Village Gamer

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

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

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

Speakers and Tracks include:

Beginner Track

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

Intermediate Track

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

Development Track

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

Twitter Track

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

Canada – Ubisoft Montreal has launched the first in-game trailer for Avatar The Game. The trailer shows off the game environment and some very interesting creatures, along with several explosive combat scenes between human forces and the native Na’vi people on the planet of Pandora. I can tell just by watching the trailer that this game is going to popular in the Village Gamer home office what with its big guns, big flying machines and fighting creatures. Pandora looks to be a place of incredible scenery full of imagination and wonders to be discovered – all while trying to stay alive (sometimes quite a challenge for me) and battling for planet supremacy. We will most definitely be looking forward to this game’s release on November 24th.

Ubisoft has also released more PC Games from their back-catalogue on GoG.com. The newly re-released titles include Heroes of Might and Magic® 2 Gold Edition, Heroes of Might and Magic® 3 Complete Edition, The Settlers® 2 Gold Edition and the stunning Might and Magic® 6 Limited Edition, which includes parts 1–6 of the landmark RPG series. All games are totally DRM-free, fully compatible with XP and Vista and accompanied by mounds of extras, including soundtracks, wallpapers, forum avatars, maps and much more.

SARF Studios has opened their studio’s new web site, which introduces their flagship product, an innovative, social virtual world named Planet SARF. Realizing the momentum, trends, and potentials related to environmental sustainability, Planet SARF has focused on creating an amusing and educational virtual experience based on the principles of Edutainment, educational entertainment as an effective learning tool.

Using highly detailed 3D imagery, players will be immersed in an open-ended, virtual adventure as they explore the beauty and mysticism of the Yucatan rainforests, Mexico. Players can choose a customizable character, which will be their Avatar in a virtual adventure that includes water rafting, diving, exploring, mini games, and learning.

Planet SARF will educate players about the flora and fauna as the players advance throughout the game. Informative pop-up windows will show specifics regarding the animal, plant, or geological characteristics encountered in the game. Research has found that not only are virtual worlds effective learning tools for children, they are also valuable opportunities for children to practice social and life skills.