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Harmony Launches New Title While Hothead Seeks Game Name

I apparently missed finding out about Microsoft’s GoDevMental [1] programme when it was here in Vancouver…and I also missed the Toronto, Halifax, Edmonton and Ottawa dates…but hey, the tour is headed for Montreal (November 23rd), Winnipeg (December 7th) and Calgary (December 14th), so I can redeem myself at GoDevMental [1]least a little. According to the initiative’s web site, Go DevMENTAL is Microsoft’s free academic tour designed to teach you coding for the coolest apps and platforms, connect you with the industry, help you pursue your career aspirations and a great chance to have a fun evening out with friends.

The tour crew will be fiving you the opportunity to learn how to write apps and games for Windows Phone 7, get a handle on WebMatrix, an awesome free website building tool and punch-up your animation skills using Expression Blend for Silverlight. There will also be technology partners from the industry, offers and demonstrations of their latest technology and will be handing out DreamSpark Tokens for free software downloads and other freebies. You can get more details and register on the GoDevMental [1] web site.

castle smash [2]Vancouver social game developer Harmony Arcade [2] has announced the upcoming beta launch of Castle Smash [3], a medieval themed social game that gives players the chance to defeat villains, make friends, and destroy castles in all variety of locales. Castle Smash is a multiplayer physics-based castle destruction game now available on Facebook [4]. Choose your weaponry, such as the slingshot or trebuchet, and equip magical items that give you extra advantage in battle, then smash your friends’ castles in order to win the gold they’re hoarding.

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Speaking of Vancouver studios, Hothead Games [5] would like you to help them name their upcoming game, a dueling card game played by wizards. Check out the studio’s blog [6] Hothead Games [5] for full details and a bit of legal stuff, along with a game screenshot and a great pic of our friend Hamish…

WaveFront AC [7] invites location-based app developers to attend a free breakfast seminar [8] on November 18th and learn more about the new wavefront [7]NAVTEQ App Warehouse, a highly visual online catalog of location-focused applications which offers a unique matchmaking opportunity for developers and customers. Tom Tierney, Director of NAVTEQ’s Partner and Developer Program [9], will present how to market your LBS application through the App Warehouse including success rates and final NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge Winners. Other developer tools will be reviewed as well such as the Smart SDK for Mobile and turn-key location based advertising services. Revenues from mobile location-based services will exceed $12.7 billion by 2014 according to Juniper Research, so it’s now the time to capitalize on this opportunity.

At the end of the seminar there will be an opportunity for you to meet one-on-one with NAVTEQ to explore the commercial opportunities of working together, so please sign up when you register [8]. When you register, feel free to submit questions/topics you would like covered by the panel.

CTV [10]CTV [10] has launched Bangatar, a promotional contest for The Big Bang Theory television series airing weekly, every Thursday on CTV at 8:00 PM (ET), where players must upload a photo of themselves to create a photo mashup, or “Bangatar.” Simply visit the [11]Big Bang Theory [12]web site [11], click on the Contest page, and complete and submit your entry by following the instructions found on the site – after you read the rules [13] of the game.

The contest started on November 11th and will run until January 5, 2011 at 11:59:59 p.m. EST. There is one grand prize consisting of a trip for two by air to Los Angeles (this means you must have a valid passport), two preferred seating tickets to a taping of an episode of The Big Bang Theory, a tour of the set and a signed script of an episode of The Big Bang Theory. There will also be twenty-four weekly prizes, each consisting of one The Big Bang Theory Bazinga t-shirt and one The Big Bang Theory DVD box set of Seasons 1-3. Please see The Rules [13] for complete prize details and conditions. (Why did I just hear Sheldon’s voice say “the rules” when I typed that?)