Village Gamer

Penticton -Earlier today, the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway announced that a third ORIC location will receive funding support from the Federal Government’s Community Adjustment Fund programme in the amount of $170 000.00. Since its inception in August 2005, the not-for-profit organization ORIC has supported the job creation of over 45 high-paying jobs, has currently 5 high-tech companies in its incubators and has already graduated one successful company RFind Systems.

The focus of the new incubator in Penticton will be on Clean Energy Technologies and Wireless start-ups, emphasizing ORIC’s relationship with the National Research Council’s Radio Observatory (NRC-DRAO) and Okanagan College’s new Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation, which is currently under construction. ORIC’s headquarters and first incubator is located at NRC’s Radio Observatory south of Penticton and its second incubator of 15,000 sq.ft. is located in downtown Kelowna.

“The Okanagan Research & Innovation Centre ORIC is very pleased to receive financial support of $170,000 from the Federal Government under the Community Adjustment Fund program to create a technology business incubator in Penticton. This will be our third incubator in the Okanagan Valley and it will be instrumental to the growth of the South Okanagan’s high-tech community”, says Peter Haubrich, President and Founder of ORIC. “Investing in incubators has proven to generate a $30 economic benefit for the region for every dollar spent according to the National Business Incubation Association NBIA, which has 1,900 members in over 60 countries”.

“Our Government, through the Community Adjustment Fund, is providing a timely, targeted stimulus to western Canadian communities, helping reduce the impacts of the global recession,” said Stockwell Day. “This project will help create jobs and maintain employment in the Okanagan Valley.”

“Business incubation is about transforming ideas into business success and accelerating skills acquisition, creating new high-tech jobs and sustainable economic value across the Okanagan, while stimulating new businesses in high growth sectors of the economy, attracting new investment, developing business capacity, and even attracting skilled people to the area” Added David Arsenault – Penticton’s Economic Development Officer.

Vancouver – A whole new audience of gamers will be able to unwrap Braid soon! Hothead Games proudly announced today that Jonathan Blow’s beloved indie title will arrive in the European PlayStation®Network on Dec. 17 for only €9.99, offering current and soon-to-be PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system owners a little extra holiday cheer this season.

Players will explore the human condition and manipulate time with our hero Tim in the lush, painterly world of Braid. An Independent Games Festival winner, this puzzle-platformer takes you from a house in the city on a journey through a series of worlds to solve puzzles and rescue the princess. In each world, you have a different power to affect the way time behaves, including the ability to rewind, create parallel realities and utilize time dilation to overcome the many obstacles in your path. There is no filler in this game; every puzzle shows you something new and interesting about the game world.

Key Features:

• Non-traditional platforming: You can never die and never lose, but challenge is always present and focused on solving puzzles, rather than forcing you to play and replay tricky jumps.
• Puzzle-rich environment. Travel through a series of worlds, searching for puzzle pieces and solving puzzles by manipulating time: rewinding, creating parallel universes and setting up pockets of dilated time. The game play is always fresh and new and the puzzles inspire new ways of thinking.
• Aesthetic design: A painterly art style and lush, organic soundtrack complement the unique game play.
• Nonlinear story: A nonlinear fiction links the various worlds and provides real-world metaphors for your time manipulations; act out these themes at your own pace, exploring playful “what if” universes.
• Forgiving game play: The game doesn’t force you to solve puzzles in order to proceed. If you can’t figure something out, just play onward and return to that puzzle later.

Winnipeg – Complex Games Inc. is proud to announce their first self-published game for the iPhone and iTouch.  Skipping Stones is currently in production and will be soon be available for sale on the iTunes store. Slated for a mid-December 2009 release date, Skipping Stones is a casual recreational game that you can play on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

“Skipping Stones is going to make a splash on the iPhone”, said Noah Decter-Jackson Co-founder and Project Director at Complex Games, “the game combines relaxing gameplay mechanics that simulate actually skipping stones across the water in several beautiful settings. Skipping Stones will instantly appeal because of its lush environments and enjoyable music. Players can just relax or challenge themselves and their friends to make the longest skip!”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53VLZBXMuVM]

Walk down to the beach and toss your cares away with the simple motion controls, or compete against other players online to make the most skips. Skipping Stones offers the gamer several beautiful landscapes, three different challenge modes and the ability to compete online against other players via Open Feint.

Guelph – Independent game developer Stir Fry Games is proud to announce the Windows version of SFG Soccer is now available online. SFG Soccer is the arcade-style indoor soccer game whose short game times, easy-to-learn controls, and fast-paced gameplay have made it a smash hit on the Xbox Live Indie Games platform. In it’s first month on Xbox Live, the game has already been featured in the Top Rated, Top Downloads, and the Top IGN.com Picks lists. SFG Soccer is currently one of the top-rated games on the service, with a 4-star rating in the United States, and an astounding 4 1/2 star rating in the United Kingdom.

The game has an extensive multi-season 64-team career mode, complete with a custom team & player editors, playoffs and an RPG-style skill improvement system. The Windows version also includes new features requested by fans including individual player stats, higher difficulty settings, league leaders, and the ability to edit and share your league easily using external programs such as Microsoft Excel.

Vancouver – A team of Art Institute Vancouver students have published their latest game on the web. Light Switch Studios is proud to announce their single player PC 2D side-scrolling platform title Fotagogos, which will officially release on December 15th. Gamers will play through the game as Phil, a young miner who is sent out by his family to gather the light crystals they need to survive. As Phil gathers the light crystals using his special light-switching helmet, he used one of three colours to help him defeat the enemies and find his way through the dark caverns. Phil can use the powers of Red, Green or Blue light to speed through dangerous territory while Green light will help Phil leap to high ledges. Making use of the Blue light will help Phil defy gravity and float to a safe landing. Fotagogos is a tool-based game which the team built from the ground up, and they have included level editing tools for players to mod and expand their game experience.

Vancouver – Swim Recruiting has posted the following career position for a Technical Lead in PHP Games at a Vancouver development studio:

• High level technical direction and low level coding participation
• Entrepreneurial, growing, and action-packed environment
• Lead a talented and experienced development team

Do you have strong leadership skills combined with expert knowledge of the LAMP stack and software development best practices at both the architectural and code level?

A Vancouver ‘home grown’ organization based in funky Gastown is on the lookout for an experienced and knowledgeable Technical Lead to direct and lead a professional, fun, and dynamic software team. This team will develop and enhance new and existing games for social network platforms such as Facebook and iPhone applications.

Working closely with the Studio Producer and Creative Director, you will be charged with establishing high level technical direction and supervision as well as ‘rolling up the sleeves’ and developing code. You will lead and motivate the team to release up to 8 multiple titles on various platforms per year. As well as excellent communication and documentation skills, you must have expert LAMP stack skills and knowledge combined with the ability to direct, lead and motivate a small group of open-source developers. You will also be highly competent at setting up and establishing development policies, frameworks, and best practices to ensure a fast paced, action packed, rapid prototyping, iterative model in a social and collaborative team orientated environment.

In order to be considered for this role you must be able to demonstrate the following:

• Expert proficiency (7+ years) in all areas of LAMP development at the architecture and code level
• Flash/flex development skills and solid Unix based tools and system administration skills
• Experience setting up and establishing software development frameworks, policies, and best practices
• Be a natural leader and manager with the skills and track record to motivate and grow the development team
• Passion for a wide variety of Gaming technologies and methodologies
• Graduation from a four year college or university, a degree from a recognized design school, or two to four years of related experience and training.

This is a fantastic opportunity to lead a modern, fast paced, innovative, fun and dynamic development team working on some of the latest games and applications with bleeding-edge open source technologies – apply by sending your resume to Brian Thompson at Swim Recruiting.

Vancouver – Blue Castle Games has the following career positions open for local candidates:

Rendering Software Engineer
Senior Technical Artist
Senior or Franchise Project Manager
Producer
Environment Artist (Contract & Full Time) – DEAD RISING 2 (new listing)
Contract Compliance/Online/Gameplay QA Tester (6 months) – DEAD RISING 2
Lead Level Designer
Online Software Engineer

Please visit their Careers page for more details.

Victoria – Most people are careful to shred their financial documents and keep a careful hold on their personal paperwork, but what about online and on their PCs? With the ever-present threat of spyware and identity theft, ensuring that personal details remain safe should be a top priority for all computer users. The latest version of ParetoLogic’s Privacy Controls software aims to make this task easier, and a lot more thorough.

Every action taken on a PC is recorded. Downloaded programs, visited websites, opened files, entered passwords and even instant messages are locked deep in a computer’s memory. A clever hacker who infiltrates a computer may copy online banking information for illegal transactions, steal personal data for identity theft, hijack email accounts for spamming, or snoop on the user’s private life.

Norman Eldridge, Technical Product Manager at ParetoLogic, said that “even with security software protecting against malware, people need to consider other methods that their personal data may be compromised: selling their used PC, having their computer stolen, or even being spied on by people who share their system.”

The latest web browsers have responded to this threat with new privacy options and ‘stealth’ modes. Internet Explorer 8’s InPrivate mode, for example, stores only the cookies and temporarily internet files required to browse normally, and then deletes these files automatically. However, Mr. Eldridge explained that this is not enough. “To fully erase your private details and history, you need to overwrite the data. Otherwise it is recoverable.” Privacy Control’s shred functionality does just that, overwriting browsing history, application history, and user-selected files. This permanently destroys the data, which cannot be restored, even with highly developed data recovery tools.

The most recent version of Privacy Controls upgrades these shred features, enhancing the scanning process to clean personal information from the latest programs. The expansion also adds support for the new 32-bit Windows 7 operating system. “A new operating system does not necessarily provide new security for personal information. If anything, the latest OS has more ways for your data to be recorded,” said Mr. Eldridge. Along with support for Windows 7 32-bit, Privacy Controls also supports Windows Vista and XP.

Montreal – In the spirit of the season, LogoBee proudly announces its fourth annual Logo Design Makeover. Any charity or non-profit organization may enter the contest, and submissions must be received by January 1, 2010.

LogoBee holds the Logo Design Makeover annually as a way of giving back to the community. By reducing overhead costs such as logo design and branding, these organizations can focus funds on the important services they offer. Having a previous logo or brand development is not necessary to enter. Depending on each winning group’s preferences, the LogoBee designers can refine an existing logo, or they can start from scratch. Each winning participant receives custom logo design from logobee.com, as well as professional stationery design complete with letterhead, envelope, and business cards. Contest submission is free.

LogoBee held its first Logo Design Makeover contest in 2005, welcoming any charities and non-profit organizations to enter. LogoBee adds two grand prizes to the contest, among other changes this year. The grand prize winners will receive a BundleBee package from Logobee.com for the deeply discounted price of $500. The package, normally priced at $1199, includes professional logo design, stationery design, and website design. In addition, LogoBee will randomly select 10 entries to receive a Golden package, which includes custom logo design with tailor-made stationery design included. Each Golden package will be offered for the nominal rate of $100, originally priced at $425.

Donating professional design services to charities and non-profit organizations is one important way that LogoBee feels it is important to give back to the community. LogoBee will announce the winners January 8, 2010, and notify the winners via email.

Yarmouth NS – Xona Games announced this morning that the studio has advanced to Round Three in the InNOVAcorp 2009 I-3 Technology Start-Up Competition for Nova Scotian companies. Xona Games, owned by brothers Matthew and Jason Doucette, is a top 3 finalist competing for $100,000 and $40,000 first and second place award packages for the Yarmouth, Lunenburg, Queens and Shelburne counties. In each of the five geographic zones, three finalists will compete for first and second place award packages, worth $100,000 and $40,000 respectively, made up of cash and in-kind business building services. The companies will pitch their start-up business plans to the I-3 judging panels in mid January. Xona Games is the only game development studio in the competition, and in addition to winning the above prizes, the brothers are also hoping to be the over-all provincial winner which will be selected from the first place zone winners. The provincial award is a $100,000 HPi Microfund investment. Good luck to both of you on presentation day!

Victoria – ParetoLogic has set out to finally put to rest a problem that has plagued PC owners for years: files with unknown or unsupported extensions. Their latest program, FileCure, provides a straightforward way to identify unknown files and open them, as well as repair errors with file associations. Adrian Pereira, ParetoLogic’s Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, explained that “This software really came from our customers. They kept asking us – ‘do you have a program that does this?’ Now we do.”

From Word documents to Adobe PDFs, every file has an associated extension. However, often users will come across a file with an unknown extension, a file that has been associated with an incompatible program, or a file lacking the necessary software. Regardless of the cause, the effect is the same – the file does not open. “Most people don’t have the in-depth Windows knowledge necessary to fix all their file extension and association errors,” Pereira said. The ease of trading files in the 21st century, be it through email, USB keys, file-sharing software, or online downloads, has only exacerbated this problem.

FileCure combines sophisticated software with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. Users can perform a full scan with FileCure or simply drag and drop a frustrating file onto the desktop icon. FileCure also scans automatically when a user attempts to open an unsupported file. FileCure then provides users with the two main items necessary to open a file: the type of the file and the program necessary to open it. The required program is delivered through online downloads, linked for easy access through the FileCure application itself. Pereira said of the software: “It’s a simple but important process. You need to know what the file is, and you need a program to open it. FileCure does it all for you.”

Toronto – I recently came across a programme called MeshMixer, which has been developed by Ryan Schmidt, a computer graphics researcher at the University of Toronto. The goal of MeshMixer is “to make it dead easy to compose new 3D models from existing meshes.” The programme is available free of charge, and Ryan is looking for feedback about it. I don’t have any experience with 3D programmes, so I can’t provide him with any type of useful feedback, but if any of you artists out there care to give MeshMixer a go, I’m sure Ryan would like to hear about your experiences with his programme.

Calgary – Digital Alberta and Banff New Media Institute have announced their first workshop of 2010 – Digital Tableau – The Art and Craft of Digital Media. This workshop will start with an evening reception at The Banff Centre Thursday, February 4 and will complete three days later on Sunday February 7 2010.

During the two and a half days of this workshop, studio time will be combined in the areas of illustration, sound, 3D animation techniques with classroom presentations on best practices, character and script development, etc. The first guest speaker that we are very pleased to confirm is Rich Mckain from Pixar Animation Studios who worked on Disney’s ‘Up’. Rich is a Calgary Native and is really looking forward to getting into peeling the layers of the 3D animation process. More speakers will be announced as they are confirmed. Early registration is recommended, as seats are limited.

Digital Alberta is also subsidizing a delegation of Alberta gaming companies to attend GDC 2010 in San Francisco, California. If your company is interested in participating and receiving funding to do so, please contact Rene Smid to request an application form. While GDC 2010 does not take place until March 9 – 13, 2010, Digital Alberta is working closely with DFAIT now on matching our delegates with international buyers. Applications must be received no later than December 31, 2009.

Montreal – Ubisoft has announced their first patch for Assassin’s Creed 2. This patch will fix a few bugs and crash issues that players have experienced. The patch will be released today on Playstation 3 and on December 11th for the Xbox 360.

Fixed: Situation specific bugs

Glyph – After the player has resolved a glyph (when the unlock code message appears), if the player presses A and B (for 360, X and O on PS3) repeatedly and quickly, the video will appear in full screen, and he will get stuck in “the truth menu”.
Fast Travel – Some feedback states that Ezio loses the ability to interact with the fast travel stations.
Free roaming/Parkour – In extremely rare occasions a bug allows Ezio to walk on air.
Auditore Cape – When first equipping or re-equipping the Auditore cape, users in the Villa become notorious even if the cape description says otherwise.
Altaïr’s armour – While wearing Altair’s armour the game crashes when performing multiple consecutive double assassinations.
Toscana – The game occasionally crashes if the player dies in Toscana, the player is stuck in the animus loading screen.
Water – Ezio and NPCs may get stuck beneath map if pushed in water.
Animus Loading Screen – There were reports of the game crashing while the player is in the Animus loading screen

Fixed: Mission specific issues

Sequence 05 Mission 01 – The game froze after completing the mission and following certain steps.
Sequence 06 Mission 02 – An extremely rare issue could make the game freeze while Ezio is fighting the guards.
Sequence 07 Mission 02 – Sometimes the civilians knocked down by Rosa could “float”.
Sequence 07 Mission 07 – When the user is in an open conflict, under specific situations the game crashed.
Sequence 08 “Venezia” – If a player desynchronises during the flying machine sequence, the player sometimes spawned near Leo’s workshop and not on the tower.
Secret Location: “Vizitatione” – The user remains stuck after locking onto the agile guard with the gun.
Sequence 11 Mission 05 – The user cannot continue gameplay after quitting and loading the game. They are stuck in the hideout.
Sequence 14 Mission 02 – The user falls through the texture if he is hit with rocks by the guards while climbing

Sound enhancement: 5.1 LPCM support

Montreal – QA International presents a new downloadable version of the celebrated Visual Dictionary: The Visual Multimedia 4th Edition. An online store was launched this fall to allow for the secure purchase and download of the two versions of the Visual Multimedia 4th Edition, making it possible to obtain the Visual without leaving the comfort of one’s home, and without shipping and handling fees.

“The sheer success of our site, the Visual Dictionary Online, since its launch in the fall of 2007 and the enthusiasm of its users around the world have clearly shown us that the Web is a powerful medium for distributing the Visual. We intend to continue focusing on new technologies to help increase distribution of this superb reference tool entirely designed and produced in Quebec,” says QA International vice-president and publisher Caroline Fortin.

Illustrated thematic content as diversified as the world around us

Whether you’re looking for the name of the small missing part in your dishwasher or the English term for clé à tuyau, or if you want to associate an image with an unknown word, the Visual Multimedia 4th Edition gives you the answer with a simple click, thanks to its unique navigation mode.

Two methods of exploration make the Visual Multimedia 4th Edition a user-friendly reference tool. The exploration can be started by entering a term in the search engine, or through the thematic structure, which goes from the general idea to the precise notion. Users of all ages will easily find the illustrations relating to their search topic, with the illustrations in turn providing access to connected terms and their definitions.

The Visual Multimedia 4th Edition includes some 6,000 hyper-realist illustrations and 20,000 defined terms covering almost 800 topics. These are grouped into 17 themes that present every aspect of everyday life, from sports, astronomy, the human body and the arts to cooking, gardening and the animal kingdom. This diversity makes it ideal for acquiring vocabulary according to one’s fields of interest, and in several languages. The software allows one to listen to the pronunciation of each term in every language of the edition and to personalize the main language displayed. It also offers five different games that measure the knowledge of the user in each subject.

New features

· Downloadable from the all-new Visual Dictionary online store
· Available in a trilingual version (including terminology in English, French and Spanish) and in a multilingual version (including terminology in English, French, Spanish, Italian and German).

Linguistic tools

· Multilingual interface (can display up to five languages at a time)
· Definitions in English and French
· Trilingual version: terms written and pronounced in English, French and Spanish
· Multilingual version: terms written and pronounced in English, French, Spanish, Italian and German

Etobicoke – CDW Canada, a leading provider of technology solutions for Canadian organizations in the public and private sectors, today launched its second annual Teaching with Technology™ Story Contest and Sweepstakes, offering Canadian** educators and administrators opportunities to win information technology (IT) for their classrooms and schools by entering a three-tiered contest. The contest begins today and will run until February 28, 2010.

The Teaching with Technology program is made up of three distinct contests:

• A ‘Story Contest’ allows educators and administrators to submit a description of how IT has improved the learning experience in their classroom or school.
• ‘Tweet ur Tech Tale’ is similar to the Story Contest, but stories must be submitted via Twitter, and therefore written within Twitter’s 140-character limit.
• A ‘Sweepstakes’ contest is open to entry by educators and administrators.

“Given the overwhelming response we received from last year’s Teaching with Technology campaign, CDW Canada is delighted to host the contests once again for K-12 teachers and educators across Canada,” said Mary Ann Yule, General Manager, CDW Canada. “Last year’s story submissions showed us many examples of the interesting and unique ways teachers are using technology to enhance the education process. CDW Canada is proud to reward these educators who play such an important role in preparing young Canadians to make their mark in the world.”

With up to $18,700 in total prizes, the second annual contest has received generous support from many of CDW Canada’s technology partners including premier sponsors Hewlett Packard (HP) and Microsoft, along with APC, Atdec, Cisco, D-link, Lenovo, McAfee, Oki, Polyvision, Sony, Trend Micro, TrippLite and Xerox.

Contest entry is easy and interactive

CDW Canada, a valued IT partner to the education sector, understands the importance of leading-edge technology in schools and classrooms. Educators must be equipped with the best IT tools to create an enriching learning environment for students, so the Teaching with Technology program offers Canadian K-12 educators and school administrators three ways to participate and win. The contests are easy to enter, and include interactive elements that provide insight into the many ways educators are leveraging today’s technologies to enhance the education process.

To enter the Story Contest – Entrants must submit a short story (200-500 words) that describes how technology (computers, networks, projectors, the Internet, e-mail, software, etcetera) improves the learning experience in their classroom or school. Read the rest of this entry »

Burnaby – For the first time, EA Sports FIFA Manager 10 is equipped with an integrated auto patcher which automatically updates the game to the newest version at the start of the game. After a very successful update 1 which was available already on the release day, update 2 is ready for automatic download as of today. The complete content of the update can be accessed in the developer blog by Lead Designer Gerald Köhler and will include new features for the offline and online mode as well as specific and community-requested bug-fixes including various 3d match improvements.

Guinness World Records announced today that they will launch the third in their series of books dedicated to video gaming in the new-year. Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer’s Edition will be released on the 4th of January in the United States and the 21st of January in the United Kingdom. Praised by critics as a ‘must have for fans of gaming’, the latest edition is the best in the series yet; packed full of amazing gaming records, reviews, trivia, and cool features!

I searched Chapters.ca for the new edition, but could only find the paperback version which is now available for pre-order, while Amazon.ca lists both paperback and hardcover for pre-order. Both sites list a later-than-announced release date, but perhaps those were just estimated dates. I’ve pre-ordered books before and then received them earlier than the listed release date.

Havok™ has announced that as part of the company’s expanding business model it has launched an Independent Developer Program. Designed to enable independent game studios to execute their creative visions using Havok’s premium, developer-preferred middleware technology, the Independent Developer Program helps studios minimize the overall risk and high cost associated with internal creation of the tools and technologies required to power today’s sophisticated video and PC games. Krome Studios is the first to license Havok tools and technology under the Independent Developer Program.

Havok’s Independent Developer Program will give developers access to the company’s full suite of cutting-edge, award-winning products and technologies including: Havok Animation™, Havok AI™, Havok Behavior™, Havok Cloth™, Havok Destruction™ and Havok Physics™. Havok’s modular suite of tools puts power in the hands of creators, empowering them to reach new standards of believability and interactivity in video games. All of Havok’s software tools are fully multithreaded and cross-platform optimized.

“Havok continues to be an industry enabler by providing the best resources at an affordable price to all independent developers,” said David O’Meara, Managing Director of Havok. “Havok is the tools and technologies provider of choice for developers worldwide and featured in over 250 games to date. We are excited to further extend our business model to enable independent game developers to innovate using the industry’s leading cutting edge technologies and tools.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Ottawa – CATAAlliance has announced that Peter Allen, President & CEO, DragonWave Inc., and recognized innovation leader, has endorsed the call for the adoption of the CATAAlliance Innovation Nation Platform, as a compelling model to improve the nation’s competitiveness and prosperity.

Peter Allen joins a growing list of business and community leaders, including Terry Matthews, Chair of Wesley Clover and Chairman of Mitel and March Networks, Dan Dodge, Co Founder & CEO, QNX Software, Dr. James Goodnight, CEO, SAS, Rod Bryden, President & CEO, Plasco Energy Group, Samantha S. Sannella, President & CEO, the Design Exchange, Rob Ashe, President & CEO, Cognos, Lionel Hurtubise, former CEO & Chair, Ericsson Canada Inc., Dennis Melnbardis, Lead Partner, Communications & High Tech, Canadian Practice, Accenture, Micheál J. Kelly, Dean of the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, the Hon. John Manley, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Mike S. Zafirovski, past President & CEO, Nortel, Chris Fawcus, President & CEO, Aon Reed Stenhouse, Dr. Marc Garneau, MP Westmount, Villle-Marie Canada’s first astronaut, Dr. Charles Despins, President & CEO, Prompt and Arvind Chhatbar, President & CEO, Enablence Technologies Inc., to call for the adoption of the Innovation Nation Platform.

“The award of national prosperity will go to those countries that lead the world in the design, development, production and distribution of goods and services,” says Mr. Allen, “These countries will attract and retain investment and talent. For nations to prosper they must become leading innovation nations; we all need to do our part to get there.”

Among the core planks being developed for Innovation Nation is a national brand for Canada based on regional advantages, creating an industrial strategy based on strategic approaches to government procurement and global supply chains, adopting best innovation tax credit (SR&ED) practices, removing trade barriers as part of responding to the flat world and attracting and training and retaining the best talent.

CATAAlliance is also looking for measures that would advance executive leadership and promote the adoption of high technology tools in government and the private sector.

John Reid, CATAAlliance President, concluded, “We are living through an economic revolution created by technology, global interdependence and increasingly open markets” adding, “Canada is already a leader in many business sectors. But to maintain and grow this leadership, we have to expand our markets and be the best in the world. We are calling on all Canadians to work with us to create the necessary entrepreneurship, innovation, risk taking, and public policies for the Innovation Nation.”

Montreal – THQ Inc. has officially announced that it has selected Montreal, Quebec, as the location for a brand new video game development studio which the company expects to become the largest facility in its global studio system. The agreement with the government of Quebec will allow THQ to create in excess of 400 sustainable new jobs over the next five years as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to develop the highest quality games in a cost-effective manner.

THQ has appointed Dave Gatchel, who was the general manager of THQ’s Paradigm Entertainment studio, to serve as the Montreal studio’s general manager, bringing extensive industry experience to his role. Under his leadership, THQ Montreal will focus primarily on creating core games for THQ as well as providing support for games developed across THQ’s worldwide studio system. THQ expects to create jobs in several disciplines, including design, engineering, art, content and technology development, quality assurance and localization.

“Montreal’s outstanding pool of creative digital media talent and its highly regarded university system makes this the ideal location to support our future product and technology development needs,” said Steve DeCosta, THQ senior vice president, THQ Core Games, Operations and Finance. “Moreover, government support, in the form of reimbursable tax credits and other incentives, enabled Montreal to stand out as the best combination of creative talent and favorable economics of the cities we evaluated for our new studio.”

“We are focused on building hit franchises and achieving efficiencies within our studio organization and THQ Montreal will play an integral role in achieving both of these objectives,” Said Danny Bilson, THQ executive vice president, THQ Core Games. “We expect to ramp up the studio over the next several years, with our first titles targeted for release in fiscal 2013.”

“We are pleased to welcome leading videogame publisher THQ to Montreal,” said Clément Gignac, Quebec’s Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade. “THQ’s new studio represents a key investment by a premier video game developer and will create more than 400 highly-skilled jobs in Montreal’s technology sector, further enhancing our position as a leading center of creative talent and game design.”

THQ is currently evaluating locations for the new facility and expects to open the studio by mid-2010. THQ Montreal will be the company’s second fully operational development and production studio in Canada. THQ’s global system currently includes more than 1,200 people located in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Interested applicants may send their resumes to THQ Montreal at: Montrealcareers@thq.com.

Vancouver – The call for submissions to present content for lectures, roundtables and panel sessions for the 2010 Game Developers Conference® Canada (GDC Canada) is now open through midnight, Tuesday, January 5, 2010. GDC Canada serves as a nexus point for established and promising young studios to learn best practices for developing new global titles and understanding emerging digital distribution models. The second annual GDC Canada is presented by Reboot Communications and Think Services, the organizers of the industry-leading Game Developers Conference. GDC Canada 2010 will return to the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, BC from May 6-7, 2010.

Canada houses more than 260 videogame and digital entertainment studios and an ecosystem of more than 60 universities focused on gaming studies. With this accomplished community of national and international talent to draw from, Vancouver’s GDC Canada is the premier event for professionals to discover new insights into developing popular international titles, managing established franchises and taking advantage of thriving digital distribution models.

“GDC Canada provides the perfect opportunity for game development teams to share knowledge for developing established franchises and guidance on taking advantage of new game distribution models,” says Izora de Lillard, event director. “GDC Canada really benefits from the incredibly talented community here, and we can’t wait to see what useful and insightful content they bring with them when GDC returns to Canada in early May.”

The session formats for this year’s content include 25 and 60 minute lectures, panels, and roundtables. The GDC Canada advisory board will rate sessions based on the criteria of concept, depth, organization, credentials and takeaway. The topics for this year include:

— Business/Production
— Digital Distribution
— Game Design
— iPhone Games
— Programming
— Social and Casual Games
— Visual Arts

Victoria – VIATeC is pleased to announce the opening of the nomination period for the 2009 VIATeC 25. The VIATeC 25 is an annual listing of the largest technology companies headquartered or founded in Greater Victoria based on revenue. To be eligible for inclusion in the VIATeC 25 please check our guidelines.

Companies listed on the VIATeC 25 will be announced at the exclusive VIATeC Christmas Party on December 17 where members will gather to celebrate the end of another successful year. Results will also be published on the VIATeC website and in the media.

For more information or to submit a nomination please contact Michelle. Cut off for nomination submissions is December 14, 2009.

To RSVP for VIATeC’s Members Only Christmas party on Dec 17 at Sauce Restaurant & Lounge from 3:30 pm please email our office.

Vancouver – Pixar Canada, who launched their new web site this week, has now announced some of the job openings for their new Vancouver studio. They are currently looking to fill openings for Layout Artist, Production Manager, Manger of Finance and Manager of Information Systems. Upcoming openings include positions in their IT and Software Engineering departments. Future positions to be filled in 2010 include those who work in Modeling, Shading, Rigging, Animation, Lighting, FX, Simulation, Art, Production Staff…and an ex-Navy SEAL? At least they aren’t looking for a partridge and a pear tree…

Calgary – Digital Alberta has announced their New Year’s Evolution event with strategic innovation practitioner, international lecturer and author Alexander Manu. Held in partnership with the Canadian Marketing Association and Telefilm Canada, New Year’s Evolution will take place on January 19th at Calgary’s Theatre Junction Grand and Velvet Lounge. Tickets are $55 for DA or CMA Members and $95 for Non-Members.

Toronto – Ubisoft has made a contest out of announcing where their new Toronto studio will be located. Employee #1 has started posting clues on his FaceBook page with a link to this video on YouTube:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbrq6O5r4dE]

The first person to guess the address of Ubisoft Toronto’s new studio location wins a copy of Avatar The Game (from Employee #1 – you must enter via his Facebook page).

Terrace – Rusty Axe Games, a developer and publisher of downloadable game software, is proud to announce the release of Real Estate Empire 2 version 1.0!

Real Estate Empire 2 is the sequel to our popular game, Real E$tate Empire! For the real estate mogul in everybody, Real Estate Empire 2 contains over thirty different levels packed into four different scenarios.

Real Estate Empire 2 features a streamlined upgrade and renovation system that makes the game easier to pick up and play. Real Estate Empire 2 also features a new goals based system that has players leveling up through a variety of different scenarios and goals. The much requested feature of renting has been added – do you wait for good renters who won’t damage your newly renovated bungalow or do you get somebody in there to start paying the mortgage today?

Real E$tate Empire 2’s user friendly difficulty system allows players of all ages and capabilities to enjoy the game. Players will be entertained for hours while learning about real estate management at the same time!

Real Estate Empire 2 is the real estate game that teaches you how to win… at the real estate game!

Vancouver – The launch of a business case library with a focus on British Columbia technology companies highlights the province’s growing knowledge economy, while giving students unprecedented access to industry successes, challenges, and best practices.

The BCIC Business Case Library is a collection of business cases that cover an extensive range of topics, including entrepreneurship, technology management, sustainability, finance, and marketing. The venture was established by the BC Innovation Council, and led by the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business.

The library will be used by post-secondary students, instructors, entrepreneurs and industry professionals to gain knowledge from local companies. In addition, the library is expected to shine a light on the province’s burgeoning technology industry and marketing the province’s technology companies globally.

“The availability of these business case studies will benefit B.C. students and entrepreneurs wanting to learn relevant local content that realistically reflects the province’s business environment,” said Dean Rockwell, CEO of BC Innovation Council.

“This is an incredible learning resource for the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders in this province,” said Thomas Hellmann, the B.I. Ghert Family Foundation Professor in Finance and Policy at the Sauder School of Business, who led the project at UBC. “These case studies help students to understand the intimate relationship between business and technology. This is relevant for start-ups and established companies alike.”

Business cases are often used as part of the case teaching method, an experiential learning approach that is popular with some business schools, and one made well known by Harvard Business School. The library is available in its entirety online, with the individual cases free and downloadable.

The BCIC Business Case Library was developed with expertise from seven universities in the province: British Columbia Institute of Technology, Simon Fraser University, Thompson Rivers University, University of British Columbia, University of British Columbia Okanagan, University of Northern British Columbia, and University of Victoria. The initiative also received support from the W. Maurice Young Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Research Centre.

“British Columbia is a great environment for entrepreneurial spirit,” said David Demers, CEO of Westport Innovations, a leading developer of environmental technologies for vehicles, and one of the companies participating in the business cases collection.

BCIC Business Case Library — Case Studies by Company:

AbeBooks
Absolute Software
Ballard Power Systems
Blast Radius
Canadian Council for the Americas in BC
Carmanah Technologies
DelTech Manufacturing Inc.
Etraffic Press
Inland Glass & Aluminum Ltd.
Inproheat Industries
Kelowna Flightcraft
Moly-Cop Canada
OncoGenex Technologies
QLT
Sitemasher Corporation
Teampages.com
Terahertz Solutions Inc.
Westport Innovations Inc.
Wood Lake Publishing
YVR
Zengar Institute

Toronto – Congratulations to all of the Canada New Media Award winners who were announced last night at the nextMEDIA gala at Toronto’s Design Exhange:

• Best Company of the Year –  Cyberplex Inc. (Toronto)
• Best Brand of the Year – Doritos
• Promising New Company of the Year – Syncapse (Toronto)
• Hottest New Digital Kid on the Block –  ChickAdvisor.com (Toronto)
• Best in Mobile Marketing –  Brisk ARTwist by Addictive Mobility (Markham)
• Best Mobile Application – Air Canada iPhone App by IBM Canada
• Best Location Based Service – Poynt by Multiplied Media (Calgary)
• Best Use of Social Media – Invoke Media, creator of HootSuite (Vancouver)
• Best in Interactive Marketing – Doritos White Bag by BBDO Worldwide – Proximity Canada (Toronto)
• Best Branded Entertainment – Worldwide Short Film Festival: Short Attention Span by doug agency (Toronto)
• Best Cross-Platform Project – Waterlife Interactive by the National Film Board of Canada
• Best Online Video Portal – National Film Board of Canada: Online Screening Room
• Best Innovative Web-based Game – Junk: Battles by Antic Entertainment (London ON)
• Best Kids Interactive – Titanium Chef by mod7 (Vancouver)
• Best in Canadian Culture, Interactive – In Touch: Connecting Cloth, Culture & Art by ecentricarts (Toronto)
• Best Online Comedy Performance – Têtes à claques (Montreal)
• Best Online Artist of the Year – K-os
• Leader in Social Change – Mark & Tonya Surman
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Red Burns, who is, according to the nextMEDIA website, known as the “Grandmother” of new media and Founder of the ITP Program at the Tisch School for the Arts at NYU.

London ON – Big Blue Bubble Inc. announced today that the first Fighting Fantasy game book, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, will be available on iPhone this Christmas.

Following the successful Nintendo DS launch of the game of the same name, Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for iPhone and iPod Touch takes a different approach bringing Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson’s legendary game book to your favorite handheld device.

Fighting Fantasy fans will love the classic story and original illustrations with a technological twist. No more dice, pencils, or bookmarks. All the special features are built in!

Features…

• Tap the on screen buttons to flip pages (No papercuts!)
• Shake to roll the dice using the accelerometer
• Inventory items selectable via touch-screen
• Game-save feature allows you to retrace your steps
• Beautifully painted illustrations

Vancouver – Karta Mobile Inc. today announced the public availability of Viira 2.0, the updated and enhanced version of its popular BlackBerry® application that brings the principles of David Allen’s Getting Things Done® (GTD®) productivity system into the hands of busy professionals, executives and entrepreneurs worldwide.

The new version of the already full-featured Viira adds several industry firsts, including the ability to create tasks based on incoming email messages, effortlessly prioritize tasks, and designate next actions. Viira is also the only BlackBerry GTD app to fully incorporate appointments and events in its underlying organizational system.

“Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” is a popular work-life productivity book by David Allen that shows readers how to effectively organize tasks, information and communications in an intuitive way. Since its debut in 2001, the GTD methodology has been enthusiastically embraced by millions of knowledge workers around the world.

While a multitude of web-based tools for implementing GTD have been made available over the last years, the engineering challenge of building effective and intuitive BlackBerry applications has left the principles of Getting Things Done under-represented on BlackBerry smartphones.

Viira has stepped in to fill the void. With Viira 2.0, BlackBerry owners can now conquer their inboxes by creating to-dos from the incoming email messages and immediately filing them in their appropriate place. Handling large volumes of incoming email has been a known pain point for people implementing Getting Things Done with BlackBerry devices – until now.

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