Village Gamer

You are cordially invited to attend the 10th edition of international conference webcom, one of the largest gatherings on Web new technologies, strategies, challenges and trends for North American organizations. webcom takes place on May 11th at the ICAO (Organization of International Civil Aviation) Head Office, 999 University Street in Montreal. Tickets for the conference are $495.00, with 

webcom boasts 45 speakers, 33 case studies, panels and sessions. Among the renowned speakers, Debbie Weil, author, speaker, and expert on corporate blogs and social media, Maggie Fox, founder and CEO of Social Media Group, and Geoff Livingston, author of the award-winning book on new media “Now is Gone”.

You will also have the opportunity to meet local experts, including Michelle Blanc, Bruno Guglielminetti, Katia St-Jean, Patrick Dubé, Charlérik Lemieux, Mitch Joel and several others.

For the past five years, webcom has been offering up-to-date conferences focused on international sharing and experience for local companies, allowing them to make sure their administrators are equipped to face tomorrow’s communication and technological challenges.

Always seeking to provide the latest content tailored to corporate realities while making sure to stay on top of upcoming challenges, webcom has redesigned its program schedule. As such, it will now be focused on educating and promoting Québec-based organizations through its effective combination of international speakers and local business partners. Those who are curious, have a vision or develop strategies can take part in conferences grouped under the five following themes:

1. Internal communications and services
2. External marketing and communications
3. E-commerce
4. Platforms and technologies
5. Innovation and interactive experience

Besides the main conference, participants can attend two off-program activities. webcomLive is an 8-hour WebTV presentation broadcasted live from webcom and accessible online in real-time, and webcamp is workshop presented by Sylvain Carle where tech and social Web buffs can push the Web environment’s conventional limits. webcom is presented by Guidyu and made possible through the collaborations of several partners, including: Transcontinental, Bell,  w.illi.am and Massy-Forget Public Relations.

3D character animation solutions developer Di-O-Matic Inc has released its complete line of character animation plugins with support for the recently released Autodesk 2012 products. As an Autodesk Authorized Developer, Di-O-Matic has updated its complete plugins product line to be fully compatible with the newest offering from Autodesk and is happy to release these updates after the recent official Autodesk release.

The new Di-O-Matic plugins compatible with Autodesk 2012 products feature significant enhancements over previous versions as most plugins received significant updates in addition to now being compatible with the newest Autodesk 2012 releases.

Key updates include:

* Voice-O-Matic,

Di-O-Matic’s automatic lipsync solution plugin for any character rig in 3ds max, Maya and Softimage has received several updates and now offers significantly better results than before.

* Morph-O-Matic v2.4,

Di-O-Matic’s morphing solution for 3ds max featuring a new Game Engine Scripting API for easier integration with game engines via MAXScript.

* Character Pack v1.5,

From muscle simulation to automatic lip synchronization, this all in one suite gathers all of Di-O-Matic’s 3ds max plugins for only 999$, a saving of more than 1400$ if purchased separately.

All Di-O-Matic plugins are available for purchase directly from the Di-O-Matic online store or through any of Di-O-Matic’s authorized resellers worldwide. All Di-O-Matic commercial products come with floating licensing options and one year of premium support.

Registered users with an active support package can request the latest version of their plugins by filling the required form, while registered users with an expired support package can simply renew their support package to get the latest version.

Ahead of the release of its final report later this month, Pixel To Product’s Justin Kozuch will be making an appearance on the Nat&Marie show tonight at 9pm EST.

Justin will be Wikileaks-ing a handful of new results from the company’s recent research study, and I encourage you to tune in and catch the segment. On deck are some interesting insights into the types of skill-sets companies are hiring for this year, hiring projections, perceptions of bias (ageism, sexism, etc), and some other very interesting findings the study has uncovered.

If you’ve got a question for Justin about the findings, tweet them to @49pixels or post your question on their Facebook fan page, or call into the show via Skype (add “NatAndMarieShow” to your Skype contact list), and they’ll do their best to answer it on the air.

They’re also giving away a copy of Scott Stratten’s “UnMarketing” for the best question; so think one up, tune in and you could be the lucky winner of a book I personally highly recommend.

More than 100 years ago, Horace Greeley popularized the expression “Go West, young man”. Taking his advice to heart, the mesh group has decided to go west, and now one of Canada’s leading Web conferences will be holding a one-day event in Calgary on June 8 at the MacEwan Conference & Event Centre at the University of Calgary.

The move into Western Canada is the latest extension of the vision the five co-founders of mesh had when they decided in 2006 that Canada needed a conference to talk about the exciting things happening on the Web.

From those humble roots, mesh has grown into an event that has attracted a long series of great speakers and – just as important – thousands of enthusiastic and engaged attendees. Calgary is the first stop on a Western swing that will see meshwest also happen in Edmonton and Vancouver.

“meshwest was something that we’ve been exploring for the last few years,” said mesh co-founder Mark Evans. “After the successful launching of meshmarketing two years ago, the time was finally right to take mesh into Western Canada.”

Like mesh, meshwest will feature a line-up of keynotes and panels focused on four streams – media, society, business and marketing – with an emphasis on exploring what’s over the horizon in the digital world. Speakers include Tobias Lutke, Keith Bilous, Mark MacLeod, Danny Robinson, Mark Evans, Mathew Ingram, Rob Hyndman and Stuart MacDonald.

The “eastern” mesh conference takes place in Toronto on May 25th and 26th.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has released a report on the findings from its national consultation on how the Internet is run. The report will be presented to the United Nations coordinated Internet Governance Forum, a venue for nations to discuss the future of the Internet.

The Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) was a national consultation hosted by CIRA, along with its partners, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Media Awareness Network (MNet). It consisted of face-to-face consultations that took place across Canada along with input received from an online discussion forum, and culminated at a national event held in Ottawa and webcast across the country in February 2011.

The consultations were broadly themed under two topics: the digital economy and digital literacy, and Canadians identified numerous issues that are important to them. These issues included online safety and security, the development of a ‘Canadian vision’ for the Internet and the cost and speed of broadband.

Digifest 2011 is Toronto’s international festival celebrating innovation and digital creativity. From October 26-30 established and emerging designers, technologists and artists will learn about the latest trends and experience innovations firsthand through panel discussions and presentations, demos, interactive exhibitions, workshops, art installations, “doors open” academic tours, creative showcases and parties.

Digifest will showcase digital media creativity in Toronto, bringing together academic, industry and the public to experience the convergence of interactive & mobile media, gaming, art and design, architecture, simulation and more.

Digifest will celebrate the latest achievements in visualization, simulation and interaction in many fields, inspiring and connecting all involved.  The festival’s long-term vision is to globally brand Toronto as a leading digital media and technology centre based on the unique breadth and depth of its digital sectors.

Digifest has been renewed and updated by the School of Design at George Brown College in partnership with the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, the Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFF), Applied Arts Inc., Meet The Media Guru (Italy), TOJam, Gamercamp, OCAD University, Ryerson University, Seneca College and various media and venue partners.

Innovation Days

(Wednesday October 26 – Thursday October 27, daytime)

This exciting portion of Digifest will showcase results of industry/school research partnerships to a crowd made up of industry members, academics and students. The content will be selected by Digifest and its academic partners. Each morning / afternoon will be devoted to one of the four Digifest streams: play, touch, build, watch.

Talks will be delivered by industry “thought leaders” followed by shorter presentations from various innovators in related fields.

Tiff.nexus Innovation Day

(Friday October 28)

TIFF.nexus is the connection of the existing and emerging media sectors of Film, Gaming and New Media, designed as a catalyst for collaboration between them.  This innovation day will feature emerging technology talks and presentations as well as the results of the 2011 Gaming Peripherals Jam – putting game developers together with hardware hackers to innovate in areas of interface – which will be showcased in an evening reception at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Meet The Media Guru

(Wednesday October 26 – Friday October 28, evening)

Meet The Media Guru (MMG) is a Social Network and an Open Community of Digital Culture that organizes local Events in Italy to meet the world famous protagonists of Innovation. Digifest is bringing MMG events to Ontario by making them a key component of the DF schedule. These evening speaker events will bring innovators from across the globe for thought-provoking presentations that will inspire and challenge attendees.

Exhibits and Activities

(Saturday October 29 – Sunday October 30)

The Digifest weekend activities will feature an array of exhibits, interactive displays, presentations and more, with many free events open to the general public. Events include:

• TOJam: featuring a day of talks by local game makers and industry thinkers, exclusive in-progress demos, and an arcade installation of over 20 games from TOjam.
• Art by Gamercamp exhibition, displaying digital art and design installations.
• Ziris™ wall: an on-going display of Digifest Ziris™ competition entries to be featured on the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts Ziris™ wall throughout the week and into the weekend. The Ziris Competition is open for entries until May 27th – get yours in now.

Already planning your summer of fun? The curious and courageous need look no further than the Ontario Science Centre. With a captivating special exhibition, a thrilling featured live interactive performance and dynamic programming that will engage children and adults alike, visitors have a lot to be excited about this summer.

These new arrivals are included with general admission, providing great value for visitors and members.

Featured Exhibition

Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly June 10 to Sept. 5, 2011
Which snake has the longest fangs? What is the difference between venom and poison? How many sounds can a crocodile make? Visitors will learn the answers to these questions and many others in the exhibition Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly. This interactive zoological experience brings visitors eye-to-eye with living reptiles from around the world. Deadly snakes, colourful lizards, bizarre turtles, alligators and crocodiles are exhibited in naturalistic habitats. Children can climb on a life-sized model of a giant Galapagos turtle shell and learn fascinating reptile facts from interactive displays. The exhibition will leave visitors with a new appreciation for these often misunderstood creatures.

Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly was created by Peeling Productions at Clyde Peeling’s REPTILAND, Allenwood, Pennsylvania.

Featured Live Interactive Stage Performance

CSI: Live! June 6 to Sept. 5, 2011
The world’s number one television franchise is about to hit the stage!  Mad Science presents CSI: LIVE!, an exciting, interactive journey through the fascinating world of crime scene investigations.  When a crime is committed at the Las Vegas premiere of the Max Spade Magic Show, the CSI team springs into action. Audience members are invited on stage with CSI “investigators” to be part of the investigation; becoming witnesses, suspects and CSI recruits. Together they will use their superior logic and forensic know-how to uncover hidden details, investigate the evidence and test their theories. Whether it’s analyzing mysterious gases, launching projectiles into a target or firing a laser beam across the stage, the CSI recruits will have to be on their toes to help solve the crime before it’s too late. How was the crime committed? Who is guilty? Only you can find the answers. It’s CSI: LIVE! – join the adventure! Recommended for children 8 years of age and up. Read the rest of this entry »

Interactive Ontario has announced the speaker line-up for the second annual INplay Conference, which takes place at the Liberty Grand in Toronto on May 17th and 18th. With its three major topic streams of Investment, Inspiration and Insights, the conference will examine the world of interactive entertainment and education for children. Registration for INplay is still open, so get your ticket now if you haven’t already.

New at the conference this year is the Canadian Interactive Showcase. Interactive Ontario has partnered with the Canada Media Fund to create an exclusive opportunity at INplay to showcase Canadian talent. The Canadian Interactive Showcase presented by CMF will provide Canadian companies with a chance to share their interactive project, product or service with an audience of investors, potential partners and peers.

INplay also gives registered delegates a chance to sit down with one of our event speakers or other featured participants for a 10 minute speed-dating style conversation in 1×1 Meetings.

Here are some of this year’s featured speakers:

Warren Buckleitner, Ph.D., Editor, Children’s Technology Review • Founder, Dust or Magic conference, author & children’s technology expert

Gever Tulley, Co-Founder, Brightworks • TED speaker, author of Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do)

Russ McLeod, Chief Operations Director, Me To We • Audience favourite and key player in youth inspiration events

Rupert Harris, Series Producer, BBC Children’s • Series producer for the BBC smash hit TV show and website: Bamzooki where you can create your own virtual Bamzooki creature.

Julie Sun, Senior Director of Digital Marketing, Nickelodeon • Sets the strategy and implementation methodologies for the internationally acclaimed kids network, Nickelodeon.

David Merrill, President and Co-Founder, Sifteo • Entrepreneur, Ph.D. & TED speaker with a vision for the future of kids games – Sifteo Cubes: 1.5 inch computers with full colour displays that sense motion, sense each other, and wirelessly connect to your computer

Some of the Featured Sessions:

* Inspiration Stream – creativity and content stream featured session: I <3 / H8 Transmedia
Back in the day, having an interactive component to a property was something of a novelty. Now, most would agree that all consumable media should be developed with interactive in mind. So, does this make the term Transmedia moot? This session will explore successful cross-platform projects via case studies, followed by a charged discussion about one of the industry’s most hated buzzwords.

* Investment Stream – business stream featured session: Cross Merchandising – The Chicken or the Egg?
What comes first? The video game, toy, TV show or iPad application? This panel of industry experts will discuss various merchandising and licensing opportunities. What are the benefits to licensing your property to a 3rd party? When is the right time to start to build your brand around merchandising?

* Insights Stream – research and e-learning stream featured session: Bye Bye Textbooks, Hello Learning by Playing
From human/primate evolutionary behavioral parallels, to classroom archetypes, this session considers the very specific question of how computer based gaming will likely change the look and feel of education forever. The core point being that current educational materials are deeply connected to the peculiarities of the printing press – which we are no longer bound to. What are the implications of learning materials being technology-based?

If you haven’t already registered for the Canadian Games Conference, there is still time, but don’t wait too long. This year’s event features Sessions in business, production, design, programming, social games, and iPhone games, and offers visionary keynotes, an expo hall, and some great parties, receptions and networking events. Group and student rates also available.

Victor Lucas, host and executive producer of The Electric Playground is confirmed to open Day 2 of this year’s Canadian Games Conference with a 9:30am keynote address. Seen daily by millions on his popular TV show, Victor is also the President of Greedy Productions and Executive Producer of Reviews on the Run. Victor will be interviewed onstage at CGC by Blaine Kyllo, Games critic and columnist for The Georgia Straight.

Here are the latest Session and Speaker Announcements for CGC 2011:

* Monster Teams: How One Producer Tamed the Beast and Lived to Tell About It – Alexandre Parizeau, Senior Producer, Ubisoft Toronto

* Classic Game Postmortem: Bejeweled – Jason Kapalka, Co-founder, and Chief Creative Officer, Popcap Games

* Don’t Just Build an App: Build a Mobile Business – Charles Yim, Strategic Partner Development, Google

* Late to the Party: Go or No Go? A Facebook Games Panel featuring:

Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, CEO Silicon Sisters
David Bezahler, CEO Blitzoo Games
Rick Davidson, CEO Inspirado Games

* Making Academic/Industry Partnerships Work

Magy Seif El-Nasr, Professor, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University
Paul Newton, QA Development Director, Electronic Arts Canada
Sang Mah, former Director of Interactive Media, Bardel Entertainment
Bruce Gooch, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Victoria, President and Manager, Relevant Games and Toon-FX.

You don’t want to miss the PechaKucha Session that will be closing out this year’s conference. Devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public, PechaKucha has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace. Come be inspired by high energy stories from the world of Games as CGC closes with PechaKucha.

The Canadian Videogame Awards featuring Video Games Live is a great way to kick off your conference experience. The show takes place on May 18th at the Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver, and will be hosted by Electric Playground’s Victor Lucas. This is the party that will kick-off CGC, and tickets start at just $30.00 Join the biggest names in the Canadian game industry as we celebrate Canadian excellence.

It’s also not too late to become a sponsor, exhibitor or show partner. Visit the Conference or Awards sites to find out about exhibiting at CGC, hosting a party, reception or networking event.

The following Multimedia and Social Media Summer Bootcamps are being offered at UBC Robson Square in Vancouver:

Digital Video Production with Final Cut Studio: June 13-17
Plan, shoot and edit a video project from start to finish with HD cameras and Final Cut Pro.
Save $100 if you register by May 16.

Introduction to Mobile Web Design: June 20-24
Learn to adapt content, style sheets and graphics for mobile devices.
Save $100 if you register by May 23.

Web Design: July 4-22
In just three weeks, learn to create a website with Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash.
Save $210 if you register by June 6.

UBC Summer Institute in Social Media: July 11-15
An Introduction to Social Media Tools and Community Engagement – Learn about social media tools and how they can help you engage your customers and fans, and create a sense of community.
Save $145 if you register by June 14.

Adobe InDesign: July 25-29
Learn print layout and create multi-page documents using Adobe InDesign.
Save $100 if you register by June 27.

Plus there will be a free information session for the UBC Certificate in Entertainment Administration program at UBC Robson Square on June 8th.