available for the special rate of $50.00 each for members and $65.00 for non-members. Members can also save even more with a four-for-three package at a cost of $150.00.  The seminars will be held at Campo Verde, 1600 Cypress Street in Vancouver.  Seating is limited, so register soon.

Seminar Topics:

Personal Professional Goal Setting – Tuesday, October 6th 2009 6:00 pm
Building a Powerful Professional Network – Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 6:00 pm
Developing a Specialized Skill Set – Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 6:00 pm
Developing a Bullet Proof Reputation – Tuesday, December 1st, 2009, 6:00 pm

Wired Woman also held its Annual General Meeting on August 31, and the Network is pleased to announce the addition of five new directors to our National Board:

– Maureen McKinnon
– Doneen Swart
– Mojgan Fay
– Dina Grskovich
– Karen Olsson

Membership for Wired Woman is free, and with so many great events such as the Professional Development Series, it makes sense to join the network and meet some really great women while having fun, socializing and learning. To learn more about Wired Woman, please visit their web site.

Burnaby – Best Buy Canada has released its Report Card on Technology in Canada’s classrooms. The report card found that two-thirds of Canadian teachers surveyed believe students are being handicapped for the future by not giving them access to the latest technology. The survey, conducted by Leger Marketing between July 6 and July 19 2009, involved an online survey among 674 respondents randomly selected Canadian adults who are Leger Marketing panelists. The interviews were completed with Canadian teachers from primary to college and university level. This method simulates a probability sample which would yield a maximum margin of error of +/-3.8%, 19 times out of 20.

Best Buy Canada will contribute $300,000 in technology grants to schools in Canada through its Best in Class Fund program in 2009. The survey found that nearly all respondents believe that it is important for students to have the latest technology in order to thrive and succeed in today’s world, which underscores the importance of the Best in Class program.

The Best Buy Canada Report Card on Technology in Canada’s Classrooms, a national survey of 674 Canadian teachers, conducted by Leger Marketing, showed that:

– One-third of teachers surveyed indicated that schools lag behind in providing the best access to new technology to students
– More than half of the respondents (61%) believe that students have the best access to the latest technology at home
– Nearly three-quarters of teachers (74%) agree that having the latest technology in the classroom would foster creativity
– More than half of Canadian teachers use technology as part of their daily curriculum
– Despite the perceived importance of technology in the classroom, as many as one in five Canadian teachers report that they infrequently use technology in their classroom

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I speak to this from my own experience, and hope that it may be helpful to other audio designers and game aficionados all around.

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Audio is an integral part of a video game. In fact, even a simple score can create a very large impact. Take the classic: Space Invaders. The music is 4 tones, but is considered by many to have one of the most successful scores.

1978
Space Invaders
Midway imports Space Invaders from Taito. A great example of simple, effective sound design, Space Invaders owes a large part of its appeal to its menacing, paranoia-inducing soundtrack. Not music per se, the thumping audio track actually accelerates in tempo as the enemy invaders draw nearer (and move faster). The effect: sweat, panic, and increased blood pressure in a generation of gamers.
From “A History of Video Game Music” on http://www.gamespot.com/features/6092391/p-2.html
As the music speeds up, so too does the heart rate of the player; this is so much so, that if one plays Space Invaders with the TV on mute,  s/he will find the game to be much easier. (give it a try! PLAY HERE).
Clearly audio has a great role to play, even on the most basic levels. Audio plays a very visceral role in game immersion and great audio will enhance your game, bringing it to the next level.

So now that the WHY is covered, we will move on to the HOW.

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Using an in-house audio provider will surely create a tighter product as the audio designer is involved in and surrounded by all aspects of the game. Of course, budgets do not always allow for in-house audio, and so many game companies choose to farm out the audio to a wide slew of providers of which I am one.

From environmental sound design and SFX to custom compositions and interactive scores, there are many types of audio assets that will add to a game. What all these types of audio have in common is they are all best approached through the five guidelines below.

1) Bring the audio designer into the game development cycle early.

Audio is often thought of as something that can be dropped in last minute, and as an audio person myself, I can often tell this to be the case when playing the finalized game. If the audio provider was brought in early, s/he can give many creative ideas of how to use the audio in a game to not only react to the game, but even advance the story (such as interactive music that gives feedback to the player letting them know they are moving in the right direction). If the audio designer is made aware of the story and game mechanics nearer to the beginning of the production cycle, a more interactive, interesting, and polished sound track can be created.

2) Relate some examples of what you like via links/samples.

Producers, programmers, artists and audio designers are not always speaking the same “language.” If a producer is looking for a sound to be more “sad“, I can easily modify the sound to be so; yet, descriptions are not often that simple. The complications arise when words of more depth are thrown around, or

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Vancouver – Spark Animation has unveiled the opening night screening for its upcoming Animation Festival which takes place this September 16 – 20 at the VanCity Theatre. The Secret of Kells, which is an animated story of the boy behind the famed Book of Kells, will be the first film to be screened following the Festival’s opening night Industry Mixer. The film’s writer and co-director Tomm Moore will be presenting a session on the afternoon of September 17, but the topic has not yet been announced.

Confirmed speakers and sessions for Spark Animation include:

Coraline: The Changing Face of Animation with Martin Meunier
The Making of 9
Session Topic TBA – Tomm Moore (Secret of Kells)
Session Topic TBA – Conrad Vernon & David Burgess (Monsters vs. Aliens)

Confirmed Films for the Festival thus far include Secret of Kells, Iron Giant, Mary and Max, $9.99 and The Best of SIGGRAPH 2009.

There are many more speaker sessions and films yet to be announced for Spark Animation, so be sure to check their site often, or sign up for the newsletter.

This year’s Spark Animation sponsors and supporters are:

BC Innovation Council, BC Film, Vancouver Economic Development, AnnexPro, nvidia, Rainmaker, Propaganda Games, 3Vis and Association Friends include Women In Games Vancouver, Casual Games Association, Visual Effects Association of BC, Society of Graphic Designers Canada – BC Chapter .

Vancouver – The next Fair Copyright for Canada – Vancouver Chapter meeting will take place on September 2 at SFU Harbour Centre Room 2245 at 6:30pm. The Federal Government’s consultation process will be coming to an end on September 13, and if you haven’t had your say, please make sure your opinions are heard.

Michael Geist’s report on the latest Toronto consultation meeting doesn’t show a heavy involvement from the interactive media industry. He states that “Tonight the government held its second copyright town hall.  Only it wasn’t really a copyright townhall in the sense of bringing the community together to talk copyright in an open and balanced manner.  Instead, the music industry stacked the room to such a degree that little else was discussed.  There was the odd intervention from ACTRA, the Writers Guild, the education community, and software developers (and a self-professed pirate who may have worn a fair copyright shirt but did not discuss anything that resembled fair copyright), but the repeated music industry representation was the dominant theme of the night…”  You can read the rest of Michael’s report on his site.

Montreal – Eidos Montréal’s General Manager Stéphane D’Astous has put out the call for a new PR agency who can handle a national campaign for their upcoming titles Deux Es 3, Thief 4 and beyond. It is at a time like this that I wished I still worked in the industry, because I’ve found the creativity and originality required in the PR fields to have contributed to the best job positions I’ve ever held. The Montréal studio is also looking for people to fill a few job openings, including those of Senior Special Effects Artist and Programmers for Thief 4.

Vancouver – Wired Woman Network has partnered with Kontent Creative Group for a session on Creating Interactive Brand Stories this September 1. Wired Woman members will received a 20% discount on register for the seminar, which will look at examples of brand storytelling, identify what others stories are and how they are using the online space and social media to tell their brand’s story and engage with their audience. Just like the stories online, this workshop will be interactive and we will be doing some story building of our own. Please see the Wired Woman event page for further event and registration information.

Calgary – Autodesk has joined WorldSkills Calgary 2009 as a Platinum Sponsor and the Presenting Sponsor of the Mechanical Engineering Design (MED) competition. Autodesk’s sponsorship of WorldSkills Calgary 2009 compliments its status as a Global Industry Partner of WorldSkills International and further cements its ongoing support of the WorldSkills Movement since 2007.

“Autodesk is proud to be a sponsor of this very important educational undertaking,” said Joe Astroth, PhD, Autodesk Vice President, Learning and Education. “Being an integral part of WorldSkills Calgary 2009 represents a significant opportunity for Autodesk to inspire the next generation of architects, engineers and digital artists. We are confident the knowledge and experiences students gain using our software will prepare them to meet the demands they will encounter in the workplace.”

Autodesk’s role as a Presenting Sponsor of the MED competition also includes participation as a sponsor of the Polymechanics/Automation, CNC Milling competitions, Plumbing/Heating, Electrical Installations, Industrial Control and Joinery Competitions. As part of its sponsorship, Autodesk will provide its Inventor®, Maya® and AutoCAD® software for use by Competitors. It is through these seven competitions covering multiple disciplines that Autodesk is hoping to inspire students to develop their skill sets. Autodesk’s software used in the 40th WorldSkills Competition will be donated to Alberta schools, benefiting students across the province. For more information on Autodesk products, please visit our local premier Autodesk representatives and local event supporters at Annex Pro.

Seattle – For those interested in what’s happening across the border, enterpriseSeattle’s Washington Interactive Network will convene its 3rd annual Power of Play Economic Update Lunch. A panel of industry executives will explore the state of Washington state’s $4.2 billion Interactive Media Industry, the economy, and the Pacific Northwest region’s competitiveness compared with others in the US and Canada.

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Surrey – For those who haven’t gotten their tickets yet, hop on over to the event site and pick some up. Building on the success of last year’s event, Word Camp Fraser Valley has expanded to a variety of tracks:

* Beginner – For those who are just getting started out
* Intermediate – Ideal for bloggers who want to grow
* Development – Learn to develop from people who develop on WordPress
* Twitter – A great start for someone who wants to learn about Twitter

This year’s WordCamp Fraser Valley will be taking place at the SFU Surrey Campus tomorrow, Saturday August 22, with sessions getting underway at 9:00am.

Speakers and Tracks include:

Beginner Track

Rebecca Bollwitt – More than just a Blog.
Glenda Hyatt – 3 Tips for Increasing Your Blog’s Accessibility
Raul Pacheco – Accessorize Your Blog: Top Ten Ways to Maximize Reader Experience

Intermediate Track

Lorraine Murphy – Blogging for Creativity
Dave Zille – Using Custom Fields for Fun and Profit
Kulpreet Singh – Mastering the Admin Interface

Development Track

John Biehler – Setting Up WAMP for Local Development
Jeff Kee – Beyond Template Tags
George Plumley – Modifying Your Own Theme

Twitter Track

Gary Jones – How to Build Your Brand on Twitter
Rainer Schmoll – Integrating WordPress and Twitter

Richmond – Brother International Corporation (Canada) Ltd. has expanded their Richmond, BC facility to 52,500 sq. feet, providing nearly triple the capacity of Brother’s previous location. The expansion was needed in order to keep up with the demand for its products in Western Canada.

“The decision to expand in Vancouver follows the expansion of our Montreal facilities three years ago, which is already operating at full capacity”, explains Martin Featherston, President of Brother Canada. “In order to support our sales growth, it became a necessity to expand our capacity in the Vancouver area as well.” For geographic reasons, the region of Vancouver was a natural point of entry for Brother products, which are predominantly manufactured and shipped from Asia. The first Brother office in Western Canada was established in Vancouver in the early 1980’s. Both current Brother facilities in Canada (Montreal and Vancouver) are ISO certified for quality management (ISO 9001:2008), environment (ISO 14001:2004) and health & safety (ISO 18001:2007). The construction of the new building started in March 2009 and was completed by the end of July, while operations officially launched in early August 2009.

Toronto – Bay3000 Corporate Education, a leading provider of Project Management Education has announced that nominations for the 6th Annual Canadian Project Excellence Awards and Learning Forum (CPEX) are now open. CPEX is dedicated to business success by enabling and recognizing outstanding leadership. Through the CPEX Competition, we celebrate Canadian projects that have overcome challenges to deliver superior value. CPEX will be held on November 2, 2009 at the innovative Institute for Learning in Toronto. The goal of this milestone event is to connect individuals and organizations from industry, business, and government sectors to learn critical best practices from leading experts in the field, to share knowledge, to network, and to celebrate achievements made by Canadian Projects. CPEX fills a void by serving as the meeting place where leaders and their teams come together to exchange ideas and discuss strategic alignment and execution. This unique event is geared to Senior Project Management and Executive leaders.
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Toronto – The Toronto Agile Software Development Community will host Agile Tour Toronto as a one day conference that will take place Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency on King in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Agile Tour Toronto will provide a forum to learn about the techniques and practices of Agile software development where attendees can share experiences with the local and international practitioners. The conference program will provide multiple streams that will appeal to all experience levels, ranging from new-to-Agile novices to seasoned experts, as well as a stream for management. Registration fees have been set at an extremely affordable rate to ensure the conference is financially accessible anyone who would like to participate in, contribute to, or learn from the growing grassroots Agile movement in the Toronto area.

Lawrence Ludlow, an early adopter of Agile and one of the organizing committee members, states: “Agile folks really are focused on the people side of software development and are open about what they’ve learned”. After six years of heading the XPToronto/Agile User Group, Ludlow’s excitement surrounding Agile Tour Toronto is based in the progressive nature of the people he hopes to meet, “simply because of the valuable conversations that start up when you get a group of like-minded folks together in an open environment”. Gino Marckx, conference chair for this year’s event, adds “Agile software development is about valuing people, delivering results and encouraging learning, at a high but always sustainable pace”.