Village Gamer

Those of you who are fans of The Sims and Army of Two will be pleased to know that Rios and Salem will be making a crossover appearance in MySims SkyHeroes. Here’s a sneak peek at their adventure:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMblHqPUXpg]

Relic Entertainment has released a new video for Dawn of War II: Retribution. This new video takes a look at the Eldar Race, which was revealed for the first time during last weekend’s Games Day UK.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me4w9McKj40]

Montreal’s Audiokinetic Inc. has released the latest version of Wwise, its award-winning audio pipeline solution. Wwise 2010.2 introduces new features and enhancements.

Among the new features included in Wwise 2010.2:

* New Wwise effects: Tremolo, Flanger, Guitar Distorsion, Meter
* Side-Chaining
* Convolution Reverb
Read the rest of this entry »

Women In View, an association of independent Canadian professionals in media, will be presenting SexMoneyMedia on October 14 – 16th in Vancouver. Registration for this event is now open, and you are invited to join a stellar group of media artists, industry leaders, scholars and policy makers in celebrating the achievements of women in media and creating a more vibrant, innovative and equitable media landscape for the 21st century. SexMoneyMedia will provide an unprecedented opportunity to engage in an international, multi-sector public dialogue on the future of media culture focusing on 4 core themes

• Vision and Representation
• Cultural Labour, Audiences and Markets
• The Unfolding Digital Universe
• Remedies, Policies, and Strategies

The opening keynote address will feature Trina McQueen, OC., Broadcast Journalist & former President of CTV Inc. and Rita Deverell, CM., Broadcaster & Nancy’s Chair in Women’s Studies, Mount St. Vincent University.

In addition to the symposium, there are also a number of Master Classes being offered, including a full day CFC Media Lab workshop on Interactive Storytelling featuring Ana Serrano and Anita Lee. There are several half-day workshops also being offered, including Documentary Storytelling, Behind The Scenes, and Visual Rights and Clearances. Space for these and other workshops is limited, so you should register soon to avoid disappointment.

Leading academics, professionals and artists will gather at Emily Carr University of Art and Design for the International Digital Media and Arts Association’s 8th annual conference to explore the world of digital technologies with a focus on the subject of The Digital Narrative. The conference will include workshops, keynote speakers, “extreme close-up” guest panels, paper presentations, networking, discussions, student showcase and social events as well as opportunities to explore Emily Carr’s state of the art facilities and the Innovative Program Awards.

New digital technologies and mediums are informing, challenging and reinventing our notions of narrative structures and storytelling. Non- linear, virtual, artificial, interactive, and cyber culture have become common terms and concepts when describing the emerging integration of science, art, and sociology. The Digital Narrative explores ideas of how storytelling and communication is influencing and influenced by new and emerging technologies. The conference takes place in Vancouver this November 4 – 6th, with Early Bird pricing available until October 20th.

Our fifth annual Game Design Expo will take place on January 22-23, 2011 in Vancouver, BC. This two-day event features lectures and panels with some of the top minds in all aspects of game design, including designers, producers, artists, sound designers, and writers.

GDX is now accepting submissions from game industry professionals wishing to present at Game Design Expo 2011. They are looking for guest speakers with a desire to share their game industry expertise, and would like to encourage you or any of your colleagues to submit a proposal to speak at this event. It really is a unique opportunity to give back to the next generation of game designers and the whole community of genuine game-fans. The deadline to submit a call for speaker form (PDF) is October 4, 2010.

Haliburton-based School’s Cool is a participant in the online, global competition entitled the Best Brilliant Ideas for Humanity. The competition has three rounds and School’s Cool is currently in the top 12 as round one ramps to a close. Through participation in this contest, School’s Cool is launching a global social marketing campaign with hopes of providing services in Asia, Australia, the UK and elsewhere.

As part of their commitment to making kindergarten readiness skills available across the globe School’s Cool is proud to announce their involvement in the Best Brilliant Ideas for Humanity competition. This global competition allows School’s Cool to showcase its phenomenal 72 hour school readiness program throughout the competition’s various phases with an initial social media campaign. Read the rest of this entry »

October 28 is International Animation Day, and to mark the occasion, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is presenting free screenings of great NFB animated films in cities across Canada as part of its Get Animated! series.

The full schedule has not yet been announced, but here is what we can look forward to here in Vancouver:

As part of the Vancouver Short Film Festival, you can see NFB New Releases on Thursday October 28 at 2:45 pm (Vancity Theatre)

Saturday October 30
1pm Master Class with Matthew Talbot-Kelly (Trembling Veil of Bones) (Vancity Theatre)
4pm NFB New Releases (Vancity Theatre)

Sunday October 31 – 10am Fairy Tales for All (Vancity Theatre) – Fairy tale lovers, young and old alike, will be charmed by this selection of animated shorts, including Molly in Springtime, awarded Best Animation at Banff World Television Festival 2010.

Monday November 1 – Ron Diamond’s Animation Show of Shows (Emily Carr University of Art & Design)

The NFB New Releases Program allows viewers to discover the latest works by NFB’s award-winning filmmakers, including Higglety Pigglety Pop!, an adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s book from filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Oscar® nominees and Genie Award winners for Madame Tutli-Putli), featuring the voices of Meryl Streep and Forest Whitaker.

Emily Carr University of Art & Design is offering a new immersive 4-day workshop on Digital Storytelling. Course participants will come with ideas for a story, family legend, or a piece of personal non-fiction, and leave with a 2 to 3-minute video, formatted for web-broadcast, family viewing or DVD distribution.

Digital storytelling, which sprang from The Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, California in the mid-’90s, was designed as a method of personal and community empowerment, bringing the tools of digital media production to the tech-wary and those usually kept on the other side of the lens. It has become a worldwide and dynamic movement to humanize and personalize fields as varied as health services, multimedia journalism, education, historical projects, literacy, marketing and communications, community development, tourism, research and evaluation. Read the rest of this entry »

Regina’s NetSecure Technologies, the company behind SmartSwipe, has announced a strategic partnership with BitDefender®, developer of BitDefender Antivirus Pro, BitDefender Internet Security and BitDefender Total Security. By combining the companies’ flagship products, NetSecure Technologies and BitDefender will provide a layered security package later this year to protect both consumers’ computers and their online transactions.

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, Internet fraud increased by 22.3 percent last year, causing financial losses linked to online fraud to more than double. Additionally, a recent survey of social media users conducted by the Ponemon Institute, an independent research firm, found that identify theft from online banking was of greatest concern, followed by conducting e-commerce transactions.

Daniel McCann, president, NetSecure Technologies, said, “With the steady rise in both e-commerce and online fraud, the industry needs to look for better ways to protect consumers. Today, no one device or software program is completely effective in preventing identity theft and Internet fraud; therefore, consumers must leverage multiple security methods. Through our partnership with BitDefender, we’re confident that – together – we can provide a bundled security package to further protect consumers’ financial and personal information from malicious attacks.”

By leveraging its Dynamic SSL (DSSL) patented technology, NetSecure’s personal credit card reader, SmartSwipe, encrypts sensitive data at the point of origin, before it ever reaches the computer, protecting sensitive financial and personal information from endpoint threats. SmartSwipe cannot be hacked and thus protects both financial institutions and their customers from the growing threat of cyber fraud and identity theft.

“BitDefender’s goal is to help protect computer users across the globe from online threats,” said Peter Laakkonen, General Manager, OEM and Technology Licensing, BitDefender. “We’ve remained committed to set new standards in proactive threat prevention, and our partnership with NetSecure is the latest testament to that commitment. We look forward to working with NetSecure to effectively safeguard the online world.”

Meanwhile over in Ontario, WinMagic® Inc. has announced that leading research firm, Gartner Inc., has placed WinMagic as a “Visionary” in its Mobile Data Protection (MDP) Magic Quadrant* for 2010. WinMagic is committed to Research & Development, innovative features, comprehensive certifications, heterogeneous platform support and wide-ranging embedded system support for such technologies as Seagate self-encrypting (Drive Trust) drives, Opal compliant self-encrypting drives, TPM, Intel® Anti-Theft Technology (Intel® AT) and EFI. Read the rest of this entry »

Bell today announced the launch of an unprecedented, multi-year charitable program to support mental health across Canada. Practically addressing a pressing national health concern, mental illness, Bell’s five-year, $50 million initiative supports an extensive range of programs to enhance mental health in every aspect of Canadian life.

“Mental illness impacts every person in Canada in some way, causes immense personal suffering and takes a heavy toll on our national economy. The health care community has worked hard to address the impact of mental illness, but public understanding of the disease remains low and mental health support needs to accelerate,” said George Cope, President and CEO of Bell and BCE.

“Bell will work to reduce the stigma still associated with mental illness while enabling practical programs supporting new research and improved access to mental health care. Mental illness affects our society more than any other major disease yet receives less funding than almost any other. Bell’s mental health initiative is dedicated to addressing the problem,” said Mr. Cope.

In its 130 years serving Canadians, Bell and its team have made substantial investments in communities and charities across the country, and will continue to support a range of charitable initiatives with money, services and volunteer time. However, Bell’s prime community investment focus and the majority of its charitable spending will be dedicated to the promotion and support of mental health across Canada.

“Too few people suffering from mental illness get the help they need, reflecting a clear reluctance to recognize and talk about the issue on the part of too many. That stigma is a barrier to treatment,” said Mr. Cope. “Stigma surrounded many diseases in the past, but concerted efforts to face the reality of intensely personal illnesses changed attitudes – and positively changed outcomes for sufferers. To drive real progress in mental health, Bell has made reducing stigma the first pillar of our program. We’re launching a campaign called Bell Let’s Talk to open the national conversation, with a true Canadian leader at its centre: Olympian Clara Hughes.” Read the rest of this entry »

Edmonton’s Beamdog is happy to announce the availability of great Kalypso games such as Disciples 3, Tropico 3 and Patrician 4.

“I am delighted to form a strategic partnership with Beamdog and look forward to this exciting business development!” says Charlie Barrett Managing Director of Kalypso Media.

“I’ve just started playing Tropico 3 and so far I’m no Fidel. My island people have yet to embrace my doctrine of statue building and banana worship.” rants El Presidente of Beamdog Trent Oster.

Kalypso Media games are available for purchase now, and the offerings on Beamdog’s site includes some free trials.

JoWooD Entertainment, the BVT Group and Toronto’s DreamCatcher Interactive announce details of the planned digital services for ArcaniA – Gothic 4 and therefore react to the needs of the gaming community.

“Digital Rights Management as a module of the digital services has always been a tightrope walk between user friendliness and security of the product. ArcaniA – Gothic 4 is different here” explains Clemens Schneidhofer, JoWooD Entertainment. “With Arcania – Gothic 4 we deliver a high-quality product gamers will enjoy playing for hours. This joy and fun should not be disturbed by intrusive copy protection measures. So SecuROM is the perfect solution for us because it offers the necessary security and at the same time it fulfills our high expectations concerning costumer-friendliness.”

ArcaniA – Gothic 4 can be installed on an unlimited number of PCs and only needs to be activated once via the Internet. To play, which can be done at up to three PCs at a time, neither the original disc nor a constant internet connection is needed. The possibility of an uncomplicated transfer of license between the used PC offers a maximum of flexibility to the customer.

“The implemented digital services will be perfected by a user-friendly Auto Update Feature that informs the gamer pro-actively – without an annoying search – about the availability of a new Update and installs with the permission of the gamer right away” says Sascha Geschwendtner, Product Manager Games Services Sony DADC. “In addition other innovative solutions to increase the usability and the comfort of the game were implemented one of them being the verification of the release date. This feature allows the user to install the game in advance and to start it directly on the release date and therefore helps to avoid unnecessary waiting time to access the game-world.”

The Province of Ontario is helping The Canadian Film Centre, the country’s largest institution for advanced training in film, television and new media, continue its leadership role in developing world-class talent. This training helps Ontarians get jobs in an exciting and growing industry, while giving Ontario’s artists an opportunity to reach a broader audience with their work.

The province is investing $9 million over three years to help expand its acclaimed training programs and further develop Ontario’s screen-based and digital entertainment market. This provincial support builds on a $10 million investment in the film centre announced in 2005, and in 2009, Ontario’s foreign film and television industry contributed $946 million to the provincial economy and The International Indian Film Academy has selected Toronto to be the first North American city to host its annual Weekend and Awards in June 2011.

Growing the creative sector supports the province’s five-year Open Ontario Plan to help seize new global opportunities and turn them into jobs for Ontarians. Two Canadian Film Centre films were selected for the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival: “Champagne” and “How To Rid Your Lover Of A Negative Emotion Caused By You!”

“The Canadian Film Centre has been instrumental in promoting Ontario’s entertainment industry to the world. Our government is proud to support its growth and the key role it plays in developing our cultural industry, which creates thousands of jobs for the province,” said Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture.

“We applaud the government for recognizing the cultural and economic contribution the Canadian Film Centre makes to the province and are grateful for their continued partnership. This investment will help our talent excel at creating innovative content for global audiences,” said Slawko Klymkiw, Executive Director of the Canadian Film Centre.

THQ Inc. today announced that it has selected Joyent, a global provider of smart computing solutions with an office in Vancouver , to support THQ’s expanding presence in the social games space. THQ will use Joyent’s innovative Smart Technologies to provide a turn-key development and publishing environment to its social gaming development teams. Joyent will provide the server infrastructure, bandwidth, hosting and network operations that enable rapid prototyping and deployment of online games.

Joyent’s quick-start cloud solution and professional services will enable THQ’s developers to focus on game innovation rather than infrastructure deployment. The application of Joyent technology will allow THQ to speed time to market, lower operating costs and improve scalability.

“Joyent provides a key component of our social network strategy,” said Mike Hogan, Vice President of Online Publishing and Operations, THQ. “Using Joyent technology, we’ve been able to create an environment that allows us to provide our studios a scalable platform for developing and launching social games. By removing the complication of infrastructure deployment, we allow developers to focus on what they do best, making great games.”

“We’re pleased to be providing smart computing infrastructure to THQ’s developers,” said Chris Arisian, Joyent EVP Field Operations. “Joyent’s extensive experience supporting some of the leading developers of social games have helped us refine our technology specifically for online games. We support the entire development lifecycle and have optimized our platform to deliver an end-to-end performance and scalability required by game developers. From prototyping through production, Joyent provides the infrastructure solutions to deliver the entire game.”

Incidentally, Joyent’s Water Street studio in Vancouver does have career positions open. According to their site, Joyent is looking for a Software Engineer, a Senior Network Engineer and a Sys Admin.

On the night of September 12th, Toronto’s McCaul St was egregiously quiet. Within the walls of OCADU, however, Interactive Ontario’s IN|2010 was enjoying a strong beginning. The room, sparsely lit and ultimately subdued in atmosphere, was party to a broad assortment of digital media pioneers. The occasion was particularly blessed with its concurrence to the opening of START. Ian Kelso, the President and CEO of Interactive Ontario, described the evening best in his greeting to the crowd.

“This is a preview—it actually doesn’t start until tomorrow, but thank you for bringing us into your space.” The thanks was better expressed by the round of applause. “These shows, called Start, the goal of the program itself is to promote art games created in Toronto, and some beyond, and to let you play, and decide for yourself, what is art in the creation of video games? So I really encourage you to play and develop all the games that are here. There’s some really, really fabulous games. So you won’t be disappointed.” Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations to development studio Digital Extremes who has been named as a winner of The Ontario Business Achievement Awards Royal Bank Award for Small Business. Digital Extremes is one of a dozen Ontario companies who have been named provincial winners of The Ontario Business Achievement Awards (OBAA) and the Ontario Global Traders Awards (OGTA) by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

“These outstanding award winners exemplify business excellence through innovation, export diversity, entrepreneurial spirit and an understanding that the best investment is in their people,” says Len Crispino, President & CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “This is the award winners’ opportunity to step into the spotlight to celebrate success, not only for themselves but, for Ontario.”

Square Enix revealed today that a new premium-quality action figure based on the central character from the Eidos Montreal game Deus Ex: Human Revolution™, Adam Jensen will be the latest addition to the Play Arts® -KAI- series, and will feature newly-augmented Adam Jensen and even more.

“The Square Enix Merchandise Division is dedicated to creating collectible action figures that combine high production value and excellent articulation,” said Kanji Tashiro, Merchandise Director of Square Enix, Inc. “The DEUS EX series has captivated fans across the globe since the first game was released, and we are thrilled and pleased to be making action figures for its latest entry. The game’s truly unique style and visually striking technology provides us with a perfect opportunity to do what we do best: craft a high-quality product that brings to life a vibrant universe.”

For those on the career hunt, Eidos Montreal has several positions open, including that for a Brand Manager.

Ludia and FremantleMedia Enterprises have launched The Price Is Right HD for iPad® on the App Store. Now iPad users can “COME ON DOWN!” to an unparalleled The Price Is Right experience, enhanced with stunning new HD graphics and incorporating Multi-Touch game play. Incorporating all the familiar elements of the beloved TV game show, The Price Is Right HD for iPad puts players in Contestant’s Row to bid on items in order to earn a shot at playing popular pricing games, try their luck at spinning The Big Wheel, and experience the winner-takes-all tension of the Showcase.

“The Price Is Right is one of Ludia’s most successful titles across platforms, and we are thrilled to now bring it to iPad owners in HD,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia Inc. “Game show fans can now enjoy immersive and engaging The Price Is Right fun anywhere, thanks to the iPad’s advanced capabilities.”

The Price Is Right HD features:

* Eye-popping HD graphics designed and optimized for the iPad.
* Two game modes: single player and multiplayer.
* Favorite pricing games to play including Plinko, Cliff Hangers, Punch-a-Bunch & many more.
* Authentic stages, Big Wheel, and other game elements combine with familiar music and Rich Fields as announcer to create a true-to-show experience.
* Customizable 3D player avatars: choose hairstyles, clothing, accessories and more.
* Unlock bonus items as a reward for progress in the game.

Astral Media Inc. has launched a campaign that celebrates its contributions to Canadian culture. The two TV messages were conceived by Bos and depict what the film, television and music industries would look like without such crucial financing. Both situations use humor to offset an otherwise very serious issue.

The campaign premiered last week at the opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival, which Astral is a proud sponsor. One of the two trailers was showcased during the Opening Night Gala Presentation of Score: A Hockey Musical, one of 19 Astral supported Canadian Films selected for the 2010 Festival. Other movies include gala presentations of Barney’s Version, A Beginners Guide to Endings, and the Bang Bang Club; and a special presentation of Trigger. Both messages are now airing on Astral’s pay-television and specialty services.

For over 25 years now, Astral has played a leading role in providing private funding for Canadian culture. This dedication to the vitality of our communities and to the arts industry has allowed for ambitious television and film projects to see the light of day, and for now popular musical notes to take flight. Every year, through its pay and specialty TV channels, radio stations and The Harold Greenberg Fund, Astral invests over $170 million in Canadian culture.

“We are fortunate to live in a dynamic, inclusive and creative culture. This unique point of view needs to be nourished and celebrated. We take much pride in the fact that Astral’s investments help great projects come to life, contribute to a creative product of quality, and support the talented artists and artisans behind these projects,” said Derev Antikacioglu, Corporate Marketing Director at Astral.

Astral continues to be the country’s largest private investor in Canadian feature film, funding the development and production of homegrown film and television projects. In the world of music, Astral has worked closely with partners to develop and launch over 20 projects to support Canadian singers, songwriters and performers.