Ah … prepare yourself for entertainment … at my expense.

I’m hooked on Social Girl for the iPhone. Why? Because it’s pretty. Why did I download it in the first place? It ranked popularly as a Top Free game in the App Store. In its first week, it was downloaded over a million times. And right now, it has over 737 ratings, with an average of four stars. I was curious. And I can totally see the appeal.

It’s a bad relationship. It’s a bad virtual world. It sets terrible examples for girls, and yet all I want to do is buy beautifully designed outfits, unlock new ones, mix and match clothing, and see where my “boyfriend” will take me for dates, which range from yachting and hang gliding to picnics and the Taco Hut.

I also want to know what happens when I unlock “skin colour” when it comes to changing him, supposedly for the better, since you can change his name, hair colour, hair style, clothing and face. It’s like watching a terrible, terrible movie, just to see what happens in the end.

Made by CrowdStar, a social gaming company based in California, the point of the game is to develop a relationship with your crush by going on dates.

Before going on dates, you have to dress “properly”, which means assembling outfits with items that have certain values assigned to them. Each date requires a certain combination total from a genre of clothes, be it Sporty, Hipster, Preppy, Rocker or Girly.

To get ready for these dates, you can choose different items from your closet. When you’re short on your “properly dressed” total, you can go shopping for items to make up the balance.

How do you get coins? By hanging out with various cliques and making friends. While each clique has six friends, you need to make friends with them in order of coolness. And the game will actually tell you when you’re not cool enough.

To “complete a friendship”, it’s a combination of hanging out and gossiping with the friend in order to unlock clothes of that category (or using real currency to skip some of this). You need energy to do that, and one energy unit takes five minutes to replenish so that your bar (which starts at 18 units) is full.

Yup…I’ve been a slave to that energy bar, waiting to accumulate enough coins so I can buy the pretty top for four more points that will let me go on my date with my crush, who I’ve now renamed from my husband’s actual first name to Dud, for the purposes of making screenshots for you, the lovely public. (My husband is in no way a dud but it also became confusing when exclaiming, “Look!  We’re going to a cooking class!”)

It’s ridiculous. I’m quite aware of that.

But little girls aren’t.

So how about making a really popular game for them, that teaches them something … good? Or even great?

Here’s my open call to CrowdStar and all game developers, especially in Canada where you can get funding to help you develop and market such a game. If you’re with me, I will draft the first revision of the Game Design Document in full.

Let’s make a game for our daughters to play.

Instead of the game being all about your boyfriend, how about this game focuses on you, Independent Girl?

At the start of the game, you choose a career path, whether it be solely for your career or a combination of career and family.

Instead of your energy bar being used for gossiping and hanging out, how about this game focuses on making good choices?

I propose three energy bars which can sometimes work in tandem, for example, exercising boosts “Health” but drains “Energy.” Enough exercising increases the Energy and Self capacities.

“Health”
You can build up this bar by:

• Exercising
• Spending (quality) time with your friends, who instead of saying flaky things like “My parents have the coolest sailboat”, “Everyone wants to be me” and “Preppy girls are way better than girly girls”, they say things like, “I’m proud of you!”, “Good for you for standing up for yourself!”, “Thanks for lending me that great novel.”
• Cleaning your apartment by doing various differently-valued activities.
• Taking classes like learning a language, swimming, rock climbing, woodworking, car mechanics, cooking, motorcycle driving. Different classes unlock quests.

“Energy”
Determined by food choices (like the Eat This, Not That! game) where healthier options give you a boost to Energy, Health, and Self.

“Self”
This bar relates to the user’s overall stamina, career path, and goals achieved. Karma points can also boost this bar with activities like donating blood, volunteering, taking care of a sick friend, donating clothes, food or coins.

There will always be critics, but how about making a game that gives girls more choices, and sets up rewards in a different fashion than gaining favour of the hottest guy and getting into the “best” cliques? Who’s with me?

Image source: Venture Beat

We also did a video interview with Ian Christy from Slant Six Games, but due to the background noise, the interview will have to be re-done in a quieter environment. Both Scott and I live tweeted from the Expo, check out #gdexpo to find the tweets from Industry Speaker Day – a small army of us managed to get #gdexpo trending in Vancouver, and Scott grabbed a screenshot of the accomplishment.

Industry Speaker Day began with a subject that always interests me – story. Bruce Nesmith, Director of Design at Bethesda Softworks spoke on the opportunities and challenges experienced in creating radiant stories in video games, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in particular,  a game which I have not yet played – in fact I haven’t touched a game on my console in over two weeks due to lack of free time.

The possibilities presented through the use of radiant story telling that intrigued me the most was offering a more varied and immersive experience for the gamer with smarter NPCs who could play more than one role throughout the course of the game. Non-Player Characters who actually react properly in a non-repetitive manner would be a very welcome addition to games.

The next presentation’s focus was on working with established IP properties, centering on Capcom’s upcoming Resident Evil chapter Operation Raccoon City, currently in development at Slant Six Games. Senior Game Developer Ian Christy walked the audience through several areas in the new game as he spoke about staying true to the Resident Evil franchise will creating new and creepy experiences for gamers. It is important to the game’s creative team to maintain the expectations of Resident Evil fans while attracting new ones.

Ian touched briefly on a few of the major changes in this iteration of the Resident Evil story, including less focus on solving puzzles and much more high-energy, high adrenalin shooting scenes. In an interesting twist, players are given at least one moral scenario, where they can choose the path they want to take – kill iconic characters and change the story, or maintain the status quo storyline by letting them live. Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City looks like it will have some great play scenarios, especially for those who enjoy games with multiple game tree experiences, including me. You can read Ian’s presentation in full over on his blog.

Up next was what Scott and I felt was the best presentation of the day – Combat 101: Creating Cohesive Combat Systems with Mark Acero, Senior Combat Designer at Radical Entertainment for PROTOTYPE 2. Using the example of creating a giant dragon enemy, Mark presented the challenges of realistic physics and balancing game play mechanics to give the player an even better game play experience than was expected. The main message from this session was that if Mark ever designs the dragon enemy of his dreams and your player character encounters it in a game, the best defense will be to run. In the opposite direction. Fast.

The session presented by Bruce Kelly, a Narrative Game Designer at Eidos Montreal was titled Storytelling vs Storyplaying: Lessons Learned in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. This presentation held a lot of potential, but for me it fell far short of the mark. To be fair, this was Bruce’s first ever presentation at a game design event, but I would have preferred a more topical talk over the large amount of time spent on biographical and critical acclaim for the game talk. There was some discussion about team communication and prototype turn-around, but in reality, this talk didn’t hold a lot of interesting content.

We missed two of the afternoon presentations as we were out in the lobby talking to people and getting ready for our interview with Ian, but apparently the talk given by Dan Taylor on the topic of level design was excellent. We didn’t hear much in the way of feedback on Competitive Multiplayer Design for iOS, the presentation done by Patric Mondou from Gameloft Montreal, so I cannot pass along anything about it, unfortunately.

The final single-speaker session of the day was Lessons Learned While Designing a AAA MMO with Bioware Austin Associate Lead Designer Emmanuel Lusinchi. This presentation was given in the form of seven important points, with a bonus lesson at the end, of areas that all game designers should pay particular attention to, and there are so many studios who get some of these very wrong – making mistakes that could have serious repercussions in this “instant feedback” world in which we live.

One of the most important points was paying attention to your game’s social community – MMO players are among the most vocal in the world, and they will let you know when they are not happy with your product. It’s also important to make it easy for players to socialize amongst themselves during game play – give them some ice-breaking opportunities and benefits such as a buff for talking to another player in-game.

From my Twitter notes, here is a shortened version of the lessons presented:

Lesson 1 – you are not working enough on your tools – a good investment in the long run

Lesson 2 – communication – everything you say can and will be used against you especially with your fan base; leave no room for ambiguity, don’t let your audience think you lied to them

Lesson 3 irrationality – peer validation theory, lifestyle investment theory, existential threats. Forums for MMO games are a bit more … challenging .. for the dev team. It is a Challenge to understand the subtext of all forum arguments where perception > facts. As I said above, there is a common perception that devs are out of touch with their audience. Talk to your fan base.

Lesson 4 – covers the social aspect of MMOs that I mentioned above.

Lesson 5 – applies mainly to devs only – be self generated and self directed. Play the game, read the forums, use the tools you wrote

Lesson 6 was about cool stuff – how the cool unexpected stuff happens – include a recipe for lots of them in your game. The secret recipe for cool stuff includes: a healthy project, motivated dev, broad knowledge, good tools, attention to details, and understand the limits. There is a fine line between a company hero and a loose cannon creating wildfires.

Lesson 7 – hiring well is the single most important success for any project. Interview seriously, use the veto rule, test prospects before, during & after the hiring process.

Bonus lesson – be that guy (or gal) studios are always in need of stars. After grad, everything new will be self taught, add to your knowledge base. Using in-game mod tools is good practice & a way to show your worth & understanding of tool sets.

A panel discussion moderated by Victor Lucas concluded the day. Indie developers Brian Provinciano, Chevy Ray Johnston, Rick Davidson, Jake Birkett and Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch presented a spirited and entertaining session about some of the realities in choosing the path of being an independent developer as opposed to working in a studio owned by one of the major publishing houses. Brian’s game, Retro City Rampage, was set up in the theatre lobby where it proved to be a popular attraction.

Some of the important take-aways from this panel were:

• Marketing is a full time job – don’t expect to just publish a game and then it will sell itself
• Be willing to give away part of what you own in order to get ahead
• Chevy spends all of his time making games, not thinking about what it means to be indie – he makes games because he is compelled to create
• Rick feels that being indie has become somewhat trendy
• Victor feels that part of being indie is that the creator takes control of his or her IP from start to finish
• Rick also thinks about food when he thinks about games – some are Thai, some are McDonald’s
• Brenda feels that there is a huge gap in game development that is neglecting a big audience
• The jury is still out on whether or not Chevy is in fact insane
• Brian found it too difficult to work a full time job creating games for someone else and then work on his own project at night, so he left his job to work on his own projects full time
• Jake pointed out that success does not happen overnight – it takes time to build a good base of projects that will financially support you

Congratulations to Relic Entertainment, winner of the annual VFS Award For Outstanding Educational Contribution. In 2011, Relic established the Brian Wood Memorial Internship, an internship that will be awarded three times annually to celebrate the life of Relic game designer Brian Wood, who was killed in a tragic car accident in 2010.

Day Two of the Game Design Expo took place at the VFS Game Design Campus, and I don’t think we have ever seen so many attendees at the Open House – and I also noticed that this year there seemed to be an abundance of young teen and pre-teen attendees. I think this is encouraging when one considers the future of the creative talent pipe over the coming years. This year, instead of socializing with other members of the local game development industry, Scott and I took some of the mini-classes that are offered throughout the day.

If I were to pick a favourite class, it would be Storytelling, which touched on the differences between stories in games and movies as well as what a player expects from stories in games. The next class we took was Game Theory, another class that I completely enjoyed, except for how fast the presenter spoke. Both of these classes made me wish that they were offered as a night school course out here in the Fraser Valley. While there are creative writing classes offered through some continuing education programs out here, they aren’t quite the same as writing for games or developing game play.

The class we sat in on was for Level Design, which we also found interesting but at the same time also a bit lacking. We would have liked to have learned more about some of the tools available to the public so that prospective students could work on their skills and perhaps build a good skill set before attending a game design program. While the presenters did use the freely available UDK, alternatives were somewhat ignored. We also sat in on the Flash Game class, as we were hoping that the possibly insane Chevy would be the instructor. Sadly, he wasn’t, but Scott still messed around with the platform and created a bit of a fun game.

As always, we would like to commend the volunteers, students and faculty at VFS for another great event. We would also like to recognize the sponsors and speakers who play such an important part in the success of the Game Design Expo – and we are already looking forward to next year’s event.

This year’s Game Design Expo Sponsors:

• G4 TechTV Canada – gold level & exhibitor
• AnnexPro – bronze level & exhibitor
• Radical Entertainment – bronze level
• Big Park – friend
• HP – tote bags
• Slant Six Games – networking reception & exhibitor
• Georgia Straight – media
• iDesign Solutions – exhibitor
• Relic – exhibitor

At some point in time in the near future videos from Game Design Expo 2012 will be available for viewing. In the meantime, it is possible to look back on the 2011 and 2010 sessions on the video page.

The final day of the two-day event wrapped on a recurring discussion of relationships and the importance of building and nurturing the right ones for both your studio and your games.

Make sure you are setting up the right relationships for your studio

Whether looking for venture capital, an incubator/accelerator, publisher, or other funding partner, every speaker emphasized the importance of understanding your needs and thus ensuring that you are approaching the right partners.

If looking to partner with an incubator/accelerator program, the key to success is the proper fit. Amar Varma of Extreme Venture Partners warns, “Not everyone has all the tools you need. If you can’t leverage success in an incubator/accelerator into something bigger, why would you do it?”

In their talk about how game studio Massive Damage and accelerator Year One Labs collaborated on “Please Stay Calm,” Ken Seto (Massive Damage, Inc) and Ben Yoskovitz (Year One Labs) echoed Varma’s sentiments. Noting that the purpose of an incubator/accelerator is to help studio owners raise capital and build the studio, every program has its own mandate and focus, making it important for the studio to know what it is about and what it needs.  Yoskovitz advised start-ups to look for facilities and partnership offerings beyond office space and ancillary services.   He calls incubators a “dotcom concept” because today, finding physical space is less of an issue.  Start-ups should have their own legal and accounting support in place, and look for incubators/accelerators with actual private investors who can help raise capital and/or advise on growth.

When looking at distribution platforms, Neal Sinno from Arkadium reminded the audience that there are more user communities for social games than just Facebook.  Case studying the Arkadium title “Mahjongg Dimensions,” Sinno discussed the company’s experience with Pogo.com, noting that every portal has “their own wants and needs,” both technically and with social mechanics.  Building partnerships can lead not only to new opportunities for your games, but also additional support with technical needs and integration requirements.

Relationships in deal-making

According to Brad Young of Flashman Studios, the key to successful relationships in the B2B (business-to-business) market is to “structure the deal properly to ensure everyone is happy to succeed together.  Getting the right kind of money from the right kind of investor is very important in this industry.”  To do so, it is also important to “understand the criteria of the partner they are pitching to,” added Jonathan Newth of Tenshi Ventures.

Also key is understanding the role of the organization you are doing business with.  On a panel of publishers, Zack Karlsson of Capcom emphasized that developers tend to focus on their projects, monitoring the market between titles.  Publishers, meanwhile, are monitoring the marketing all the time, making them more adept at positioning the game for launch.

Careen Yapp of Konami agreed, noting that “strategies change every quarter.”  And because of this rapid pace, she additionally recommended the importance of speaking to publishing partners as early as possible in the production process to get your title on their radar and solicit feedback.

Karlsson cautioned that while it is important to solicit feedback early, “don’t make changes without a contract. Don’t build your game for free based on what publishers say, and then end up with feature creep before production even starts.” The key is to take the feedback you find relevant and not because you feel you have to. That said, it is equally important for developers to “keep your big boy pants on” when meeting with potential partners.  “It is important to be engaged and passionate, but not so personally invested” that you take offense to the feedback.  In the case of publishers, the relationship runs more smoothly if they can be “direct and honest.”  When developers and studio heads “get bent out of shape,” they are seen as an “energy draw and high maintenance,” which could make the publisher reluctant to partner with you.

Many panellists with chequebooks emphasized to the audience that the money is not being provided out of goodwill.  They are in the business of making money and expect returns on their investments.

Martin Soltys of TransMedia Entertainment Partners observed that, “Producers don’t respond well to the idea of paying money back,” and that there seems to be a “sense of entitlement” by content creators when it comes to equity investors.  He recommends that when approaching financial partners, studios have a clear statement of purpose for the money.  And if someone is offering you your first deal, think strongly about taking it, cautioning that a better deal is likely not going to come around until you have some traction.  If someone is investing in you, it is because they see positive potential returns.

Young notes that every deal is different, and is dependent on the relationship.  There are many options (like revenue share on flat contribution, a percentage, upfront payment, payments in tranches unlocked by metrics), but it depends on the game and the objectives.

Many speakers highlighted the importance of maintaining your relationships, and that your network is your best asset, with Soltys noting, “Relationships are about the destination, not the game.”

Your relationship with your users

To get above the noise of the plethora of game content available to users, is of utmost importance to ensure that you respect your users – new and established.

Peter Satuerbrei from Robomodo reflected on his previous experience with crowdsourcing, imparting on the conference attendees that they ensure what they are presenting to potential contributors is the right message for your game and your development team.  Be honest about what you are making and how, as “it affects what you can ask of the community.  It is a fine balance between what you need and what the community is willing to contribute.”  If yours is a newer, less experienced team, you may not be able to raise as much as a more experienced one, but users appreciate the clarity.

Respecting the users’ opinions can also affect your productivity.  Echoing Jason Della Rocca’s talk on day one about validated learning, Steve Fowler from [a]List noted the opportunities of crowdsourcing as a validation of concept.  “If the game is not well-known, it is an opportunity to promote the game amongst gamers to determine interest.”

Karlsson commented that to succeed, “games will need to reach out to communities to keep up with the changing (business) models.” He also noted that pricing models are adjusting. “The middle tier pricing model will disappear.  If you’re going to go for the 99-cent model, put your money where your mouth is and charge more for the creative value.  (Soon) content will only sell for 99-cents if it really is a 99-cent experience.”  However, due to the strengths and limitations of the various gaming platforms and distribution channels, we “won’t see $30 content in the app stores any more than we’ll see $10 content at Best Buy.”

He also highlighted the importance of a proper strategy for DLC (downloadable content).  “The audience won’t tolerate being milked … consumers evaluate DLC as either content feeling “owed” (charging for something that should have shipped with the original release) versus ”oh, that’s extra” and has value.

For success in the free-to-play market, John Walsh of Fuse Powered says the key is to “make a game that users like, will play, and eventually want to contribute money to” and that it is about “charging the right amount of money for the right things at the right time.”

Future opportunities

While the industry matures and standards are being established, investors and publishers are watching for innovation, particularly in game play and monetization models.

“There is an opportunity for people willing to buck the trends and not follow,” according to Karlsson, which he says is due to the “disruptive technology potential.”  Soltys also notes that the “new innovations are the ones not bound to scale.”

About Interactive Ontario

Interactive Ontario (IO) is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry. To this end IO is an industry advocate within Ontario and nationally as a founding member of the Canadian Interactive Alliance /Alliance interactive canadienne (CIAIC).

IO represents over 290 interactive digital media companies covering a range of sectors including: e-Learning, video/online games, mobile, television, and social media. IO also works with many interactive digital media stakeholders including those working in marketing, law, accounting services, research and academia.

Sasha Boersma is an independent business analyst & consulting producer for the Canadian interactive, convergent, and games industries. She is active on twitter (@sashaboersma) sharing general insights and news about and relevant to Canadian IDM, and blogs on the business of the Canadian interactive digital media sector at www.bewareoftheleopard.ca.

As it is defined today, PIPA has a stated goal of providing the US Government and copyright holders an additional arsenal of tools to aide in taking down ‘rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods.’ The Senate bill details that an “information location tool shall take technically feasible and reasonable measures, as expeditiously as possible, to remove or disable access to the Internet site associated with the domain name set forth in the order.” In addition, it must delete all hyperlinks to the offending “Internet site.
Credit http://blog.softlayer.com/2012/keep-fighting-sopa-on-the-ropes-pipa-lurking/

They also have a great write-up on SOPA, but in laymen’s terms, if a site, no matter where it is hosted or what content it actually has on it, gets reported for sharing a link to a filesharing site, or posting pictures that belong to someone else, or someone is posting the entire Harry Potter books as PDF for download to your ebook reader, then your ISP would be required to do everything it can to keep you from going to that site.  Doesn’t sound too bad, really… until you consider that there is no actual investigation taking place first to make sure that copyright infringement is really going on.  Maybe you are an Indie game developer and you are using torrents to release your new game to the global market.  Maybe you are starting a news blog, and using a picture from the Apple website while talking about their newest release, the iPhone12G (no, this is not a press release, move on now search bots).  Or, maybe you are J.K. Rowling deciding you have enough money now and want the entire Planet to experience the joys of Harry Potter books (no, I have not read them, so I have to go based off a review posted on Amazon, which I would not be allowed to do in a SOPA world)… yeah, okay, long shot on that last one.  Maybe you are self-published and hosting your latest works yourself.

Basically, any site owner could be found guilty under the SOPA/PIPA act and lose their sites, all because one person reported them for illegal sharing, without even checking to see if it was allowed, or even true.  The Government doesn’t have time in their schedules to investigate each report, so it’s easier to “pull the plug” and let things sort themselves out.  No investigation of ownership, or validity of the claims.

Sites like Wikipedia would vanish.  As would reddit.  icanhazcheezeburger, also known as LOLCats would be gone (I just know Tami’s mother is in panic stage on hearing that). Even Facebook would face the risk of filtering and/or blocking due to SOPA/PIPA (really, how many pictures on Facebook Pages do you think are public domain?).  And a site does not have to actually be American to be impacted by this.

We at Village Gamer are also opposed to SOPA and PIPA.  While we may not be actively participating in the blackout (due to the fact that it is a news day, and the press releases keep coming), you can be sure that we (or I, as the IT guy here) will be watching things very closely as they develop.

SOPA and PIPA are American Bills… but they deal Worldwide damage.  Think of how the Internet works in China.  The American Government telling the whole World what it can and cannot see on the Internet.  To say that they would break the Internet is an understatement.  It would completely destroy the Internet, and create a new Network where the Government controls what you can and cannot see.  Stop SOPA.  Stop PIPA.  Stop closed Internet.  Start Open Thinking.

I picked this book up on our way home from Merging Media 2011 in Vancouver, having heard one of the speakers recommend it during his presentation. Through the wonders of the internet and cell phone technology, I was able to ascertain that our local Chapters outlet had one copy, and called ahead to have it held for me. While agile development principles will not be new to many of you – and truth be told, they aren’t really new to me either, I’ve heard them spoken of at many industry seminars, the way the author ties those principles in with ideas from other sources seemed to stick with me better, for some reason.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve been wrestling with our own new project for months now, and the thought of breaking it into incremental development didn’t really occur to me – it was just this monumental project with many components that would theoretically fit together nicely in my vision of what I wanted to accomplish.

After reading Little Bets and getting a look at project development across industries and disciplines, I now realize that I was approaching our project all wrong – it needs to be broken up with each area visited and re-visited until I can achieve (hopefully) what I originally set out to do.

One of the measures I use for a book’s importance to me is the number of researchable resources it offers. Peter Sims has included a categorized appendix full of further resources, many of which he covered in the text of his book, explaining their relevance to his topic and solving one more piece of the puzzle in how to develop a successful business model, service or product. It was also validating to see that some of the books Mr. Sims recommends were already on my office shelf, which tells me that I am on the right track as far as gathering knowledge goes.

Other reviews of Little Bets have been somewhat negative, stating that it contains nothing new, or that it only applies to the highly intelligent with big budgets. I don’t feel that way. I found Little Bets to be encouraging, offering me the chance to reflect on what it is I personally am trying to do, and that tells me that this book was worth the purchase price and time it took me to read it.

Sometimes all it takes is reading a lot of similar material that is presented in different ways with viable examples of products and companies many of us can relate to, and as a habitual reader and researcher of topics, I believe that Little Bets may have unwittingly become my tipping point in moving forward.

Also encouraging is the fact that the small team I’ve been working with thus far on the new project is comprised of people from different career backgrounds, and we can sit around a table tossing around ideas and suggestions without fear of belittlement, so in that way we had already achieved one portion of the successful creative team. Again, validation that we are moving in the right direction, albeit quite slowly. However, as I’ve said to Scott a few times – I would rather move ahead slowly and get this project mostly right than toss the whole thing onto the internet only to have it fall apart in one massive mess.

While no book can truly provide all of the answers for any given project or situation, Little Bets gives the reader plenty to think about – everything from how we think about projects and problems to how we educate our children and encourage them to become free-thinkers and creative problem finders.

Peter Sims draws examples from university professors who have conducted years of research into the practice of understanding innovative methods and the creative process, such as Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s work on the concept of Flow. The author also presents research from Dr. Carol Dweck, a Professor of Social Psychology at Stanford University, whose work revolves around human mind-sets.

Pixar, Toyota, Hewlett-Packard, architect Frank Gehry, the US Military as well as Proctor & Gamble are but a few of the examples presented in Little Bets of how changing thought processes and behaviours worked for them, aiding in finding the creative processes that pushed ideas forward.

Little Bets is by no means a research paper with footnotes to support its theory; it is a business knowledge book designed to offer the reader a path to new thinking and new ways to solve problems he or she may be facing. It is a look at how different people approach and solve different problems. It’s about processes that work for them, how they might work for you, and it’s about changing your own thinking processes to break down barriers that may have been blocking your path – turning your little bets into small wins that will eventually transform into big success.

If you are looking for suggestions on how to get around these barriers in your own project, I highly recommend Little Bets – it is decently light reading with lots of informative sign posts to help you along on your journey.

According to the press release, “With the Fall 2011 season quickly coming to an end, Shaw Media announced today that the Global prime time schedule has been a huge hit with viewers, delivering Top 10 hits right across the country.” Well I beg to differ. Shaw, Global, CTV, whatever – did not deliver Top 10 hits. They piped US-made product into Canadian homes. Global and CTV (and yes, even the CBC) excel more at cancelling Canadian-produced shows than they do at delivering them. As I said earlier, we do watch some of those imported shows, but certainly not all of them, and we do like our Canadian programming.

With the number of channels available to the average viewer, you’d think that there would be a night when there isn’t a full slate of US-made shows, their re-runs or syndicated titles on the majority of channels. Why are there 3 or 4 channels at any given time running the exact same US-made syndicated re-runs? Why aren’t there more channels showing syndicated re-runs of Canadian shows? I may not know very much about TV licensing, but I do know that there’s enough homegrown product out there to last for a few years of airtime. Why can’t we have a Canadian Classics channel? Anyone?

I would be interested to see how the specialty channel ratings look, and I would also like to see how all of the currently aired Canadian-produced shows measure up – no matter then channel they’re on, and no matter if they’re first-run or syndicated. I’m a Gemini – I am curious about such things.

Here’s a look at what other Canadians are apparently watching – we personally watch only 4 of these shows (5 if you count HNIC, which we watch sporadically), as we choose to watch more Canadian content than the National average, it would seem.

National

Toronto

Calgary

Edmonton

Vancouver - wow, we are regular viewers of only 3 of the shows on the local list. Of course, it would be easier to watch FlashPoint if the network would stop playing musical time slots with it – or is it slated for cancellation just like the other top-notch Canadian shows we’ve seen axed over the past year, so by bouncing it around, the network can claim poor ratings.

Come on people – watch more Canadian content and keep our creative talent working.

Chart Source: BBM Canada PPM Data, Fall 2011 STD (9/12/2011 to 11/27/2011) Confirmed up to Nov.20/11, A18-49, Total Canada AMA(000)/Meter Markets Rtg%, 3+ airings

The inevitable move to gaming — the first book is called Game of Thrones, after all — was there and EA had sewn up all the game rights from the beginning, says the HBO series co-executive producer Vince Gerardis at X-Summit in Toronto. But, after time, EA let the rights lapse.

That left the door wide open for Cyanide Studio. Montreal-based studio director Yves Bordeleau says he “immediately jumped in” and game production on the RPG was based solely on the books, as the cameras has not yet begun to roll on the TV series.

Martin was also an active player during the process. “We worked with him to create a new story and characters, but the same mood and feel of the series is there,” said Bordeleau, adding that the story-driven RPG is similar to the books in players move through chapters of the game.

It also takes place during the same time frame of the show and makes use of the same musical score. However, it tells a much different story, exploring the past of the two main characters, which fits into the chronological order of the first book, that then ties into the HBO series.

During rights negotiations, HBO allowed the deal to happen without taking control of the game rights.

“I negotiated hard because I knew the IP was valuable,” Gerardis said, adding that the business model with HBO is not the same as it is with a feature studio. “George gets this stuff, he can see how the game strategy would translate into entertainment.”

Moderator Lenny Brown, THQ’s VP of creative and business development, noted that his game publisher recently signed a deal with Random House and asked whether this is the next logical step for the games industry.

Bordeleau says that Cyanide’s headquarters in Paris has been collaborating with the TV production crew on the game. With a multi-million dollar budget, it’s the biggest game the studio has worked on to date.

The game will be available on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a scheduled Q1 2012 release. Gerardis says that mobile and tablet-based content is also a possibility.

Game of Thrones is published by Atlus. X-Summit is produced by Interactive Ontario.

Has it been challenging to find the right people?
For every person you hire, you end up reviewing 50 CVs, then you maybe interview six to ten people to finally find one person. Then that person interviews with anywhere from five to ten people! It’s a big effort to hire the right people, but it’s also a huge effort integrating everyone into the team, which is what we most underestimated. Every company has a slightly different definition of a role, whether it’s level designer or art director, so we have to make people familiar with our definition.

What other challenges have you encountered in the last year and a half?
It’s really important that we find people who are good for the current position and have the potential to grow really quickly beyond that. We’re looking for people who can be quickly promoted and take on new mandates.

What are some of your main goals in the next five years?
Online gaming is continuing to grow at a rapid pace, whether it’s big MMOs or social media, so a strategy and a focus for our studio will be integrating more social mechanics and online gameplay into our existing AAA models. What’s also important is keeping broad portfolios. Ubisoft Toronto is working on two different projects — we want to continue having several projects and not just be a one-franchise only studio. It’s also important to have projects on different scales, such as projects that are maybe a little less demanding, so we have the luxury of integrating more junior people and they can train up with less risk, giving them a path on which to evolve. Then, let’s say, a triple-A project with a big online focus where we’re really pushing the boundaries and our senior people can elevate their careers to the next level.

Are you looking to complete any short-term goals?
One is to set up a good mentorship program to efficiently leverage our senior talent and spread their knowledge. There will be a process to selecting mentors and mentees, and we have to be careful how they’re paired. It can’t be a forced situation, they have to want to work with each other. Montreal has been working on its own mentorship program, but obviously a program designed and organized for a studio of 2,000 people is very different from one that has 190 people. This was a big goal in the first year and we didn’t get around to it yet, but it’s definitely something that needs to happen this year!

How has Ubisoft approached transmedia with its properties and why did you feel it did or didn’t work?
Assassin’s Creed is a huge success as far as transmedia goes. It was designed from the ground up to be a franchise that could live on other platforms. The short film Assassin’s Creed Lineage was released alongside Assassin’s Creed 2, which was a great collaboration because we learned a lot from the film talent. It’s important for a franchise to be considered from inception if it’s going to be successful in different media — it’s always possible to re-adapt, but there aren’t as many examples of success. The key is not doing a direct translation. Where you fail is if you have a film or TV property and you say, “Oh, I have to put this in digital, so let’s slap on this mini-game” or making websites that are more a cheap marketing vessel instead of looking at what the medium is able to do.

Conversely, if you take a game, turn it into a movie and your film story is the same as your game story, you’re missing your opportunity. What’s great is that more people are looking at that from the start, so I think there are going to be a lot more successful crossovers between media.

Is it important for you to have people on your team who have experience in those areas?
Definitely. Professional film editors or TV writers bring something new to game. On the flip side, if you’re going to try to make a TV series, I don’t think it would be smart for game developers to do it themselves. You’re never going to get the best stuff if you interfere with everything because you think you know best. That’s another key to success — finding the right people who are experts themselves and giving them the freedom to work within the confines of your franchise.

How many people at Ubisoft Toronto have film and TV expertise?
We have quite a few people from different areas who have gone through TV at some point in their career. We have a team working on our in-game cinematics and scripted events, a director and producer from film and TV, and quite a few animators and artists who were in TV. Even a number of our animators on the gameplay side have gone through TV so there’s a lot of crossover. We work with several people in music whose previous experience has been primarily in film and TV and most of our sound team is actually from the local film industry. As for writers, we’re looking at mostly people who’ve written for TV.

Are you finding that there are more people from outside games who are interested in that space?
Yes, we have a ton of people! I spoke at TIFF last year and I was swarmed by people afterward who are writers in film, TV or music asking, “How do I get into games?” A huge proportion of applicants come from other entertainment and that’s really exciting.

Bullying has been in the news a lot this year, as victim after victim has chosen to escape the only way they thought was an option for them – suicide. After each incident there is the expected public outcry of injustice, but in the big picture, beyond the reiteration by the vocal few that bullying needs to go the way of the dinosaur, there are still victims who every day loathe having to go to work, school or even outside of their own room, because they will have to face their nemesis – the bully – and every day, in many way, society lets them down.

I’ve come to note that many of the children and adults who are the victims of bullies fall into distinct categories. They may be among those who have a visible weakness such as a birth defect, and/or they may be gifted in one of the areas I noted earlier – academics, the arts or some sports. They may also be among our  lesbian, bi-sexual, gay or transgendered (LBGT) members of society, or members of an ethic visible minority. Whoever and whatever they are, they have a right to live in a safe and nurturing society, as do we all.

In no way do I want to belittle or diminish the pain and loss the family members and friends of these young people must feel every day. Even with the support of movements such as the pink shirt campaign or the popularity of sites like Bullying Canada and the government’s own bullying prevention page, change is moving along at a snail’s pace as more and more victims fall between the cracks.

The entertainment world has taken a stand against bullying and hate – the NoH8 campaign features many celebrities from around the world who are lending their fame and status to drive home this message. Some of the globe’s largest corporations and their employees have also joined the movement with the It Gets Better campaign. This campaign, while originally directed more towards our LBGT Youth, experienced an easy transition into encompassing any form of bullying.

The majority of us can easily recognize the actions of a bully – that person who taunts others he or she perceives as weak or different from themselves in a way they find undesirable. Sometimes the target victim suffers from a visible difference such as a medical condition. Sometimes the target shows up on the bully’s radar because the said bully is jealous of the victim’s intelligence or talents (at least that’s what we were taught when I was in school.) The bully always seems to be able to attract a ring of supporters – those who feel the need to feed on the bully vibes in order to make themselves feel better about their own inadequacies – even when they know such behaviour is wrong. The bully becomes the leader of the pack, and in turn feeds on the admiration of the pack mentality to justify his or her actions against the victims, effectively forming a circle of abuse that others are afraid to break.

Bullies are well documented in our mainstream media – who doesn’t remember Marty McFly being the target of Biff in the Back To The Future movies. A point subtly made by the movie is that parents are responsible for teaching their children how to act within society, and it took Marty going back in time to see the root of why his father was, in the 1980′s, still falling victim to the bullying of Biff years after they had left high school.  This is but one example of the many viewers can see on television or at the movies. Dealing with bullies is often a central plot pivot in many a modern tale – and often they are soundly defeated – at least in fiction. Why are these triumphs not being echoed in society?

Is it because society is teaching our children that they inhabit a world with few or no consequences for wayward behaviour? While many schools in Canada support the anti-bullying movement, those same schools have removed competition from their sports programmes – every participant in Sports Day gets a ribbon, regardless of if they finished first, second or last. It’s okay to miss due dates on assignments, the concept of failure has almost disappeared from report cards. Yes, teachers are working hard to ensure that assignments are done – at some point in time – during the course terms, but with the power of meting out consequences for late work and poorly done work all but removed from the schools, our children are being taught that it’s okay to be a slacker.

Some sports leagues have even removed the practice of keeping score in games, taking away the concept of winning and losing. In reality, this is not teaching our children to work hard and strive to be their best, and as a parent I have to ask why. It is already apparent with young graduates seeking employment or even among those attending post-secondary schools that we are faced with a generation who feels that individual achievement may not be a necessary part of who they are. These young people expect easy tasks that do not have to be completed on deadline and high wages just for showing up – in short, they expect the world and all of its rewards to be handed to them without effort.

Granted there are still those who believe in academic, creative and athletic achievement, but those in the first two categories often become the victims of those who choose to not use the powers of their minds and instead resort to taunts and even violence to discourage those who stand out for their abilities. Athletes, especially football players, are often painted in mainstream media as being the bullies, but the reality is that this is not always the case. It’s more often those who, for whatever reason, chose to not excel through academia or creativity who become the bullies. Perhaps they themselves suffer from some lack of talent and thus feel the need to fall back on intimidation tactics in order to become noticed by their peers.

There are many instances of former bully victims becoming the bully in later years – they saw this as their way of standing up to the bullies and in some cases even winning the bully’s approval – or further ire for encroaching on their territory. Thankfully, some of these young people convert back to being the upstanding citizens they had started out as, but often not until a tragedy has taken place.

By now you are probably wondering why I have taken a step away from the content you are used to seeing on Village Gamer and taken on the bully issue, especially as standing up to bullies is certainly not a new movement – it’s been around for decades, and I have yet to introduce you to our friends.

What we are seeing in this modern age, though, are new ways to raise awareness about bullying and the fact that being a bully is not okay. It doesn’t matter if you’re a child, a parent, a co-worker, a boss, teacher or any other person in a position of perceived power – being a bully is not okay. Being the victim of a bully is not okay.

Two Vancouver game development studios have produced game titles that are meant to raise awareness of how we treat our fellow citizens. Unfortunately Rockstar Vancouver’s games, Bully (2006) and the 2008 re-release as Bully Scholarship, developed in conjunction with Rockstar Toronto and Rockstar New England, was deemed by many to promote the act of bullying (even before the game was publicly available), which is the opposite of what the creators had hoped to achieve. While the game is targeted more towards the male gamers of the world and available on a variety of platforms, girls are certainly not excluded from the lessons Bully Scholarship has to offer – that actions have consequences.

In another title which is directed more towards girls, Silicon Sisters Interactive released its debut mobile title School 26 earlier this year. School 26 is another game which teaches that actions (and inaction) have consequences – and that it is important to get to know the people we interact with every day. It is the hope of School 26′s creators that those who play the game will have a better understanding of empathy both for ourselves and others, and that judging people as unworthy simply because of the way they appear or act is not okay.

Both of these game titles are at the very least worth playing and talking about, and can serve as a catalyst to discussing events that may be going on in your child’s daily life. Bully Scholarship is rated as T for Teen in Canada, School 26 and its second chapter Summer of Secrets, are also rated Teen.

We all experience episodes of judging our fellow humans almost on a daily basis, and the proliferation of the internet and social media makes it even easier for bullies to target their prey while garnering followers who are only too quick to fall into the bully’s camp in some misguided sense of belonging.

In Canada, radio talk show host Roy Green has become an outspoken opponent to bullying. Two weeks ago he interviewed friends of ours, discussing the crisis their family is experiencing due to the actions of bullies. The son in this family has been the target of bullies at school for a number of years, and last year the father was charged with assault. Not because he sought out the bullies and laid a beating on them. Not because he went on the school grounds or the bully’s parents’ property to seek justice for his son. No, not at all.

Our friend – we call him Walter to protect his family’s identity – simply reacted to a situation in the way that any of us would have done. The bully and his entourage had followed Walter’s son “Alex” home from school. They followed Alex onto the family’s private property and proceeded to accost him physically, pushing Alex around and such. Walter came out of the family home – not because he was aware of anything happening on the front lawn, but because he was on his way to work. He pushed the bully off of his son. He eventually got the bully and his friends off of their property, and despite the taunts and threats, did not chase them down the street and lay a beating on them. The next day, he found himself under investigation for assault.

As I said above, this was not a “one-off” incident. The bullying by students at Alex’s school was well-documented. Alex’s parents had had several meetings with the school’s administration, the students and even the RCMP school liaison officer, especially after the appearance of a derogatory page on Facebook. There have been no repercussions against the bully or his group for this incident. Instead, they see themselves in a position of power – taunting Alex at school, taunting the family out in public – a family who has been left powerless to fight back, thanks to the outstanding charges of assault that have been levied against Walter.

On our last visit with the family a few days ago, I saw in Alex a creatively talented young man who is filled with a lethal combination of guilt and rage. I see in him the same things I saw in my own son not so many years ago when he fell victim to bullies at school not once or twice, but repeatedly. I saw a young boy who went from loving school to having to be almost dragged there every day. I saw a happy young boy become sullen, writing messages of self-hate in his notebooks.

In fact, in asking Michael if it was okay for me to mention his past experiences in this editorial, he reminded me of the day when he’d finally had enough and punched the bully in the nose. An action that got him a three week lunch-time suspension, meaning he had to come home for the lunch hour for three weeks. While the bullying did subside for a time, the peace did not last.

To the school’s credit, the counselor did intervene and assist us with both in-school and after-school counseling, which was great for Michael, but did nothing to deal with the bully’s continuing bad behaviour. Nor did it prepare him for the fact that he would be once again facing bullies and wanna-be gangsters in high school, and this time the school system did let him down. Michael finally gave up, he found it easier to just not go to school, eventually dropping out because having to deal with daily pressure from other teens to get involved in the local drug trade. Anyone who knows Michael knows that he has no use for drugs, gangsters or bullies.

I have been blessed in that both of my children have the ability to feel compassion and often take up the fight for the underdog – especially when it comes to helping other young people, whether it’s a bully issue or simply leaving an unwrapped gift for an under-privileged child under the tree in the mall – and my daughter Amy has read a book that she hopes each of you will read and recommend to others. The book, targeted at young adult readers, is called Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay De Asher*.

Going back to Walter and Alex, and as I mentioned earlier, I saw a young man who has a gift for music and a passion for video-crafting being torn apart from the inside out as he struggles to deal not only with the normal challenges of being a teen, he has to deal with the burden of being a bully victim. While he may not voice it, it is easily apparent that Alex feels that everything that has happened to his family over the past few years is his fault, and that is a very heavy burden for a young man to carry on his shoulders. As with so many bullying victims, Alex has internalized so much of what has happened to him, occasionally exploding in brief bouts of anger and sadness, taking on an emotional responsibility that should rest squarely on the bully and the system that has let this family down.

Since being charged with assault, Walter, his wife and Alex, are facing near financial ruin. Walter’s wife has had to take a leave of absence from work due to health issues, some of which have been exasperated by the bullying issues, and the family is now trying to make ends meet on Walter’s earnings. After having to leave a long-term full-time career to help Alex, who has gone through one round of counseling and has had to endure “instances” at school every day, Walter has only been able to find part-time work, and now with the mounting legal fees the family faces in fighting this assault case, they have had to put their home up for sale as they teeter on the edge of foreclosure.

After Walter’s interview on the Roy Green Show, many listeners emailed Roy, wanting to help ease the family’s financial crisis by assisting with the legal expenses. To further assist Walter and his family, Scott and I have launched Walter’s Defense Fund, which is both a web site with further information, and a trust fund account held at TD Canada Trust. The Defense Fund is not a registered charitable organization, and we cannot issue tax donation receipts, but we hope that there will be those among you who will feel compelled to help Walter stand up to the bullies and defeat these charges in court. We hope that you will feel compelled to help them remain in their family home – even though we’d like to see them move to our side of the river.

If you do wish to give to Walter’s Defense Fund (thank you), donations can be made at any branch of TD Canada Trust, and we also have a PayPal account enabled (and awaiting verification).

TD Canada Trust Account information:

Transit Number: 90350  – Account Number: 06866353564

* More about Thirteen Reasons Why:

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker – his classmate and crush – who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face.

There is a series of videos on YouTube based on Hannah’s cassette tape diary – they could be considered spoilers, so consider yourself “warned”.

In closing, I’ll leave you with this YouTube video from ShoeBoxTV.

I am going to overlook for a moment the entire tax incentives debate, mainly because I am not a developer or studio owner and I’m not a policy wonk – there are simply too many areas of the incentives program that I don’t entirely understand, so it’s best to skirt around that issue for now and get to what really got my dander up in that article. I will also overlook the inherent problems within the industry itself, because like any other industry in this country, there are work-life balance issues that need to be dealt with, but they don’t really come fully into play here.

I have to wonder what Mr. Brown has against the game industry, or if he has any friends who work in game development. If that article had been about an ethnic group or any type of visible minority, it never would have been published containing the insults and general slurs it does. It is one thing to be angry about something the industry receives, it is another to wipe a wide brush of insult across those who work in the industry. If the article was in any way meant to be a satirical rebuttal of the New York Times article Mr. Brown uses as reference, in my opinion the author fell far short of his mark.Surely in his tenure as a television host on publicly funded television stations Mr. Brown has had occasion to meet people who work in the game development industry. Surely he must be aware that while many of them do sport beards and are thus unshaven, and many do wear T-shirts with funny sayings (by the way, Mr. Brown, the shirt in your example wasn’t really that funny, there are far better ones out there), people who work in video games are some of the smartest, artistic and most creative people I have met – and many of them could easily grace the covers of fashion magazines for men and women. They come from all walks of life, and from many disciplines – from human resource specialists to the minute-detail oriented computer programmers and digital artists.

These people – to whom Mr. Brown referred to as “code monkeys” and “grunts” are my friends, and it is these “grunts” who help to bring entire worlds to life, whether it is in an adventure – and sneakily educational – game like Assassin’s Creed, or an educational game that is sneakily fun like those coming out of Vivity Labs’ Fit Brains – all of them are built on top of a foundation built from computer code. Even the military relies on “grunts” to get things done, and done well, Mr. Brown.

Yes, there is always the danger of this highly mobile industry picking up and leaving Canada for another part of the world that offers better financial gains. However, when that happens, there will be many spin-off studios and projects begun by those left behind, just like there have been every time a studio has shuttered its doors. These new projects and studios can then in turn take advantage of the many funds, incentives and resources available to the video game industry as they grow and develop, maturing into successful dens of employment and creativity.

What Mr. Brown neglected to mention was the number of incentives and grants available to other industries, such as natural resources. What about the handouts that were afforded to the automotive industry? Aren’t they deserving of your ire? Because we all know that companies in those sectors have never shut down and left the country, have they, Mr. Brown.

It’s a shame that Mr. Brown can’t see beyond the heavily tinted glasses he must have worn when he wrote that editorial piece, because he would know that the game he used as his example of how seedy the video game industry is, wasn’t even made in Canada. Surely you could have found a better, home-grown example to use, like, oh, I don’t know, Bully? Or did that hit a bit close to home for you – what with your penchant for name-calling, and all.

It’s also a shame that Mr. Brown also couldn’t see what huge successes the video game industry in Canada has attained and sustained. Canadian made video games are among the top-selling franchises in the world – FIFA, NHL, SSX, Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, Splinter Cell, Dragon Age,  Dawn of War, Prototype, Ghostbusters, Army of Two, X-Men, Spider Man, the latest Deus Ex title, Human Revolution – all from Canadian studios. One of the most highly anticipated open-world RPG games is coming from a Canadian studio as well – Funcom’s Montreal studio will soon be unleashing The Secret World upon the gamers of the globe – and these titles are just a few drops in a very big bucket of Canadian-developed games.

There are countless game components for “foreign” titles which have also been “outsourced” to Canadian studios. These include world objects, multi-player components, music, voice-overs, audio, Q & A and even localization – yes, that’s right, Mr. Brown – we have Canadian companies and Canadian talent who can provide for any part of a game, no matter how minute that part may be. Companies from outside of Canada want to work with Canadian developers. They come here seeking project partnerships, and it’s not just the possibility of tax incentives, because those “outsiders” are working with companies in provinces that do not offer provincial incentives as well as with those who do. They come here for the talent and work ethic, Mr. Brown.

Speaking of a mobile industry – Canada is also a leading developer of mobile entertainment. Were you aware of that? The same can be said for social games, casual games and serious games. How many games on your mobile device were made in Canada, Mr. Brown? Do you know which ones were? Unless your mobile device is a no-fun zone and is purely for productivity, chances are there is a game on it that was made in this country. Even if you don’t have any mobile games, there’s a good possibility that some of those mobile productivity apps you may have were made in Canada and could even have been anchored in game technology and come from a studio that may have received some type of government funding or incentive. Oh, the horror.

Yes, that’s right, Mr. Brown. Game technology isn’t only useful in games. It’s useful in the development of many, many other products. You have games to thank for the high performance curve of your computing devices, because without the need for faster processing protocols for game content, your computer might not be as fast as it is today, or the graphical interface providing the rich, high quality visuals it does. Are you aware, Mr. Brown, of how much of that technology was developed in Canada? How about the software that helps develop those games – do you know how much of it has been developed in our fine country? Just like many other large industry sectors in this country, there are a myriad of support industries developing the products needed to create these great works of art – and yes, I went there. Video games and art in the same sentence.

Are you also aware, Mr. Brown, of how supportive the video game industry is of education? Not just of our children, but also of adults. Literacy programs, science programs, history, math, the military, search and rescue, fire fighting, even the tow industry – all are beneficiaries of game technology. Even space technology, which you use as an example of a sector more deserving of funding – is a beneficiary of game technology. Let’s also not forget that medicine, too, has gained from the research and development done for video games. Some students are the recipients of scholarships whose funding comes from the video game industry. How many children have developed a keen sense of “like” for math, physics and computer engineering because they wanted to know how something was done in a video game – even though they may apply that knowledge in a career not related to game development? How many people have gotten back on the fitness track because of a video game that was most likely also made in Canada?

How many museums and libraries are now incorporating game technology to better engage young people in the wonders of our world? How many television and film productions harness the power and attraction of games and their technology to engage viewers? How about the cross-over technology between television, film, games and special effects development.  Let’s also not forget industry sectors like architectural design, product prototyping for the manufacturing sector, geological research and visualization, brand engagement for consumers and the engagement of employees in the work place. Yes, that’s right. Game technology. A sustainable, clean and green resource upon which to build a lucrative future in technological development across all industry sectors in any corner of the country.

So, Mr. Brown, before you fire your guns of insult and disparagement at the people who work in the Canadian video game industry, perhaps you should look at the benefits those incentive and funds afford our country. Incentives may have their own list of problems, but those problems apply to any industry which benefits from tax incentives and public funds, not just video games.

The video game industry does not just take of the incentives and funds, Mr. Brown. It gives back in spades. So some of the big publishers have been attracted to BC, Ontario or Quebec because of the incentives offered by their respective governments, and at some point in the future they may choose to leave. So what? While they’re here, they will employ people to find the perfect location for their new studio, they will employ tradespeople to outfit the studios, they will employ technicians to wire the studios, and then they will hire people to run the studio’s administrative support systems and develop their games.

Those hires, who may have been found via a Canadian-based employment service, will have money in their pockets, they will contribute to the municipal, provincial and federal tax coffers,  they will contribute to industry, they will spend money in their neighbourhood stores, and they will be productive members of society. Their families will attend local schools, visit local libraries and museums, eat out in local restaurants, enjoy local cultural and community events and see shows in local theatres – ones that may be equipped with those very cool “full immersion” theatre seats developed D-Box Technology in – yes, Canada.

Game developers and members of the support staff participate in conferences and expos – thereby supporting the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. They speak on panels, they share their knowledge, they mentor young people, they write books, they publish white papers, they create video tutorials and documentaries – they actively engage, entertain and educate, just like the products they develop.

So you see, Mr. Brown, even the dark cloud of video game tax credits and incentives has a silver lining.

Daniel, a married father of two who was at the front of the line waiting for the camp to open, had the distinction of being the first person to complete the coded challenge. It took him, along with a friend from Newfoundland, 4.5 weeks to unravel all of the clues. He was planning to send his friend the package of Locust Meat as a thank you for his assistance in completing the puzzles. Others found out about the launch event through email invitations or an ad on the Xbox 360 Dashboard. All attendees were rewarded with a Gears of War 3 bandana, the VIP puzzle solvers were also given t-shirts.

When the camp opened shortly after 6pm, there was a line of at least 200 people waiting to get in – and it was a very slow moving line with only groups of five being let through the gate at a time. Understandably this made it easier to obtain waivers, but to be honest, the event was not – in my opinion, and I am not a rabid GoW3 fan – worth waiting what for some people would have been over three hours in line to experience – and by the time we left there had been an estimated 500 people through the gate. Perhaps the chance to play the game at the end of one’s “service tour” was reward enough for those who waited, or getting your picture taken in front of a green screen with one of the weapon replicas, with the printed result showing you in a Gears of War scene, but I was hoping for a more engaging experience.

Once people made it past the front gate, they were then held in another area where they were put in groups of 5.  The “troops” were then led out into camp area, which was supposed to resemble (we were told earlier by a representative from Mosaic). There were three different stations – the Locust Meat Market, where samples of barbequed “locust” meat were handed out. Next to it was the Cog Ink shop, where attendees could get an airbrushed temporary Cog tattoo. The final station was a Lancer Art display, where chainsaw artists were carving the Cog symbol from log sections. Once you were done touring the stations, it was off to another line-up where you could work your way onto The Barge, where you got play Gears of War 3 on a big screen. Before exiting the camp, as I mentioned above, you could have yourself injected into a Gears of War 3 scene via green screen photography.

You can check out the rest of our photos from the Launch Event on our Facebook page.

The fans of the TV show banded together when it was learned that Showcase had cancelled the quirky crime drama after its inaugural season. Prior to the nomination announcements, Showcase had removed Endgame from its show list, but it was hastily re-added to the site shortly after the Gemini Awards press conference.

For those not familiar with the show, Endgame is set and filmed in Vancouver, with the Westin Bayshore taking on the central role as The Huxley, a hotel in which Russian chess master Arkady Balagan (Shawn Doyle) has unwittingly become imprisoned. At the start of the season, and in small clues doled out as the weekly drama unfolded, viewers would learn that Arkady’s beloved fiancee Rosemary (Lisa Ray) had been the victim of a violent and lethal attack in front of the hotel. Witness to the attack and her death, Arkady has become an agoraphobic unable to walk out the front door of The Huxley.

As a chess master, Arkady has become adept at solving very difficult puzzles with his mind, and it is through this talent that he is able to remain the sole tenant in one of The Huxley’s penthouse suites – much to the chagrin of hotel security chief Hugo (Patrick Gallagher) and hotel manager Barbara Stillwell (Veena Sood), who would much rather see the self-absorbed and world-renowned barefoot genius vacate the hotel. Arkady works his way through each episode’s puzzle – everything from a kidnapped boy to saving a polar bear from ending up as bear steaks – with logic and visualization. With his inability to leave the hotel, Arkady depends on hotel staff members to assist him in finding the missing pieces to bring each case to the right conclusion.

Arkady’s right hand man is college student Sam (Torrance Coombs), who is studying to become a game designer. As a fan of the chess great, Sam willingly runs errands and gathers information in exchange for chess matches with Arkady. Also aiding Arkady are bartender Danni (Katharine Isabelle) and chamber maid Alcina (Carmen Aguirre). Added to the mix are security assistant Gurjit (Gary Gill), and Rosemary’s sister Pippa (Melanie Papalia).

As the season unfolds, viewers are brought deeper into the lives of each of these central characters, catching glimpses of their pasts and personal mysteries. The central plot to the show is of course who killed Rosemary, and web journalist Pippa is determined to solve the crime, often butting heads with the grieving Arkady, who alternates between wanting to solve the one puzzle whose solution eludes him and wanting to let go. Pippa continues to overturn rocks, often disturbing what lies beneath, and the first season ended with a cliffhanger that saw a staff member dead and Arkady bound with duct tape, driven around the city, threatened,  before being dumped on The Huxley’s front drive.

Fans of the show, ourselves included, were extremely disappointed by Showcase’s decision to drop the show, and began a public-awareness campaign to reach Endgame fans around the world, calling them to action in a last-ditch effort to save the show. A web site was launched, followed by a petition, which led to the Facebook page and a growing community of viewers who did not want to see Endgame fade to black forever. The petition currently has 6137 signatures, with more added every day. Next came an auction of Endgame memorabilia, which is open for bids until September 21st, 2011. The community members held a vote, and decided that proceeds raised through the auction would be donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association in honour of Arkady Balagan and to draw attention to the very real conditon of agoraphobia.

What is perhaps most surprising is the number of international fans Endgame has won over – considering the show has only aired on Showcase Canada. Finding the show through various online channels, these people have come together to fight to keep Endgame in production. Over the course of this weekend, the fans have gotten to know each other on a more personal basis, talking together on irc – where they have been treated to conversations with some of the show’s stars – Shawn Doyle, Torrance Coombs, Patrick Gallagher, Melanie Papalia  and Gary Gill have all been present throughout yesterday and today, discussing Endgame’s plots as well as their careers – and expressing their thanks for the effort to get Endgame on the air with a new season. As I was writing this, efforts were being made to get Veena and Carmen to pop by for a visit as well.

They have all been real troopers, answering many, many questions (when they could) about life behind-the-scenes at The Huxley, what they’re working on now, as well as general chat. The actors have shown another reason why they, and Endgame, are fan favourites – their chemistry and camaraderie both on and off the set, their approachability, excellent humour and all-around human-ness. Also stopping in for a brief chat was Alyssa Campanella – the reigning Miss America, Canucks fan and significant other of Torrance Coombs. She came in for a visit while awaiting her flight to the Miss Universe Pageant taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The chat room has also seen a few Vancouver actors stopping by to express their support for Endgame.

Since the Gemini nominations, Endgame has been getting more and more attention, being listed as the Number 1 show to watch by the Globe and Mail in its daily “5 Shows to Watch Tonight” feature on August 9th, and several publications, including The Vancouver Sun, have taken note of the efforts to keep Endgame going. It is the group’s  firm belief that with proper promotion and an appropriate time slot, possibly on another network such as Global, Endgame and its story will flourish, and it is this belief that fuels the support of the show’s global fan force.

This weekend has proven the power of social media in bringing together a group of strangers from around the world, uniting them in a common cause to save not only a high-quality television show, but in putting their passion towards helping the well-being of those inflicted with mental health challenges.

Are you listening, Showcase? We’d like our show back. Thank you.

We are looking for sizzle pieces and trailers that we can show in the booth, along with products and swag to put in gift baskets that we’ll be offering as prizes in business card draws. If you have postcards promoting your “Made In Canada” game, software, product, studio, association or services we are offering our booth as a point of distribution. If you would like to provide bags, pens or other swag to hand out, that is welcome too.

Ideally we would like to put together promo packs to give out encouraging businesses to Outsource to Canada. Please contact me with this special event address if you would like to help us help you. Your trailers must be available for us to download in the highest playable quality possible, preferably in 1080p – our screen is a 42″ HDTV, and we want to show your trailers in their best possible light.

For Vancouver area companies – if any of you have trade show equipment such as collapsible chairs,  TV stand, portable tables (like those tall, round, bar style), etc. that we could borrow for SIGGRAPH, we would be most grateful and of course acknowledge your contribution with promotional considerations. All equipment must be easily movable, as we have to move everything in by hand without the benefit of type of dolly cart unless we hire convention centre staff to move everything in from the loading dock, which we don’t have a budget for.

In keeping with our community theme, we’re trying for a “fireside chat” type of feel to the booth, so that our “on the spot at SIGGRAPH” interviewees can site comfortably while being interviewed on camera. If you are feeling generous and would like to help us purchase our own trade show equipment, we would also be eternally grateful – at the least we  will place your logo on our site as a supporter.

As mentioned above, we will be conducting in-booth interviews with Canadian attendees, so if you would like to represent, stop by and take a seat in front of the camera. Of course, we will also be covering as much of SIGGRAPH as we possibly can, and will have a roving video camera or two so don’t be surprised if you get recognized and hi-jacked while wandering the convention hall.

Also to be officially unveiled at SIGGRAPH will be our new project. We don’t want to reveal too many details just yet, but we can tell you that it will involve community, marketing and the creative Canadian spirit that has made this industry great. We will also be introducing our new collaborative partner, Code-name Alex  – and devs, Alex has an iPad – so, if you would like people to be able to play your game or try your app while visiting our booth and have a download code to spare, please send it via the contact link above, along with the game title, studio name and info page link, with the subject line SIGGRAPH iPad. Please note – this is only for games and iPad apps  made in Canada. Each of the games or apps loaded for SIGGRAPH will be included in our table-top info catalogue for attendees to browse through.
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We also have need of two or three more volunteers to work alongside Alex and our lovely booth hostess Megan and the infamous CaveChild and assist in promoting the Canadian interactive industry. Ideally, we are looking for students, recent graduates or those already working in the creative development sector – this would include game designers, entertainment business managers, project management, marketing, or film students (a stationary video cam with an external mic for the in-booth interviews would be most awesome too).  You would need to be available for expo floor hours, which are as follows:

If you are interested in this volunteer position, which will include a SIGGRAPH expo pass, please contact me with your information and reason for wanting to help out with the show, with SIGGRAPH volunteer as the subject line.

Unlike other debate-based sites, CrowdFanatic is far more lenient than many “traditional” debate communities and as such does not have a page (or pages) full of rules. To be honest, I really don’t feel that it needs formal debate rules. As I mentioned above, there are moderators, and a well-respected community tends to police itself quite efficiently. Like the majority of societal groups, CrowdFanatic members tend to keep the debates somewhat respectful without overly quelling the passions many people feel for their topics.

Here is a full description of what CrowdFanatic is, from the company’s blog:

“We’re bringing something new to the table in social media. Have you ever wanted to stand as a Democrat and take on a group of Republicans? Have you ever wanted to fight with a group of Yankees fans and tell off a group of Red Sox supporters over a social media battlefield? Now you have the opportunity to do that.  CrowdFanatic is that arena for you to stand tall as a group and confront your opposition. Do you want to be an opinion leader? CrowdFanatic is the perfect place to promote your group’s agenda and stand out from the crowd. All the tools that you need to be heard in the online world are at your disposal on CrowdFanatic.”

The topics (known as Confrontations) open for debate are wide and varied, from the predictable sports team rivalries to the hotness (or not) of stars and celebrities. There are political and religious debates, and of course the age-old Canada vs the USA debates. Each topic has supporters and detractors (a.k.a. rivals), as does each user. There is a rating scale for said support or non-support, and it’s easy to see who are the top debaters, you just need to look at the LeaderBoard. Every debater’s profile has a plethora of information in regards to Confrontations, Groups, posts and comments. The whole idea of the site, like any debate club competition, is to use logic, common sense, facts and a smattering of passion to support your argument, thereby winning support for your opinions.

For many, such debates are a way to educate themselves (or the masses) or to expand their own understandings of any given topic – and this is particularly true for many of the topic areas on CrowdFanatic. In fact it’s very difficult to look through the site without wanting to enter into many of the arenas open for participation and put thoughts to keyboard. If you can’t find a topic that quite fits what you want to discuss, members can open new topics (or Confrontations, as they are called on CrowdFanatic) and invite debate. Every Confrontation is a sub-category of an Arena, and of course the top Arena today is full of Google+ vs Facebook discussions.

The Hot Arenas and Hot Confrontations are constantly in flux – since I took the screenshot to the right about 45 minutes ago, the top four topics have changed, with the screenshot to the left showing the current Hot Arenas. Note that the Canucks Group is still in the top four – it is the over-all top ranked group on the site. Such a passionate group, Canucks Nation. By the time you read this, the rankings will again be different – there is never a dull moment on CrowdFanatics.

On each Arena page are listed the top discussions for the subject matter, along with the top supporter and top rival. Each Arena page also shows related topics of discussion, in case you want to branch out into other areas. Confrontations can also be found through Groups, which are another top-level category feature, and again, if you can’t find a Group that fits your area of interest, you can create a new one.

Users can even find Confrontations based on geographic location. According to the map feature on the home page (as shown in the top right image in this article), BC is an area full of Hot Confrontations. This is not surprising with many Vancouver Canucks discussions remaining consistently near the top of the popularity scale, even two weeks after the season’s final game. Oh, and yes, there are Confrontation topics in regards to the Game Seven Riot.

The CrowdFanatic team holds no topic sacred, and even took on the CBC Dragon’s Den team earlier in May, but with the network remaining mum on what transpired during the taping of Season Six, we’ll most likely have to wait until the Fall to learn more of what occurred on that Confrontational day.

CrowdFanatic is not for the timid and faint of heart – if you are not able to handle criticisms of your logic, are easily offended or can’t debate in an intelligent – albeit passionate – manner, then CrowdFanatic may not be the site for you. Personally I find the site quite intriguing, although I have not taken part in any of the debates myself, I believe the CaveChild hangs out there sometimes. That boy loves to argue.

I find CrowdFanatic to be a somewhat in-depth, cross-measuring look at the global modern society, and I also find it interesting to see what lengths people will go to in order to win – or refute – an argument. At the end of the day, I do encourage you to at least visit the site and take a look around; you never know, you may just find a topic that you’ve been itching for a good argument on, and CrowdFanatic is definitely the place to do it.

From his hotel room and with the assistance of chess groupie Sam (Torrance Coombs), bartender Danni (Katharine Isabelle), hotel maid Alcina (Carmen Aguirre) and hotel security chief Hugo (Patrick Gallagher), the lovably naive yet egotistical genius Arkady helps people solve problems – from being accused of murder to getting hostages released to finding a missing child. While the crimes themselves may not be original, the methods used to solve them certainly are. While other crime shows have used “detective visualization” to look at solution possibilities, none of them puts the characters on a chess board and interacts with them, or constantly rewinds the image of someone pushed from the hotel roof to ask the victim questions or to see what minute clue was missed.

Of course, Arkady does have a motive for helping these people – it usually involves the payment of a fee or the winning of favours so that he doesn’t get evicted from his penthouse suite by hotel manager Barbara (Veena Sood). Added into the mix is Rosemary’s younger sister Pippa (Melanie Papalia), a blogger and freelance documentary maker. She is obsessed with solving Rosemary’s murder, and often butts heads with Arkady over the clues and possibilities she uncovers.

Endgame is lighthearted entertainment that makes the viewer think a little bit and chuckle often, so you can imagine our disappointment when we heard that Showcase had put the show on the chopping block. We’d already lost Human Target, which was another lighthearted and made in Vancouver television show which we enjoyed – even though it had the city being portrayed as locations around the world – I bet you didn’t know that  the new convention centre was really a Swiss bank, did you.

There are already far too many reality shows on the airwaves that we have absolutely no interest in watching – we don’t care who will be Canada’s next idol or who can dance and who can’t. We rarely watch to see who is the worst handyman or the worst driver, and we certainly have no interest in The Glee Project. Chances are if we’re watching a reality-based show, it’s shows like Electric Playground, Reviews on the Run, Museum Secrets, Daily Planet, Disaster DIY, Sarah’s House, Holmes on Homes or Income Property – and HGTV Canada viewing would not be complete without Colin & Justin, who will apparently be returning with a new Canadian show soon. Our one guilty-pleasure reality show is Gene Simmons Family Jewels, which technically has Canadian content.

While we are proponents of Canadian content, as anyone who is familiar with this site knows, we are particular fans of quality Canadian content, and Endgame is in that category, along with one of our other favourite crime dramas, FlashPoint (no killing off Ed or breaking up the team, CTV!). We also like Breakout Kings – and while it’s technically an American production, it is filmed in Toronto and has two Canadian actresses in the lead cast. Yes, we like a little humour mixed in with our murder and mayhem.

Shows often get pulled because a network says it has low ratings, yet time and again we see large and active fan bases fighting to keep their shows on the air while less-than-worthy shows get renewed season after season. This happened most recently with The Event (NBC), and while it’s not a Canadian show, we did watch it. Untimely demises also met CBS shows The Unit and Jericho, with the fan backlash at CBS over the cancellation of Jericho coming through loud and clear.

In my opinion, I think it’s fair to say that the Nielsen rating system, which seems to have much power in what shows stay or go, is in no way an accurate indicator of what people are watching, in part because their sampling is so small when compared to the population at large. Again in my opinion, the Nielsen Ratings System is archaic and has been the subject of much criticism. The ratings do not appear to accurately measure what people are watching online, whether it’s on their PC or their mobile device, and even time-shifting or PVRing a show can skew ratings.

The ratings certainly don’t count what we’re watching in our house – although I’d like to know how the networks know just how many people watched the Stanley Cup Finals – and was that just on TV or did they include those who watched it online like The CaveChild did because he prefers to watch his shows (like Pure Pwnage) online in his cave, while we tend to watch them on the TV. How do they know how many people in each house are watching a particular show? We have more than one TV in this house – sometimes we’re both watching the same show on one TV, sometimes we’re watching different shows on different TVs in different rooms, so how does Nielsen really know, and how can their count be an accurate reflection of what people are or want to watch? Do the Conspiracy Theorists out there have an answer for this?

According to Nielsen’s Canadian site, Nielsen TV Audience Analysis software offerings are built for today’s most pressing TV campaign and programming issues – but I could not find how many households are actually measured. Perhaps you have to be a client to get that information, or I just didn’t look in the right spot on their site.

Borealis enables detailed audience characteristics to be queried while accessing a national respondent-level database through a server based application. This powerful and easy to use analysis tool allows detailed analysis of Canadian television audiences.

SpotWatch offers the most in-depth advertising intelligence available for television in Canada.  A monthly commercial spot database available by product class, company, brand and/or creative theme.

Ad*Views provides the most comprehensive source of competitive advertising intelligence available with access to current and historical advertising data across 13 markets and 5 media types.  Ad*Views can be used to analyze occurrences, GRPs, dollars and television creatives in a single, easy-to-use system.

Why do networks not look at the overall engagement of a show’s audience? Isn’t each and every show a brand property? Or are brand properties measured differently in TV and film from how they are measured in the game development industry? Do they take into account internet activity surrounding a show such as fan sites, discussions, social media participation and brand mentions? Do they take into account how many people have experienced the Endgame interactive features and games? It wouldn’t seem so, because as I mentioned earlier, shows with an actively engaged fan base are repeatedly getting pulled off the air and replaced with drivel. Would not the measuring of total engagement be a major part of a brand’s influence? I thought it was – at least that’s what all of the marketing and branding experts have been saying.

Thus far I have not seen any announced new shows that will hold any interest for me the way Endgame has.  Will King? It’s too early to tell. Will XIII? I’ll get back to you on that.  I can safely say that I have absolutely no interest based on the advertising I’ve seen in Single White Spenny, Kenny Hotz and his Triumph Over Will or Almost Heroes. I have never been a fan of Trailer Park Boys and never will be – I prefer entertaining shows that have some modicum of class and intelligence. That said, and before you go thinking that I have little to no sense of humour, I completely enjoyed Kids In The Hall, The Royal Canadian Air Farce, Wayne & Shuster – and even that other guy, Rick Mercer. I liked The Beachcombers and loved Due South. Being a proper geeky type, I also like Big Bang Theory.

But getting back to Endgame, which ended its first season with a cliff-hanger. It seems that the leads Pippa has been following as she tries to solve her sister’s murder have caused ripples among those who reside on the underbelly of society, and a brutal warning was delivered to Arkady, making it appear that Pippa’s line of investigation has hit a few nerves. How can the network be that uncaring about its viewers to leave Endgame fans hanging with absolutely no sense of the whys or wherefores?

For all intents and purposes, it would appear that Showcase has a total disregard for what Endgame’s engaged fans want from the network. If I’d been able to attend the Banff World Media Festival this year, I would have been front and centre with their representatives, telling them exactly how I feel about the axing of Endgame. Then I would have let Thunderbird’s creative staff know that I want Endgame to continue and will gladly support any movement to keep Endgame on the air. There is hope that perhaps Global, as part of the same Shaw Media family as ShowCase, could possibly pick the show up. This would make us happy viewers. If they don’t, it will cause our Shaw Satisfaction metre to dip – and while you may think that the majority of people at Shaw don’t care how the public feels, trust me, they do.

Do you want to show your support for Endgame? Check out (and Like) the Endgame and  Save Endgame Facebook fan pages or sign the petition (yes, we did). You can also follow Endgame on Twitter – along with Shawn Doyle, Torrance Coombs, Patrick Gallagher, Melanie Papalia, Thunderbird Films, Showcase and Shaw Media TV.

As with the first consultation evening, this one was led by Chris Kucharski, VP Operations, and one of the first points he made was that Shaw heard the message, loud and clear. He stated that at times it was hard to hear people who (like us) had been long term customers, and who, because of the way Shaw initially handled the UBB issue, had lost trust and faith in the company. Throughout each of the original consultation sessions, there was a commonality of thinking that Shaw needed to become transparent in its communication with its customers, who wanted more options when it came to the speed and data usage of their internet access – and the company freely admitted that it learned some very hard lessons throughout that process.

Over the past three months, the teams at Shaw went over all of the feedback they had received both in person and via the internet, and they came to the decision that Shaw’s future involved unleashing their internet customers, not reigning them in. This was followed by a collective mind shift on the company’s focus as it began to really explore what it could accomplish in the way of service provision and pricing to support the ever-growing usage of the internet in our daily lives. None of these considerations would have been possible without the exchanges that went on between the corporation and its customers, and this was a dialogue that Shaw wanted to keep open as it moves into the future.

There are approximately 366 000 Shaw customers still on analogue cable, and over the next 16 months, those customers will be converted to full digital cable. As those customers are moved off of analogue, there will be an increasing capacity of bandwidth available to improve internet services and options. These improvements will be a rolling capacity improvement as each of those analogue customers will have to be visited and their services converted. Those who need to be upgraded to digital will receive their digital boxes at no charge, and while this will cost the company a lot of money, and we know that those costs will be passed along to the consumer in the course of doing business, but to be honest I really don’t have a problem with that, simply because when all is said and done, everyone will benefit.

Some of those benefits have already been realized by those who subscribe to the Extreme internet package, with the bandwidth speed and data transfer allowance already receiving an upgrade that sees the transfer allowance more than double. The new, what I will call lower-tier, packages are shown in the image below – I will get into the higher-tiered packages later in this article.

These transfer allowance improvements are evidence that Shaw was indeed listening to its customers – and are available with no price increase over the current plans. Those of us on the higher-tiered broadband packages will have to wait until June for new options, but I will come to that in a bit.

The topic of the Transfer Usage Tool used by Shaw to show its customers how much data transfer they’ve used, but as was shown in the first round of consultations, this tool does not reflect real-time usage and is in fact two days behind in its reporting. It was also shown to be inaccurate and unreliable. Shaw’s programming engineers will be revisiting the reporting tool and making several improvements in it over the coming months.

There was also the question of Shaw’s flexibility as customer usage of the internet will inevitably change over time as the internet and data transfers become more and more important to the average Canadian as well as to business. Mr. Kucharski stated that as with these new plans, Shaw would review the plans and options when usage changes became apparent. One of the most important issues that started the whole uprising among internet users was very conspicuous in its absence with these new plans. There are no per gigabyte charges. At all.

Should a customer consistently go over his or her transfer cap month after month (not that that has ever happened in our house), they will be contacted by Shaw to discuss plan options as the plan they are on obviously isn’t working for them. The corporation is still working on the best avenue to pursue in regards to those who are consistently over, but they promise to not be combative or punitive. Those customers on plans with transfer limits who go over will be automatically bumped up to the next plan level for the remainder of the month, but again, the company is looking at the best way to communicate this action to the consumer.

During the first round of consultations there had been discussion of educating people to do their downloading during off-peak hours, something that would not always be convenient for those with home offices or who telecommute. After taking the beating that it did during the consultation period, Shaw wanted to take the most open and customer-friendly approach to any changes they made with their internet offerings, and throttling or rewarding off-peak usage simply did not have a place in the new packages. While there will inevitably be a need for some education in regards to transfer usage, the company again felt it better to unleash its customers and give them the internet experience they expected than to leave them feeling sour and limited.

The conversion from analogue to digital will definitely open up the broadband sandbox, but this will need to be done one neighbourhood at a time. Shaw will map out a plan of attack, so to speak, looking at each hub individually and most likely beginning with the hubs that are currently experiencing high levels of congestion. Like Aldergrove – so we’ll be first for broadband upgrades, right?

As each hub is converted, the network gear will also be upgraded so that it can handle the higher internet speeds that are coming. Scott and the Cavechild are already drooling over the new broadband packages – they are like two little kids waiting for Santa to arrive with the newest Transformer. Shaw estimates that it will take five weeks per neighbourhood upgrade, but throughout the process Shaw is committed to open communication and finding the right process so that there are no surprises. They want the digital conversion to be as simplified as possible, especially for those customers, like my parents, who have little to no technical knowledge.

There are still a few areas to be visited in regards to the offering of broadband packages, as at this time there was no standalone plan option for those who do not have digital TV packages for reasons such as sight impairment, and this was an area which experienced discussion last evening.

So, to get to the new second and third tier broadband packages that will be offered in the near future, here are the Phase 1 plans:

The Legacy TV packages are for those Shaw customers who do not use the recently implemented Personalizer Plans, while the far right column is for those of us who do. Needless to say, we will be starting out at the Broadband 100 level, because with the amount of files and such we have that need to be sent out or uploaded to our server, the 5Mbps speed is something we will make good use of. The 100Mbps downstream will come in kind of handy with all of the gaming that goes on in this house as well.

Once the rolling upgrades begin, customers who so desire can begin upgrading their own connections to the Phase 2 broadband packages:

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you which package Scott and the Cavechild are salivating over. While some may look at those plans and say they are far too expensive, and I know there is lots of information and a myriad of studies saying that Canadians pay too much for internet usage, and maybe we do when compared to larger, more populated markets on a per capita basis. That, however, is not my worry at the moment – I am more concerned about the high fees we pay for simple cellular use than what we pay for internet service. That, however, is another topic.

Consumers using these plans will be doing so because they need the speed and the higher transfer limits, and like us, they are willing to pay for those higher levels of service. While I readily admit that our budget will take some tweaking and we will probably be looking at our television packages more closely, a big part of our lives does revolve around internet access, so paying more for a higher level of service is something that should be expected. One thing we would like to see change with these upper level plans, though, is the removal of having to pay for an IP address.

We require three IP addresses, and that third IP costs us about $10.00 per month, which I feel is rather high and punitive. These new plans are comparable to what is offered business users insofar as price and speed is concerned, and I feel that if, as top tier users we are paying similar to what a business is paying, then some of those benefits should be offered right across the board, and that includes the extra dynamic IP addresses that are available to business plan users. I know that current addresses are in very short supply as the range available is nearing capacity, but with the onset of IPv6, the market should be wide open, especially once Shaw completes its conversion and is able to handle the new range.

The conversion over to full digital will not only benefit those of us who are heavy internet users. Through discussion in regards to the current offerings of packages in the TV Personalizer option, it was revealed that more channels will become available to viewers, including the long awaited iDiscovery. Consumers may see some alterations to the packages as channels get moved around, or there may be some entirely new options. As I have mentioned previously, I would like to see a package made up of the “knowledge” channels, as they offer more of the shows we want to watch – History, Discovery, National Geographic, Book, Bio, and to an extent A&E and TLC, although TLC seems to be offering more and more shows we have no interest in, simply because we watch very little reality TV, especially those shows that centre on toddler pageants and outrageously expensive birthday parties. While we are proponents of Canadian content, we would definitely like to see better options come available and not have to pay an extra $3.00 per month because Discovery Science isn’t included in any of the current channel line-ups. I can say this, though – whichever network picks up The Event will get our attention.

Shaw acknowledges that there is still more work to do, but the corporation wants to continue the lines of dialogue that have been opened. There will be future Customer Consultations taking place across the region, which we will take part in, because we believe that if we don’t talk to our providers and let them know what is on our minds, then the ability to grow and improve is lost. I believe Shaw now gets that, and they are not looking to make the same mistake again, so it is with cautious optimism that we look forward to seeing which direction Shaw moves in and how it evolves as the future reveals opportunities that right now seem to reside in the realm of science fiction.

“This research is based on social cognitive theory, which suggests that seeing people engaged in a behaviour is a way of learning that behaviour,” explains lead researcher Valerie Carson, a doctoral candidate in School of Kinesiology and Health Studies. “Since adolescents are exposed to considerable screen time—over 4.5 hours on average each day—they’re constantly seeing images of behaviours they can then potentially adopt.”

The researchers found that high computer use was associated with approximately 50 per cent increased engagement with a cluster of six MRB, including smoking, drunkenness, non-use of seatbelts, cannabis and illicit drug use, and unprotected sex. High television use was also associated with a modestly increased engagement in these MRB.

One explanation behind this finding is that a considerable amount of advertising that used to be shown on TV is now being shown on the Internet. In addition, computer usage by adolescents has increased considerably in recent years.

“TV and video games have more established protocols in terms of censorship, but Internet protocols aren’t as established,” says Ms Carson. “Parents can make use of programs that control access to the Internet, but adolescents in this age group are quite savvy about technology and the Internet. It’s possible that these types of controls aren’t effective in blocking all undesirable websites.”

This research, recently published in the Journal of Preventative Medicine, suggests that future studies should examine the specific content adolescents are being exposed to in order to help strengthen current screen time guidelines for youth.

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While this study may have some merit in regards to adolescent behaviour, I find that I must add my own thoughts as a parent to its findings. Those of us who are intimately familiar with the video game industry know that this study will give those who blame video games and technology for many of society’s woes more fuel for their fires.

As a parent, I have never used parental controls to limit what my children saw on television, the internet or in video games when they were younger. Instead I used the oldest parental control of all time – conversation. I did not use spy ware to see where my children had gone while on the internet, and while I bought age-appropriate games for my kids when they of elementary school age, when they were nearing or in their teens, I was not quite as strict because I knew that through conversations with my children and in playing alongside them, they knew the difference of what was real and what was not.  My kids may at times shock my parents with the things they do or say, but they aren’t bad children and they aren’t out emulating the behaviours they saw portrayed in media.

Just because I let my son watch Power Rangers when he was in elementary school did not mean that he was going to go out and beat on his class mates. He knew that what he saw on the screen were stunts, and that to try the same moves on a friend in real life would hurt his friend – and him, when his friend retaliated. Instead of banning him from watching the show like his school wanted all parents to do, I had a conversation with him and we compared Power Rangers with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We talked about how getting hit with big sticks or shot by a ray gun would hurt, and how pretend can be fun, but hitting with sticks, hands or feet will hurt – and now that he’s all grown up, he every once in awhile puts on armour and hits other grown adults with swords made of rattan and wrapped in duct tape – and he knows that it can hurt, even with the armour.

There are those parents who will use the “well we had parental controls in place” as a scapegoat for not taking responsibility for the basics of parenting – interaction with their children. There are those bleeding heart Liberals who will blame television, advertising and video games for the errant behaviour of teens. We all know that new media is not the base cause of bad behaviour. It may be a catalyst, and in rare occasions the trigger, but seldom is it the root cause.  Children need to know the difference between acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour, and as parents that is part of our contract with society, a responsibility we take on by becoming parents.

Children have been pushing the envelope of risky behaviour ever since the time when there was more than one child. It’s what children do, it’s what teenagers do, it’s what young adults do, and it’s even what some aged adults do when they check items off of their bucket lists.  There also people who, no matter what you do or say, will do bad things. The important part of the equation is that as parents we give our children the tools they need to know the difference between right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and how to live lawfully in a law and order society. Have we raised our children to have compassion for their fellow human beings and the other living things who share the planet with us? Have we raised them to have a social conscience? I can honestly answer yes to those questions, because I had and still have those conversations with my kids – and while I know they aren’t perfectly angelic examples of the modern child, we can at least talk about it.

Game Prototype Challenge has announced its development theme for April – Companion and Rising. Participants have until 11:59pm on April 25th, 2011 to submit their game prototypes. That’s one week away, with a preview event known as Screenshot Saturday taking place on – you guessed it – this coming Saturday. This is the fifth round of prototype challenges, and if the previous four are anything to go by, this one will also see some awesome entries. You can check out all of the previous entries on the challenge’s web site.

The Early Bird registration rate for Interactive Ontario’s INplay 2011 conference has been extended until April 27th. Get your tickets now for what promises to be a great event. If you are a Canadian digital media designer, don’t forget to send in your submission for the CMF Canadian Interactive Showcase, the deadline is May 2nd.

Interactive Ontario has also released the results of its recent eLearning survey. Designed to examine the challenges faced by the province’s eLearning and cultural industry sectors, the 63 page PDF report (which I am still working my way through) looks at opportunities for growth and cross-pollination among all industry genres, including books, gaming, film, television and music.

Sticking with Ontario for the moment, OMDC is now accepting applications for 2011/12 cycle of the OMDC Export Fund – Interactive Digital Media. This program provides eligible Ontario interactive digital media content producers with funding to participate in export development activities that correspond to a strategy for company growth. Primary activities supported are market event attendance and targeted sales trips that relate to the strategy.

In order to be eligible, all applications must be submitted electronically through the Online Application Portal (OAP.) Interested applicants must register their company’s corporate information here prior to commencing an application.

For technical assistance with registration or the application process send an email to OMDC. Applicants are encouraged to commence the application process well in advance of the deadline in case technical support is required. Complete Guidelines and the link to the OAP are posted on the OMDC website.

In lieu of an information session, applicants will have the opportunity to receive feedback on a first draft of their OMDC Export Fund application through a one-on-one pre-application meeting with an OMDC Consultant. Participation in pre-application meetings is not a requirement and is offered as a courtesy for applicants who may be unfamiliar with the program and/or require additional assistance. Applicants are also encouraged to contact OMDC at any time with questions regarding this program.

Pre-application meetings will take place on May 9 and 10, 2011. Please send in an email to schedule a meeting please email programs@omdc.on.ca. Once your email request has been received, OMDC will contact you to schedule a time on one of these two days.

Here is a look at Part Two of the EA Sports video series on re-launching the SSX franchise with SSX: Deadly Descents:

Manitoba’s MTS has joined the “PVR from Anywhere” movement with the the launch of its My PVR (Personal Video Recorder) service which enables MTS Ultimate TV customers to add, change or delete their Whole Home PVR recordings using any computer with an Internet connection or from select mobile devices. This service is available free of charge to all MTS Ultimate TV Whole Home PVR subscribers.

“My PVR is a great addition to our MTS Ultimate TV service and will give customers the freedom to manage their Whole Home PVR from outside their home,” said Stan Kurtas, Vice President, Marketing, MTS. “We are always working to bring our customers the latest in technology in order to enhance, what we consider to be, the most feature rich television service in Canada.”

My PVR, which can be accessed through the customer’s MyAccount portal, offers customers the opportunity to browse through MTS’s online program guide to see what programs will be on in the next 12 days, search by title and create a shared login so anyone in the family can manage recordings over the Internet.

Independent media site rabble.ca is celebrating its 10th anniversary by launching Media Watch, an initiative committed to dispelling myths perpetrated by ideologically driven reporters and sensationalist media. “We don’t want people to be blinded by SunTV,” said rabble.ca Publisher, Kim Elliott. “Our new media watch blog will feature a media consumer Twitter feed #sunwatch and the keen eye of Alheli Picazo.”

Coordinator of Media Watch and rabble.ca blogger, Alheli Picazo, wrote an expose in 2010 entitled “Ezra Levant vs Reality – A Prelude To Fox News North” in which she thoroughly challenged Levant’s characterization of George Soros. Following this piece Soros filed suit against Levant and Sun Media, resulting in a full retraction and apology printed in The Sun’s editorial section 13 short days after Levant’s original column ran.

“With the official launch of Sun TV News – featuring none other than Levant himself – there has never been a better time to establish a media accountability service,” said Picazo.

Though it’s starting off small, Media Watch aims to cover a wide range of media, from uninformed editorials and inaccurate reporting. rabble.ca’s team of dedicated spin decoders and lie detectors won’t just point out misinformation, but will provide readers with links to, and information about, the sources from which we cite accurate information. Be it scientific data, peer reviewed research, documented fact or expert analysis, we’ll share the tools you need to further investigate the issues.

Canadian voters are invited to tune in to rabbleTV on April 18 to watch special election coverage (“for the rest of us”) with the launch of the show Real Issues. Host Trish Hennessy (researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the Hennessy Index) will be joined by guests Canadian Auto Workers economist Jim Stanford, Greg Elmer, Director, Infoscape Research Lab and Bell Globemedia Research Chair, and Atkinson Foundation’s Olivia Nuamah. This first panel responds to the leaders’ debates and the campaign so far, and will tackle the issue of strategic voting. 

Search engine optimization is probably the most effective, misunderstood, bad-mouthed, and ignored component of a high performing online presence- including blogs and social media. The idea is simple; create your content so that Google knows what you do and assists you with gaining visitors/followers and ultimately, making money from your website. Why is this so controversial? There are no secrets, and the basics are straightforward.

This session will cover:

What is Search Engine Optimization?
Why do I need SEO?
How do I integrate SEO into my blog/website/social media?
Live website audits (time permitting)

Stay after the discussion to network and share ideas within the realm of social media. Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new-media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend. More seats will be released on April 15th at 12:00 p.m. Seating is limited and fills up quickly so hurry to book your place on Eventbrite.com. (Registration will be taken at the event.)

Nevada-based independent payment gateway organization Shift4 Corporation is pleased to announce a recent integration with Burnaby-based POS innovator Squirrel Systems. This integration pairs Squirrel’s state-of-the-art POS system with Shift4′s SaaS-based enterprise payment solution.

“I’m excited by the potential this relationship holds for both organizations,” said Bob Lowe, Shift4′s Director of Strategic Relationships. “It’s nice to see Squirrel building their POS with truly modern Microsoft SQL technology. Now with a certification to Shift4′s Dollars On The Net^®, their offering just got that much better.”

Both companies are industry veterans, recognized as technological innovators in their respective spheres. Squirrel was the first vendor to introduce POS touch screen technology and continues to innovate today. Shift4 introduced tokenization to the credit card industry in 2005, and remains at the forefront of payment technology. Squirrel Systems integration of Shift4 payment solution is a next step in meeting the needs of their customers.

“With the integration of Shift4′s solution to Squirrel, we are able to provide our customers with a very flexible, proven, and secure payment processing platform. Our customers are thrilled with the capabilities and cost-effectiveness of Dollars On The Net,” said Joe Cortese, Squirrel’s Vice President of Product Development.

The integration premiered at the Fort Garry Hotel, Spa, and Conference Center in Winnipeg, Canada. Fort Garry also opted to install Shift4′s It’s Your Card^® gift card solution, which enables gift card use across POS and PMS systems, and allows guests to use the same gift card throughout the property’s various revenue centers.

“Thus far, the Dollars On The Net feature most impressive to me is the back-of-house reporting functionality,” said Fort Garry Controller Mike Watson. “It’s all online, accessible from anywhere, and the lookups are flexible — so when I go to search for info, it’s right there at my fingertips.”

In addition to top-notch auditing features, this integration brings Shift4′s industry-leading security, speed, and reliability to Squirrel’s clientele while offering them enhanced flexibility and lower costs.

The CMF can only release a program budget based on confirmed sources of revenue. Therefore at this juncture, the program budget will include the projected monthly contributions from broadcast distribution undertakings, as well as the allocation of funding of 34.6M$ included in the budget of the Department of Canadian Heritage which is allocated to the CMF.

In the event that the CMF receives a further allocation of funding as a result of the adoption of a federal budget later this year, the CMF will release a supplementary program budget shortly thereafter.

Performance Envelopes will be calculated on the basis of the anticipated full program budget that was approved by the CMF Board including the $100 million funding allocation announced by the Government, in order to assist the industry with licensing and production planning. However, the contractually confirmed amounts of the Performance Envelopes will be based solely on the preliminary program budget described above.

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I for one am very concerned about what this election could mean to our Digital Media industry and all of the hard work so many of us have been doing to work towards a Digital Economy in this country. What ever your political affiliation, please, if you do nothing else leading up to this election, ask your candidates the hard questions – don’t let them wallow about with non-answers. Make them move beyond the finger-pointing and talk about the issues at hand. Do not let our industry fall back down between the cracks of the political landscape. Most of all, exercise your privilege – get out and vote on election day!

A Canadian First World War soldier killed in action nearly a century ago can finally rest in peace following the identification of his remains and his burial last week in France. This resolution was possible due to a novel combination of identification disciplines, including that of Burlington, MA company Z Corporation’s 3D printing technology.

Private Thomas Lawless of Calgary, Alberta, were discovered in 2003 at a construction site near Avion, France. He was killed in action on June 8, 1917, a few months after the Battle of Vimy Ridge. He was 28.

Two sets of remains were found at the site. The first soldier was identified using DNA analysis in 2007. A combination of historical research, forensic anthropology (the study of the human skeleton), facial reconstruction and isotopic analysis yielded Lawless’ identification, as announced on February 24, 2011.

“Although it’s sad to contemplate the loss of young lives in war, it’s rewarding to account for the missing, both for the sake of the deceased and for long-grieving family members,” said Andrew J. Nelson, a key researcher on the project and Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Western Ontario.

The identification team created 3D computer models of Lawless’s skull, derived from CT scan data of several large skull fragments, in order to narrow the list of possible matches for the remains. Physical models of the skull were produced using a Z Corporation 3D printer, which creates physical composite models from scan data much as a document printer produces a business letter from a word-processing file.

Using muscle markings on the skull model, scientific tissue-depth tables and plastilina modeling clay, the team worked with noted Canadian artist Christian Corbet to construct a face on the model. They then photographed that face, and superimposed images of it on photographs of soldiers who were potential matches. By seeing how the images lined up – by face height, width and features such as jaw shape – the team was able to narrow the list of potential matches to two. An isotopic analysis of teeth and the jaw bone indicated that the recovered soldier grew up in Dublin – a direct biographical match with Lawless. To see photos of the rebuilding process, please visit Military Historian Jeremy Banning’s site, where he has posted the images with full permission of Christian Corbet.

“Anthropological analysis and mitochondrial DNA testing are standard approaches for identification,” Nelson explained. “However, mtDNA requires material from living family members on the maternal side to make a connection. In this case, we had none of that at our disposal. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first instance in which facial reconstruction and isotopic analysis were added to the mix. It may result in a new protocol, or certainly new tools, for the identification of the missing.”

Private Thomas Lawless, born April 11, 1889, was a member of the 49th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force and was buried March 15, 2011, at La Chaudiere Military Cemetery in Vimy, France, with his family in attendance. La Chaudiere, a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery, currently has 907 servicemen from the First World War buried or commemorated there, including Canadian Private Herbert Peterson, the soldier found in 2003 with Private Lawless.

Private Herbert Peterson was born on February 28, 1895, in Scranton, Kansas. He and his five brothers were the offspring of Charles and Julia Peterson from Rose Lynn, Alberta. On February 22, 1916, just shy of his 21st birthday, Private Peterson joined the 137th Overseas Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force in Calgary as a private.

On his attestation form, Private Peterson listed his (1916) address as Berry Creek, Alberta, and recorded that he was a farmer, single, Presbyterian, with no current or previous military service. During Private Peterson’s medical examination, he was noted as being five feet, nine inches tall, with a fully expanded chest measurement of thirty-nine inches, a fair complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. He arrived in England with the 137th Battalion on August 30, 1916, and was formally transferred to the 49th Battalion, CEF, on December 7, 1916. A few weeks later, on January 20, 1917, he joined the 49th Battalion in France as a reinforcement soldier. He was declared missing after action on June 9, 1917.

Until the recent discovery of his remains, Private Peterson was one of the more than 11,000 Canadian soldiers who died in France during the First World War and who have no known grave. Private Herbert Peterson burial photo credit: from the blog of military historian Jeremy Banning.

Nelson sees a variety of applications for 3D printing in anthropology beyond the identification of soldiers’ remains. For example, his team used Z Corporation 3D printing in the 2003 facial reconstruction of the Sulman Egyptian mummy housed at the Chatham-Kent Museum in Chatham, Ontario. The facial reconstruction of the mummy was also done by Christian Corbet.

“Societies who wish to move forward must know their past to better understand who they are now and where they might be going,” he said. “The high variability of cultures of the past – before the internet – tells us a lot about the interplay of traits like gender, status, health and wealth in different settings. It’s the bones that help us associate those cultural traits with a particular set of human remains. And though CT scans enable us to a look inside a mummy, for example, without disturbing the bones, wrappings and so on, 3D printing lets us extract these pieces, figuratively speaking, by creating a physical model from CT scan data. We can thus examine the bones more closely and learn more from them.”

“With Canada’s economic recovery still fragile, we are focused on creating jobs and economic growth throughout British Columbia,” said Minister Moore. Supporting Canadian culture means supporting Canada’s economy. Arts and culture bring communities together and contribute to the economic strength of cities. We are proud to support our artists and arts organizations, because investing in the arts is central to strengthening communities in Vancouver and throughout British Columbia.”

The funding announced today will support a range of projects that create cultural experiences, strengthen communities, and bring people together. Projects benefitting from today’s announcement include the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, the DanceHouse performance series, Vancouver Takes the Stage, the Vancouver Early Music Festival, and the Bard On The Beach Theatre Society.

“We are very excited about the opportunity that the Government of Canada has provided to the youth of Vancouver,” said Lucille Pacey, President of Arts Umbrella. The Act One: Youth project will provide the opportunity for youth to work with seasoned Canadian artists in the community and to take those lessons into the classrooms in a leadership role.”

The Government of Canada has provided total funding of $4,779,527 under six programs of the Department of Canadian Heritage: the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program, the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, the Canada Cultural Investment Fund, the Canada Arts Training Fund and theYouth Take Charge program.

Today’s announcement includes the following Vancouver-area projects:

Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage

The Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program provides Canadians with more opportunities to take part in activities that present local arts and culture and celebrate local history and heritage.

• A.I.A. Arts In Action Society – In the House Festival; $5,500
• Celebrate Vancouver’s 125^th Advisory Committee – Vancouver Takes the Stage (Vancouver Celebrates 125); $109,200
• Collingwood Neighbourhood House Society – Collingwood Days Festival; $24,500
• First United Church – First United Church 125^th Anniversary; $8,400
• Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver – Festival Ha’Rikud 2011 Celebrating Love/Ahava; $12,500
• Hellenic Community of Vancouver – Greek Heritage Month/Greek Day; $16,400
• New Westminster Hyack Festival Association – Hyack Festival; $31,100
• North Vancouver Community Arts Council – Art in the Garden Tour; $2,600
• Richmond Arts Coalition – 8^th Annual Richmond Maritime Festival; $92,000
• Richmond Museum Society – Doors Open Richmond 2011; $6,700
• Scandinavian Community Centre Society – Midsummer Festival; $9,000
• Seabird Island Band – 42^nd Annual First Nations Festival; $18,900
• Think City Society – Think City Tours; $7,900
• Valerie Dudoward Foundation – Teach Me the Ways / Vancouver Aboriginal Heritage and Arts Festival; $4,300
• Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration – City of Bhangra 2011; $16,200
• Vancouver Korean Dance Society – Soaring: The 15^th Annual Korean Dance Festival; $6,500

Canada Arts Presentation Fund

The Canada Arts Presentation Fund gives Canadians increased access to the variety and richness of Canada’s culture through professional arts festivals, presentations of live professional performances, and other artistic experiences.

• Centre Culturel Francophone de Vancouver – 22^nd Festival d’été francophone de Vancouver and 2011–2012 season; $40,000 (2011–2012)
• Coastal Jazz and Blues Society – Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Winterruption, and Concert Season; $300,000 (2011–2012)
• Rosario Ancer Flamenco Arts Society – Vancouver International Flamenco Festival; $18,000 (2011–2012)
• Seismic Shift Arts Society – DanceHouse; $80,000 (2011–2012)
• Powell Street Festival Society – 2011 and 2012 Festival and Season; $28,000 (2011–2012) and $28,000 (2012–2013)
• PuSh International Performing Arts Festival Society – PuSh International Performing Arts Festival; $220,000 (2011–2012) and $220,000 (2012–2013)
• Vancouver Society for Early Music – Vancouver Early Music Festival 2011 and 2012 and The Early Music Vancouver Winter Concert Season 2010–2011 and 2011–2012; $93,000 (2011–2012) and $93,000 (2012–2013)
• Western Front Society – Western Front New Music 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 programs; $20,000 (2011–2012) and $20,000 (2012–2013)

Canada Cultural Spaces Fund

The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund seeks to improve physical conditions for artistic creativity and innovation. It is also designed to increase access for Canadians to performing arts, visual arts, media arts, and to museum collections and heritage displays.

• Presentation House Cultural Society – Theatre lighting equipment upgrade; $48,170
• Bard On The Beach Theatre Society – New Mainstage and Studio Stage Theatres; $1,050,337 (2011–2012) and $149,663 (2012–2013)

Canada Arts Training Fund

The Canada Arts Training Fund supports non-profit organizations that offer training to Canadians aspiring to a national or international professional career in the arts.

• Mandala Arts and Culture Society – Training in the Arts; $40,000 (2011–2012)
• Full Circle: First Nations Performance Society – Training in the Arts; $155,000 (2011–2012) and $155,000 (2012–2013)

Canada Cultural Investment Fund (Strategic Initiatives Component)

The Canada Cultural Investment Fund’s Strategic Initiatives component provides funding for initiatives supported by multiple partners and impacting multiple organizations. Supported projects help arts and heritage organizations build and diversify their revenue streams, and strengthen their management capacities/business competencies.

• Assembly of Bristish Columbia Arts Councils – Development, delivery, and expansion of a special projects program in capacity and sustainability; $157,200 (2010–2011)
• The Playhouse Theatre Centre of British Columbia – Next Generation Arts Leadership; $28,000 (2010–2011)

Canada Cultural Investment Fund (Endowment Incentives Component)

The Endowment Incentives component of the Canada Cultural Investment Fund provides funding to match donations from the private sector to arts organizations’ endowment fund. This year, the Government of Canada is providing 71 cents for every dollar donated by the private sector.

• Arts Club of Vancouver Theatre Foundation – Arts Club of Vancouver Theatre Society; $388,961
• Vancouver Foundation – Chor Leoni Men’s Choir; $21,883
• Vancouver Foundation –Vancouver International Dance Festival Society; $4,258
• Vancouver Foundation – Vancouver Society for Early Music; $7,182
• Vancouver Foundation – VDC Dance Centre Society; $46,291
• Vancouver Foundation – West Vancouver Arts Centre Trust; $71,108
• Vancouver Foundation – Théâtre la Seizième; $9,091
• Vancouver Opera Foundation – Vancouver Opera Association; $342,888
• Vancouver Symphony Foundation – Vancouver Symphony Society; $434,899

Youth Take Charge Program

The Youth Take Charge program supports youth-led projects and is getting young Canadians involved in a range of activities designed to strengthen their knowledge and attachment to Canada.

• Children’s Arts Umbrella Association – Act One:Youth; $137,896

Vancouver production company Force Four is looking for a town to be the focus of a show the studio currently has in development. The premise of the show is to find a Canadian town and assist that town and its residents to overcome challenges faced by the community in regards to economy, community, crime and more. The producers will bring in a variety of high-profile experts to work with the town’s residents to help them meet specific goals – not just on a town level but also on a personal level. They will provide guidance for financial challenges, business dreams and community pride. The premise of the show is to bring a whole town together to inspire other communities, to show others what can be accomplished when a town works together.

Aldergrove has made the short list of roughly a half dozen Lower Mainland communities, and tonight’s town hall meeting built on this area’s reputation of rising to a challenge, of people coming together to build, to support and improve. Speaking from their experience with other documentaries, the producers have found that the best ideas often come from the communities themselves, and to this end has requested that residents and business people

Now I know that some of you are thinking “wait a minute, you just lambasted the Township in the local paper last week.” Yes, yes I did – but that was not my community or my town – that was a portion of the local government who have trouble thinking outside the box – and incidentally, none of those members of Council were at the meeting – or if they were, I didn’t see them, which means they didn’t stand up and take part in the conversation.  To the Council members whom I know were there (and not part of the problem I have with local government), thank you for taking the time to support our town.

Force Four Productions is known for such productions as Village On A Diet, Cupcake Girls and Murder She Solved, to name but a few. The studio produces scripted, documentary, factual scripted and children’s programming. This new show will be presented to the Oprah Winfrey Network with the hopes of getting a greenlight for full production.

What did surprise me was the number of relatively new residents who came forward to share their views of our town. One 16 year resident – yes, that qualifies as “relatively new” for me, my family has lived here since 1873, homesteading a quarter section farm just west of the town proper – spoke of her first experiences after moving here with her family, and how a little rain didn’t dampen spirits during our Festival Days parade. People still lined the street to watch the procession and community groups still gave out strawberry shortcake. Another resident who moved here 6 months ago related a similar experience with the annual Christmas parade, except with the dispensing of hot chocolate.

The producers were struck by stories such as these, and how the residents of Aldergrove have pulled together to accomplish such things as the community centre, the establishment of our local museum, the volunteer spirit and the willingness to help. This town has been taking a beating economically, being strategically located between the shopping meccas of Abbotsford and Langley cities. There was a time when our downtown was buzzing with shops and services, now we have an almost completely abandoned run-down mall and many empty storefronts along the main street.

Winning this show could change all of that for Aldergrove – dreams could become reality, our youth could have a future in this town, Aldergrove could once again become the flourishing rural town it once was. It is the hope of the producers that residents will submit compelling stories in their questionnaires, and that they will be able to focus on the positive aspects of the challenges faced by both the town and its residents. As the target network for this show is, after all, Oprah’s, the producers would like to offer an inspiring program that will follow the town’s from the status of bedroom community through a positive transformation to the flourishing community I mentioned above.

Part of the process of working together is the pooling of skills and knowledge, and again I was surprised by the many skilled and knowledgeable people stepping forward to offer assistance. Once it was established what our residents need to do over the next two weeks as Force Four looks at the possible towns, it was like a massive call to action – people were signing up on the contact sheets and talking about the Facebook page for The Aldergrove Project. On March 12th, 895 people “liked” the page – tonight, it’s only 27 shy of 1000. Hopefully that number will continue to climb. Updated: as of this morning we’re now at 990 supporters on the project page.

I wasn’t going to go to the meeting – I was tired and it was a really long day due to another visitation from the Insomniac Boss – but I dragged myself out the door, using the logic that I can’t complain about the local government in the paper one week and then not show up to support a town initiative. I am very glad that I went – I ran into several old friends, and felt quite inspired. Sometimes all it takes is a few little events to add some new fuel to the fire, and while it’s up to us to keep the flames going, a little inspiration can go a long way.

When I was granted an interview with Steve Gamester, I almost went into panic mode because there were so many things I wanted to ask, but one important lesson from journalism class all those years ago is always front and centre in my mind – be respectful of your interviewee’s time. So came the task of narrowing down the kazillion possible questions to a dozen or so that would result in uncovering the most information. What I wasn’t prepared for was Steve’s passion about not only the show, but about history in general, and if you are not already aware of this, people who have a passion talk really fast. My notes looked like hieroglyphic rabble once the telephone interview was done.

Steve completed his post-secondary education with a major in history, and he said that there as there were not many career options open to him at that time, he opted for film, where he has worked since graduation. I understand his passion for times past, as I spend a good portion of my free time either watching shows about ancient history on the  History TV Canada channel or surfing around the web visiting museums and historic sites – the internet, to me, is one enormous research facility.

Going back to the beginning of the series, I asked Steve where the show’s concept originated. He told me that History Television (Canada) had put out a call for proposals on shows about museums, and Kensington came up with the idea for Museum Secrets, a show that would be driven by the objects and characters one finds in a museum, following the thought that behind every object is a great story to tell – and “the objects on display in a museum are usually just a drop in the bucket of what the museum actually possesses.”

One of the most important considerations when choosing the museum locations was accessibility, as many museums are constantly undergoing some type of renovation, and there are some which do not allow camera crews at all. Also examined were the individual museum collections – which objects would offer not only a great story but also a new and interesting way to look at the artifacts, making them more than just a static object. It took six months to gain access to the archives in Vatican City, an area which is usually opened only to those who are sponsored by a member of The Vatican, and only for “serious” research purposes. Other considerations which also dictate where the crews will go for future filming of episodes include language barriers, current events and of course, cost.

It was eerily ironic when the episode about the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities aired, as History Television (Canada) carried commercials from Tourism Egypt, with the tag line “Where It All Begins” – and the episode aired just as the recent civic uprisings began. I asked Steve what thoughts went through his head as news about the riots and protests was coming out of Egypt, and he said that first and foremost was “the safety of the people they had met and worked with.” He continued on, stating that “What many viewers may not have realized is that the street where protesters were throwing molotov cocktails was the most vulnerable part of the building, as the museum’s wall is so close to the street, and behind that wall is the Royal Mummy Room.”

The Egyptian Museum was also Steve’s favourite site to visit. He said that the people who worked there were very charming and helpful, and the museum itself is an historic experience all on its own. The architecture of the current building is original, complete with antique display cases and peeling paint on the walls. The artifacts have inhabited this site on Tahrir Square since 1902, in a building which was designed in 1896 by the French Architect Marcel Dourgnon.

In deciding which artifacts would be featured in the six episodes, Steve said that there was an intensive amount of research done which preceded any decisions. Their teams looked at museum backgrounds and consulted with individual curators. They started with a huge slate of possible features, and then began the process of narrowing down their focus, looking for a balance between those items which were famous and those which were not. Of central importance, as he said earlier, was the story behind the artifact, and any emotional connection the item may have with people still living.

This is something I could relate to, as my family has lived in this area for over a century and has many historic ties to the town, including an old thresher which is in the BC Farm Machinery and Agricultural Museum in Fort Langley. The thresher belonged to my great-great-grandfather, and was involved in some cross-border shenanigans with farmers and the sheriff’s department just across the border in Washington state. I wasn’t aware of the story until our historic society included it in one of their published area histories, and we’ve since been down to visit the thresher at the museum.

As a first example,  Ernie La Pointe, great-grandson of Sioux chief Sitting Bull, was interviewed about his famous ancestor and the beautiful antique headdress in possession of the Royal Ontario Museum. The Royal Ontario Museum episode was the first of the series to be filmed, and it was here that the crew fully realized the personal attachments curators can develop with the artifacts. Egyptologist Gayle Gibson is emphatically passionate about her work with the ROM’s Egyptian Collection, and it is obvious in the segments examining the Egyptian mummy babies that every artifact carries with it some essence of humanity, and the curators echo that humanity in their treatment and care of the artifacts.

Every episode of this first series has thus far succeeded in showing how these moments in our history still have some type of impact on those living in modern times. One such interview was with Charles Napoleon, descendant of the youngest brother of that famous little tyrant, Napoleon Bonaparte. A new level of interest was definitely added to the Louvre episode when the story of the propagandic Jacques-Louis David painting of Napoleon’s coronation is told by the man who could have been the current monarch of France, had history played out differently.

Another segment aired during the episode on England’s Natural History Museum. Who doesn’t love a story about a cursed, priceless gem? Apparently the descendants of Edward Heron-Allen don’t. The Blasted Amethyst was gifted to the museum after decades of mysterious and nefarious events seemed to surround anyone who owned or touched the gem, which had been looted from the Temple of Indra during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Most interesting during this segment was the skepticism of Mineralogist Alan Hart, who does not believe in the curse, and the opposite opinion of Curator Richard Savin, who firmly believes the gem has exerted it cursatory power on his life. Ira Jones, the son of Edward Heron-Allen, was offered the opportunity to handle the purple treasure before it was replaced in its display case. He declined. While he did have the opportunity to handle some of the artifacts at the Egyptian Museum, series producer Steve Gamester did not lay hands on the gem either, but he did note that one of the show’s cameramen fell ill the day after the segment on the gem was shot. Coincidence or Curse?

Museum Secrets also takes the science behind some of the artifacts out of the museum and into the real world. Two segments which immediately stand out are the ones where the crossbow and musket go shot for shot in power comparisons and the top secret weaponry employed by Britain’s Special Operations Executive. Who knew that rats could be so explosively deadly?

What made the crossbow segment of the ROM episode so special was the opportunity for Curator Cory Keeble to actually shoot a replica crossbow which had been built to medieval specifications by prop master Chris Warrilow – and his delight in doing so.

During World War II, there was a very real threat that many of the treasures housed in the Natural History Museum could be forever lost should any German bombs fall on the building, so the building was emptied of its treasure hoard, and the spies moved in. The Special Operations Executive, of which author Ian Flemming was a member, were responsible for gathering intelligence on the Nazis and coming up with ways to put serious dents in their activities. The Museum Secrets team and explosives engineer Sidney Alford took a closer look at some of the blueprints for explosive devices used by the SOE to combat Hitler’s armies. Thankfully they took their experiments outside.

I have purposely left two episodes of the Museum Secrets series until last, because the Vatican Museum is one archive I would love be to turned loose in, and The Met has ties to secrets the Vatican would like to keep. No, I’m not a Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons fanatic – I’ve spent decades wondering what secrets are hidden away behind the thick walls of the Vatican. The Met was recently featured as a backdrop location to another conspiracy-based movie, The Last Templar, so I found some of the artifact choices by the Museum Secrets team intriguing simply because of the tie-ins to the whole Templar-Vatican story.

During my interview with Steve Gamester, he said that even with all of the preparatory research done before going on location, there is still the possibility of stumbling upon one special gem, the impact of which you don’t fully realize until you are on location. As he noted elsewhere in our conversation, many of today’s museums did not start life as a museum, and thus have additional stories aside from the ones on display. One of Steve’s favourite segments was the graffiti left behind in the Vatican by the looting army of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, when it sacked Rome in 1527. The graffiti was particularly intriguing, because members of the army had actually taken the time to scratch in the name of their leader, defacing frescoes which had been created by master artist Raphael.

Conspiracy theories and tall tales aside, I have always felt that history and its artifacts belong to the people, and we as members of the human race should have right of access if not to the real thing (in protective cases and covers, of course), then as digitized files – and this doesn’t go for just the Vatican’s treasures, but for all museums. I think that what Kensington and History Television (Canada) are doing, and promoting, with the Museum Secrets series is very commendable – they give viewers a taste of the real history behind the objects, and through the series website, invite you to learn more.

When we were discussing the Vatican Museum, I asked Steve which museum he would like to have unfettered access to, and he replied that one of his top choices would be The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, which is another museum I would love to visit one day, as part of my family came from Russia, escaping soon after the deaths of the Romanovs. Steve mentioned that he has also been researching Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, as he also has an interest in the Ottoman Empire.  This conversational line led to my asking Steve which period in history was his favourite, to which he replied Ancient Greek, and lucky for him, the crew is currently filming a new Museum Secrets episode at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. I asked him if they would be filming any segments at Santorini, and to my disappointment, he didn’t think so – but they would be taking a look at the legend of the Minotaur and the mysterious labyrinth.

If you haven’t done so yet, I invite you to visit the Museum Secrets web site, because it is full of interesting things to learn and things to do. The interactive designers at Kensington have given viewers the chance to play with digitized versions of crossbows. There is also a feature called the Object Navigator, which allows you to look at the museum objects in detail and learn more about them. There are also non-featured artifacts sprinkled among them, and you can even save the objects to be looked at later. While the Object Navigator and My Discoveries features do require that you register on the site (if you want to save your lists), once you do, you can also make notes to go with the objects, and you can share them with others. There are many interactive components to be found on the web site, and while I could tell you where they all are, I think it would be more engaging for you to explore the site and find them as you go along.

Every segment also has its own short feature video to also give you a closer look at areas of interest to you, complete with the distinct animated segments used to describe historical events. I asked Steve about those segments, because to me they look reminiscent of the Monty Python shows, and I wondered if this was a kind of homage to those comedic creators of other …historic films. Steve answered that the team wanted a graphic novel feel, somewhat “Frank Miller-ish” to the animations, and that they were simply trying to find a signature way to portray historic episodes without using full CG, as well as stay within the budget. There was no resemblance to Monty Python intended in either the crossbow game or the show’s animated segments.

The Museum Secrets blog offers a behind-the-scenes looks at every episode, and a chance to hear from that episode’s director about the various locations. Speaking for myself, whose interest in history is probably only equaled by my interest in video games, Museum Secrets is one of the most original and educational series to grace the airwaves, and I enjoy it all the more because it’s made in Canada. These are the types of programs I am happy to see my tax dollars support, and I hope that we are given the opportunity to see many more episodes  in the future.

Museum Secrets, produced by KensingtonTV with the participation and support of the Bell Fund, History Television, and the Canada Media Fund, currently airs on History Television (Canada), and will be airing in the near future in both the United States and Europe. The Museum Secrets team also welcomes input and feedback from fans on both its Facebook page and Twitter. Aside from the video on the site, you can also check out video on the Museum Secrets’ YouTube channel and see location stills on Flickr.

In addition,  Kensington’s founder Robert Lang and Interactive Producer, David Oppenheim, will be presenting a talk on creating films for multiple-platforms, including mobile devices at NXNE’s Interactive Festival.

All images and film in this article are used with the permission of KensingtonTV.

As I admitted last evening, I am a Shaw fangirl, and I don’t have a problem admitting that. I’ve had the Telus experience, and Shaw is heads above them for service. That said, when Shaw quietly removed 25gb from my internet plan, without telling me while still charging me the same money, the Corporation lost pretty well all of the trust I had for it, and Shaw is going to have to work very hard to get that trust level back.

Do I believe that Shaw understands it has made a huge mistake? Yes, I felt that Chris Kucharski, Vice President, Operations, who led the meeting, was sincere when he stated such. Do I believe that Shaw wants to work with its customers to find a viable solution? Yes, I feel they do. Do I believe that everyone will be happy with the solutions? No, because you can’t please all of the people all of the time. As Scott said last night on the prospect of follow-up customer sessions – yes, we are interested in participating, but Shaw should do more of these sessions – don’t wait until there is a big problem – commit to holding more of these sessions to avoid the big problems.

The first test for those at the meeting last night will come with their promised follow-up today of the congestion problem we are having. Yes, we are a super-user household, we have the Extreme internet package with three IP addresses, and we pay extra for that third IP. While I feel that $10.00 for that third IP is just a tad high when we get three extra IP addresses for our webserver down at SoftLayer for only $5.00, we need that third IP so we have to pay the piper for it. Periodic speed tests of our bandwidth, done at different times of day on varying days of the week are incredibly inconsistent, and rarely do we approach the advertised 15Mbps download speed, even at the off-peak hours between 4 – 6am. Yes, there are people awake in our house at those hours.

There was some good dialogue at last night’s meeting, with some viable ideas on what to do about the data transfer and bandwidth speed issues. Except for the people who suggested throttling. That is a terrible idea, and is akin to locking a gamer in a dungeon with the golden key inches out of reach. We, like many others in the room last night, are willing to pay for speed IF there are either no caps, or caps that are better applicable to our plan – we have speed (when we’re not congested), and we want to use it. We do a lot of gaming in this house, and along with activities related to running this web site, we need a lot of transfer room. Three PCs, two laptops, two Xbox 360s, a Nintendo DS, a Wii, an iPhone and an iPod Touch need room roam. One day we’ll be able to afford a PS3, then what? More transfer usage.

The current cap of 100gb simply is not enough. As I explained last night, two game packages downloaded and 1/3 of our monthly transfer allowance was gone. Gaming-related downloads in the billing cycle just ended resulted in just over 55gb of data, over half of our plan – and that’s just files, not game play. Who knows how much transfer we used up with YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or web-series watching, never mind emails and regular surfing around that big research facility known as the internet.

Already this morning we’ve burned up 4gb just downloading the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood expansion Da Vinci’s Disappearance for two 360s. Later today I will be picking up 2 copies of Dragon Age 2 for those same 360s, and then we will get to download all of the extra content we’ve qualified for, along with any game build updates. Burn burn burn…

People have asked me why we don’t switch to Telus. Well, let me tell you why. I refuse to sign a contract for telecommunications services of any kind. It’s bad enough I had to sign one for the cell phone service at work. Shaw’s customer service centres are located in Canada. Shaw does not out-source to countries halfway around the globe. They hire people who live in Canada. They support Canadian communities and Canadian enterprise with offerings such as the Shaw Rocket Fund – and yes, Telus supports projects like this too, in fact they are supporting this weekend’s Great Canadian Appathon – but they out-source and trying to get any customer support or technical service is very difficult, so Telus loses many points in the standings. Mr. Kucharksi asked if I thought Shaw was doing a good enough job letting Canadians know just how Canadian Shaw is, and frankly, no, you’re not.

As I said last night, I’d like to see Shaw involved in local creative industry events like the Canadian Games Conference, the Canadian Video Game Awards and SIGGRAPH 2011, all being held in Vancouver – in fact this is the first time SIGGRAPH is being held outside the USA, and is a great opportunity for Shaw to do some good PR work. I know there are other creative industry events in your other markets that would offer similar opportunities for Shaw. Some of you last night were surprised to learn that Canada stands in third spot on the global scale as a digital media producer. Do not implement these horribly low caps and stifle that creativity. Canada is well on its way to taking top spot, let us innovate, create and educate without having to worry about monthly caps or throttling.

We also learned last night about a new Shaw program, which was unveiled as I was writing this editorial. Called The Personalizer, I believe this new idea is meant to give Shaw users more of what they want, and as I said on Twitter earlier, it’s a step in the right direction, but I still have to buy a ton of channel bundles to get the few channels I want, along with many more I do not want. Also, if all Shaw users have to use this, including existing customers, it’s going to confuse the hell out of my parents, who are among the least tech-savvy people I know, and yes, they are Shaw Cable customers. We’re trying to get them to switch to digital phone and get internet at home, but that’s still a little ways off. My Mom doesn’t feel she needs home internet because she can look stuff up when she’s at the office, even though she’s retired and not supposed to be there.

I took a look at this new Personalizer, and on the surface it’s great, we might even save money. Then you look at the channel bundles. We are going to lose the Book and Bio channels, because they are bundled with all of the music channels we don’t watch, and I’m not paying $10.00 for a bundle to get two channels. Thankfully we can get rid of all the sports channels we don’t watch. CBC and TSN are good enough for us. Wait a minute…is regular plain old TSN included in the basics? It’s hard to tell from this:

Personal TV includes over 40 of the most popular channels including 12 HD channels: CTV HD, ABC HD, CBC HD, Global HD, CBS HD, PBS HD, NBC HD, Fox HD, HGTV HD, CityTV HD, History, The Frame, MuchMusic, OMNI, Shaw TV, The Weather Network, YTV, The Shopping Channel, The Food Network, Game TV, Galaxie Music Channels, and more!

What’s the “and more” is it TSN? A&E? Don’t give me “and more” I want to know what the “and more” is, thanks. A careful look at the two sports bundles does not show regular, plain old non-HD TSN. We don’t have an HD TV, so we don’t particularly care about HD channels. Where is APTN?

Oops, wait a minute again…Spike TV is in with one of the Sports Bundles. Okay, so now we can’t watch the Spike Video Game Awards in the fall and Spike’s continuous running of the Star Wars saga, because that’s pretty well all we watch on that channel – unless we want to pay another $10.00 for a Sports Bundle, which we don’t. Bleh.

Alright first bundle breakdown:

So in the $10.00 bundle above, we watch amc (for The Walking Dead), Bravo, documentary and IFC the most, and have occasionally watched something on most of the other channels in that bundle which we might already have, except for Diva. Chick flicks are not popular in this house; we don’t watch WTV and OWN is not a necessity of life either. Anyway, back on track here.

The next set of bundles are classified as Entertainment 1, 2 and 3, all priced at $10.00 each.

Entertainment 1 isn’t too bad – the only channel in that pack which we definitely don’t watch is Cave. In the
Entertainment 2 pack we watch The CW, WGN CW, TV Tropolis, Comedy and once in a very seldom while, Slice. I already talked about Entertainment 3 – we watch Book and Bio. I think we have Bold now, but didn’t that used to be CourtTV? I can’t remember what replaced CourtTV when they took it away, maybe it’s now the Mystery channel. Needless to say, we will most likely not be getting Entertainment 3, and of the 26 channels in Entertainment packs 1 and 2, which will cost $20.00, we only actually want 14, maybe 15. CosmoTV? No thanks.

Now let’s look at the remaining main bundles. We use timeshift, so that $5.00 bundle will remain, as will the Family Channels because I use them to check out some of our fine Canadian-made shows from studios like marblemedia and DHX, to name but two. The News bundle will add another $5.00, but we don’t have to pay for all of those French channels. We’re not good Canadians, we don’t speak both official languages very well.

Now over to the Premium Selections. I am going to presume that choosing the Movie Channel pack will still include the same channels we have now, like HBO Canada, which we must have because Game of Thrones will be airing on it. Movie Channel pack will stay, anything else in this group we don’t care about. We had the Super Channel pack briefly, but found we didn’t watch anything on those channels, so removed it from our subscription.

We won’t be picking anything from the Multi-Cultural offerings, either.

And in the final Television selection, we have Pick and Pay. We pick one – Discovery Science. If Shaw offered iDiscovery, we’d pick that too, but as we mentioned last night, even though Discovery’s web site says that Shaw carries this channel, it’s nowhere to be found on the menu. Please fix that. We want our forensics and crime documentaries, thank you.

So, overall, we could maybe save money – we are currently on a PVR promo that doesn’t end until May 2013, and we do have a second digital terminal in the bedroom – I don’t know how to account for these on this new Personalization menu. The internet section won’t let me add our extra IP address – and almost every time something is updated on our account, our third IP goes AWOL. In fact, our third IP sometimes goes AWOL all on its own, and this is the only problem we have with Shaw’s customer service – they never see that third IP until they look closer at our account.

It’s not like we haven’t looked at all of the options – business grade internet accounts, home server options, upgrading our internet package – we currently pay approximately 230.00 per month for phone, internet and television. The Home Server plan with only 200gb of data transfer for a server? Insufficient. We currently have 2000gb of transfer with SoftLayer, and the money we pay them each month includes data transfer, a whole slew of IP addresses and the server itself.

With the new Personalization Plan on Extreme Internet and the channel choices as noted, we will pay an estimated (can’t forget that disclaimer on the web invoice) $207.00 including the evil HST, or with Warp Internet (and an extra 75gb transfer on top of our current 100gb plus more speed) we’re looking at an estimated $229.43 (including HST) – BUT – neither of those prices include our equipment (from what I can tell) OR the third IP address. If I were feeling evil, I’d call Customer Service just to melt someone’s brain.

But, when all is said and done – is Shaw offering these new cost-saving measures because many of us will be cutting back on Cable TV or digital phone due to the possibility of ugly transfer cap charges? I think I’ve made my position clear. No caps. I will pay for speed and help finance new or better pipes and community nodes, I will not have my usage capped and charged. I’m not thrilled that Jim Shaw makes more in two months on his pension than I make in a whole year, but I guess that’s the benefit of owning a huge corporation.

Of course Shaw also has the advantage as Telus is our only other option in the area where we live, and well, Telus is simply not an option. So Shaw, it’s up to you to keep a long-term customer happy enough to become a lifetime customer. Are you up for the challenge?

TELUS is investing $670 million across British Columbia this year to further expand and enhance its wireless and wireline networks. This year’s network investment builds upon the $24 billion TELUS has invested in its operations and technology in the province in the last 10 years. (versus 23 billion in Alberta)

In 2011, TELUS will continue to invest in its Optik TV and high-speed Internet services as it lays thousands of kilometres of fibre optic lines to support the growing demand in the province. The company will also deliver British Columbians access to even better and faster wireless broadband services by installing 76 new cell sites and introducing HSPA+ Dual Cell technology, one of the most advanced wireless technologies in the world.

After a decade of focused investment in leading-edge technology TELUS has:

* Extended TELUS wireless service to 99 per cent of B.C.’s (Alberta’s) population. With the introduction of a world-leading 4G wireless network offering manufacturer rated peak download speeds of up to 21 megabits per second – and soon up to 42 megabits per second* – British Columbians (and Albertans) have access to extremely fast wireless high-speed Internet anywhere within TELUS’ vast network coverage area. (does this include mountainous areas like the Fraser Canyon & the Coquihalla?)
* Made wireline broadband available to 95 per cent of B.C. (Alberta) households, including a selection of Internet plans with speeds up to 25 megabits per second. The company also expanded availability of TELUS’ Optik TV to more than 1 million households across the province. (same number in Alberta)
* By the end of last year, 314,000 customers in British Columbia, Alberta and Eastern Quebec had switched their TV service to TELUS. (last week they implied 314 000 Albertans had switched)
* Enabled healthcare institutions to improve the flow of information across the continuum of care through electronic health records accessible on both wireless and wireline networks. Recently, 2000 TELUS team members and their families began a pilot of TELUS Health Space; paving the way for millions of Canadians to take control of their own health records with the ultimate goal of shifting the focus from remediation to prevention of illness.

“Our planned $670 million investment this year in advanced communications technology continues TELUS’ track record of providing British Columbians (Albertans) with access to telecommunications and entertainment services that are the envy of the world,” said Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO (last week he said that Telus had a proud history of providing service to Albertans. I guess that pride does not extend to the west coast). “This year, TELUS will continue to bring the innovations of Optik TV and faster Internet speeds to even more British Columbians (and Albertans). We will continue to bring citizens faster wireless broadband services as we introduce HSPA+ Dual Cell technology, one of the most advanced wireless technologies in the world, to more B.C. (Alberta) communities. TELUS is also committed to working with all levels of government in B.C. (and Alberta) to advance the provision of life-changing healthcare and education services over our networks.”

By the end of 2010, TELUS had installed the infrastructure necessary to bring wireline broadband Internet speeds of up to 25 megabits per second and Optik TV to more than 1 million households in the Vancouver Lower Mainland, Victoria, Campbell River, Whistler, Kelowna, Vernon and Prince George (and more than 1 million households in Alberta communities including Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, to name a few). Optik TV runs over a high-speed Internet connection, providing customers with game-changing services and features as well as more than 480 channels, including 85 in High Definition (HD).

In 2011, TELUS will also continue to expand its 4G wireless network across B.C. (Alberta). Already the most extensive network in the province reaching 99 per cent of the population (same as Alberta), TELUS will install about 76 new cell sites (80 in Alberta) to bring service to even more rural communities and highway corridors and strengthen its coverage in urban centres. Earlier this year, TELUS announced it will introduce the Dual Cell upgrade to its HSPA+ network, doubling the manufacturer rated peak wireless Internet speeds to up to 42 megabits per second.

Mr. Entwistle added TELUS’ commitment to British Columbia (Alberta) communities extends beyond infrastructure and new services. “Since 2000, TELUS has partnered with our 15,000 B.C. (14 000 Albertan) team members and retirees to contribute $92 million and 2.1 million volunteer hours ($82 million and 1.1 million volunteer hours in Alberta) to charitable and community organizations in all corners of B.C. (and Alberta),” Mr. Entwistle said. “Building on our tradition of community giving, this year alone TELUS plans to contribute an additional $10 million (12 million in Alberta) to charitable organizations and community initiatives across the province.”

TELUS was recognized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals as the 2010 Most Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation globally, the first time a Canadian company has ever received this international honour. TELUS has supported more than 1,100 British Columbia (see comparison below) charitable and non-profit organizations, including BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Union Gospel Mission, BC Cancer Foundation, University of British Columbia, BC Women’s Hospital, the David Foster Foundation and the Heart & Stroke Foundation. In addition, TELUS has donated more than $2.4 million to community organizations on Vancouver Island, and in Sechelt, Kelowna, Prince George, Vernon, Penticton, Powell River, Kamloops, Cranbrook, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission and Ashcroft with its Optik TV and Satellite TV campaigns. Moreover, the TELUS Vancouver and Victoria Community Boards supported their respective communities with $5 million in funding for Vancouver and Victoria grassroots charities since 2005.

Charitable paragraph from last week’s press release:

TELUS has supported more than 1,000 Alberta charitable and non-profit organizations, including the TELUS World of Science in Calgary and Edmonton (but not World of Science in Vancouver), the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, the Calgary Humane Society, the Canadian Cancer Society (Alberta/North West Territories Division) and the Alberta Cancer Foundation. In addition, TELUS has donated $1.1 million to community organizations in Airdire, Ft. McMurray, Grand Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer, with its Optik TV campaigns. Moreover, the TELUS Edmonton and Calgary Community Boards supported their respective communities with $6.6 million in funding for Edmonton and Calgary charities since 2005. In total, TELUS has donated over $25 million in charitable funding in Alberta in 2010 and 2011.

The capital investment disclosed in this release is consistent with TELUS’ overall capital expenditure target for 2011.

I sent an email to each of the candidates over a week ago – all were copied on the same email so that they had an equal opportunity at the same questions and points I was raising. Not one replied. Someone named Corrie did reply from Kevin Falcon’s team – to say that this was not a “normal election” and as such the candidates were not answering “questionnaires” as they didn’t have the time or resources to do so.

All of the candidates can take the time to send an almost constant flow of emails, they can speak with the main-stream press, and they can have their teams constantly call our house – but they can’t use travel time between rallies to express their thoughts on my points and questions. I even stated they didn’t have to answer all of the questions, just provide some idea of where they stand, and in that they failed, because they do not adequately address all of the issues on their respective web sites. I had the hardest time with Mike de Jong’s web site, as it was very difficult to find and compare his proposed policies with those of the other candidates, whereas the sites for both Christy Clark and George Abbott are nicely done.

The reply from Kevin Falcon’s team and a complete lack of reply from the others implies that the issues aren’t important enough, my one vote is not important enough. I may only have one vote, but I have my own platform from which to speak, and speak I will. The invitation to reply to my email is still open to the four remaining candidates.

I have many areas that I want to cover, and I imagine that this will turn into an expression of all the frustrations I have with several levels of government, not only pertinent to the digital media sector, but to many sectors which all tie-in to the issues we as voters from all walks of life will be taking into consideration not only for the two leadership races underway in BC, but also in the inevitably approaching next provincial election – and possibly even the next federal election. Hopefully politicos are paying attention, because I know I’m not the only one with an opinion on the state of things in this municipality, province and country. I’m quite sure that these issues also apply to those who are NDP supporters, what with the leadership of that party also being decided in the coming months. Maybe I will send my questions to those candidates as well and see what kind of replies I get.

Where do the candidates stand on improving our education system, because quite frankly it’s not the Industrial Revolution age any more – in case you hadn’t noticed. There are currently two high schools that I am immediately aware of in BC who are taking the steps to offer students the opportunity to learn skills that will give them a head start on a post-secondary education for the digital media sector. I want to know where our candidates stand on educating our children for the future instead of for a world that no longer exists.

All of the candidates have pointed out how important family is, and how government needs to put in place the tools and opportunities for families to get ahead. They all raise the issue of affordable daycare. I find this incredibly ironic, because one of the first things the Liberals did when they won back the Legislature from the NDP, was to axe the NDP’s excellent daycare programme, immediately causing daycare to be unaffordable for low income wage earners and single parent families like my own.

While I no longer require the services of a daycare, I did experience first hand trying to talk to the Premier early in his tenure at a fundraiser event for MLA Rich Coleman. He politely nodded and smiled as I expressed my concerns to him about the daycare situation created by his party’s desire to stamp out anything done by the NDP. He made empty promises to have someone from the appropriate ministry contact me to discuss the issue further, as he felt that my arguments at the time had merit – and that time the daycare issue was front and centre for me. No one contacted me, it was an empty promise. There were no improvements forthcoming for the affordability and availability of daycare at that time. For the record, I am not an NDP supporter, but every so often they do come up with some really good programmes, and the daycare subsidy programme was very well done.

You may be wondering why I am bringing up the issue of daycare – unless you are a woman working in the creative industry sector. In making it easier for parents to find employment, daycare is a huge issue.
I did put out the call to a few women who work in various Vancouver area studios, but being a beautiful sunny Sunday morning, I am not expecting speedy replies. I found out via Google that Electronic Arts, one of the biggest creative employers in our area, does support daycare as a matter of corporate policy, but offerings differ by studio and apparently this is one area that is under discussion at the EA Canada campus. On their employment benefits page, this is what Electronic Arts has to say:

“Some designated EA offices offer child daycare onsite. Also varying from location to location, EA supports childcare through other channels as well, such as childcare vouchers and the Back-Up Child Care program (USA). In addition, and likewise depending on location, EA provides financial assistance for adoption. This program provides assistance towards agency placement fees, court costs, and legal fees associated with adoption.”

In searching out information about Canadian tech companies and daycare, I came across an extremely informative site that may be of help to many involved with child care on both sides of the 49th parallel, and is well worth reading through. ChildCare.net is rich with resources for both parents searching out childcare and those who would like to start a childcare facility. A particularly excellent page is the one that lists the many corporate programmes available which assist daycare centres across the continent.

I continued off on my research tangent about family friendly companies – don’t worry, I’ll get back to the Liberal candidate race in a minute or two, and checked who was topping the lists of Family Friendly corporations across the country. On the Top 100 site, Next Level Games made the list in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In an article on Suite101 from last April, Next Level Games, Webnames.ca and the Microsoft Canada Development Centre were named as being among the Top 100 family friendly companies in 2009 by the Progressive Employers of Canada List. I did go to the Progressive site to see what other information was offered, but that site appears to be a link and ad farm now.

So, to tie in the Liberal candidate platform promises, it would be very easy for any of the four candidates to promise improvements to the daycare situation in this province, because right now the available services are expensive and there is a high demand for more spaces. Perhaps this is a part of the reason why younger couples are not starting families – because they would have to give up the income needed to survive in this province as daycare options are very limited. Not an easy choice – afford a home or have a child. Both are expensive choices in this province.

The next issue I would like to look at is education. I have one child who successfully completed high school, and even though it took her until Grade 12 to realize that high school was not a social event, she still got that all-important certificate. My youngest, however, is a different story. He is very talented creatively, but high school was a complete let-down for him. He wanted to study digital arts, but there was no digital arts programme at our high school. The digital lab at that time was very poor – using evaluation copies of software, offering the wrong types of software, and instructors were not well-versed in digital media.

If he had wanted to study a traditional trade like automotive mechanics, metal-working, wood-working or hairdressing, he’d have been fine. He would have also been okay if he was interested in a traditional science field – chemistry or biology. While he does have a strong interest in archaeology and history, he wanted to tie those in with digital media, and couldn’t. He ended his high school education at the Grade 10 level, giving up in frustration because being shut into a box all day listening to teachers talk was not conducive to his learning style. Yes, I know – many of you would’ve said “suck it up buttercup” but I too struggled through school, and the only classes I truly enjoyed when I was in high school were history, law and English – probably because I have an addiction to researching things and I am a voracious reader. But again, I digress.

As the Cavechild did not graduate, getting into a post-secondary environment is at best difficult. He does not qualify for scholarships, and we certainly can’t afford the thousands of dollars it would cost to put him through a full digital media programme, whether it’s one at the University of the Fraser Valley, BCIT or Vancouver Film School. In fact, we really can’t afford any programme at any post-secondary institution, no matter the content. On top of the course expense, he’d have to remain living at home, because he doesn’t have a job, nor does he have a vehicle, and the transit service in our town is less than poor, even though we get to pay all of those transit levies imposed on us by Translink and Government. This is also a barrier to him being able to obtain employment, unless he wants to work at one of the fast food outlets within walking distance of our house.

The bus line does not service Gloucester Industrial Park, which is the biggest area of employment in our fine town. In fact, it barely offers a service in town at all. High school students can’t even make use of transit to get to the school because there is one route into town and a different route out, there is no two-way line until you get west of town, where the bus comes into and exits Aldergrove at the junction of Highways 13 and 1A. Oh, and it’s too far to walk to Gloucester, especially along poorly light rural roads with no sidewalks. I guess we could buy him a bike, I’m sure he would enjoy the 5+ mile ride in our fine west coast weather, providing he doesn’t get run off the road by irresponsible drivers.

So really, I’ve raised three issues in the previous few paragraphs – education, employment and transportation. Kevin Falcon has stated his position on education. He recognizes that our schools must move forward to prepare children for the changing employment landscape, and while he does address the issues of special needs education, additional options for learning foreign languages as well as mention our digital world, he does not speak to improving things like access to learning materials or taking advantage of the innovation available to the education system through the use of current and future technologies.

None of the candidates directly address the possibility of digital schools, making use of eReaders or tablets and eTextbooks. Is this because they are focused on forestry and its spin-off industries? They can’t afford to alienate the logging companies and processing mills because of the paper industry, which is supported by the textbook publishers – but at the same time, schools and students are going without textbooks, or they are using outdated textbooks. Let’s face it, at the rate our society changes, a textbook is outdated before it lands in any school’s repository. The use of eTextbooks would change that, with the ability of publishers to push out regular updates to the information available.

That said, Christy Clark easily wins the education debate with the number of sensible and practical initiatives and programmes she would like to see developed within BC’s educational system. Her published proposed policies cover the widest area of concerns, and shows that she is at least willing to investigate possibilities and work with educators and parents on all levels.

To be honest, Christy Clark – and I am not saying that 100% of my support is in her camp – I’m just making an observation here – has the most detailed and well-rounded platform of all the candidates. Christy is the only candidate to single out the video game industry as being important to BC’s future in the digital economy:

“BC’s future growth and prosperity will be based on finding better ways of doing things in areas like mining, engineering, software, construction, transportation, resource management, green energy, clean technology, health sciences, and — even if some of the parents here may not like it – video games!”

Kevin Falcon does not talk about the technology sector other than in reference to green tech, instead he states:

“Policy: We must leverage our people, talent and resources to build opportunities across BC

Plan: We need to ensure that any made-in-BC economic plan for the future takes into account the tremendous contributions and capacity of our Asian communities. No other province in Canada has better connections to Asia. We need to leverage those connections to access markets, build business alliances and identify overseas opportunities. I believe we can better put those connections to work for BC.
Plan: We must also make sure that both our First Nations and non First Nations communities are a big part of BC’s economic future. If we’re going to create jobs and opportunities right across the province, communities need to be part of that decision process.
Plan: Encouraging new, sustainable jobs in BC is a priority for me. I want to talk to British Columbians about how we can encourage new investment in R&D as well as growing our green technology sector in order to create new, sustainable jobs here right here in BC.”

These three plans as an answer to his posted policy do nothing, in my opinion, and do not state any definitive action that he would like to see government take.

Here is what George Abbott has to say about growing the economy:

*Diversifying our economy means supporting our traditional industries and job-creators, while also supporting the creation of new industries. Our technology sector – biotech, digital media, clean energy, telecommunications and information technologies – and areas such as health research offer the promise of high-paying skilled, creating new opportunities in our cities, and fostering a culture of creativity and innovation.
*Building the right environment for this industry can only be done through partnership between our industries, our educational institutions, and government.

Therefore, as Premier, I will:

* Work with our technology and health research industry strategies to grow these industries in the province over the next ten years so that they can employ more, export more, and build stronger clusters in our communities; and
* Work with our network of universities to build educational and research supports, with an additional focus of attracting more international skilled talent (workers and researchers) in the technology field.

Achievement of these goals will not only create an economic future for the province overall, but support an economy and workforce that is highly educated, economically stable, innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial.”

I think that, aside from not being a sitting member of the legislature for the past few years and through hosting her talk show with CKNW, Christy has better insight on what the people of BC want in its provincial government – again, not a statement of full support, this is another observation. George Abbott is another candidate whom I see as being a viable choice for the top position of Premier. He too has his finger on the pulse of the population, and being from the interior of our province has a deeper understanding of the issues faced by those regions.

I can’t remember which talk show host it was on CKNW, but when Mr. Abbott was briefly named as Education Minister just prior to the start of the leadership race, it was stated that he was excellent for the job due to his highly-developed negotiation skills. Those are a plus on my tally as it’s going to take some very skillful negotiation to continue moving this province and the digital sector forward.

I do not envy any of these prospective leaders the tasks they face – public confidence in the political system is probably at or near an all-time low. How our political leaders bring the economy and well-being of the nation and all its parts through the trials being experienced not just here at home but around the world will be an exercise in creativity in itself, and I highly doubt there’s an app for that.

Naturally, at the centre of the debate on our technical and creative industries – and also for education, is the national debate surrounding User Based Billing. I am not completely opposed to the idea, what I am against is the fact that there is the obvious appearance of collusion amongst the big providers – Shaw, Bell, Rogers and Telus. Shaw quietly made 25gb disappear off of our internet plan. There was no notice of a change in plan, no notice in a change of policy. Nothing. Those 25 gigabytes just vanished somewhere into cyberspace. Yet we are still paying the same price for less service. Not to mention that we will get charged an internet highway robbery price of $1.00 per gigabyte that we go over on our data transfer cap each month. This type of practice is not productive in growing a provincial knowledge and creative industry.

Granted, Shaw has placed a hold on those charges until it gains insight from its customers via several townhall meetings and other avenues, but how are these new caps going to affect schools and business? Openmedia.ca best addresses all of these issues, and they are well-worth following for the latest in the UBB debate.

Christy Clark states as part of her plan to bring the government into the 21st century with a greater online presence, but how many of us will be watching those webcasts or downloading needed files if they are going to put a huge dent in our monthly transfer allowances? We are already struggling to make ends meet with costs in every area continually going up – rent keeps going up, utilities keep going up, every area of just living keeps going up in cost. How can we possibly hope to save enough money to buy our own house, even at this stage in our lives, when everything is so costly? We even have to be careful on how we develop this very web site simply because of cost, even though we are hoping to make this site a viable income-earner so that we can leave our day jobs and do what we have a passion for – and perhaps leave a legacy behind for the son who also has a passion for what we do.

While tax credits and incentives are great for encouraging business, they are not the only answer to growing an industry. There needs to be a plan developed to market our industry and to attract not only investors and entrepreneurship, but to attract buyers of our services and products. I want to know if any of the candidates have considered marketing plans, trade missions and incentives to participate in non-local conferences in order to attract that business. On the federal level, DFAIT has and is extremely supportive of helping Canadian digital media companies discover new markets, offering conference assistance and more. I know in the past that the BC Government has had a hand in some of these initiatives, but what is on the horizon as we put a new Premier in place?

BC has many pockets of technological growth, it’s not all based solely in the Vancouver area – both Vancouver Island and the interior have some incredible development communities, and I would like to know how the new Premier will be working to grow and unite each of these areas so that we are all working towards dominance in the digital industry. How are our leaders going to work with the federal government in building Canada’s digital economy? I have a lot of confidence in Christy and her understanding of our technical world, in part because my friend Bradley Shende appeared regularly on her talk show with the latest goings-on and gadgetry, and I heard a distinct tone of interest in her voice and a desire to understand the technology and processes behind the technology were genuine. Admittedly I also often had a very different opinion on some issues compared to the ones Christy was giving on her show, particularly where video games are concerned, but she redeemed herself by recognizing the economical importance of the video game industry in this province.

BC had the opportunity to host one of the world’s biggest video game tournaments in the fall of 2010, and even that would have kept the world’s focus on our city and our province. The tourism departments cities of Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond all worked hard together to help put forth a bid; members of the creative industry in Vancouver were incredibly supportive of the bid, but the ball was dropped at the provincial and federal level because of, you guessed it, the Olympics. While the door has not been closed on revisiting another bid for this event in the future, a huge opportunity to build on the legacy of the Winter Olympics by holding the “Olympics of the video game industry” in the same year, in the same city, was lost.

Many of the Olympic sponsor corporations are also sponsors of the gaming tournament, and we lost out on the double benefits of already having a good part of the required infrastructure in place. Our local game development studios lost out on this event, which would have been an incredible opportunity to draw the world’s eye to our industry at a time when we needed it most. Perhaps, and this is totally off-the-wall thought, if we’d been able to host this event we wouldn’t be experiencing the studio closures and lay-offs that we are now, because the world would have had an up-close-and-personal look at why Vancouver is a digital media creation hub. Instead, the world moved on to Los Angeles in the fall of 2010.

Thankfully we have the opportunity to host SIGGRAPH in August 2011 – let us hope that the Liberals will see the full potential in the event, and work diligently with the SIGGRAPH conference board, our local SIGGRAPH chapter and our provincial digital industry sector to make the conference shine and once again put the spotlight on why BC is the best place on Earth.

Christy Clark is the only candidate who openly states that there needs to be some type of process in place to watch municipal governments. If the other three had something to say about local government issues, I couldn’t easily find them. While I think that on the whole most municipal governments are decent, I cannot say that about Langley Township, which is where I live. Partisanship and back office deals thrive here, and there are many issues that need investigating, especially in how it deals with contracts to benefit one company, with the compliance of the local RCMP detachment. If any candidate wants to know what those specific issues are (and they pertain to MY family’s decades-old business and its continuing viability), you all have my email address, ask away. You can be guaranteed that I will answer your email. Or, you can get me on Twitter – George Abbott and Mike de Jong both know I’m on there – Mr. de Jong even follows me – which says that he is interested in our digital economy, even though I can’t find his stand on it on his web site, the week’s just starting, he still has time to spell out his platform in one easy to read document like Christy did.

Something I would like to see fully investigated as a possibility is province-wide business licenses. Now I can see all of the municipalities jumping up and down yelling no, no, no! But seriously, think about it. What a reduction in red tape and the need for 3 or 4 different business licenses like my parents’ company is required to have. Surely it can be administered in a way similar to the International Fuel Tax Act, but on a provincial level. Regulations can be put in place to safeguard consumers, and think of how much easier it would be to police the scammers such as the home renovation and driveway paving companies who move around from town to town bilking people out of their money.

Speaking of the International Fuel Tax Act, BC companies pays the second highest diesel fuel tax on the continent. Our province depends on the trucking industry to move goods, yet the trucking industry is everyone’s culprit whenever there is an accident involving a truck – whether the driver is at fault or not. Have you ever been in a big truck that had to try and stop after some idiot in a small car cut it off? Yes, the trucking industry is a whole other rant, again tied to my paycheque, on top of how ICBC deals with the towing industry and its unwillingness to meet market value for the services provided.

Don’t get me wrong with what I said about municipal contracts and the RCMP – I fully support the RCMP in their fight against crime, I just don’t support the local detachment misleading the general public at accident scenes, and using the “municipal contract” as a reason for their actions, when the information they give out is wrong and detrimental to the paying job I hold.

Of course, if the Township of Langley wasn’t so difficult to do business in, I would no longer be employed in my parents company, I would be doing what I have a passion for, but no, it’s not permitted in this Township, and Council’s understanding of what it is I want to do is so far off the mark it’s not amusing at all. Some members of Council understood what I was trying to do, but the others are incredibly closed-minded and did not want to understand at all. Yes, we could take our business elsewhere, but we can’t afford to move.

The issues I’ve raised above are only a glancing blow at the entire list of considerations, policies and arguments on what needs to be done in this province. No one candidate is going to be able to solve all of the problems. It is going to take all levels of government and all elected officials working together to make even a noticeable dent in the work ahead. I hope that all of those who are eligible to vote in either the Liberal or NDP leadership elections do so. I also hope that more people exercise their right to be heard and to vote in all upcoming general elections at all three levels of government. Your voice needs to be heard, and casting your vote is but the first step in holding our elected officials accountable to those of us who pay the bills.

If you made it this far in reading, thank you for taking the time out of your day to try and follow my random thought waves as I try to make sense out of who stands for what and thus will most likely do the best job in the Premier’s office. If you were looking for me to say unequivocally into which camp my personal support would be falling, I’m sorry for not making that very clear. I do not have much faith in the transparency of politics, and the experience of dealing with back-room deals and “old boys clubs” necessitates that I not implicitly say, because I don’t want my choice colouring any future dealings I may have with the future Liberal government. As alluded to above, I am a supporter – and long-time pre-politics friend of MLA Rich Coleman, and I don’t have a problem with anyone knowing that; however, just because he has come out publicly in support of Mr. Falcon, that does not mean that I will follow my MLA into that camp. As Christy and the others have stated, we have a voice 95 000 strong, and we will speak with that voice on February 26th. Maybe by then I’ll have firmly made up my mind.

Before I get into the crux of their official press release – I am a Shaw customer. Our household subscribes to the Extreme-I residential plan, and as I addressed on Sunday, we are not happy subscribers. When we signed up for Extreme-I, we were given a data transfer cap of 125gb. This was not a promotional offering, there was no special price other than the “bundled with other Shaw services” price of $47.00 per month plus $10.00 per month for our third IP address.

In mid December 2010, 25gb disappeared off of our plan. Without any advance notice or any communication whatsoever from Shaw – including any notification that our Terms and Conditions had changed, we were suddenly sitting at a 100gb data transfer limit – and still paying the same price. So, we have a decrease in service, but no decrease in price. We don’t want a decrease in price – we want our 25gb back. Decreasing the price is not going to win back the trust Shaw destroyed with that move.

We have been with Shaw for well over a decade. We have been loyal Shaw customers, we’ve even brought them new subscribers. I was poised to convert the company where I work over to Shaw Business Internet and Phone. Now I’m not so sure I want to do that – even though we’ll save a bundle on long distance calls – because I no longer trust the corporation. I’ve waded through the financial documents they are required by law to post publicly as they are a publicly traded company. I know what the Corporation has been telling its shareholders about how wonderful and speedy and redundant the service pipes are. I’ve seen the revenue and expenditure columns, and I know how to read them.

We do not have a lot of choice as to internet carriers where we live. We have Shaw, Telus or the reseller Uniserve, whom I would never sign up with to begin with, simply because of the way Uniserve conducted business way back in the day of it being a small internet start-up whose offices were a few blocks from where I live. I choose to not go back to Telus, because  their phone service is far more expensive compared to Shaw Digital Phone, and I do not want to sign a contract, nor is their customer service outstanding. At least Shaw does have that going for it – the CSRs I’ve dealt with over the years have always been polite and willing to assist in any way they could. Shaw has even been an ISP sponsor for LAN events we’ve run in the past – and they provided incredibly good service for the event, assigning us with a dedicated service representative to get the connections up and running smoothly – but now we fast-forward to today, and Shaw honey, we have trust issues.

“We have been listening to the discussion taking place and determined that we want to hear directly
from our own customers before we roll out any kind of program. Wherever we end up needs to work first and foremost for our customers,” said Peter Bissonnette, President of Shaw Communications.

Shaw will conduct customer discussion sessions in all its serving regions in addition to creating opportunities to contribute feedback online. Customers will be invited to share their ideas with senior Shaw leaders who will participate in the sessions throughout February and March.

Until this thorough consultation with customers has taken place, Shaw will not implement Internet usage billing. To date, no Shaw Internet customer has received a bill for any usage based charges.

“Bandwidth is not unlimited and that is the crux of the issue. There are many potential solutions to
this challenge and we’re asking for our customers’ help to build a solution that works for everyone,”
said Bissonnette.

“Our customers choose to use the Internet in different ways and it has become an essential part of
our daily lives,” continued Bissonnette. “We want to build pricing and packaging options that deliver
choice, quality and value to all our customers.”

Well – that press release started circulating the net around five hours ago. We still haven’t received a notice from Shaw giving us the link to find out how to request an invitation to one of their customer meetings. I found the link on the DSL Reports forum, and I dutifully sent off a request for an invitation, but there was no auto-responder saying “thank you for your request” so I hope it isn’t just floating around in our congested, over-used internet pipes.

In my final word on the matter for today, here is the latest screenshot of our data transfer for the month. Our billing cycle ends at midnight, so we’ll be back within our limit. Oh, wait – at 123gb we still are within the limit we signed up for. It’s Shaw sneaky new lower-capped 100gb plan that we’re over. If you want to take a step in the right direction, Mr. Bissonnette, give us back what your company took away.

We’ve been making use of the internet ever since it became available to outside consumers – you remember the days of placing your phone’s handset near the modem? Trying to play Doom and being killed before you could see the screen? Yes, since then. We advanced through those days of early dial-up, and snagged those first “unlimited” plans from Telus, evolving to Rogers’ cable service, migrating to Shaw when the two telecomms sliced up the country between them, basically with Rogers taking the east and Shaw taking the west – I know it’s more detailed than that, but I’m trying to keep things at least a bit simple. 

In fact we have been with Shaw so long that the CSR I was speaking with at the company yesterday had to completely reformat our bill to bring it up to date, because it was still written the old way. Of course in the process of doing so, and changing a couple of our digital channels around, she removed our third IP address, knocking the Cavechild offline. So Scott had to call Shaw again (our third call of the day) to have the IP address restored. I had called them earlier to ask why we don’t have the option of subscribing to Investigation Discovery. We used to have CourtTV, until that was removed from the selection, and the Investigation Discovery web site states that the channel is available from cable and satellite providers in Canada. Unless you’re a Shaw customer. The CSR I spoke with on that call put in his own request for the channel as well, which was amusing in its own way.

I also used that phone call to pass along my unhappiness about losing 25gb off of our previous I-Extreme cap of 125gb per month, which with the bundle we have, costs $47.00 per month (plus $10.00 for the extra IP address). It’s really hard to not get mad at the CSRs who are on the front line of consumer angst – it’s not their fault that corporate made the choice to take away our 25gb and still charge the same price. It’s even harder to not get mad when they tell us about the extra data packages we can buy – why should we have to pay more money to get back the data limits we already had?

Let’s look at Shaw’s extra data plans, just for the fun of it. These are the options we have, with Shaw’s claims that “the more data you purchase, the more you save – data as low as 20 cents per GB.”

* 10 GB for $5.00 per month
* 60 GB for $20.00 per month
* 250 GB for $50.00 for month

So an extra $10.00 per month will almost put us back to where we were before the case of the disappearing 25gb, but again, I reiterate – why should we have to pay extra for what we already had. We received no advance notice of the cap decrease, and we certainly didn’t receive a decrease in fees. There has been much discussion of late on various community forums, most notably on Broadband Reports, and the discussion is not of a happy tone.

Yesterday afternoon we were sitting at 113.96gb transfer, 13.96gb over our cap. This morning we were at 116gb – that’s with the Cavechild not being home all day Saturday, light computer use, and about 6 hours of playing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood on the 360 (intense de-stressing treatment). It will be interesting to see what we use up today, with the Cavechild being home and gaming, on top of my using the ‘net to write this as well as uploading files to our server. Oh, and to clarify, we have three IP addresses because we have three heavy-use computers, all of which also have their own secured wireless for two laptops (three when my daughter is here), two Xbox 360s, a Wii, a DS, an iPod Touch and an all-in-one wireless printer.

Another option that Shaw suggests to its customers is upgrading to the next plan level. For us, that would mean going with Nitro, which is $97.00 per month for 175gb of transfer  and our upload/download speeds could increase. Between Extreme-I and Warp there is a difference of $50.00, which in reality we could just use to buy the 250gb data package – that makes sense, right? We certainly wouldn’t be purchasing the Nitro plan, which has a very attractive offering of 350gb transfer per month, a blazing 100 Mbps download speed and 5 Mbps upload speed – but we’d still have to pay for that third IP address. That is – we could have the Nitro option if it was available in our area with its low price point of $150.00, which it isn’t.

Going back to our phone calls with Shaw yesterday – the second phone call was a simple removal and realignment of some of our digital channels, because while we can add to our Digital TV channels through Shaw’s site, we can’t remove them. The CSR I spoke with on this call was also affected by the cap decrease, as she also suffered from 25gb of missing transfer allowance. It would be nice if we could just completely remove the channels we definitely never watch, like the French ones that our language laws require be offered in every home (sorry, Quebec), Speed, E!, Cosmopolitan TV and The Shopping Channel, along with a few others we simply don’t watch. About the only time we watch Spike is for the Video Game Awards, and if the quality of that show doesn’t improve, we won’t be watching that anymore either. If the cable companies can micro-manage what digital channels we do or don’t have, why can’t we have full choice for options on plans involving Digital TV? But I digress from the internet issue.

While searching around on Shaw’s web site for something – I can’t remember now what it was, but that happens when one gets older – I ended up skimming through some of Shaw’s previous Annual Reports from the long-past 1990′s, and it was interesting to see what the company’s outlook was at the end of the last century, when the report states that the company’s revenue increased almost four fold over the previous year:

Television – Industry Outlook: The cable industry is moving from a highly regulated environment to one based on fair and sustainable competition.

Internet – Industry Outlook: The Internet industry provides one of the most dynamic opportunities for growth in the new millennium. Internet analysts expect that the growth of the Internet and e-commerce is a global megatrend that will revolutionize the way we communicate, learn, gather information and conduct transactions – this is truly a paradigm shift of monumental proportions.

Goals and Strategies:

• To be a market leader by providing consumers with superior value through high-speed Internet access,
broadband content, exceptional service and affordable monthly cost
• Maintain market leadership including the launch of Web-enabled interactive TV and other Internet-protocol based communications services
• To leverage off the existing and future cablesystem infrastructure

Also in 1999, Shaw “completed significant network upgrades to enable two-way cable transmission for the delivery of high-speed Internet access, impulse pay-per-view, Web-enabled interactive TV and bi-directional service.”

I just found out where our 25gb went. In looking at an old “Benefits” statement from Shaw – the original file name had “0607″ in it, so it’s possibly from 2007, but the Nitro transfer limit is listed as 150gb, and in the current packages listing, it’s 175gb. There are no limits stated for the “lesser” packages, though – I find this somewhat telling, don’t you? Nitro got a cap increase while all of the other plans got data transfer limits lowered.

Skipping forward about a decade, in Shaw’s 2008 Annual Information Package, the corporation was touting the wonders of its internet service, presumably to its shareholders and executive body.

“Since 1996, Shaw has provided Internet access services to residential and small business subscribers in its cable television systems via a cable connection and cable modem. It currently offers four levels of Internet service: High-Speed Internet, High-Speed Lite, High-Speed Xtreme-I and High-Speed Nitro. The High-Speed Lite service is targeted at users who do not require the features and speed (bandwidth capabilities) of Shaw’s High-Speed service but who are interested in alternatives to dial-up services. High-Speed Xtreme-I offers significantly increased download and upload speeds for customers who download large files or visit online gaming and content-rich multimedia sites. High-Speed Nitro was launched in fiscal 2007 and remains one of the fastest Internet services in Canada.”

And a little bit further in the document:

“In providing its Internet access services, Shaw deploys an advanced generation of cable modem, based on Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) 2.0 specifications. This technology has enabled it to increase the capabilities and reliability of its network by increasing the capacity and throughput in both the upstream and downstream portions of Shaw’s cable infrastructure. As a result, the capacity of the Corporation’s network in the downstream direction has increased to up to 40 megabits per second and in the upstream direction up to 30 megabits per second, representing approximately five times the capacity of pre-DOCSIS cable modems. The DOCSIS standard is continually being improved and Shaw plans to implement future versions on its network to meet customers’ increasing speed and capacity demands.”

So the above says all kinds of wonderful things about the service Shaw provides to Canadians, and in some cases to Americans through its Business Connect branch. Great – this awesome news makes all of us feel so much better.

I then switched my focus over to the even drier Terms and Conditions page – where they tell you tons of things you don’t need to know, and tons of stuff you should know, and even where they say they are supposed to notify you of any policy changes. Well – at the top of the page it states “Last Updated on December 15, 2010.” I didn’t get an email stating that there had been policy changes or what those changes were, did you? Considering this appears to be around the time that transfer allowances seem to have been dropping, maybe they were hoping that by not sending out the policy change notice, attention wouldn’t be drawn to the shrinking caps. Then of course I started to doubt my memory, wondering if maybe Shaw did send out an email and I’d somehow missed it. Well, according to the irate people on Shaw’s Facebook page, no notice was sent out and the people representing Shaw on the page aren’t quite being truthful – and they are being called to task for it.

Scott and I started looking closer at all of the plans that are available – and various scenarios that could be open to us. At first we thought we’d look at the possibility of running the in-home server plan – we could save the money we currently pay out to Softlayer every month for our dedicated server and have more control over the server itself. The in-home server plan is $301.95 per month plus $100.00 installation – with only 200gb of transfer. Seriously? Only 200gb for a web server? Okay, that option is out for us, because we would burn through that in no time between our internet usage and people visiting our sites; we currently enjoy 2000gb of transfer with Softlayer – which reinforces what I said last week as to why our server is located in the USA and not Canada, because the transfer bandwidth offered on Canadian dedicated server hosting plans is incredibly low and expensive. As it is, any business taking Shaw up on the included bonus of hosting your company web site with them is apparently limited to 2gb of transfer per month. I guess that would work for a site that is pure text and has few images and absolutely no multi-media on it, because it certainly wouldn’t work for us.

Next option was to get Nitro (if and when it becomes available here) and using that to watch TV, but as Scott pointed out, not all of the shows we watch are available through network web sites, and we wouldn’t be able to PVR what we miss when we’re out at industry events. Of course then our subscription fees wouldn’t be going to support the Canadian stations we have in our digital line-up. The fees do benefit the individual channels, right?

Option number three is business internet. All Shaw Business accounts have a $100.00 installation fee, no exceptions. That’s a negative point for us. Extreme for Business would cost us an extra $30.00 per month and would only get us an extra 10gb per month. But hey! We could have up to 5 dynamic IP addresses as opposed to our three static addresses. In reality, this isn’t a viable option for us either.

Now, something I noticed in the Terms and Conditions, where it lists all of the internet plans and transfer caps, is that some of the plans can’t be found on Shaw’s web site through direct links. Two that come immediately to mind are the SOHO and Entrepreneur plans. They are still listed in the sidebar if you click through to read about PowerBoost, but you can’t click the titles any more. So those have been taken away as well? Just two weeks ago I was talking with a Shaw Business rep because we’re looking at changing over the service at my day job from Telus to Shaw, and he said the Entrepreneur package would probably be the right plan for that office. Well, now I want to look at the plan, and both SOHO and Entrepreneur are no longer anywhere to be found on the Shaw site – even though I’ve looked at them before. I just noticed as well that the person who typed up the new terms and conditions for bandwidth usage must have been in a hurry, because he or she made a typing mistake.

I also noticed that residential customers are not allowed to conduct commercial activity on their connections. Does this mean that all those who telecommute are in violation of their terms? Are we in violation because we operate a server in the USA (even though our business is built on Canadian content and doesn’t earn anything as of yet) or because we get work-related emails at our home email addresses? I hope not, because I’m already feeling like we’re getting the short end of the stick in regards to the money we’re paying out every month and the limits being imposed on not just us, but any Canadian individual or business who is trying to embrace the technologies of our time and future.

I know that by now some of you are asking why we don’t simply change our service to Telus. Easy – because I am not signing a contract, and their customer service is horrible. We’ve always had a good experience in dealing with Shaw for all issues aside from this one, even when they make small mistakes like the one I mentioned above, in disabling that pesky third IP address. It was happily and quickly fixed without issue – and we’ve never yet had to deal with a CSR who was grumpy or didn’t have a sense of humour. Primus and TekSavvy are not available in our area, and Uniserve’s plans aren’t any better than Shaw’s plus their over-cap fee is higher.

I could probably continue on this tangent for the rest of the day, and I know that as soon as I hit the “Publish” button I’ll remember something else I wanted to say, but it’s getting time to put the roast in the oven for our weekly Sunday family dinner and my daughter will be showing up soon, so I must conclude today’s rant by saying that I would really be appreciative if Industry Canada would call the whole telecomm issue into question, including the operations of the CRTC and its seemingly glaring conflict of interests. It appears that the whole telecomm provider mess, including cell phone fees, are going to become a major area of contention for the next election. I have long been a supporter of our local Conservative MP, Mark Warawa, because I like him as a person and I appreciate the job he has done in Ottawa – and I truly hope that the Conservatives will opt to work for a Digital Canada and propel our country into Digital Leadership, because we as a nation certainly have the talent, the innovation, the creativity and the products to make it so.

As sites like Anti UBB appear and high profile talk shows on the radio and television news casts are rife with people on both sides of the UBB debate stating their opinions, it is clear that Canadians are getting fed up with constant hits to their pocketbook and CRTC decisions.

Is it somewhat ironic that as this debate heats up, CBC issues a press release outlining the changes coming to the public broadcaster, and included in this five year plan outline is an increased digital offering, which Canadians will have to think twice about consuming because that other “public agency” the CRTC says we have to stop clogging up the internet and not use it so much – or pay highly inflated fees to go over our allotment.

According to the press release, CBC’s Everyone Every Way plan is about the future of public broadcasting in Canada. It’s about transformation in the midst of a technological revolution, and about evolving alongside a changing country. It’s a strategy that binds CBC and Radio-Canada around common priorities which also respects the reality that execution of the strategy needs to be tailored to the uniqueness of their respective markets.

Over the next five years, CBC/Radio-Canada will strengthen its commitment to original, innovative, high-quality Canadian content. We will also commit to airing at least 10 signature events per year in English and in French — events like Live Right Now and Concert inaugural de la nouvelle salle de concert de Montréal avec l’OSM — which bring Canadians together in large numbers, are delivered on multiple platforms, and have a meaningful impact on participants and viewers alike.

CBC will be looking to expand its regional footprint, launching new radio stations, introducing new local websites and services, and increasing regional news and programming. Radio-Canada will enhance its presence in regional life by producing engaging local programming that can then be used for broadcast nationally, by delivering more local and regional news, and by providing more local French-language content on regional websites, especially those outside of Quebec. In an evolving digital and on-demand world, CBC/Radio-Canada will continue its leadership in new platforms and digital services, doubling its investment over the next five years.

“The way forward will be about seizing the tremendous opportunity we have before us to truly change our relationship with Canadians on a national, community and personal level,” says Lacroix. “We can’t be all things to all people, but we can and must in some way be something for, and mean something to every Canadian. Everyone, Every way is our commitment to Canadians, and it’s the measure by which we want to be judged. We will meet their expectations. Nothing less.”

CBC/Radio-Canada will deliver on this commitment in four ways: by creating and delivering original and innovative, quality Canadian content; by reflecting and drawing together all Canadians; by actively engaging with audiences; and, by being cost-effective and accountable. To evaluate progress, we have developed metrics to track and assess our performance by service and genre against the strategy twice per year.

The federal Liberal party has come out with their own take on the issue, saying that they have been paying attention and take the side of the Canadian buying public – and asking for the public’s support to defeat the Conservatives in a future election. Today’s Liberal statement has garnered praise from citizen engagement group OpenMedia.ca, the organization behind the rapidly growing Stop The Meter petition – and comes one day after the OpenMedia group noted in a press release yesterday that the Liberals and Conservatives had been rather quiet on the issue.

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement did issue a comment late last evening, with a statement of support for “competition, innovation, and consumers” in general, but OpenMedia.ca holds that Canadians will not be happy until they have access to Internet services free of metering.

Steve Anderson, OpenMedia.ca’s national coordinator responded to Minister Clement’s statement by saying that “Clement is going to have to do more than ask the CRTC to do some tinkering with UBB pricing. He must either overturn all the CRTC rulings that force pricing schemes on Big Telecom’s independent competitors, or at minimum have the CRTC revisit the entire premise of forced UBB pricing.”

In regards to today’s Liberal statement, Anderson said that “We’re elated by this move by the Liberals. Over the last few months, supporters of Stop The Meter came together as citizens, and today they fundamentally influenced federal politics. This is a groundbreaking example of the power of the online discourse and organization, and why we must protect the open, public Internet.”

OpenMedia.ca is pleased that the Liberals have learned from the 220,000 people who have so far taken part in the campaign to “stop the meter on Internet use”, and reverse the CRTC decision that allows usage-based billing to monopolize the system for pricing the Internet. Led by Rodriquez and Industry and Technology Critic Marc Garneau, the Liberal Party has now become the second major federal party to officially condemn Internet metering.

“Liberals believe in more internet competition, not less,” said Liberal Heritage Critic Pablo Rodriquez in a statement released today, seemingly echoing the words on OpenMedia.ca’s homepage: “Canadians want more Internet, not less”.

Digital Affairs Critic Charlie Angus expressed the NDP’s opposition to the pricing regime in a press release on January 20th, stating that ““We’ve seen this all before with cell phones. Allowing the Internet Service Providers to ding you every time you download is a rip-off. Canada is already falling behind other countries in terms of choice, accessibility and pricing for the Internet. The large ISP-broadcast entities now have a tool for squashing their main competitors – both in internet and video services, and we need clear rules that put consumers first.”

Dr. Michael Geist has also weighed in on the UBB issue, stating on his site that “despite the obvious anger over the issue, there remains a considerable amount of misinformation about what has happened and uncertainty about just what to do about it. This post attempts to unpack the issue, by discussing two related but not identical concerns – the recent CRTC UBB decision and the broader use of bandwidth caps by virtually all large Canadian ISPs.”

Dr. Geist looks at both sides of the issue, and offers his thoughts on options for a solution to what is promising to become a heated, and weighted battle for Canadians as they watch the Telcos seemingly take on the stance of the playground bully in the neighbourhood sandbox. (those are my words, not Dr. Geist’s.)

Is this tongue-in-cheek look at the UBB issue, created by Colin Walsh of Celsius Game Studio going to be the  future for our digital developers as they attempt to create products for global consumers? At least his latest game, Red Nova, didn’t use a ton of bandwidth when I bought it for my iPod Touch.

A related issue for ourselves is the fact that we have long wanted to move our dedicated server account from an American data centre to one in Canada, in part because we’re tired of dealing with the fluctuating exchange rates and the “foreign currency fees” charged by our credit card company, but also because we’d like to be supporting business north of the 49th. Unfortunately, while the actual server plans available in Canada are somewhat reasonable even though they may lack some of the perks we get with SoftLayer, the bandwidth allowances and charges have always caused us to put on the brakes. We have looked at many options, including building a server and upgrading to business internet so that we would be permitted to run it from our home office, but again, bandwidth charges and licensing for all of the software we use is cost-prohibitive. With our plans for the expansion and re-branding of Village Gamer, we either have to take a more serious look at selling advertising space or find other ways to monetize the site without compromising our impartiality or the perception of said impartiality.

I also have to be cautious about the trailers and other large files we download and then upload either to our server or to places like our YouTube channel, because now every byte counts. We’ve probably come close to hitting our cap a few times,  and now that Shaw has quietly reduced our bandwidth cap by 25 gigabytes we have to consider what software, games and game add-ons we purchase online. With three gamers in the house using three PCs, two laptops, two Xbox 360s and a Wii, all running on one internet account, this is something that has the potential to become a huge issue – and cost – for us, especially as many game and software titles have huge updates between the time they are shipped and the time they are installed. Am I going to get the next chapter in the ongoing saga of super hero DeathSpank or just read about it in press releases? How big am I going to be able to make my world in Dragon Age 2, and what extras will I be getting as I take up the fight in Deus Ex: Human Revolution? Will I be getting that next QuickBooks update, and how much bandwidth will the tax files use up? Are the ISPs going to launch their own game and software download service to go along with their Video On Demand service and compete with Steam, Direct to Drive, the Wii Store, PlayStation Network,  Xbox Marketplace and other digital download outlets? I hope I didn’t just give them any bright ideas…

Do we cut some of our digital channels and upgrade our internet plan? We’re already using the Extreme plan and to upgrade to the next available plan would be another $50.00 per month for an extra 75 gigs per month. Which Canadian channels would we drop and how much bandwidth would we burn through watching the shows from those channels online – if they’re even available online? Now instead of conveniently transferring large web site files between computers via MSN Messenger, we will most likely be making use of USB drives or data CDs – which means we get to pay the copyright surcharge to the government when we buy more drives and more CDs to transfer our own data – or perhaps we just add an internal file server and pay for the extra hydro power needed to run it, then we can have the Township pounding on our door wanting to search our house because of excessive power use.

I won’t even go into all those Windows and software updates that can sometimes involve huge files, with ISPs recommending that all computers have the latest updates and patches in order to remain secure, which is a no-brainer, but will still have an effect on our bottom line for bandwidth usage, which, but the way, we can’t even check on because apparently Shaw doesn’t show bandwidth usage on client account profiles unless said account is a habitual bandwidth hog. Why is it a secret? If Shaw knows how much bandwidth we’re using, why can’t WE know how much bandwidth we’re using? The whole process of cable television, internet connection and usage has become a huge tangled web for consumer – and yes, that pun was intended. To add to my Telcom rant, why can’t we have total control over our “bundles” and choose all of the extra channels we want over and above basic cable? Why do we have to have a bunch of channels we don’t watch built into them, instead of being able to build a bundle out of the channels we do want – and why can’t we burn some of our bandwidth up by going to our account profiles and checking off which channels we want? The Build Your Own Bundle option is just a tad misleading, don’t you think?

Spurred by the CRTC’s controversial UBB decision, Canada’s largest high-technology organization has also joined supporters of an initiative to connect Canada with ultra-fast communications, putting out a release today calling for the creation of a new model for the implementation of broadband in Canada.

“Fast and affordable communications is vital to society as well as business,” stated John Reid, President of the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA). “We are in danger of falling even further behind the rest of the world if we can’t develop a new, workable model for the adoption of broadband — the fundamental infrastructure for today’s knowledge economy. We need to collectively resolve issues such as usage-based billing within the framework of a larger national plan.”

“Our i-CANADA program to accelerate the development of connected communities and to regain Canada’s leadership in the digital economy is in danger of getting tangled,” said Bill Hutchison, Chair of the i-CANADA program. “We have a New National Dream that will bring global leadership through the use of ultra-fast intelligent communications and collaboration within communities to reach new levels of economic, environmental and social growth and prosperity. This dream is being threatened by a start-and-stop policy environment in Canada.”

Mr. Hutchison illustrated some of the crippling problems that Canadian society faces due to the lack of a consensual overall model: “There may be as many as 700,000 homes in Canada that lack broadband Internet access, and many of those who have it are complaining of speeds so slow that they are barely faster than dial-up. By comparison, the U.S. government’s “National Broadband Plan” sets a target speed of ‘affordable’ 100 megabits-per-second Internet service connecting at least 100 million homes by 2020. Australia has pledged $43-billion to the creation of a high-speed network.

“We need a firm consensus in Canada on what our ‘baseline’ of acceptable speed and cost is,” said Mr. Hutchison. “Businesses need to plan, communities need to build jobs, and residents need access to services such as online health care and education.”

Conflicts like the one over usage-based billing can only be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction if Canada has a strategy for broadband development: “The old model where the private sector is expected to pay for infrastructure development from their profits, has greatly changed,” indicated Mr. Hutchison. “Now that communications is a ‘commodity’, it no longer affords the same level of profit to the telecommunications companies. We need a new model for infrastructure development. We have a good momentum going, but we need a national debate to be able to resolve the broadband issue.”

Welcome to Canada – where you can create all of the great digital products you want – you just can’t share it with your fellow citizens unless you get really creative and innovative with file size and delivery compression.

Need for Speed World brings together best in class action racing with an unparalleled social experience for the PC. Players can compete against their friends and family or pick from thousands of top ranked players to challenge in intense online battles and police pursuits. Gamers race the way they want in an ever expanding world that continues to grow with a constant stream of new content, cars, and features.

In addition to English and German, Need for Speed World has now been localized for France, Russia, Spain and Poland markets. Players worldwide can feel the rush of illicit street racing as they speed their way through a white-knuckle socially-connected Need for Speed experience. They will also be able to purchase SpeedBoost which they can use to acquire in-game items such as Booster Packs, Power-ups, XP accelerators and even exclusive exotic cars via the in-game store using a variety of local payment options including credit cards and SMS billing.

The EA PWNED_ team stopped in at the EA Sports campus in Burnaby during their recent globetrotting visits to various EA studios around the world. Watch Matt Cuttle and Sian Welby as they join World Heavyweight Champion David Haye as his famous ‘Hayemaker’ and a range of other equally devastating blows are captured for Fight Night Champion. Appearing in the game and on the box the champ is heavily involved in EA Canada’s latest game but who would he like to play as in Fight Night Champion? Tune in to find out.

In other developments, EA sent out a press release announcing an “Epic Promotion” for the upcoming Bulletstorm, developed by Epic’s People Can Fly studio over in Poland. Normally I wouldn’t carry the news about this promotion because the games involved are not developed in Canada. That said, the fine print at the end of the press release somewhat irked me. Maybe it’s because my morning caffeine level has not yet reached a safe level, maybe because it looks like EA is leaving an out for itself while sucking gamers into pre-ordering Bulletstorm on the promise of getting in on a beta for Gears of War 3, a title that has been delayed at least a couple of times now – and was supposed to be a part of the recent Spike Video Game Awards but was a no-show (just like the awards show itself, in terms of quality). This has not pleased the hardcore Marcus Fenix fans, and perhaps Epic and EA are teaming up to try to appease them, dangling the slim promise of a beta play in front of them.

Why do I think this promotion sounds somewhat hinky? Well, the press release started off great – then I noticed the * in a sentence: Players that purchase the Epic Edition are guaranteed early access to the Gears of War 3 beta*. Pre-order now to reserve a copy of the Epic Edition which will be available on Feb. 22, 2011 for MSRP $59.99 ($69.99 in Canada, which doesn’t make sense given the strength of our dollar), only for the Xbox 360® while supplies last.

So…having a rabid Gears of War fan living in the cave upstairs, I checked the disclaimer indicated by the * before telling him of this “Epic Promotion” …and the * indicates that Conditions and restrictions apply. See back of pack for details if and when available. Okay, so this is normal, conditions often apply when EA sends out a press release, but it’s usually the requirement of an EA Account and an internet connection, and this is where the promotion doesn’t sit quite right with me. EA and Epic want gamers to pre-order one game, for the promise of getting in on the beta for the game that they really want, but there are conditions that you, the gamer, won’t know about until you get your hands on Bulletstorm. Now, the “if and when available” part is not very clear – what is EA defining as “if and when available” – Bulletstorm or the beta – and if they know these conditions are going to apply, why aren’t they releasing the details now?

I can pretty well guarantee that if I walk into the EB Games we normally shop at later today, they will not have this Epic Promotion pre-order in their system, and probably won’t for at least a week – unless it’s automatically included in a regular pre-order. It took almost a month for Dragon Age 2 to show up for pre-order, and Guild Wars 2 CE only became available a few weeks ago. Now, does this “limited quantity” mean that because EB Games Canada – or GameStop if you prefer – is slow to add titles and offers to their system, the Cavechild could miss out on his chance to get in the Gears of War 3 beta or will our store be allotted a set number of Epic Promotion pre-orders? I just checked the EA Store, and they don’t have the “Epic Promotion” advertised yet either, so perhaps a phone call will be in order once the stores open.

I just hope that EA and Epic aren’t using the promise of Gears of War 3 to artificially attract gamers to Bulletstorm with a thin promise that will then get yanked out from under them due to something like “time constraints to meet deadlines” or some other lame excuse, and then appease the gamers by tossing extra special DLC items at them.

Many Canadians express their patriotism as November 11th nears, but our soldiers, past and present, do not have the luxury of remembering the fallen at an annual ceremony. They live those battles and conflicts daily, whether they are still on the front line or haunted by the darkness or wars past. I find it ironic, as the Government of Canada strives to make detrimental changes to our Veterans’ pensions for retired and/or wounded soldiers, they flood the airwaves with advertisements telling us to make Remembrance Day something more than just something we do, to make the day something more than what we feel. A call to action, if it were. Yet here we have the Government wanting to treat our Veterans in a manner which they certainly do not deserve. These men and women deserve the utmost of honour, courtesy and support; they should not have to continue fighting the Government they served in order to maintain a reasonable lifestyle when their duty is done – whether they have retired in full physical health or not – whether they have served overseas or not, they are still our military veterans, and the Government of Canada needs to step up and make some huge improvements in Veterans Affairs. Do not sell Canadian citizens on the ideals of honouring our soldiers, only to turn around and treat them with dishonour behind the closed doors of a bureaucratic office.

Equally despicable is the car thief who made off with a car in New Westminster, leaving the Seaforth Highlanders searching for and hoping that their Regimental Mace will be returned to them – intact. I hope that those of you reading this will make use of your contacts network, and maybe someone, somewhere, will know something and the Mace can be returned. (see the full story here in the Province).

And then there is the Royal Canadian Mint, whose graphic artists can’t seem to wrap their heads around the importance and patriotism of our Highway of Heroes, declaring that the task is proving very difficult to translate into a coin design. Fine – they can’t do it, open up the design process to the general public. I am sure that somewhere in this big country is a designer who can articulate the overwhelming show of respect shown to our fallen by members of the fire and police departments, along with the growing numbers of ordinary citizens who line the highway to honour not only the soldiers on their final journey home, but also their families.

But then there are the positives – those who come home safe, and those who pick up the task of supporting our soldiers and their families long after their time on the front has ended. These organizations work hard, raising the money to send children to school, to provide medical treatment and support for our wounded, and to keep the memories of our soldiers alive, passing on the priceless knowledge and experience that can only be shared by one who has been there.

Please take the time to support those who say nothing is too difficult to help our soldiers and their families. Support the Canadian Hero Fund in their 11 for 11 drive, which will help send the children of soldiers to school. Support Wounded Warriors, The Royal Canadian Legion, and the True Patriot Love Foundation, the Canadian Military Families Fund and Boomer’s Legacy, who all work tirelessly to help those in need.

Buy the music produced by Canadian artists, who gave of their time and talents to create songs whose monetary proceeds support organizations like those mentioned above. Here are only a few of the songs out there whose sales help our military families:

The Trews – Highway of Heroes

Basia Lyjak – Waiting

Julian Austin – The Red and The White

Canada’s Country Artists – Standing Strong and True

And most importantly of all, please thank a soldier.

I arrive at Genius Factor Games at 2:05 in the afternoon, and am welcomed by Ryan Arndt, the Director of Digital and Emerging Media. He’s as friendly as his position requires, and I’m invited to wait in the lobby until their previous meeting concludes. The offices are lowly lit, and sparsely furnished, with ecru sofas and a single glass table with two trade magazines.. Gravity Well may be their biggest success so far, but the few pieces of art on the walls are solely devoted to their newest project, a card game tie-in to Riese: the Series. The door into their meeting is left ajar, allowing me to hear an intent discussion of the viability of video game franchises as cross-media entertainment; I find myself more eager than ever to speak to the two men inside. When I’m welcomed into the office, an introduction to Ted Nugent, CEO of Genius Factor Games, is immediate—as is an introduction to his Australian Shepherd, Jenny, who sits at his feet.

I begin by asking how he feels about the success of the company’s debut; and immediately, his gratitude and modesty take centre stage.

“Well, I didn’t expect Gravity Well to…I think there needs to be a little bit of context around the whole thing. When we started with Gravity Well, it was really to learn the publishing system. So I didn’t expect the game to do more than one sale–one sale would have been a bonus. We released it in April of last year, and since then it’s done a lot better than I expected, and amazing… The reactions from the customers and from the people who are playing have been equally amazing.”

Gravity Well has been downloaded over four hundred thousand times; while Nugent and Arndt do admit to noticing a direct correlation between review quality and price point (Watch for Arndt’s blog post on the subject), the success of the title is still undeniable.

“…As a gamer, you get tunnel vision and you’re looking at this one thing, and you think it’s good, and you don’t really know, and you get to the point where it’s ready to release but you’re wondering if people are going to like it, but the reaction was really positive: everything that’s come out of it has been nothing but positive… We didn’t expect any money on it. It was to learn what it’s like to work with Apple as a publisher. At the time, it was a young market. It’s both performed well and had its lull points, but it has performed well…It’s been a huge learning experience. And brand awareness has built as well.”

The office is small—the offices in total are not much larger. But the pride he takes in the growing stature of the company is obvious. Upon inquiry into the origins of his studio, he doesn’t hold back.

“I have wanted to operate my own studios for probably ten years. I worked at EA for twelve, around my fifth year, I said ‘Alright, I want to do this on my own’, and I made an attempt, but it didn’t work. So I went back to the drawing board, was thinking about it, left in 2007, did some other work after that, and formed the company in 2008. By that point, the iPhone came out, and it was a game changer. It was a totally new device—but from 2003 onwards, it was a joke at EA, and other studios, that if you had mobile in your business plan, it would never make money. The environment of the marketplace wasn’t good—there was a million handsets, and anyone who went in lost money, because they couldn’t unify it. And then there was the iPhone—people were already buying music and tv on iTunes, so it was the final piece for me. I had my business plan and all the material that I’d put together from 2005 on, so I was prepared. The job I was at after EA, I was laid off from—a lot of us were, because they had run out of funding. I was the only one smiling that day, because I was set free. I incorporated the company the following day…and hired the other employees who had been laid off with me. We went right into full production the following day. It’s been a really natural transition, and it’s been fun. It’s been hard, but it’s been fun.”

His belief in the eventual supremacy of mobile gaming is obvious from the studio’s catalogue alone; both the present and future titles of the company have been for the iPhone, and considering GFG’s success, it would be understandable if they didn’t deviate from the mean. But Nugent is firm that Genius Factor Games does plan to experiment with other consoles.

“We do. We’re actually not an iPhone company, and that’s an important point: we’re platform agnostic. The iPhone is what we’re focusing on right now because the economics of developing for the platform are better. We all come from console–traditional console–experience. As the company improves over time, we expect to be expanding onto the old sort of markets. Or, more likely, as the new console, whatever the PlayStation 4, or the Xbox 720 is that’s going to come out after that, we’re planning on launching on those platforms as well. There’s no point now for us trying to compete with other guys in Vancouver, because that’s a declining market. That’s not really where we see the future of games, as a general rule: it’s mobile…The way people are playing their games is changing as well. The Twitter generation is more about short bursts of gameplay rather than the traditional six hours a day, and the emerging consoles that are going to come out are going to follow the mobile mindset, and this experience here is going to help us be in a stronger position later. Not just iPhone; we’re looking at Android, Nokia, and other mobile type devices, the PSP and Nintendo DS… This is a great seed stage that we’re in now, and it allows us to try a lot of things. Even when we get to that point, which we hope to do later this year, we’ll still be looking at the iPhone platform as a place to innovate and try ideas, as you can get a game to market very quickly, and you can build a follow-up very quickly. It’s a low cost to try in the market, so it’s much easier to get some exposure, some feedback, and to move on to something bigger.”

The conversation turns briefly to Gravity Well; an update for iPad is in the works, but Nugent is eager to speak instead of the upcoming tie-in to Riese: The Series, a locally produced steam-punk web series with definite mainstream potential. Nugent tells of their partnership.

“In the summer last year, we learned that it was hard to build a following without a brand. Gravity Well was a concept we tried; I had it ready to go when we started. When we started thinking about what was going to be after Gravity Well, we wanted to find a property that we could build a larger product on, and that was film…I got connected through some of my colleagues while they were still shooting the trailer, and they were trying to do the same thing we were doing—being independent producers. We started talking, and what they were building was amazing. Since they’ve been doing that, they’ve been on their trajectory, and we’re building a game with them; the trick was to build the game where they hadn’t been writing. We’ve been asking the bigger questions they hadn’t come across—that’s changed since, of course. It’s been great working with them. We hope to do more projects with their team in particular, because it’s been great.”

The story of Riese, with its solitary wanderer set against a vast government conspiracy, offers myriad options to a game designer—the decision to build a card game as the first title for the franchise is not obvious to those not in the know. The decision was actually that of Riese‘s production staff.

“They had a card game they wanted to build, and they had a concept in place already. That was what they wanted for their first game. And it was good for us, in that there are lot of other opportunities that that brings into the gaming space. People will understand it, like Magic, and the world that they’ve built—it plugs in well. Our first conversation with them was “We have a card game we want to develop.” We went through discussions and designs—what we talked about then and what we have today has quite a divergence.”

Divergence may exist between the theoretical and the practical notions of the Riese game, but it also exists in the very nature of the GFG portfolio. There’s very little in common between the casual puzzling of Gravity Well and the formal card system of the Riese title. To Nugent, that lack of trademarks is the trademark of Genius Factor Games.

“Like with the platforms…agnosticism. We are from a game-branding standpoint, well, we want variety. So we don’t just want games like Gravity Well. Certainly the casual, puzzle space is worthy to be active in. But as producers, we want variety. We have a connection in that they’re both science fiction, Riese being steam-punk science fiction, but whatever we build for that story, we build really well. The aesthetic is quality, continuity. We want the quality of the product to stand on its own regardless if you know of Gravity Well. Whether we’re doing a sports game, or something else, we want to be proud of it. We’ll hold off if it’s not ready, we take the Blizzard approach. Riese is in the same mindset, and what we have to date is something will hit very well with their fanbase. The steam-punk, science fiction both play into our longterm plan.”

When asked where they saw themselves within five years with said plan, the optimism of the company shines through.

“We’re trying to execute a good long term plan, and I hope to have 2/3 of that accomplished within the next five years. We’re trying to do things that are socially relevant, and do some good in the world at the same time. We’re working on things that I think are exciting, and have a lot of promise going into the future. I’d like to be close to three times our current size—we’re seven people right now. The economics of the environment are stabilizing; the changes from when I formed the company to today—fortuitous now, though it sucked at the time. It opened up talent, it forced the changes that are occurring in the industry, towards mobile and away from the business model of the music industry. It led us to be ahead of the curve, and aware of where we spend our resources. Great studios? Those are great to have, but that mindset is a leftover from the last part of the last decade.”

“Sometimes I bring in my espresso machine,” Ryan quipped, leading me to ask where he saw his department going through the next five years.

“Many more Facebook fans, and more interaction. I’m still learning, everyone’s still learning, so to get that growing, and comments, and have people interested, because they like the brand, and what it represents. On Facebook, we’re at 163 right now. I know that number every day.”

And with their constant volunteerism, that number is sure to grow. Once the recording stopped, the conversation turned to the different causes that Genius Factor Games supports. Gravity Well’s opening screen shows their devotion to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, and the BCSPCA. Genius Factor Games gives each employee three paid days to give back to the community. Both men are quick to point out how instrumental volunteerism was in bringing Arndt to Genius Factor Games—his work with the Ghoulash Bash in particular helped him garner attention, if not notoriety. Ryan laughs, but his point remains insistant.

“If successful in life, help others!” Ted speaks up, one last time.

“I believe in paying it forward, things come back in ways never expected. I want people here to be proud of where they work.”

The interview ends; I shake their hands.

Fair Copyright for Canada (administered by Michael Geist) also has an active Facebook group which carries updates and opinions relevant to Bill C-32. One point which seems to be an area of contention is the Digital Lock, and CBC News has written a very comprehensive look at what it could entail. I freely admit that I have not had time to read and process all of the information about C-32, and while I will endeavour to do so, I would like to invite someone more expert in the ramifications of C-32 to write a guest editorial explaining the good and the bad of our copyright bill. While many of what we could deem as special interest groups are voicing their opinions about Bill C-32, the most relevant to both us and our readers is what those in interactive media are saying. All of the sites and Twitter accounts above contain links to opinions and press releases from groups such as ACTRA, AFM and the Documentary Organization of Canada, and I invite you to check them out. Here is what ESAC has to say about the reforms:

The Entertainment Software Association of Canada has released a statement about Bill C-32, congratulating the Government of Canada on its introduction of copyright reform legislation which will help protect Canadian content creators and digital media companies. ESAC believes that protecting the intellectual property of industries that contribute to Canada’s prosperity is not only good public policy, but is essential as our economy transitions to more knowledge-based jobs.

“We applaud the government for showing leadership on this complex issue and we look forward to studying the bill more closely,” said Danielle Parr, Executive Director of ESAC. “Without strong protection for our intellectual property, we’re basically operating in a digital Wild West. Promoting piracy under the guise of ‘user rights’ does nothing to defend the livelihood of thousands of Canadians who rely on turning great ideas into world class entertainment,” she added.

“Piracy fundamentally undermines the integrity of the marketplace. It forces creators to compete against black market versions of their own products, affecting their ability to recover the considerable investments associated with digital media production. A strong bill – one which prohibits hacking of digital works, trafficking in hacking tools and that makes those who facilitate digital piracy clearly liable for their activities – is critical to the success of Canada’s digital economy,” says Parr.

In the industry’s view, a bill with clear protection for intellectual property will enable creators to decide how and at what cost their products can be accessed and in turn allow consumers to decide which products succeed and fail by voting with their pocketbook. Further, by supporting a diverse range of business models, strong copyright will facilitate increased competition, which ultimately leads to greater consumer choice and lower prices.

In related news, the Pew Internet and American Life Project has released a report about The State of Online Video. While this study was conducted in the USA, the information can be useful to those Canadian companies and individuals who produce web-distributed products. The study is available as a downloadable PDF, or it can be read online.

And now back to our regularly scheduled Canadian game industry news and updates:

THQ has confirmed in an official press release that Relic Entertainment’s Company of Heroes Online will indeed be released to the North American market this fall. Building on the frenetic Real-Time-Strategy action of the original Company of Heroes, Company of Heroes Online is free to play and offers army specialization, commander customization, and persistent progression, allowing players to strategize on and off the battlefield. Players will also have the opportunity to earn or purchase special units and upgrades and improve their army with each and every multiplayer victory.

Vice President of Global Brand Management Travis Plane commented that, “We are delighted to bring this award-winning franchise to gamers in a whole new way with the online version of the Company of Heroes experience. Players will benefit from the persistent upgrades and the ability to tailor their armies to really suit their play style making this a unique experience for everyone.”

Capcom® Mobile and Classic Media, whose portfolio includes of some of the world’s leading kids, family and pop-culture brands such as Where’s Waldo?®, Casper the Friendly Ghost® and Lassie®, have announced the release of Where’s Waldo?® In Hollywood, the sequel to last year’s top-selling mobile phone game.

“The first Where’s Waldo? game was a run-away mobile hit with its addictive mini games and classic search and find puzzles,” said Midori Yuasa, President, Capcom Interactive, Inc. “For the sequel we’ve built on the winning mix with a whole new crop of puzzles, achievements and even more Waldo fun.”

“Capcom Mobile has done a terrific job translating the search and find experience of Where’s Waldo? for mobile and we are excited to partner with their team on the second game,” said Nicole Blake, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Consumer Products, Classic Media. “With its crowds of celebrities and celebrity-spotters, Hollywood is an exciting place for fans to take up their search for Waldo.”

Based on the international publishing phenomenon, Where’s Waldo? in Hollywood, developed by Capcom Interactive Canada, chronicles the world-famous traveler through a series of tinsel-town themed adventures. Players can join the search with multiple search and find games that are based on classic scenes from the book series, as well as five mini games, including Tic-Whack-Wizard, Odd One Out, and Slide Puzzles. As players progress, they will be able to unlock bonus content and earn in-game achievements. Where’s Waldo? In Hollywood is currently available for download on most North American carriers.

EA has released a new Dev Diary for the upcoming Need For Speed World. Check out what they have to say about the game in this new video.

Meanwhile, over at EA Sports, it seems that the developers have gone out on a limb and predicted that Spain will take home the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Using the market-leading EA Sports™ football engine that drives 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ on the PS3 iand Xbox 360, EA Sports was able to simulate the 2010 FIFA World Cup and test all 32 teams under the same conditions they will face in the weeks ahead. It was determined that Spain will defeat Brazil 3-1 at Soccer City on July 11 to win its first World Cup. The testers holding the controllers – and thus the “players” free will, determined the following from their simulation:

* World Champion: Spain
* World Cup Final: Spain 3 Brazil 1
* 1st team to be eliminated: South Africa
* Golden Boot winner: David Villa (Spain), 7 goals
* Golden Ball winner: Kaka (Brazil)

EA Sports is also predicting that soccer fans around the globe will compare these astonishing results to the real-world tournament as it unfolds beginning June 11. The Final itself was an epic battle as Brazil put on a dazzling display of free-flowing samba style football early on against the Spaniards, taking a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute with a Felipe Melo strike from just inside the box. It didn’t take long for Spain to level the score after a goalie error that left striker David Villa in the clear. He tapped in his 6th goal of the tournament in the 42nd minute. The second half saw fortunes turn in favour of Spain, as their disciplined build up play and domination of possession paid off with a goal in the 61st minute when Villa connected for his second goal of the match, off of Andres Iniesta’s driven cross. Brazil had several efforts on goal in the final third of the match but couldn’t capitalize on its chances as they pushed all players forward in an attempt to draw even, eventually conceding a splendid counter attack goal in the 88th minute from Cesc Fabregas, which delivered Spain the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Spain’s path to FIFA World Cup glory included a quarterfinal 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Italy after an absorbing 1-1 draw, and a 2-1 win over Argentina in the semi final. Brazil’s journey to the Final included a 3-2 win over the Netherlands in the quarter final and a 5-4 shootout victory over England after the two teams played out a 2-2 draw in the semi.

Music makers who play games will soon be able to play, record, edit, save and playback their own song creations on their Xbox 360 drum kit peripherals in the form of Vancouver’s All Seeing Eye Games‘ debut title Drum Studio. Drum Studio utilizes the full potential of the drum kit to put the power of music creation in the players’ hands.

No longer will players merely play along to pre-determined drum lines. Instead, they will create their own jams on drums they’ve customized from a library of over 320 sounds. A simple & elegant recording interface allows players to layer in multiple tracks and hone their songs to perfection before they save the song, kick back, and watch an animated drummer play back their creation.

The past few years have seen the music game genre explode into a cultural phenomenon only to fizzle out in its own stagnation & over saturation. Drum Studio aims to push the genre forward in meaningful ways with its robust customization & creation tools and re-ignite some of the passion players felt that first time they sat down at a plastic instrument peripheral.

Drum Studio is the inaugural product of All Seeing Eye Games, a Vancouver-based independent game development studio founded in November 2009. It is dedicated to making accessible games that push the boundaries of innovation. Drum Studio is releasing in June 2010 exclusively on the Xbox LIVE Indie Games channel of Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 80 Microsoft Points.

Twenty-five Boys and Girls Clubs youth from across Canada will get the opportunity to pursue their careers and life goals through higher education as recipients of a $4,000 Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarship.

“I am extremely honoured to be selected as a recipient of the 2010 Future Leaders Scholarship,” said Scott McKinnon, a longtime member of Boys and Girls Club of Saint John. “Without this award, I may not have been financially able to attend university next year and continue towards the completion of my degree. This scholarship will allow me to better focus on the requirements of my courses without worrying about the stress incurred by having to find a way to cover the costs associated with a year at university. I am very thankful that Future Shop has partnered with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to provide this opportunity.”

Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, through the generous support of Future Shop, has been supporting the education dreams of youth for ten years through the Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarships program. The program provides vital financial support at a time when tuition costs continue to rise. Since the program was created, more than 550 young people have received scholarships totaling more than $1.5 million. Each student receives a $3,500 or $3,000 cash award along with a $500 or $1,000 Future Shop gift card to provide needed technology and school equipment.

“I am the first person in my family to go to university. My parents couldn’t afford to go and I feel really blessed to have come to Canada and been given all these opportunities,” said Majda Miljkovic, a past Future Shop Future Leader Scholarship recipient who is currently studying Education at the University of Manitoba. “The Future Leaders Scholarship has helped me keep up with paying for school on my own, stay out of debt in doing so, and also look around me and realize just how lucky I am to be here today.”

Building on the ten year success of the Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarships, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada and Future Shop have developed a new program, Future Generation, which will launch later in 2010. An evolution of the Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarships, Future Generation will aim to provide young people in Grade 10 with the financial resources to achieve their long term education goals and the skills and technology needed to be truly successful.

“Future Shop is committed to investing in creating positive opportunities for young people and together with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada we have helped hundreds of young people over the past ten years realize their dream of post-secondary education,” said Cheryl Grant, Community Relations Manager, Future Shop. “Through the Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarships we have improved the lives of youth and families across the country, and we will continue to make a difference through the upcoming Future Generation program.”

Recipients of the Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarships are selected based on their outstanding contribution to their Boys and Girls Club and local community, good academic standing and financial need.

2010 Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarship Recipients

Alberta

Amaira Hanson, Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary
Erin Hutchinson, Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary
Tammy Morgan, Stettler and District Boys and Girls Club
Courtney Johnson, Boys and Girls Club of Brooks and District

British Columbia

Reid Neilson, Boys and Girls Club Community Services of Delta/Richmond
Janette Wheeler, Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs
Eileen Zheng, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Vancouver

Manitoba

Sabreen Shahin, Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg
Hope Akello, Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg

New Brunswick

Sarah Stewart, Miramichi Boys and Girls Club
Scott McKinnon, Boys and Girls Club of Saint John

Newfoundland and Labrador

Alexandria Hemeon, Botwood Boys and Girls Club Inc.

Nova Scotia

Carlos Beals, Boys and Girls Club of Dartmouth

Ontario

Kaitland Thompson, Toronto Kiwanis Boys and Girls Clubs
Mike Ali, Boys and Girls Clubs of Peel
Osman Omar, Boys and Girls Club of London
Mahdi Hussein, Eastview (Toronto) Boys and Girls Club
Meagan La Plante, Boys and Girls Clubs of Kawartha Lakes
Prince Sunama, Boys and Girls Club of Kingston and Area Inc.
David Francis, Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough
Ismail Abdulle, Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa
Richard Lorde, Braeburn Boys and Girls Club

Prince Edward Island

Donald Gallant, Wellington and Area Boys and Girls Club

Quebec

Lois Boateng, Boys and Girls Club of LaSalle / Club Garcons et Filles de LaSalle

Saskatchewan

Kayla Krawetz, Battlefords Boys and Girls Club

The other session which I thoroughly enjoyed was given by Zach Hanks, who, forgive the pun, presented a very animated and entertaining seminar. Character Voices – Conceptualization, Casting, Recording, and the Cultural Reference Point covered topics which should be presented at every studio which has voice acting in its games. While covering the many challenges and details of voice acting for games, one of Zach’s main points was that “nothing will disengage your players faster than bad voice acting.” This is very true, and any game developer who doesn’t think so, isn’t paying attention. For example, Arenanet has taken some pretty harsh criticism from its Guild Wars community for really bad voice-over work, primarily in Guild Wars: Factions (and as a GW player, I have to agree with the criticisms).

Making your character voices familiar and believable is a huge part of improving the player experience, and even many of today’s blockbuster titles are lacking in the voice-over department. For example – in Mass Effect 2, Bioware missed the mark on how females really talk. The female Shepard character often feels very stilted and hard-toned when she is supposed to be seducing crew members or even when she is supposed to be expressing empathy/sympathy during a scene. There are moments in Dragon Age when I want to rip out my female rogue’s vocal chords – or at least mute her. These moments arrive when she successfully unlocks a chest or door. Her “I’ve done it!” and “Complete” lines drive me batty. There were also times in Assassin’s Creed 2 where the characters spoke too fast in their Renaissance Italian accents, and I didn’t catch what was said. There is usually no rewind for an in-game cinematic (unless one dies and gets to re-live the scene), so audio people, please ensure that your character’s lines are easily understood.

The GDC Canada session Managing Your Love-Hate Relationship with Playtests presented by Ubisoft Quebec Game Lab’s Andree-Anne Boisvert covered such areas as expanding your playtest groups to include non-traditional gamers, and how important that feedback can be. This is particularly applicable for games looking to expand their horizons in finding a home amongst families where there may be many non-traditional core gamers. Is your game truly family-friendly? Will it draw grandparents into the mix? Will they enjoy interacting digitally with their gamer grandchildren or will are they being led to the proverbial slaughter, not enjoying the experience at all? Like game development, your audience is changing almost daily; what is your studio doing to ensure financial success with its market?

I also had a chance to speak with Kay Gruenwoldt about a new school hoping to open in Vancouver this fall. Games Academy Vancouver is currently going through the provincial accreditation programme, and will be finalizing its location once that step is complete. Games Academy has been operating in Europe for ten years, and when the Vancouver campus opens, its new students will have access to an established global community through its international pipeline which will offer an internal support system of peers and fellow students.

Games Academy will focus solely on computer graphics and game development, with instructors who are currently working or have worked in the industry. Mr. Gruenwoldt said that Vancouver was a natural location in campus choice because our local industry is simply a “huge pool of awesomeness.”

Another newcomer to GDC Canada was Edmonton’s SnakeTakes Studios, which is developing a complete brand around an original IP. The End of the Beginning began as a screenplay, and has since grown to include a game, a comic book series, action figures, merchandise and soundtrack. The End of the Beginning game for the Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 has been in development for about seven months, privately financed by its team of six designers outside of their regular jobs. Set far in the future in a surrealistic world, the premise of the game is a race of very mean aliens who are trying to obliterate those pesky humans. The End of the Beginning, which promises to be a fun-to-play title featuring very combative play in a possibly open-ended franchise, hopes to advance to beta in just a few weeks. This looks like a title we at Village Gamer will most likely enjoy playing, especially if there is as much mayhem and destruction in the game as was talked about at their expo booth.

Overall we had a great time at GDC Canada, and really wouldn’t expect any less. Of course, being a writer, a I would have liked to have seen some sessions on writing, as well as sessions on how studios can better utilize the media in their marketing plans and better prepare their web sites for those in the media who are looking for information about their studios and titles. I believe that GDC Canada could have a bright future if a few things were to happen, such as making it more affordable for the Canadian development community to attend by taking some of the philosophy in play at big box stores – lower prices, go for volume and still meet your profitability marks.

It was a shame that Vancouver Digital Week did not pair up with GDC Canada this year, because the abundance of sessions and events in 2009 made the event that much bigger. It was promised during the Canadian Videogame Awards that all of the events would be held over one week again in 2011, and I truly hope that this comes to fruition. While it’s generally understood that GDC San Francisco is the flagship event, I feel it is of utmost importance to have quality development events in Canada for those who may not have the funds to travel around the continent to attend such conferences. While the east coast has MiGS, INplay and DIGS London to name but a few, it is essential that the west coast build on its events such as the Game Design Expo, SPARK and GDC Canada as annual events. As a person with event management in my past, I can appreciate the amount of time and hard work which goes into producing such large conferences, and while I in no way wish to belittle the efforts of those behind the scenes at any of these Canadian conferences, it is simply my wish that each of these events grows to its full potential through the continued co-operation and support from government, industry, associations, schools and of course, the trench-workers.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is pleased to announce that five Digital Media categories will be introduced for the 25th Annual Gemini Awards. The new awards will honour both cross-platform projects, developed to enhance enjoyment of a television program or series, and original productions, the first broadcast of which is intended for a medium other than television. Additionally, a Gemini Special Award – Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in Digital Media – has been added.

A corresponding Digital Media membership branch has been added to the Academy’s Television division. Members of this branch will vote for related categories in the Gemini awards and les Prix Gémeaux, depending on the member’s language.

“We are very excited to recognize and celebrate the achievements of craftspeople in the field of digital media,” says Sara Morton, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. “The film and television industries are continually evolving, as is the Academy. The addition of the Digital Media Awards, as well as the introduction of the Digital Media membership branch, illustrate our ongoing commitment to representing and recognizing the work of our colleagues across the country.”

The following categories are currently accepting submissions for the 25th Annual Gemini Awards:

Best Cross-Platform Project – Fiction
Best Cross-Platform Project – Non-Fiction
Best Cross-Platform Project – Children’s and Youth
Best Original Program or Series produced for Digital Media – Fiction
Best Original Program or Series produced for Digital Media – Non-Fiction

Submission deadline: Tuesday May 18.

Applications for the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in Digital Media will be accepted until Thursday July 15.

Vancouver artist Camilla d’Errico, one of the leading ladies in the urban, pop art and comics scenes, has teamed up with the original pop and underground culture clothing store, Hot Topic, to launch 3 bold and colorful Helmetgirls™ designs on fitted t-shirts.

“I truly feel that my art should be available for everyone who enjoys it. I create art out of a passion to share it with people, and my first fans and customers were actually teen and tween girls. These shirts are for them, their big sisters and even their Moms!” says Camilla. “I get so much fan mail about my Helmetgirls™, so they were perfect candidates for the line. They are inspired by everything that shaped me: comics, anime and manga, and cartoons.”

Best known as just, “Camilla”, this outgoing artist, illustrator and character creator has a natural artistic versatility that allowed her to make waves in the fine art world, to create a name for herself in the comic and graphic novel industry, and to selectively disseminate her beautiful artwork commercially through merchandise, clothing and accessories.

“Camilla’s designs are gorgeous. Her manga influence is noticeable but not overpowering. There are people who instantly recognized the images as being Camilla’s, and others who immediately fell in love with them”, says Mike Mattox, CEO of licensee All Pacific Apparel Ltd.

“Helmetgirls™ are my original characters so it has been fun to bring to them to life with bold colors in this line”, continues Camilla, “Good fit, beautiful prints with a touch of varnish, and high quality garment ensure that the final product best represents me and my art. We really focused on quality when designing and making these. I’m thrilled with the results.”

T-shirts are the new canvas for many artists, and the perfect vehicle for spreading their art. Wearable art is a term that has been coined, and many urban artists have been creating t-shirts showcasing their art. Camilla concludes, “Hot Topic’s soul is underground, cult, comic, music and pop culture, which made them the perfect retailer to in which launch Helmetgirls™ clothing.”

The three Helmetgirls™ designs are now in Hot Topic stores across the US, and online. With her fans alerted through various social media channels, these t-shirts are already being snapped up, quickly making the artist’s series a fan favorite.

Check out IUGO Mobile Entertainment’s new trailer for their iPad titles:

Anyone who has ever had a family member or friend in a hospital knows just how stressful and time consuming it is to provide updates or other information to your circle of friends and family. With the launch of a new iPhone tool called howsthepatient, it will now be possible to update everyone who is important right from your phone, instantly. You can choose who you want to communicate with, share health alerts, send pictures, and provide hospital locations and visiting hours and other updates.

The brainchild of Susan Weisbarth, howsthepatient was developed by Due North Communications, one of Canada’s leading independent advertising agencies and Isobar, one of the world’s largest digital marketing networks. howsthepatient was designed to help people cope with information sharing about medical situations and is available at the iTunes Store for $1.99 (US).

“Just like Isaac Newton’s apple, it was a bump to the head that sparked this idea,” explains howsthepatient CEO Susan Weisbarth. “I got an emergency call that my 75 year-old mother was being rushed to the hospital with stroke symptoms. Fortunately, all that happened was that she fell and hurt her head. As she was recovering in the hospital and I was inundated with calls and e-mails from concerned friends and family, I thought there had to be a better way of keeping people posted when they are worried about a loved one.”

The howsthepatient on app is simple to set up by moving names from your existing contact list and regular updates can be sent exclusively to that group, unlike the less personal selection of friends and associates that might be part of Facebook or Twitter group. Once the recipients receive their first update, they can also use the app to source other information such as the location of the hospital or to facilitate the delivery of flowers or cards.

Although howsthepatient was developed as an iphone app the selected contacts can receive updates via e-mail on other PDAs such as RIM’s Blackberry devices or on personal computers.

Features:

* Discreet Networking – Connect only with your selected circle of family and friends
* Instant and Efficient Communication – From a single touch point share information and updates in real time
* Controlled Communication – Manage the information sent to and received from family and friends. Choose your communication status by leaving open or selecting “do not contact us at this time.”
* Aggregated Contacts – Choose contacts directly from your iphone and import them in to howsthepatient.
* Integration with Facebook and Twitter – You have the option of further sharing your information with other social networks.
* Google Map Search – Easily and quickly find the hospital location and address to assist in visits and the delivery of flowers or gifts.
* Emergency Hotlines – Save emergency numbers into your account for easy access.
* Instant Photo Sharing – Allows you to share photos with your contact group.

As a 50-something former co-owner of a family business, Weisbarth is not your usual app developer. However, her mother’s hospitalization prompted her to find a better way to pre-empt an uncomfortable number of messages, e-mails and calls enquiring about her mother’s status.

“Typically the voice of the family is the woman of the household who believes they are the ‘town crier’ for their family or circle of friends, and although this app could be used to selectively communicate with other groups such as soccer moms or other community organizations, I felt that the most necessary and stressful communication occurred when a loved one was in the hospital. It’s easy to use and adaptable to any situation whether that is a medical emergency or a celebratory event such as the birth of a new baby,” said Weisbarth.

Scotiabank and Rogers Canada have teamed up to launch Home Experts, a dynamic online consumer resource linking Canadians to some of the country’s leading authorities in household design, renovations and financing. The website launch includes a contest with four $5,000 prizes to help Canadians pay down their mortgage faster, add to their down payment, or finance home renovations. The Home Experts Contest runs until July 15, 2010.

“Scotiabank is excited to partner with Rogers Canada to complement Canadians’ pursuit of their dream homes with a social media solution that provides expert opinion on anything to do with homes,” said Robin Hibberd, Executive Vice-President, Retail Products and Services, Canadian Banking, Scotiabank. “With Home Experts, current and future homeowners, investors and renovators, will get the information and insight they need to protect and grow their most important assets.”

Visitors to the Home Experts website can view videos on various topics from a panel of experts, including home renovations expert Jim Caruk, decor expert Karen Sealy and home financing expert Deren Hasip. Mr. Caruk is a judge on Mike Holmes’ HGTV show the Handyman Superstar Challenge and host of HGTVs Real Renos. Ms. Sealy is a regular decor expert on CityTV’s national CityLine show. Mr. Hasip is a District Sales Manager, at Scotiabank.

Through a series of bi-weekly podcasts, the experts will share insights on topics such as: how to stage your home for a faster sale; how to find the right contractor to renovate your home; how to find the right real estate agent; how to get the right mortgage; what to look for in investment properties; and environmentally friendly building techniques.

“At Scotiabank, our commitment is to provide our customers with the products and services they need to meet their individual financial needs,” said John Webster, Head, Real Estate Secured Lending and Scotia Mortgage Authority, Scotiabank. “Our first objective is to provide our customers with the best value for the financial services we provide.”

The Home Experts website also includes a Scotiabank Total Equity Plan calculator, as well as affordability and mortgage payment calculators, plus a variety of self-help articles aimed at boosting customers’ confidence in their financing and saving strategies.

“Canadians are looking for ways to cut costs and put more money back into their pockets and Scotiabank can help Canadians save hundreds, even thousands of dollars a year,” added Mr. Webster. “Scotiabank is making it easier for customers to become homeowners and meet their ongoing mortgage needs by offering a full package of innovative home-ownership solutions.”

E Is For Ethics
Author: Ian James Corlett
Illustrator: R. A. Holt
Published: December 2009
Hardcover 106 pages
Interactive Companion Website: E is For Ethics

I recently came into possession of this book, and if I had to choose just one word to describe it, I’m not sure that I could pick a word which would completely do it justice. E Is For Ethics is certainly inspiring and timeless. While my kids are both long past the age of being read to, they aren’t too old for productive and ethical discussion or debate – something which we still engage in, particularly during our weekly Sunday night family dinners.

Elliott & Lucy

While there are many “self help” books about parenting on the market, I feel that Ian’s book is different because as he says in his introduction, his only qualification in writing this book is the fact that he is a parent. To me this speaks volumes, because it really doesn’t matter how many doctorates or letters you have after your name – nothing can prepare you for being a parent other than the moment you become one. Ian has created real situations involving his two lead characters, Lucy and Elliott, along with supporting family and general public characters put in real life situations to which children can easily relate.

Each of the 26 stories told in E is For Ethics leaves its ending unresolved, leading to multiple results and opening up the chance for discussion on how the story could go. Each chapter, from honesty to respect, offers discussion ideas and quotes from both the famous and the infamous. Ian has artfully found a way through his very short scenarios for parents to gauge how their children perceive the world in general and how these little people think about what is right and what is wrong.

When my kids were young, one of their favourite movies was DragonHeart. As they watched it obsessively, I took the opportunity to discuss The Old Code which Bowen tries to follow. They both knew it by heart, and I believe that they both still try to incorporate those words into their daily lives – although sometimes I do have to wonder at some of the things they say or do. The important thing is that they are free-thinkers, they definitely don’t follow the crowd, and they both have a social conciousness about them. While I certainly won’t take 100% of the credit for that, I know that I gave them a good foundation, and this is precisely the ongoing value of E is For Ethics.

Ethics are timeless, and should you find yourself faced with difficulties in teaching moral lessons to your children, E is For Ethics offers some great starting points, minus all of the psych-speak. Simplicity is often best – because complicated is, well, complicated and unclear. As Ian writes in his book’s conclusion, “…even if you think you know about something or how to do something, there is always a new twist or a new way to try it. And it’s the same way we learn about ethics. Every situation is different and so is how a family deals with it.” One point which I truly admire Ian for is the fact that he is not really telling you what to teach your children, he is simply giving you, as parents, a starting point and then leaves the rest up to you.

Much like The Old Code, E is For Ethics covers those areas which are important characteristics for an honourable, compassionate and productive member of society – many of which seem to have taken a back seat in terms of importance for many people today. For example, last week I was talking with a guy who grew up in the same neighbourhood I did, which was a tight-knit, mainly agricultural community. Our discussion revolved around how much our little town has changed, and how people in general don’t seem to be as honourable as they used to be. We are the current generation running long-time family businesses, and we would like to know what happened to the time when a handshake and your word was enough to honourably seal a deal. Your conduct in business was your reputation, and growing up in a small town meant that everyone knew whether or not you truly were as good as your word.

I feel that in many ways society has forgotten about many of those values, and Ian’s book is a great way to perhaps rediscover those values for ourselves as we discuss the scenarios with our children. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children as they grow up is time, and to borrow A & E TV’s slogan, reading and discussing E is For Ethics with our children is time well spent. I would be completely remiss in not giving this little book a huge recommendation to parents and grandparents everywhere. Even if you aren’t a parent yet, chances are you might become one – pick up E is For Ethics and keep it for the future. You’ll be glad you did. Ian definitely gets five stars from me for E is For Ethics.

* The Old Code from DragonHeart

A knight is sworn to valor, his heart knows only virtue, his blade defends the helpless, his might upholds the weak, his word speaks only truth, his wrath undoes the wicked.

The right can never die, if a man still remembers him. Words are not forgotten, if a voice pronounce them clearly, The Code always shines, if a heart preserves it brightly…

DOS stands for Denial Of Service (it also stands for “Disk Operating System”, but that’s not the definition I’m going to write about here).  It’s a form of attack on pretty much anything Internet Related… although primarily it was used to focus on websites and personal computers.  The basic idea behind a DOS attack was to send so much “garbage” information to a person’s computer or connection, that it would become bogged down by the data and cause legitimate requests to either become extremely delayed, or completely lost while waiting for its chance to get through the line.  This was, understandably so, an extremely effective means of attack on personal computers back when most of the population was using dial-up connections… when a person’s phone line can only carry 6KB a second (to give an idea of that speed, the average picture on a website would have taken 3 to 4 seconds to actually show up on your computer screen), it would not have taken much at all to bog that connection right down, and possibly even disconnect the user.

These days though, no one actually uses dial-up (allowing for the possibility of 4 or 5 people who still haven’t reached civilization, and only have basic phone lines running into their cave), so sending 6KB of data would do nothing more than make your modem light blink for a fraction of a second.  Enter the DDOS, or Distributed Denial Of Service.  It’s pretty much the same as DOS, yet instead of coming from a single source, it’s coming in from multiple sources – anywhere from two to millions, depending on the tactic used and the form of data being transmitted.  Sending 6KB a second from a single source would do nothing to pretty much any user or site these days, but to take that same 6 KB and send it from 2000 computers all at once, you now have 12,000 KB (or 12MB) of data all at once traveling through the wire to your home PC, or through the cable to that website’s server in Texas (or wherever) – something that most connections would choke under, or at the very least experience some extreme lag (lag is the amount of time it takes for a signal to reach you from somewhere else, and vice versa).

As some of you may know, we here at Village Gamer have in the past been the target of multiple DDOS attacks.  Our “ignored sibling” company (that’s Tami’s term) KillaNet Technology was a pet project for a packet kiddie from California for a number of years. Wait – what’s a packet kiddie, right?  A Packet is a way of measuring data traveling through the Internet. A packet kiddie is a less-than-endearing term used to describe a wanna-be hacker who uses someone else’s code to launch attacks on websites and people through the internet.  After much time was spent going through firewall logs, chat logs, data graphs, and so much lost sleep that I actually lost track, he was put before the California State Courts and found guilty for his attacks against us.  It was a small victory in the World of cyber-crime and DDoS perpetrators, but it still showed that justice could be achieved and that it is possible to survive DDoS attacks.

Most sites and users will actually pack up shop if they become a steady target of these attacks.  This is the worst thing someone can do, as it tells the kiddie that what he did is not only alright, but also successful.  Giving in to these people is the worst thing you can do. I attribute it to supplying a drug addict with more pills; they get the thrill from doing it the first time, and you handing over more just tells them that what they are doing is alright.  So how do you combat the attack?  Firstly, you have to keep your cool and ride it out.  There is nothing you can do to stop it from happening once it starts, unless you can actually go to the source and unplug each and every computer that is part of the attack, so no point stressing out over it or raging.  It won’t last forever, consider it a good chance to pull out that favourite book, or watch a movie with the family.  Your fight starts once the attack is over.

So the attack has slowed down now, and you can see your website.  Awesome, right?  Grab a coffee, the fun is just starting.  The first thing you need to do is grab ALL of your site’s logs.  Even if the attack did not target your website specifically (by way of visiting the exact same page repeatedly to bog down the server), most perpetrators will frequent the site just before, and again during the attack so that they can watch the results of their efforts.  These logs can prove to be invaluable to you later.  As soon as the attack subsides, you need to contact your web hosting service provider (or if the attack targets you directly contact your ISP) and ask if they work with law enforcement on such cases, or if it is something you will have to pursue yourself.  As an example, the data centre which holds our server, while providing a dependable service, does not seek out law enforcement when an attack is launched against it. This meant that we had to contact the FBI offices ourselves.  Now, don’t go thinking that the law enforcement won’t care about your little problem, because every crime is worth the few seconds it would take to report.

So, how do you combat against an attack?  In simple terms, you can’t.  No amount of server tweaking, website securing, or firewall configuring can stop an incoming flood of data from the outside world.  The problem with firewalls and DDoS attacks is that the traffic has already entered your local lines before it reaches the firewall.  Honestly, only your “upstream provider” can filter out a significant attack.  If the attack is targeting your home connection, quite often a simple phone call to your service provider requesting that they refresh your IP address is enough.  With Dial-up, this was as easy as disconnecting and reconnecting.  These days though, most people use high-speed internet and getting a new IP is slightly more time consuming, although truly worth the effort.  If the attack is focused on your website, you may be looking at more of a headache.  While an IP change can restore access to your site, the DNS settings would still be pointing to the attacked IP, essentially leaving you still offline.  In these cases, you need to contact your service provider the moment an attack starts and request that they put a filter in place to combat the incoming data.  If your service provider is not willing to do this, it may be time to look into a new one.  These days, you shouldn’t even consider going with a web host who does not seem willing to discuss the possibility of DDoS combat or filtering.  The tools are available, and there is no excuse for a provider to not be making full use of them.

The thing to always remember when you are the target of an attack is to not give up.  Ride it out, gather as much information as you can, and learn from the process you go through to track down the source and the methods.  There is nothing you can do to prevent an attack – it happens.  Take it as an educational opportunity and go from there.  Giving up means that the kiddies are winning, and we do not want to give them that satisfaction.

Vancouver

It’s not generally our policy to cover the employment downside of game development, particularly with the way the economy has been over the past year or so and the adverse effect it has had on many Canadian studios. While we will always let you, our readers, know about new studio openings and career positions, we feel that other media outlets provide more than enough coverage about job losses and we don’t really need to add to the mix.

That said, I cannot let a recent development pass without comment. For those who have not yet heard, Kelly Zmak formally announced his departure from Radical Entertainment this past Friday. This truly saddens me, as Kelly has been (and will continue to be, I hope) an integral part of the Vancouver development community. A powerful and motivational speaker, Kelly has worked hard on various Advisory Boards and industry committees. He has many times played host and emcee, and he has given me more encouragement and inspiration than he is perhaps aware. I have the utmost respect for Kelly as a business person, teacher and perhaps most important of all, friend. Kelly leaves some big shoes (or should that be hat?) to fill for his successor at Radical, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish him well with his future projects.

Montreal - Logic Pretzel has released its first game title on the iTunes App Store. A new twist on the match three/tetris genre, Letter Drop requires the player to form words from the falling letter tiles. Naturally, the higher your score, the faster the tiles drop – and if you don’t use a tile, you lose a life. You can make more than one word from the tiles as they float down your touch screen, and challenge you to think very fast. According to the game’s site, Letter Drop contains over 30 000 words from abacus to zymurgy, all three to seven letters long. I haven’t purchased Letter Drop yet, which is available in the iTunes store for .99 cents – but I have a feeling that this game is going to be highly addicting and a huge impediment to my ever-growing tasks list.

Vancouver – Speaking of new titles, this is just a reminder that Scrap Metal will be available in the Xbox Live Arcade this week. Developed by Slick Entertainment, Scrap Metal is part of the Xbox Block Party promotion and will be downloadable for 1200 Microsoft Points.

In Scrap Metal, gamers can fight their way through explosive, action-packed missions and defeat cunning bosses in order to collect their vehicles. Customize newly-acquired cars and return to the track to blast through more enemies. Then, jump online with Xbox LIVE® to race against friends and crush their cars with the wheels of a massive monster truck in pulse-pounding online multiplayer matches.

If you’re attending the Independent Games Summit at GDC in San Francisco, you can catch Slick Entertainment’s Nick Waanders and Kees Rijnen’s presentation, Scrap Metal: Pushing the Envelope with a Team of Two on the morning of March 9th. Nick and Kees will explain how “a lot of choices had to be made to get the biggest bang for the buck, while maintaining the high polish level we wanted” — discussing tools, the game’s deferred shading engine, design choices, and more.

Victoria/Toronto – The Centre for Digital Story Telling will be bringing its Digital Story Standard Workshop Series to Canada for three dates this spring and summer. Two of the Standard Workshops will be held at The Centre for Community Learning and Development, located at 269 Gerrard St. East in Toronto. These Workshops will be held on April 16 – 18 and July 16-18 and will be facilitated by Jennifer LaFontaine. The Victoria Workshop will take place March 26 – 28 at Royal Roads University and will be facilitated by Suzanne Ahearne and Surya Govender.

The Standard Workshop programme assists participants in designing and producing a three to five minute digital story. Participants craft and record first-person narratives, collect still images, video, and music with which to illustrate their pieces, and are guided through computer tutorials that enable them, with teacher support, to edit their own stories.

Workshops are held as contiguous, three-day intensives (9 am-5 pm each day), involving eight to 12 participants. Participants are given materials prior to the workshop to assist them in preparation, including suggestions about script writing, image selection, and use of video clips. Please see the Workshop Information page for registration information.

Toronto – In the era of exploding social and mobile networking, the future of traditional media is just too big an issue for a bunch of geeks to tackle on their own. Have no fear – at the third annual GeekFest being held on Wednesday March 10, they’ve called in social and technology commentators to debate the future of the media. Is print dead? Will we recognize journalism 10 years from now? Is there a viable business model for professional journalism in the digital world? Is new media filled with too much clutter and not enough substance?

On the panel will be one of the country’s leading columnists, award-winning Globe and Mail writer Margaret Wente; CBC.ca technology reporter Peter Nowak who recently published his first book about the origins of technology called Sex, Bombs and Burgers; and Mike Dover, a pop culture critic and co-author of Wikibrands: How to Build a Brand in a Customer-Controlled Marketplace. The panel will be moderated by techno thinker Krista Napier, a senior analyst with IDC Canada, a global leader in IT market intelligence.

“The Vancouver Olympics is the latest example of the changing role of media,” says T4G President Geoff Flood. “Millions of people in Canada were watching events live, getting scores, video clips and commentary on their wireless smart phones. It makes you wonder about the future role of newspapers, broadcasters, even cable TV delivery in the wireless world. This GeekFest panel is sure to give us lots to think about.”

GeekFest is sponsored by T4G Limited, a national project-based technology company. GeekFest is the annual showcase of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurialism. It is held at the Hot Zone of the Ontario Science Centre, 770 Don Mills Road in Toronto, on March 10, 2010 beginning at 6 p.m.

Open to media, GeekFest begins with individual T4G employees and teams exhibiting some of their most creative ideas for using technology to make life and business better. After friends, customers and invited guests have informally met participants and seen their geeky ideas, the media panel discussion will take place under the Leading Thinkers banner.

Leading Thinkers is an ongoing T4G initiative about exchanging ideas aimed at making a difference in so many areas; from business organization, competitiveness, and research and development to sustainability and a greener environment.

The role media plays – and its future – is worthy of inclusion when it relates to the day-to-day lives of Canadians. Naively or not, the so-called geeks at T4G believe they can help foster changes to improve life in Canada, already the best place in the world to live.

“As they say, some people are born on third base and think they’ve hit a triple,” Mr. Flood says. “We know we’ve been fortunate in Canada, but we’ve got to keep scoring runs when it comes to leadership, sustainability, innovation, international competitiveness and social responsibility. And if you examine last week’s federal budget, you’ll see that Ottawa is getting the message with an emphasis on investing in innovation, which in turn creates high-value jobs for Canadians.”

After the media panel, the Top 3 geeks from the showcase portion of GeekFest will present to a jury of “Supreme Geeks” who, under a format similar to the CBC’s popular TV program Dragon’s Den, will evaluate each and award the title of Ultimate Geek 2010.

Aldergrove

Speaking to the announcement, Tim Lewinson, Creative Director of Vancouver’s Massive Bear Studio, stated that “as a rising company in the Vancouver development scene, Massive Bear is happy to see the provincial government recognize the importance of sustaining British Columbia’s position as one of the world’s preeminent game development hubs. By working with government to reinvigorate job growth and investment in BC, we can continue to create some of the world’s best games. There’s too much talent and history in BC’s interactive entertainment sector not to take advantage of the opportunity to work with film, television, and animation industries in building a next-generation digital media hub right here. This announcement is an important first step in getting there.”

Sadly, the film industry is crying somewhat foul in regards to the changes to this program. Shawn Williamson of BrightLight Pictures was quoted in CBC’s coverage of the announcement as saying “”What they’ve announced is the increase for video games, which will put money into the pockets of the Pixars and Electronic Arts and large video game companies which are based primarily in Los Angeles,” Williamson told CBC News. “Those companies are likely to invest and be happy. Companies like ours who produce and finance our own productions that keeps the wealth effectively in the province didn’t get a bump on the tax credit.”

While I respect Mr. Williamson’s feelings, he perhaps doesn’t understand the long history of Electronic Arts in the local game development culture and the important role the Burnaby campus has played in the growth of our local industry. I would like to direct him to an excellent article in the Georgia Straight. Written by Blaine Kyllo, this article takes a look at BC’s video game development family tree and how the industry has grown since the day Don Mattrick and Jeff Sember released the first Vancouver-developed game, Evolution, in 1982. The global video game development industry, in comparison to the film industry as a whole, is quite young and Vancouver was right there in the industry’s infancy.

Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Kevin Krueger Touring Ubisoft Vancouver

For example, the first documentary filmed in Kamloops dates from 1912, and then during the 1930′s, several Hollywood studios began filming their “Quota Quickies” (today’s “B” movies) in Vancouver. One of the first TV series filmed here was the original Littlest Hobo, which was filmed at Hollyburn Studios in West Vancouver from 1963 through 1965. The point I am trying to make here is that Vancouver, and British Columbia as a whole, has had a presence in the early days of not just one creative industry, but in many.

Going back to Shawn Williamson’s comment about the “large video game companies which are based primarily in Los Angeles” – what he neglects to understand is that there are thousands of people employed in the digital media industry in BC – by small to medium-sized enterprise as well as by the bigger studios such as EA Canada, Radical Entertainment (Activision-Blizzard) and Relic Entertainment (THQ). Small studios such as Fit Brains, who may employ only a dozen people, and medium-sized studios such as Next Level Games, who employ a few dozen people will benefit greatly from this program. All of the above-named studios were producing product long before there any kind of provincial tax credits available to them. They didn’t stay because of a possible video game tax incentive some time in the future. They stayed because BC has talent.

I do have to wonder if Mr. Williamson has ever sat and watched the credits roll by at the end of a video game; just as in film and television production, there are many talented people employed for a game production beyond those who create the characters, build the environments and write the computer code. There are audio specialists, voice actors, office administration, human resources, marketing specialists, video compositors, musicians, motion-capture specialists, story and technical writers and so many more.

Students who graduate from local (and world-class) post-secondary programs such as those offered by VFS, the Art Institute, VanArts, Emily Carr, BCIT, Masters of Digital Media, SFU, UBC and all of the other post-secondary digital media programs will now have a better opportunity to find meaningful employment right here at home, because studios will now have a chance at being able to afford the labour costs and hire the necessary talent to see their projects through from concept to store shelf. Many of the teachers involved in these programs are themselves industry veterans who have chosen to pass their knowledge on to those just entering the talent pipeline.

Independent developers – whether they are experienced or newbies, as well as those who are on the brink of creating a new studio will now have better assistance and a chance to chase their dreams. With opportunities for finding seed capital from Venture Capital and Angel Funds – areas of industry which also receive tax incentives, and now with the new labour cost incentives, BC’s digital media industry can continue to develop its top-selling products and introduce new franchises.

I can’t describe the amount of hometown pride I felt when I saw the trailers for Tron: Evolution and True Crime come on the screen during the recent SpikeTV 2009 Video Game Awards, or the feeling that comes from seeing shelves full of newly released made-in-BC games on display behind the counter at an EB Games store – and knowing that my friends are doing what they do best – creating a product which is going to be consumed by eager gamers around the globe.

There are also many, many companies based in BC who work on the outer-fringes of the video game industry, adding after-market value or aiding in their development. Companies such as The Game Net, which develops social community sites for many of the top game franchises in the world – not just games developed in BC or Canada. Then there are companies like digital distribution specialist Yummy Interactive and value-added software distributors such as AnnexPro who offers services to not only the video game industry but also the film, visual effects, animation and music industries. The “outer-fringes” list could go on and on, from the IT folks to the printers who make up the game swag and packaging, but I’m sure you get the idea.

These tax incentives will lend aide to every aspect of digital media creation – video games, animation, visual effects, web-based products and the film industry. There are many major award-winning development studios in this province, and not just those who are on the Oscar podium (or who hope to be). They are not all owned by international publishing houses. As shown in Blaine’s “family tree” there are plenty of home-grown studios here, just like BrightLight Pictures and others in the film industry.

An important factor to remember when thinking about the video game development industry is that it’s not just about games any more. There are many components of the knowledge-based economy we see developing around the globe which are direct off-shoots of the video game industry and its technology. One does not need to look very far to find a myriad of examples where video game development and its innovation has had an effect in other fields such as medicine, science, education and even the military and security sectors.

The leaps and bounds which have been made in the video game industry over its young life are nothing short of amazing. From the pixelated characters of 8-bit graphics to the 3D wonders of Avatar, the video game industry has constantly pushed the envelope of interactive entertainment and creative knowledge, constantly amazing consumers with what they do as they seek to expand the immersive, interactive digital world.

“The B.C. video game industry sees the announcement as an important first step in creating a next-generation digital media hub and retaining our province’s preeminent position on the world video game stage,” stated Howard Donaldson, Chair of the BC Interactive Task Force and Vice President Studio Operations with Disney Interactive Studios. “We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the B.C. government as we finalize the details and implementation of this important new program.”

“British Columbia is home to many of the world’s most popular video games and home to many of the most talented, passionate game developers on the planet,” continued Donaldson. “With this announcement, we’re hopeful we can continue to nurture and grow this cornerstone industry.”

The entertainment world is no longer solely dependent on the film, toy and cartoon industries to develop their own progressive Intellectual Property. Instead, we see many corporations crossing over and blending these lines to drive consumers to purchase their products, and with the huge popularity of the consumer experience as it pertains to video games, we now see companies such as Disney, Warner Bros. Interactive, Hasbro, Lego and more claiming territory in the video game industry.

Yes, there are many local companies (video game, visual effects and film companies alike) who are ultimately controlled by a foreign corporate entity, but they are still employing local talent. Local talent who lives in British Columbia, and in all likelihood, grew up and went to school in British Columbia. What a great boon to our children for them to know that the digital media industry has a future in this province, because these huge corporations are supporting local industry and local talent.

Wendy Boylan, the PR and Marketing Manager for Ubisoft Vancouver and a member of the BC Interactive Task Force agrees, stating that this new addition to the tax incentive program is a “positive step for both industry and the government. Both sides worked hard in the past few months to create a plan that will not only sustain the industry, but with further partnering can create true growth and lead to a thriving digital hub in BC.”

The provincial government is deserving of praise in this move towards the new tax incentives for our industry. Elected officials have taken the time to tour through our studios, to meet the artists and technicians, and to find out what the industry’s concerns are and to learn about the clean technological processes under which they function. I commend both the government and the members of the BC Interactive Task Force for the amount of work, research and time they have spent in developing a plan for the future. We all know what is at stake, and I appreciate the efforts being taken to keep our talent in BC. This program may only be a first step, but is that not how all journeys begin?

In my opinion, it is wrong for the film industry to say that the proposed changes to these tax incentives will benefit only the video game industry. There are so many opportunities for cross-platform and cross-media franchises, and the BC Government has obviously been willing to sit down and visit ways to assist local studios from all areas of the industry. It’s time that the provincial creative industries as a whole began learning to work together to attract more of these possibilities instead of staying in their own playgrounds and calling foul.

by 80elements.com

What began as intermittent tweets and a few flickr images has been transformed into a nearly full time job. Social media today is seen as essential for business. The Business To Client broadcast model is dead, many maintain, and conversations between users on forums and facebook pages are becoming the norm. One-way brick and mortar business is simply not enough.  As overheard in a recent social media course, “for many people today, if you don’t exist online, then you don’t exist in real life.” A pretty big statement to make, no doubt, but there is a definite basis for this.

A year ago, a twitter account, a facebook group, and a flickr page were in use by 80elements to increase social media presence – all were set up, but keeping each active was not viable due to a deficit of time to devote to active creation. A solid message is difficult to maintain without this consistency, and so the 80E social media image was blurry.  Today, 80E blogs, vlogs, facebooks, tweets, and updates linkedin along with a real aim towards consistency in time and identity. This shift has created a full time commitment towards social media and has brought the entire team into the mix, affecting each of us in different ways. As a business, especially in web and iPhone app development, if we aren’t active online, we do not exist. Social media time is thus allotted into the production and promotion schedules. So far, so good, but time will identify the true long-term return on investment.

As one can quickly learn from blogs and google searches, the reasons for a business to move into social media are both numerous and necessary. Each business will soon be aiming towards creating online identity through Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, google profiles, Youtube, blogging and all sorts of other new social sites coming and going. The data and content to pull it off can be staggering. To top it off, it can be very easy to have your content become part of the blur of data that passes us by online. “Every minute, 20 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube.” That is a HUGE amount of data to contend with, and equal to the very viral J*zz In My Pants by The Lonely Island being uploaded 480 times per minute or 28800 times per hour. A unique branding strategy is necessary to keep people interested, and keep your brand visible and searchable online.

Where does all this data go after it’s no longer viral/live? Thankfully for search, it stays online. Like your status updates on Facebook, your data is not deleted from the system – it is merely backed up.  In 50 years, if YouTube continued to receive the same upload levels as current (doubtful as it will of course fluctuate), then J*zz In My Pants could be stored 12 614 400 000 separate times. A twitter update, or an occupation field on LinkedIn, are not that data heavy – if twitter were to have similar data creation rates, in 50 years, this would be equivalent to  4 054 628 571 541 200 tweets of 140 characters. All of it stored, backed up and, in the end, no longer owned by the creator/user.

Personally, if I am approached to work with a person or business, I first look online. If I find little/nothing, it can be a definite hindrance to moving forward. Questions may spring to mind: “why are they not online? What are they hiding? Should I be concerned about this?” and I find it more difficult to make a decision. Indeed, many employers do this with potential employees as well (LinkedIn, Facebook). Which identity is more valid? After finding more information online, my opinion of my real life experience can most definitely be changed. Research and reassess after all, and this comes into play with all identities. In 10 years, the line between online and offline identities will be much less defined, let alone half a century from now.

As social networks expand, our personal data is pulled out further and further from its source.  If you wanted to remove your presence from the internet today, could you? How about in 50 years, when Facebook has shut down (or not) and all that data is still on its servers, owned by someone other than yourself. Remember Friendster, the old ICQ and sixdegrees.com? They’ll remember you. A demand exists for those who want to get out of the game. A successful social media suicide app, designed by developer mobblr_, would delete your online presence but has now been banned by Facebook. Terms of use violation, Facebook asserts. Attempted data loss, definitely.

As a company, this may not be a big issue, but as a private individual, this may be the start of a change in how we interact.

“In 2006, AOL voluntarily released the search data of 650,000 of its users over a three-month period — some 20 million Web queries in total. Although the AOL user name had been changed to a random ID number, one could analyze all the searches done by a single user and deduce who the person was. Understandably, the online community was outraged, and AOL acted swiftly, removing the data and issuing apologetic press releases.” For users, its too little, too late.

Read more

Where will social media be in 50 years? This is a big question and one that requires an answer and major goals to be set. If this is not brought up in the present, then the future design and architecture of our online (read: new reality) world will be out of the hands of those it affects most: the users. These users are people, governments, businesses, and even religions (yes, the Vatican has a Facebook Page).  When/if privacy concerns overwhelm the system, a big shift will occur once again.

In the end, I of course do not have an answer for how or what will happen, but I do assert that if it is not the public that steps forward to maintain its rights to information and to identity, then it will be out of the public’s hands. If I am not in control of my identity, then someone else will be. If online and offline identities are blurred, where will I end up? Where will I exist in the world?

“Web 3.0″ will necessitate a rebellion.

by Ryan at 80elements.com

ryan@eightyelements.com

Feed – twitter.com/80elements

Vlog – youtube.com/ryan80Elements

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I certainly wasn’t prepared for the welcome and success Village Gamer has enjoyed over the past year, and while this is all very good,  I’ve found that my time and project management skills are due for a major upgrade.  These are areas which I will be seriously working on as Village Gamer continues to grow and move forward into the next decade – but I can’t talk about that yet, Orby has me under an NDA and I wouldn’t want to end up like the fireworks he’s found – I’m not really sure just what his joystick controller is attached to, so I’ll have to wait on the sharing of news about Village Gamer’s future.

In the meantime, as we look back on the turbulence of 2009, all of us saw many local studios fade to black as they closed their doors forever. While the resulting talent pool is a boon to the other remaining and opening-soon studios, it was still sad to see the game development landscape go through such a major shift. I can only hope that 2010 will bring a brighter outlook for BC’s development industry, especially as we welcome new studios and production houses – let’s all hope that the closing of studios has ended with the passing of this first decade of the 21st century.

This past year also saw the merging of New Media BC and winBC to become DigiBC. This is an event which I am still not convinced was the best move for a provincial industry association, but I will save that opinion for a later post. The digital media industry has grown in both strength and exposure in recent years – not just in Canada but globally, and as provincial governments now vie to have the biggest studios in their respective provinces, we see even more shifting of the digital landscape. This is one of those times when I wish that our country was more united and willing to work together for the betterment of all Canadians instead of just looking out for their own provincial interests. I am in agreement with those involved with the Canada 3.0 forum – we need a viable national strategy, because the times are-a-changing and Canada, while it’s a big country, isn’t really big enough to successfully maintain a hostile and competitive atmosphere among regions as the digital technology industry matures.

High points for my year included attending the first GDC Canada conference and being included as a speaker at the Women In Games Leadership Forum held during July’s Casual Connect Seattle. They were both fantastic experiences for me, and now I just need all of you to stop buying Lotto 6/49 tickets so that I can win and thus afford to go to all of the other great industry conferences and events which are held nationally and internationally.

I think that I will have to give my “Most Memorable Keynote of 2009″ award to Ubisoft Montreal’s Clint Hocking. His presentation during Vancouver Film School’s Game Design Expo was truly entertaining – and I believe I even learned a few things from it. This of course leads into my continuing appreciation of, and respect for, the quality of talent coming from our local post-secondary schools – the graduates from VanArts, AI, Emily Carr, VFS and MDM have much to be proud of and build on as they make their way into the digital media development industry, and I wish them all the best of luck on their journeys.

My top game picks for the year have to be Prototype, Academy of Champions Soccer, Dragon Age: Origins and Assassin’s Creed 2. Now, you may wonder how a family-friendly sports title made it into my top picks for the year, particularly when I am known for preferring games which involve death, destruction and total mayhem.  I think it’s just because Academy of Champions is simply fun to play, and I appreciate the quality which the Ubisoft Vancouver team presented in their debut title. I think it says much for our Canadian titles when I’ve had Modern Warfare 2 since its release date, and I still haven’t played it. At least Scott and Mike are getting my money’s worth for its purchase.

I will be forever grateful to the Ubisoft Montreal team for making it possible for Ezio to swim in Assassin’s Creed 2 – this has greatly reduced the incidences of death usually experienced by my characters. Unfortunately, I reverted to Assassin’s Creed 1 after completing AC2, and belatedly remembered that Altair did not possess the same skill as his Italian descendant. It may be better for him if I just avoid rivers and canals whenever possible, except in times of extreme importance, such as the gathering of flags. As I said in my earlier review of Assassin’s Creed 2 – the artwork, design and research which went into this sequel is astounding, and I’m ready for the next chapter. Is it done yet?

Dragon Age: Origins has indeed become my favourite RPG title. Granted, other titles such as Guild Wars have that whole open world thing going on, but I am quite happy playing my way through Dragon Age as the various characters and testing out how the choices I make alter the game experience, something which isn’t really available in the linear world of Guild Wars. This isn’t to say I’m not looking forward to Guild Wars 2, but I think there will be much more to come from Bioware as they expand the Dragon Age franchise, and I am currently waiting somewhat impatiently for January 5 to roll around so that I can return to Ostagar. I also hope that there will be more Dragon Age novels to look forward to, because I certainly enjoyed the first two.

As for my other choice in top Canadian games, Prototype from Radical Entertainment opened up a whole new world of total destruction for me. I have enjoyed countless hours of just using Alex Mercer’s superhuman talents to cause a whole lot of mayhem among the NPCs of his New York City. I like the fact that I can choose to either work through missions (all of which I’ve completed) or make use of the free play feature to see how much damage I can cause to the corrupt military force and the infected citizens of the city. Too bad about the collateral casualties though. They truly were accidental. For the most part. This is another title which I am hoping has an expansion or sequel to look forward to, but trying to get any info out of Kelly and Dave is like trying to climb the Empire State Building to get the orb someone thoughtfully placed at very the top.

Now that I’ve told you what my top game picks are for the year, I hope you’ll head over to our Readers’ Choice Canadian Video Game Awards page and take 2 or 3 minutes to vote on your top choices from 2009. All of the nominations came from readers, friends, relatives and anyone else we could torture needlessly for suggestions.

In closing, we hope to see you at the next Vancouver Interactive Night Out (VINO) which will be happening at Yagger’s on West Pender this January 15th – and hopefully the traffic situation will not be as demonic as it was in December, so we’ll actually be there on time instead of an hour late. Remember too that Global Game Jam is happening this month at several locations across Canada and promises to be lots of fun.

The easy gift solutions for that hard-to-buy-for gamer include the always timeless gift cards – whether for the Wii, Xbox 360 or PlayStation Network, these gift cards are always a safe bet, especially when you’re worried about duplicate games or “the wrong game” resulting in a less than enthusiastic reception. When giving the gift of game, please check the ESRB game rating to be sure that the title is age-appropriate, and if you are giving a game to a young person who is not living in your own household, check with the parents to see if they approve of the title. The ESRB has recently released a handy (and free) iPhone App so that you can search full game ratings anywhere, anytime.

PlayStation Network Cards have two versions: $20.00 or $50.00 and are good for both the PS3 and PSP. You can also buy game cards, which will allow for the downloading of games directly to the PSP. Check with local game retailers to see what game cards are available. Zombie Tycoon, developed for the PSP and available exclusively on the PlayStation Network, was developed by Frima Studio.

Xbox Live also has two versions: 1400 points ($19.99) or 2800 points ($39.99)
Xbox Live Gold 12 month subscription: $59.99

Nintendo offers a 2000 Points card which is good for either the Wii or the DSi WiiWare Store ($19.99). There are some great Canadian titles available in the WiiWare store such as Copter Crisis (Wii) and Sudoku Challenge (DSi), both developed by Digital Leisure.

For those with iPhone or iPod users on their list, there are always the iTunes gift cards – just remember that Canadian iTunes cards CANNOT be used to purchase items in the App store on a Canadian iTunes store account; it is only good in the iTunes store itself. If you want your gift recipient to be able to shop in the App Store, I highly recommend the Vanilla Master Card. I’ve used them many times and have never yet had a problem with them – something I can’t say for cards such as the MyTreat gift credit cards. Naturally, there are also the store-brand gift cards for EB Games, Best Buy and Future Shop to name but three – check with your gamer’s favourite retailers to see if they offer gift cards. There are also a few subscription games which have cards available for game subscriptions and in-game items.

There are some great Canadian iPhone/iTouch developers with products in the App Store, including Genius Factor Games, IUGO Mobile Entertainment, Big Blue Bubble, PowerUp Studios, No Robots Interactive, Glass House Games, Howling Moon Games, LotusLand Studios, A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games, Fuel Games, Cerebral Vortex Games and Tickle Tap Apps for youngsters – to name but a few.

For tech toddlers, I fully endorse Canadian-developed ClickToy The Meadow. This game is wonderful in its simplicity and encourages quiet story time at the PC with a parent. ClickToy has the ability to lock a PC keyboard so that the child cannot exit the game and wreak havoc in your files. Filled with colourful scenery and soothing music, this game is sure to please even those in the throes of terrible two-ness. Parents can order ClickToy online for both the PC and Mac, or pick it up at Apple Stores across Canada as well as in nine Vancouver-area Zeller’s stores (Lansdowne, Oakridge, Brentwood, Coquitlam, Scottsdale Centre, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack). At only $19.99, it’s a great interactive entertainment value.

My family title top pick is Ubisoft Vancouver’s debut game for the Wii, Academy of Champions Soccer featuring soccer greats Pele and Mia Hamm. Built for one or two players, Academy of Champions is easy to learn and fun to play. Both Story Mode and Quick Play offer hours of endless action, with mini games along the way, as well as skill and equipment upgrades to unlock. Academy of Champions encourages fair play and good sportsmanship initiatives along with a well-designed and beautifully animated game environment. At only $29.99, Academy of Champions is a great buy, and at last check was in stock at Best Buy, Future Shop and EB Games.

Another great game for kids and family is Monsters vs Aliens, developed by Quebec City’s Beenox Studios for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The Monsters vs. Aliens video game calls players into action to battle against Gallaxhar and his alien robot army. Taking on the roles of The Missing Link, the macho half-ape, half-fish; the gelatinous, indestructible and always hungry B.O.B.; and Ginormica, the 49-foot-11-inch tall woman, gamers team up with the helpful genius Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. and Insectosaurus, the 350-foot tall grub to defeat the alien invaders. Players master the unique and diverse abilities of each character as they ooze, brawl, skate, puzzle solve, climb, crawl, jump and race through more than 20 levels on Earth and through outer space.

The musically inclined family will enjoy Guitar Hero Smash Hits, also from Beenox Studios. Guitar Hero® Greatest Hits is a compilation of 48 top hits from previous versions of the Guitar Hero® franchise, all updated for full band play on Guitar Hero® World Tour. The Greatest Hits releases have been produced from Guitar Hero® master recordings and feature several play modes – career mode, rockstar creator, Guitar Hero® music studio and an eight player online battle of the bands. The playlist is expandable through downloadable content, and has a suggested retail price of $59.99 for the 360 and PS3,  $49.99 for the Wii and $39.99 for the PS2.

For more family play, I also recommend the latest Scene It? title, Bright Lights! Big Screen! One word of caution though, this game is rated “T” for Teen (Drug Reference, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Mild Violence, Sexual Themes). Developed by Montreal’s Artificial Mind & Movement, Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! has enhanced single and multi-player gameplay. Single-player mode tests player speed and knowledge, while multi-player mode allows for a spirited social gameplay experience, perfect for parties and family gatherings. Up to four teams can test their silver screen knowledge with more than 20 different puzzles and minigames across four play modes, providing new and unique ways for Scene It? competitors to engage. Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! is available for the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. This title is available at stores for only $39.99.

Next Level Games‘ remake of the E10 rated Punch Out! is another great family title that will get everyone into the virtual ring. Gamers can use either the Wiimote system or the classic controller to battle their way through the ranks, Players will find familiar names like Glass Joe, King Hippo and trainer Doc Louis. Next Level Games has brought the Punch Out characters back to life again with cell-shaded 3-D visuals, complete with hilarious fighting animations and back stories that capture all the fun and flair of the original Punch-Out!! games.

Waldo has gotten lost in game land, and game creators Ludia invite players to immerse themselves in “Where’s Waldo? The Fantastic Journey” – the ultimate search-and-find adventure for the entire family. Players can explore the unique and wondrous lands in search of Waldo, his friends and other hidden objects.The game is now available for the Wii™ system from Nintendo, the Nintendo DS™ system, Windows-based PC and Mac at North American retailers. Ludia has also developed such titles as Hell’s Kitchen, The Price Is Right, Press Your Luck and Family Feud.

Sports fans have a whole field of Canadian-made sport titles from EA Sports, including such worldwide hits as FIFA 2010, NHL 2010, Fight Night Round 4. All of the EA titles are available on a variety of platforms – check each game’s link to see if it’s available for your platform.

FIFA Soccer 10 delivers a new standard for authenticity with gameplay refinements and innovations that make it the most complete and intelligent simulation of soccer. With such game additions as FIFA Earth, the number of FIFA 10 games being played online to the number of wins, losses and draws of individual clubs or countries, FIFA Earth enables gamers to keep a finger on the pulse of everything happening within the EA Sports FIFA community. The newly announced FIFA 10 Ultimate Team adds even more options and players that enable gamers to emulate the way real-world coaches and managers build the truly great football teams. FIFA 10 is rated E.

NHL®10 delivers a new, physical brand of hockey to match the physical and emotional intensity real-world players endure in pursuit of the Stanley Cup®. New game play innovations include first-person fighting, all-new board play, Battle for the Cup and Be A Tough Guy modes, and spectacular new ways to score. NHL 10 features more than 200 game play refinements that replicate the skill and finesse of hockey and deliver the most responsive and authentic action ever for the series. NHL 10 is rated E10+.

Fight Night Round 4 is the latest entry from the critically acclaimed Fight Night franchise, and is the first title ever that will allow players to pit “Iron” Mike Tyson against “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali. With realistic physics, height and reach become major factors in how each boxer approaches a fight. Shorter fighters, like Tyson, will look to weave inside and deliver punishing hooks to the head and body, while taller fighters, like Ali, will use their reach advantage to pump their jab while staying out of range of their opponent’s punches. Fight Night Round 4 is rated “T” by the ESRB.

Also from EA Sports is EA Sports Active customizable fitness program for the Wii. Dancing, inline skating, tennis and volleyball are just a few of the more than 25 exercises and activities that combine fitness and fun in an EA SPORTS Active workout. You’ll be breaking a sweat in no time with exercises that target your upper body, lower body and cardio.

For the racing fans in your house, EA Canada offers two new additions to the Need For Speed franchise: Shift and Nitro, rated E and E10+, respectively.

NFS: Nitro, developed specifically for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™, Need for Speed NITRO brings an unrivaled sense of speed to the streets as players evade cops and take down competitors to become the world’s top racer. Features include a very diverse and impressive list of the world’s hottest muscle cars, exotics, and tuners including the Tesla Roadster, Pagani Zonda, Audi R8 and the Nissan Skyline.

NFS: Shift brings a true driver’s experience to some of the world’s most iconic racing tracks, including the storied Brand’s Hatch in the UK. The game also features the largest roster of high-performance cars in Need for Speed history including race cars such as the Pagani Zonda F, Porsche 911 GT2 and Lotus Elise.

Another sim game you might want to pick up for the gamer on your list is the newly released Copter Crisis from Digital Leisure. Available exclusively for the Wii, Copter Crisis

If the gamer on your list is 17 or older, you’re in luck because this has been a blockbuster year for Canadian-developed M-Rated games. Working from coast to coast, here are our top picks for the “mature” gamer:

From Relic Entertainment and for PC fans of real-time strategy games is Dawn of War 2 – Chaos Rising. Dawn of War 2 offers new single-player and co-op campaigns and continues the epic journey of the Blood Ravens as they battle a new foe, the traitorous Chaos Space Marines. Set in the grim, war-ravaged world of Games Workshop’s vast Warhammer 40 000 science fiction universe, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising transports players into the midst of an intergalactic war between ancient enemies with new gear and higher level caps. Dawn of War 2 is a standalone title, and does not require previous Dawn of War releases to play. Dawn of War 2 can be found at Future Shop for $39.99. There are also dozens of novels about the Warhammer 40 000 universe available at bookstores such as Chapter’s, Blackbond and Amazon.

Another Vancouver studio blockbuster is Radical Entertainment’s high action single player title PROTOTYPE. Introducing new character Alex Mercer, PROTOTYPE takes place in New York City, where there is a raging battle taking place between the government, military and thousands of virally-infected citizens. Alex Mercer plays an important part in the conspiracy-based storyline, and it’s the player’s job to unravel the mystery while battling both infected mutants and a corrupt military force. This game is very fast-paced with plenty of violence, activities and destruction to be had. PROTOTYPE is available for the Xbox 360, PS3 ($59.99) and PC ($49.99).

Dragon Age: Origins from Bioware was probably one of the most anticipated new titles for the year. Introducing an entirely new world in this hugely popular role-playing game, Dragon Age: Origins offers multitudes of hours of engagement in this single player title. While Dragon Age: Origins does not contain the blood and gore content seen in PROTOTYPE, it does deal with mature subject matter, so parents beware. There are also two full length novels available at bookstores everywhere. Written by Bioware Lead Writer David Gaider, The Stolen Throne and The Calling delve readers into the world of Dragon Age as it was previous to the events which take place in the game. Dragon Age: Origins is available for the PC ($54.99), the Xbox 360 and PS3 ($69.99). For a limited time, there are also Collector’s Editions available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 for $ 79.99.

Another highly anticipated and top-rated game from our Canadian studios this year is the newly released Assassin’s Creed 2 from Ubisoft Montreal. Continuing the story of Altair, Assassin’s Creed 2 introduces one of his descendents, Ezio Auditore and updates players on the progress of Desmond as he learns about his assassin ancestors with the help of returning lab rat Lucy Stillman. Assassin’s Creed 2 introduces new characters, new weapons and a beautifully rendered Renaissance Italy. Assassin’s Creed 2 also offers educational tidbits to the player and many hours of single player adventure. Assassin’s Creed Renaissance, an Assassin’s Creed novel has been announced by Ubisoft and Penguin Books, and while it appears to have been released in the UK, it is not yet available in Canadian bookstores. The earliest release date I could find was for February 2010.

Artificial Mind & Movement also introduced us to Rubi Malone in their new action title WET, a highly stylized third-person shooter that seamlessly blends acrobatics, gun play, and sword kills. With dual pistols and a samurai sword, you can engage in combat while sliding on floors, running on walls, jumping, flipping, and performing amazing acrobatic moves – leaving a massive body count in Rubi’s wake. Playing as Rubi, gamers embark on a story full of double crosses and paybacks, visiting locations around the world. Featuring a mix of humor and violence, a unique retro film visual treatment, and an original 70’s-inspired music, WET is a third-person shooter which is also rated M.

There are also many developed-in-Canada titles for those gamers on the go. New for the Nintendo DS this year are such game fare as:

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes from Capybara Games (published by Ubisoft) features a mythical world populated by knights, elves, wizards, necromancers and demons, where gamers can manage their own hero, customize their army and lead campaigns in either single or two-player peer-versus-peer mode.

Battle of Giants™: Dragons was developed by Ubisoft’s Quebec City studio for younger players (rated E10+) who can feel the adrenaline rush of creating, controlling, customizing and battling with their very own fierce creature. Combat of Giants: Dragons offers a full immersion into the fantastic and mysterious universe of magic Dragons.

For the gift that keeps on giving, you may want to consider a gift subscription to Fit Brains, a site which is packed with games designed to keep the mind sharp. While Fit Brains does offer a limited number of its titles and features for free, a subscription offers many great features such as Brain Tools, Scaled Difficulty, 12 Training Circuits, Trophies, Achievements, Leaderboards and more. Fit Brain games are rated E for everyone, and  subscriptions are available for 3 months at $19.99usd or the full year at $79.99usd. Fit Brains HQ is located in Vancouver.

At only $3 999.00 usd, the GPH-120 gaming chair from D-Box Technology is for the very serious gamer who wants to feel the games he or she plays. This stylish seat has fully adjustable and reclining seating that delivers pitch, roll and virtual heave with real-time response. The GPH-120 takes advantage of D-Box’s hybrid gaming and home theatre motion system, and can even lets the player experience up to 2Gs of acceleration, all from playing (the currently limited number of) games which incorporate the D-Box MFX technology.

From Splitfish we have the Dual SFX Frag Pro mouse for the PlayStation 3, which combines all the best of the dominating FragFXv2 mouse gaming design into a Dual Wireless Combo. The new controller showcases a 2000dpi customized gaming mouse and Frevo “Fragchuck” and functions as a full featured wireless PS3 and PC gaming controller with programmable button configurations and adjustable mouse aiming that provides unprecedented levels of accuracy. It improves upon the tremendously popular FragFX, adding a dual wireless rechargeable system to the intuitive controller and a new “Frag Control Centre” utility to adjust button configurations and sensitivity and save individual game configurations. The Frag Pro is available from retailers such as NCIX for $99.99.

The incredible Psyko Gamer Headphones from Psyko Audio, a Calgary high tech startup would have made our list if they weren’t currently completely sold out. Psyko Audio is currently taking pre-orders for the next shipment, but no arrival date has been announced. They usually sell online for $299.99 usd.

The Other Side of the Coin Part One and The Other Side of the Coin Part Two

Today’s installment will look at the benefits we gain from gaming, how we choose the titles we do, and what we’d like to see in the games we play.

Probably one of the most foremost reasons for gaming is the entertainment factor and the escapism many of us seek when we game. That said, as gaming becomes more and more social with multiplayer components, forums, groups and events, gamers are able to enter new worlds of possibility with their games. Without a doubt, one of the most-mentioned gains achieved through gaming was the social aspect, as shown in the replies below.

Question: What do you feel is your greatest gain from being a gamer (friends, community, challenges, learning)

Rachel: Definitely making new friends, and being a part of a community, but also gaming has really forced me to think differently. There’s a lot of thinking outside the box that goes on in games and I like that challenge.

Annette: I feel that the gaming community is one of the best out there. So many of the communities out there work well together and have great people.

Megan: Probably the community. I’ve benefited a lot from the gaming community, particularly GamerchiX. I’ve met a lot of great gamers and have learned a lot around the GamerchiX forums.

Chloe: Oh man, toughest question yet. Friends and community are definitely among my top gains. From my clan, I have some amazing girl friends I NEVER would have without having met them through gaming, and I have learned an INCREDIBLE amount about leadership and the challenges that come with it from the same sources at times! My best friend and I would never have met without gaming, and I can’t imagine my life now without his influence and seemingly unending ability to listen to me rant. Community is so huge though, I think it’s got to be the #1. Because it’s a result of this community that I have these experiences, that I have these friends. So having been a part of PMS Clan and helping to build the community of the GamerchiX was super important to me.

Jenny: I think the greatest gain is the ability to interact with the online community. I’ve met some really great people on Live, and it’s a blast playing with them all.

Lee: Friends and community.

Jen: I love the social aspect of gaming. I’ve made so many friends from playing on Live, some of which I feel closer to than my “real life” friends. I love sharing the sense of accomplishment of finishing a game with a co-op partner, working your team to reach that objective point, or finishing that instance with your guild. It really does enhance my gaming experience.

Celeste: The greatest gain from being a gamer is the community and the friends I have made from it. After becoming a competitive gamer when I was 15, I started to find a lot more security and happiness in my friends in the gaming community. Not only did we share something we loved so much but we found ourselves very similar in regards to what we like to do in our spare time and other interests (anime, movies, etc). I have gained a lot of friends from being a gamer and I wouldn’t want it any other way. My friends are what mean the most to me and it makes me feel great when I can just sit there and talk/chill with them because of our common interests. I have learned a lot about myself and what I want out of my life just from simply gaming with my friends and also understanding how the gaming industry works. Next year I hope to return back to school to pursue my game career. Whether it’d be as a computer programmer or animator, I hope to secure a career in the video game industry because I find that I can excel well within the video game business. In the meantime, I have been obtaining a lot of video game related jobs to help my product knowledge and become more familiar with video games and how everything works.

Jessica: I think my greatest gain from being a gamer is that I get to experience such a different and underrated art form. I get so much inspiration from a video game’s art, stories, characters, etc. And the challenge to use my mind while experiencing such a great form is so rewarding. There’s nothing like interactive storytelling. Prior to attending VFS I was working as a waitress while going to college part-time. I worked/live in a bad area of town so I wasn’t keen on continuing this career path. While I was taking some art courses in a local college I decided to pursue game design, and in the beginning of 2008 I quit my job as a waitress to start the Foundation program. In the future, I’d like to be a concept artist for games.

Sabrina: Definitely the community and friends gained from playing.

Anastasia: The friends made are second to none.

Netzach: have to say my greatest thing that I have gained from being a gamer is community. This is in terms of how I work at Gaming Angels.com as a game reviewer and the gadgets editor. I was able to interact with a number of other females who support my passion and drive for games and technology. I also gained an amazing support system though our come goals and ground.

Question: What do you consider when purchasing a new title?

Rachel: Game length & if it’s a short game, the re-playability factor and price; will it appeal to both husband and myself. When buying a game for our son, we really only take price into consideration, because he’s happy playing everything.

Megan: Usually the campaign quality. I’m a big single-player gamer and I love a game with an excellent story and campaign. Multiplayer is usually a second thought and I’m usually not disappointed if the multiplayer is no good or even excluded.

Chloe: I’m lucky that I don’t have to purchase my 360 collection, but I definitely would either have a Gamefly subscription or would not have the GS I have. For all my Wii or DS games (yes, i actually USE my Wii), I look for games that are going to be entertaining. I love time management games, and often will own the same game across several platforms, including PC, DS and Wii. When i get my iPhone, I’ll get them there too!

Jenny: A lengthy campaign is usually the first thing I look for, because I enjoy playing campaigns a lot more than I enjoy multiplayer. I also try to get games with high replay value.

Lee: If the game has a natural learning curve to it; if it’ll be fun, and if it has good reviews.

Jen: Value for the $70 I’m spending on a new release!! A good single player campaign, co-op and online multiplayer.

Celeste: Other friends’ opinions do have an impact on my choice of purchasing a new title. Whether it’d be a game completely out of my comfortable zone (I’m more into Halo 3, CoD, DDR, Guitar Hero) and if I had heard or seen videos of a possible top notch game, I would definitely go out and pick it up. For example, my friend told me how amazing the game “Bully” is. Sort of like a Grand Theft Auto but turned into teenage style, you know? Not my type of game at all, but I decided to pick it up since my friend was having a good run with it. I played it and I laughed so much. It was a lot of fun just with the mini games where you would go to class and would have certain tasks to do and even the missions to help protect the nerds! Enjoyable!

Jessica: I consider genre, story, replay value, mechanics, characters, art and length. I’d say price but usually the games I want are the more expensive ones. I just wish they were cheaper … Starving student here lol.

Allyson: Local co-op. Even better, local co-op that doesn’t disable achievements for player 2.

Netzach: Story, game play and replay value.

Annette: I start with genre, then I look at the developer & their track record, from there I look for online and multiplayer capabilities.

Anastasia: The developer, online multiplayer, online co-op, and replay value.

Sabrina: If it’s a sequel, I usually base it off of how the first one was, the price is a big factor, and definatally playing the demo if I can.

For myself, I tend to consider campaigns, missions and story when I pick up a title. Sometimes I will get a game just because it looks like fun, such as Matt Hazard: Eat Lead. I like games which have challenges, problems to solve and things to collect, like the glowing orbs in PROTOTYPE or the flag sets in Assassin’s Creed. Story writing is also important to me – I want to know why the game play progresses as it does, and in games like Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway, I look for opportunities to learn about parts of history I may have been unaware of. Of course I’m also a huge fan of the fantasy genre, so without a doubt I’m looking forward to getting my hands on Dragon Age: Origins. Multiplayer components aren’t as important to me, as I tend to play online with a very small group – and a major reason why many of the multiplayer achievements in the games I play are not…achieved.

I gave the ladies in our group the opportunity to convey their desires in regards to changes they would like to see in the way games are developed. Pay attention, developers.

Rachel: Off the top of my head I’d like to see developers think very hard about including a female in their story, not just toss a female in there because they’re trying to appease the female demographic. I don’t think every game needs a female character, but if they’re going to include one, make sure she fits.

Netzach: Personally I am enjoying the way things are in gaming currently. Maybe move away from the graphics wars to trying to work on games with more substance.

Annette: My biggest issue with gaming these days is the lack of proper advertising to the female gamer, and the belittling of us by continuing to offer us stereotypical “girl” games.

Anastasia: Wow. This is going to be a big list.

• Lack of coherent story. Don’t put something random together and expect the gaming public to be impressed. We are smart consumers, treat us as such.
• Lack of a quick save system that allows you to save at any point. How about a checkpoint every once in a while? Anything!
• Inability to skip a cutscene. If I’m on one of my many playthroughs, I want to the ability to not have to watch a 10 minute mini-movie if I don’t want to.
• Glitches.
• Inability to invert my Y-axis. I can’t play unless my Y-axis is inverted.
• Protecting an idiot NPC who insists on running into a hail of bullets.
• Ability to choose to play as a female. I find myself relating much better (and enjoying the game a lot more) to a female protagonist as opposed to a male.
• Collectibles for achievements (particular to the 360). This is just annoying.
• Team member NPCs that get in your way and/or get incapacitated.
• Inability to re-map the controller.

Sabrina: I personally would LOVE to see a few more games with female heroes or characters. I played the WET demo, and it was awesome to see a female hero, why can’t there be more?

Megan: More women in lead roles, empowering roles. Average women who are smart, capable and wear practical clothing.

Chloe: Hair. I know it seems really silly, but I wish it was either easier or people paid more attention to female hair. I realize it’s hard to make free-flowing hair look good. But if you can’t make it look good, then don’t make it move. It makes it look WAY worse.

- Give me the option to just BE female. I’m FAR more willing to be lienient with a studio’s first game. But if you make a sequel, especially if it’s RPG-like, give me that option. I can’t explain how happy being female in Fable made me, or the fact that there’s a female voice option for Halo 3.
- Don’t be afraid to write STRONG females. This isn’t a game exactly, but in the recent movie “9″, produced by Tim Burton, there was a female warrior character. She wasn’t butch, she wasn’t overly bitchy, she wasn’t overly sexualized. Just a strong character who wasn’t afraid to fight for something she believed in, but also could show her heart and her strength for things she cared about or believed in. THAT is the ultimate female character for me. I wish there were more of them.

Jenny: It would be nice to see games with a little more depth in the future. Some plots are just so simple and uninspired that it leaves quite a bit to be desired. I’m looking at you Gears of War…

Lee: Not that I can think of this moment. I’m pretty impressed in what they’ve done thus far. It’s tough to imagine what could be improved.

Celeste: I don’t know to be honest. There are some things I have noticed in regards to the lack of video games with females as the main the character. Something I have noticed about me when it comes to games which give you the choice to play as a female or male, I ALWAYS seem to choose a girl to use (Kasumi/Ayane – DOA, Chun-Li – Street Fighter, Shorty – Bust a Groove, Rhyth – JSRF), but when it comes to games that just uses the female as a main… I find the story to always lack depth and there is always way too much concentration on a lady’s “features”. With the exception of Mirror’s Edge (which I loved), games like Heavenly Sword, and Wet, they weren’t beyond amazing and it actually seemed like so much more could have been done with the game and more-so the character (her story). Then again, I can’t really do much as gaming is male dominated and the creators of such games are mostly males.

Jessica: I would like to see more story in games. So many games rely on the mechanics or the genre to sell it. I think people will care a lot more if you give them a higher goal. As for the female characters… I’d like to see just some tough looking female characters in fighter games. In every fighter game every girl either has huge thighs, her butt showing, or bouncing boobs. C’mon people. Ivy is practically naked in Soul Calibur 4.

Allyson: I would love to see longer campaigns and some more great story-lines. If updates count, I would love to see Cliffy B fix the lagfest that is Gears of War 2.

In addition to the mentions above, I absolutely hate poorly-functioning cameras. If you’re going to make an open-world RPG, then please make sure the camera will let the player look upwards – especially along the horizon. Fallout 3 has the best RPG camera – if your game doesn’t have that set-up for open world, then please fix it in an update. That is my current contention with Sacred 2 Fallen Angel. I absolutely hate the camera in it – along with the voice acting. If I had the option to turn off my hero’s voice, I would. Otherwise I agree with much of what the other ladies have said – stronger, more in-depth storylines, better female characters with more realistic appearances and clothing. How can a thin, see-through gauze strip of cloth called a skirt possibly have any armour value at all? It is possible to design female armour for fantasy characters that is both pretty and functional – and maybe even covers her midriff.

Some of the ladies shared which titles they are most looking forward to in the coming months:

Allyson: Modern Warfare 2. Hands down.
Jessica: Katamari Forever (it’s already out, but she hasn’t bought it yet)
Lee: LIPS: Number 1 Hits
Netzach: CoD: Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age Origins and Final Fantasy XIII
Annette: Bioshock 2 is the game I am most looking forward to
Sabrina: Modern Warfare 2

Personally I’m looking forward to Assassin’s Creed 2, Mass Effect 2, Splinter Cell: Convictions, Dragon Age: Origins, Guild Wars 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2, CoD: Modern Warfare 2, Army of Two: 40 Days and now that I’ve had a chance to see it, Academy of Champions.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series about Canadian women who game. I’ve enjoyed getting to know these ladies who share the same passion for this industry as I do. In closing, I’m giving the last word to Celeste and Anastasia, who felt they’d like to add a little more to our discussion.

Anastasia: I am somewhat conflicted when people ask me if I am a girl gamer. I call myself a gamer. Not a female gamer. I don’t do it for other things, so I tend not to do it for gaming. For example, I golf (terribly, but I do). I don’t call myself a female golfer, just a golfer. I understand the need to characterize groups of people, but I’d much rather prefer being called a gamer.

Celeste: I just wanted to mention that all the girls out there who enjoy gaming – embrace it! Be proud and don’t let the guys intimidate you. We need some more competitive female gamers out there who want to dedicate their time and put forth the effort into becoming the best, so if you’re interested in it, don’t hesitate. And to all the girls out there in the gaming community already, don’t let people walk over you, but also don’t lose track of who you are. Respect all girl and guy gamers and you’ll find that you yourself will excel as a gamer with your better attitude. You’ll know what to improve on to make yourself a better GAMER. Don’t focus too much on just being a female and trying to break out as the best female out there.. Focus on becoming the best, and showing what you’re made of.

In this installment, the ladies and I will be discussing gaming and families, being a gamer parent, competitive gaming and “gaming in a boys’ world.”

Our first area of conversation today will be regarding our families and video games. It’s no secret that in some families, video games are considered to be a waste of time and a bad influence; I’ve experienced that within my own family, often to our own amusement. Those who know me know that I am not one for jewelry and trinkets. My tastes are simple. I like computers, games, books and photography. My sister-in-law likes trinkets. Expensive trinkets. Two years ago, Scott bought me the Legend of Zelda limiited edition gold DS Lite for Christmas. When we were at my parents that morning, my sister-in-law was happily showing me the latest diamond and gold trinket my brother bought her for Christmas. I just as happily pulled my shiny new DS out of my hoody pocket and said “Here’s the gold I got for Christmas.” She looked at me, completely aghast, and said “You wanted that?” I replied with “well, yeah.” Plus, I have to give Scott a lot of credit – he supports my gaming activities, and has often heard the “yes, I’ll be up to bed in a bit, I just want to finish this mission. And the next one…and the next one…”

To find out about other gaming families across the country,  I put these questions to our focus group: Do you game with family members and does your gaming cause friction in the family?

Rachel responded that for her household, the majority of their family members have no problem at all with video gaming, as most of them enjoy watching game play, however there is one cousin who feels that video games are evil. He considers Rachel and her husband to be losers and bad parents, especially as they permit their son to play and often play as a family. Megan also grew up in a family that has no problem with gaming. She stated that the only time there were problems was when she and her Dad stayed up too late playing. Allyson doesn’t game with family members other than her fiance’s younger brother, but her being a gamer doesn’t cause any problems with relatives.

While Chloe doesn’t have any close relatives who game, she does play with her boyfriend and his son. While she was still living at home, she would have disagreements with her Mom over gameplay, but these days the only conflicts are when there is a single copy of a game in the house and more than one person wants to play it. I can relate to that in a big way. We have been a two-360 house for about a year now, and sometimes problems arise when there is only one copy of a game. I finally went and got a second copy of Assassin’s Creed because I got tired of rescuing it from the Cavechild’s domain.

Being a night owl, Jenny tends to game late in the evening; her husband isn’t a gamer, but she’s still coaxed him into playing a few tunes on Guitar Hero. Her parents introduced her to gaming with the Atari 2600, so there wasn’t a problem in her house when she was growing up.  Lisa’s family doesn’t have any problems with the playing of video games, and they often compete in the LIPS karaoke game. She does say that her sister can get quite competitive, though. Jen games with her daughter, and the only conflict which arises within her family is that they think she spends too much money on her hobby.

For Jessica, whose reply to this question started with “Pfft no,” continued with “my mother isn’t into video games, but she appreciates them for what they are and she understands they’re a great art form, entertainment and industry. My sister and I don’t play similar genres, she’s into more ‘happy go lucky fun family games’, but every once in a while my father and I will get together and play Lord of the Rings on the PS3 or something like that. He’s a big fan of the action adventure games. Sabrina also games with her sisters, and the only time there’s been any friction is when she’s “really into a game and play all day long; it drives my Mom crazy, because I won’t come out of my room for most of the day.”

Interestingly, Netzach was the only respondent to mention game addiction in her reply to this particular question (Celeste admits addiction later). She stated that the only time there was gaming friction in her family was when they only had one PC and she was experiencing a slight addiction to an MMO. She said that that problem has ended, and she games with her sister and sometimes with her Dad. Annette games with family whenever she can, and also spends time gaming with her fiance who is also a gamer as well as a game programmer, while Anastasia doesn’t game with her family, nor are there any problems arising from her time spent gaming.

Celeste replied “Actually, I think it does. My family hasn’t been that understanding of what gaming means to me and what I have been able to accomplish in the gaming world. They’re sort of old fashioned. I don’t think they see how big this actually is. I always try and explain to them what I am doing or how an organization like MLG works, but they always seem to nod their head and agree to what I’m saying. With gaming being such a big part of my life, I always find it hard to talk to my family about my career choice and what I do.” In response to my question about gaming with family, she replied that “I used to be able to game with my Step-dad when I was younger but as I grew up gaming became something bigger for me and he fell behind. We used to play Starcraft and Risk for PC and Halo CE for the Xbox. Other than that I don’t game with my family at all since no one in my family is really big into the whole video game thing.”

In regards to competitive gaming, which Celeste mentions above, the majority of ladies in this group only game for the enjoyment. I will talk more about the competitive aspect in a bit, but first I want to talk about why these ladies game.

Celeste games because she loves it and “I’m addicted to it! I love the different kinds of stories that various games will have, I also love the many genres you can choose to play from whether it’d be shooters, RPG or platform. There’s a game for everyone and I think that’s what I love about it the most. How you are to appreciate the work and design with technology these days to create such eye-catching and exciting gameplay. Gaming is expanding and now with the online aspect added into gaming, it has become a lot more enjoyable to play.”

I think Jessica speaks for many in her reply, where she stated that she games “to escape and experience something she can’t in her own world.” Her thoughts are echoed by Netzach, who games because “it’s a stress relief, believe it or not. As I stated earlier, I work in an environment that many people would call stressful. I found that if I had a bad day, or have a load of projects that I need to correct, I will pop in a game and that would be my break. I would use it as an escape, to be honest. I only game an hour a day or so, but it’s something that I found to be therapeutic.”

For Anastasia, gaming is her primary source of entertainment. She doesn’t watch TV, so “when the work day is done and everything is settled, I game.” Allyson replied that gaming is “like smoking. She doesn’t know why she does it, but she just can’t stop.” Lee says that she games because it’s fun and keeps her out of trouble. Jenny agrees with Lee, adding that she games because it’s fun, plain and simple. Megan says that she “has enjoyed gaming since she was a kid,” and she’s sure that she will enjoy gaming for years to come.

Sabrina has also found stress relief through gaming. She answered that “Gaming is such a good way to let go of my stress. I can step away from whatever problems I have at home or with my friends for awhile. I can play with other friends and just joke around and shoot things. It’s a very good stress reliever.” Chloe is another player who games for stress relief as well as the escapism and entertainment value. Rachel games to “have fun with people I’ll likely never meet, to get better at certain games (like Call of Duty, it’s nice to be at the top of the list for kills!), or to relax with a quick game of Uno or an XBLA game.”

Moving into the competitive aspect of gaming, and comparing the Canadian pro gaming activities with other countries, it would seem that Canada does not have as many female pro gamers. I know that 2008 was the first year that any females competed at the World Cyber Games Canada Nationals, with one girl from Quebec and another from BC vying for top honours in the Guitar Hero tournament. One of those girls, Rachel, competed at our own Digital Storm Lan, and I can say without a doubt that she garnered the respect of all the males who were at the Lan, including the members of the English rock band Jonny Black (then known as Mendella) who played live at the Lan.

As mentioned in Part One of this feature, Chloe and Jen are both members of the PMS Clan, but neither play at tournaments. Jen said that “given where she lives, she hasn’t really had the chance to attend any tournaments,” while Chloe added that she “I briefly attended some LAN’s when I was first starting out and playing Halo 2 non-stop, but I don’t do well competitively, preferring much more to stay on the administrative side of things.” Allyson has never gamed competitively, but it is something she would like to try, as would Sabrina.

In answer to this question, Lee replied “Yes! I was one of the favourites to win the EA-Gillette Champions of Gaming tournament that was held last year. I did my best but ultimately work got in the way. The winners of those tournaments were gamers who did not have other obligations in life. I’m also the top earning money player and ranked #1 for Tiger Woods PGA Tour on gamersaloon.com, a gaming for cash website, and also ranked #1 for the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 ladder on gamebattles.com.

Celeste has the most experience in the competitive game world, and she thinks that competitive gaming is where it’s at. She has competed at several Major League Gaming events, including MLG Chicago 2007, Toronto Open 2007, MLG Toronto 2008, MLG Meadowlands 2009, MLG Columbus 2009 and she will be competing at MLG Anaheim 2009! I’ve been attending local LAN tournaments since I was 15, so I would say I’ve been to 20+ Lan/Tournaments in the area.

With the proliferation of online game play along with in-person competitive gaming, it’s only inevitable that the females would be invading what many have often thought of as the “male gamer geek domain” and while attitudes and personalities in online gaming somewhat reflect society as a whole, I wanted to know what kind of experiences this group has dealt with in their “gaming careers.” This is not to say that there aren’t some female gamers who fall into the “rude gamer” category, because as I said, the gaming environment includes many types of people and personalities, and that includes both male and females who can’t game without trash talking. I’m lucky in that the group I play Rainbow Six Vegas 2 with is great. We play purely for the enjoyment of the game – any trash talking is done purely in jest and is received as such.

General consensus is that for the most part there aren’t many problems, but every so often there are guys who take their ‘tudes to the extreme, such as teabagging her fallen character with their own characters but according to Allyson, those doing the teabagging get it right back, and often from multiple players. Rachel reported that “it’s inevitable, I run into one or two guys who try to give me a hard time (either by being sexually explicit or they resort to name calling), but in general I get treated very well.” For Megan, “Online, if I’m not playing with friends, it can go either way. Guys online can be jerks, creeps, or just nice guys. Offline, I’m usually not taken seriously. In stores especially, I’m usually assumed to be buying a game for my boyfriend.”

Chloe answered this question with “Online, it’s now split between “are you a girl” and “get back to the kitchen b****”, although now I receive far more messages supporting girls who game in general because of the Gamerchix then I ever did by just playing. Offline, especially when I worked for EB (2.5 years, 04 – 06), a lot of them made the assumption I only played Nintendo, and would be very taken aback when they heard my Halo rank or gamerscore, which wasn’t really that impressive at the time. Nowhere near the 45k+ it is now. When guys hear that, I either get the reaction of ‘Wow, wtf…that’s way higher than mine!’ or ‘you have no life,’ which I suppose is quite true. My clan responsibilities with PMS are fairly extensive as I serve on our Executive team, as well as overseeing most of the daily Operations, all of the Documentation and Membership requests. Add to this my responsibilities for GamerchiX as well as developing and writing for Popchix.com, and most of my free time is eaten up.”

Jenny responded that “All the guys I know in real life think it’s awesome that I play, and they’re always asking me to help get their girlfriends into it. I do get mixed reactions online though. Some guys are jerks once they find out I’m a woman, and other guys are too nice, which makes me uncomfortable, but there are also a lot of people who just don’t care, and treat me like any other player. I always prefer playing with that kind of crowd.” Netzach has found that on Xbox live, many of the guy gamers think she is a 12 year old boy, but her “real life” friends treat her as an equal. Annette says that she’s been “lucky enough to not be looked down upon by any male gamers.”

For Lee, who competes in the predominantly male Tiger Woods PGA Tour golf ladders, the experience has been different. She says that “being one of the top ranked players in the world for Tiger Woods PGA Tour golf, I get a lot of jealousy and hatred shown towards me. I also find that men are “pigs” online, especially when traveling in packs. On occasion I’ll find the nice guy that finds a woman gamer special and plays with respect.” This was echoed by Jen, who replied to this questions with “The reactions vary. In real time, guys are still quite amazed that girls play videogames. I’m often asked if the game I’m buying is for my boyfriend or child. I’ve been told that I “don’t look like a gamer”. They don’t associate a 30 year old mom with Gears of War or Halo! Online, as I’m sure other female gamers have experienced, I am sometimes sent messages that are sexual in nature, or calling me a variety of derogatory names after I’ve beat them in a game. When playing with people I don’t know, I will likely mute my microphone or join a party to avoid the chat in the lobby.”

Celeste has also had varied experiences in gaming with the guys. “They either HATE you, or LOVE you. It goes either way. Everyone knows that gaming is apparently associated with “boys” and because of it girls will get a lot of attention from it. Regardless if it is negative or positive comments, being a girl gamer is tough. With me, I do get a lot of “fans” I guess they would say it… Telling me how well I play at Halo or how I’m good/alright at this game or that one. They tend to shower me with messages and stuff and I do find it funny at times, but nonetheless it is really sweet. As for the haters… HAHA, it’s simple. They either tell you that “you suck” or to simply “go back to the kitchen”. I’ve gotten almost everything thrown at me and I’ve learned to shake it off and and just laugh. As a girl gamer, it’s nice to be noticed as being one, but really, I want to be respected as just a “gamer“.

It’s sad to say, but the trend continues, as shown in Jessica’s reply. “I’ve had varied results. Most guys think it’s really cool, and I will always remember going to the Game Expo a few months ago and they asked everyone in the room ‘what was the last game you played?’ There were roughly 50 guys and 5 girls (including myself) in the room, and when I said the last game I played was Metal Gear Solid 4: Rise of the Patriots, I swear most of the boys in the room turned their head in a complete 360. They couldn’t believe it. However, I have had the odd sexist comment here or there, ‘girls can’t play games like guys’ and stuff like that. Challenge me to Team Fortress 2… I’ll tell you otherwise.”

Anastasia’s experience has also been quite varied, “Dependant on the male. Some are not fazed that there are gamers who are female. Some are hostile towards female gamers, while others, surprisingly, are oblivious to the fact.” And from Sabrina, “some guys are very vulgar towards me when I’m playing, especially the FPS games, but some love to see more girls playing games.”

I thought it pertinent that we also discuss how, as gaming moms, we are working to raise “responsible gamers” in our children. The recent proliferation of “family games” particularly for the Wii shows that the gaming industry understands the influence games can have on family dynamics – not just as entertainment, but also for communication and family unity. For those of us with boys, and to a lesser extent girls, it is important, I feel, that we don’t raise gamer boys who treat women with the disrespect outlined in the answers above. I will be the first to say that my son is not perfect, and he has been known to trash talk. That said, he does not single out the girls, and in fact often enjoys gaming with some of the girls on he has met online simply because they have a good sense of humour and usually play just as well as he does. In high school, many of his friends thought his Mom was really cool because there were no problems with gaming. He would tell them that “yeah, she’s cool, but she’ll kick your butt in a game.” He knows this from experience, because he thought that he could trounce me in Trogdor. He was wrong.

I remember when The Cavechild was in elementary school and there was a huge uproar about Mortal Kombat and Power Rangers, because it was obvious that some parents hadn’t taught their children the difference between what is real and what isn’t. I feel that this is a very important ideal which we must convey to our children, whether or not they are gamers. Any child who partakes in any form of visual entertainment, whether it’s cartoons, live action or gaming, must be taught that the stunts and antics they see are not real, and trying to use the hottest Power Ranger move on their best buddy at school is going to result in someone getting hurt. My son’s school wanted us, as parents, to ban the watching of violent cartoons and the playing of violent video games. I went against that request simply because my son knew the difference, and personally I didn’t see any problem with him playing Mortal Kombat. While he may to this day spend the majority of his free time gaming, he is not out on the street getting into trouble like so many other kids these days. He has no use for gangs or drugs, and I know where he is at 2am on a Friday night.

Conversely, people could probably successfully argue that he’s addicted to video games and the internet. Frankly, I disagree. Certainly most of his activities centre around video games, but given the fact that much of our activities centre around gaming and the internet, that’s not a cause to yell addiction. I have had him write reviews or make videos of gameplay for use on this site, and he uses the tools he has to create his own montages which he posts on YouTube. He is an imaginative writer and has been working on a game concept of his own. He does spend time away from the computer, and he does enjoy reading. Granted, the books he reads tend to be from those novels which happen to have game companions, such as the extensive Warhammer novel series and the relatively new Gears of War series, but the important part is that he reads. He also has other interests, including archaeology, and the internet is a great way for him to learn more about our world’s history.

My daughter, while not totally understanding our passion for gaming, is a social gamer. She enjoys playing Spyro, Guitar Hero and DDR on her own Xbox, and when friends come over to her house, they sometimes end up playing Guitar Hero. She also likes some of the sports games on the Wii, such as Mario Golf and Wii Sports. She doesn’t play online, but still enjoys the entertainment value.

Rachel says that she and her husband are “trying make our son understand that certain games aren’t suitable for his age group (which he does understand), and also respecting the fact that he’s only allowed to game for a certain amount of time per day. So far, no issues have come up but I think that as he gets older, we’ll have to go over the “house” rules again. As he’s only five, he’s not allowed to have an online profile so there haven’t been any online related issues that have popped up (like cussing over the mic, inappropriate chat or whatnot).” She continues on to say that “He knows games like Grand Theft Auto exist and why he’s not allowed to play them. We bought him a DS, and he’s more than happy to pop in Scribblenauts or Super Mario Party and play. The only issue we have with him is on occasion, he’s reluctant to turn off the game when we ask him to; mostly that only happens when he’s smack dab in the middle of a challenge/mission/whatever you want to call it and there’s been no autosave. This doesn’t happen often though, since we give him plenty of warning as to when his time on the game is almost up. Another thing that we never have to worry about is time outside vs. time gaming. Our son loves being outside more than any game, so we don’t have that struggle to get him out in the fresh air. Gaming for us also means board games & card games. He loves Carcassonne and Talisman as well as Magic the Gathering and Uno. He’s as happy sitting down to play those with us as he is to play a video game.”

I asked Rachel if she felt that gaming helps with parent-child communication, and she responded that “it does improve our relationship to a certain extent. We’re able to play cooperatively (as opposed to boardgames which are rarely co-op, it’s always competitively) and we’re able to engage him in conversation about what he likes/dislikes about a certain game. In the future we’re counting on the fact that gaming with him will keep us a little closer to him. Gaming won’t be something he has to hide from us because we disapprove of gaming or don’t understand it, it will be something we can connect on when a lot of times parents have very little to connect to their teen over.”

Jen games with her daughter, and she said that “As a gamer mom, it’s tough!! Sometimes,
all I want to do is sit around all weekend and do nothing but play video games myself. But I do set limits with her. Homework must be done, and we have to get some kind of physical activity in before we play at night. If I find that it’s interfering with her friends or going outside to play, I will take the game away. I don’t let her play for extended amounts of time (an hour here and there). As for game content, I’m pretty careful. Anything too violent or gory is not allowed.
As a general rule in our house, if it’s something similar to what she can watch on TV (Family Channel, TeleToon, etc), she can play it.”

The other parent in our group is Lee, and in response to my question about parent-child communication, she stated that “Most definitely, although I think one must have more than one console in the household to prevent arguing about who gets to game next, lol. Going to the mall, we’re both excited about hitting up EB Games. I think my son likes it too that I can relate to, and understand, his excitement for certain games and/or achievements. Bottom line, yes being a gamer mom improves my relationship with my teen son.” I agree with Lee about having more than one console. We used to be a one 360 household, now we have two. We still only have one Wii and one DS Lite (mine, it’s all mine), but the games my son prefers aren’t available for the Wii, plus he is also more of a PC gamer than a console gamer, so again, moot point. As I stated earlier in this article, we do have doubles of some titles such as Assassin’s Creed, but as our tastes in what we play vary a bit, there usually aren’t too many problems of who wants to play which game, it’s just a matter of rescuing the wanted title from the other’s gaming domain.

This brings to a close The Other Side of the Coin Part Two. In my next installment, we will discuss how title purchases are made, what we’d like to see in game design, upcoming titles we’re looking forward to, and what we’ve garnered from our gaming experiences. I hope you’ll join us as we bring this conversation with Canadian gaming ladies to a close.

The world of video gaming has seen a mass exodus over the past few years, leaving the darkened basements and exclusive realms of the geeks to become a primary form of personal entertainment around the globe and across generations. The industry has also seen a big shift in demographics, one which many of the big boys in the industry barely gave a second thought to just a few short years ago. What has caused this big change? The answer is simple – girls game too. Guys who game know this, and many developers know it, yet girl gamers remain somewhat of an anomaly in the industry, and while the majority of game developers have been focusing on the young adult male audience, the girls have been moving in on the flank and kicking boy butt.

Over the past year we have seen the game industry redefine the long-standing terms of casual and hardcore play. There has been a distinct blurring of the lines between these definitions, and it is no longer a stretch to say that even those who play games in the casual genre can be considered hardcore gamers. Personally, I think that if there must be definitions and lines, then it is far easier to label gamers as either casual or pro, because even those who play games which fall into the “Casual” genre can be considered hardcore.

Some will argue that putting this focus on girl – or women – gamers will do more harm than good. There have been many, many features written about female gamers in general, some arguing that clans and groups are purely in it for the attention and the money. Certainly there are some companies who may, to some extent, be considered to be exploiting the whole female gamer/sex sells marketing aspect with such groups as the Ubisoft sponsored American clan Frag Dolls.  Using female appeal to sell products is not a new concept, and it was well established long before the formation of Frag Dolls, The CaveGirls, Team Foxy, DSO, or even the PMS (Pandora’s Mighty Soldiers) clan. The point is not exploitation of females and their marketing value. The point is that we are gamers, and just like the males who are the primary target audience of many game developers, we spend our hard earned dollars on the games we like to play – and at least in my focus group, these don’t include Barbie Princess or Charm Girls.

In my opinion, if there needs to be blame laid for the often skewed perception of female gamers, we can look at society as a whole, not just the gaming industry. Let’s face it – we won’t see a marketing clan made up of Chippendale models any time soon, or booth hunks replacing the booth babes at industry expos. Just like every specialized area of human culture, there are those who are in it for the money, the attention, and a myriad of other reasons, including a simple love of the game. It is my hope that through this article, game developers, marketers and even the non-gaming public will gain some insight into the “X Gen” gamers who look at this changing world from the other side of the coin. Some of these areas, such as gamer parents and what (some) women want in a game, will be further discussed in Part Two.

There are many girl gamers who are fighting to make a difference, and while this particular group is based in the USA, they do not fight alone. This group has taken the term “Fight Like A Girl” and given it a whole new meaning. To take the words from their site, “FLAG is an annual Halo 3 Tournament held every October over Xbox Live. The purpose of FLAG is to raise money for Breast and Cervical Cancer Research. Every dollar donated from the tournament goes towards finding a cure for diseases that affect thousands of women every year. FLAG is presented by The Cavegirls and is organized by Kari “TheDonWan” and Tasha “Zoom.” Please join us this October by donating, playing, or sharing the word about FLAG. Together, we can finish this fight!” The FLAG Tournament happens this coming October 17 and 18th.

Many of the ladies featured here are members of GamerchiX, an all-female gaming community of over 9,000 women from 32 countries – and a community of which I am a member. While GamerchiX began as a primarily Xbox group, all women gamers are welcome to join in on the fun, no matter their levels of experience or gaming platform. Some are members of clans, guilds, teams or legions. Some are not. Some currently work in the game industry, some are studying to become game designers. Still others are members of an all-female news site called Gaming Angels, a site which, similar to Village Gamer, was born out of frustration with the current state of video game news. While we are all different, with different experiences, we all have a passion for playing video games.

So without further ado, let me now introduce you to the ladies and get the vital stats out of the way. A special thank you to all of you for taking the time to answer my questions.

Rachel (LadySaga) is 32 and lives in Napierville with her husband and son. She is currently a stay at home mom who previously worked in the aerospace industry.

xxGENEVIEVExx

Megan (LadyEh) is 22 and lives with her boyfriend in Sydney. She recently completed her Bachelor’s Degree in English and is now deciding on which career path she would like to follow.

Chloe (PMS Kitty) is 24 and while she was born in Toronto, she now resides in Seattle with her boyfriend. Chloe is a co-founder of the GamerchiX community and an Executive Member of the PMS Clan. She has just graduated with an AA in Marketing Management and is currently seeking career placement.

Jenny (Kiss or Kill) is 26, and lives with her husband and their two cats in Hamilton, where she works as a graphic designer.

Lee (Lisa Cool Babe) has just turned 33 and works in the health industry in Sudbury, where she lives with her 14 year old son. While she is not a clan member, she has gamed competitively.

BiiTTERSWEET

Jen (xxGENEVIEVExx) is 30 and lives with her daughter in Amherstburg. Jen is also employed, and has plans to return to school in the future. She is also a member of the PMS Clan.

Celeste (BiiTTERSWEET) recently joined Team Foxy. She is 20 and lives with her boyfriend in Richmond Hill. Celeste is currently a store manager for EB Games/Gamestop and recently joined Team Foxy Pro Gaming.

Jessica is 20 and a student at Vancouver Film School. She has completed the Foundation of Visual Art and Design Programme, and is currently in Term 2 of the Game Design Programme.

Allyson (MistressFlesh) is 23 and lives in Calgary with her fiance. Allyson is employed full-time at a national retailer, where she has learned that some people simply should not be allowed to go shopping. She is a member of Tactical Elite Group.

Netzach is 25 and lives in Newfoundland where she is employed as a teacher. Netzach is also the Gadget

Jessica

Editor for Gaming Angels.

Annette (Yuki no Kokoro) is 29 and from Calgary. She is currently studying PR and Marketing. She is the PR and Marketing staffer for Gaming Angels.

Anastasia is 33 and lives in Toronto and works in the Communications industry. She is a member of a social clan for gamers over the age of 25.

Sabrina (xRLx Miss Halo) is 18 and lives in Vernon with her parents. Sabrina is employed, and hopes to become a police officer in the future. She is a member of Resurrection Life.

One of the first questions I asked the group was which platforms they game on, and the Xbox 360 was by far the leader. There was only one person in the group who did not game on the 360. The second most named platform was the DS, followed closely by the Wii and PC. Only four own, have access to or use the PS3, and about the same goes for the PSP. I did not include mobile phone gaming in my question, and no one included that platform in their replies.

Kiss 0r Kill

By now I’m sure you’re wondering how much time this group spends gaming in a given week. The average came out at approximately 26 hours per week, but the actual time spent came in at a low of 1 – 4 hours per week up to 30 – 50 hours. Naturally, those with careers which involve gaming averaged at the high end, while our students ranged on the lower end.

Rachel said that her favourite games are Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Oblivion and Fallout 3. Megan’s top pick is BioShock, but her most played game is CoD 4: Modern Warfare. Chloe loves the Fable titles, but her top titles are from “the Halo universe” – and Halo 3 is also Jenny’s most played game, while Dead Space is her favourite. Lee’s pick is Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 – and was the only sports game to be mentioned in response to this question. Anastasia and Jen both listed Mass Effect as their favourites, with Gears of War topping Jen’s most played list and Halo 3 topped Anastasia’s. Halo 3 was also listed by Celeste and Sabrina as their most played titles. Annette’s pick was Final Fantasy IX while Allyson replied with Gears of War 2. Jessica’s response was the only non-360 title; she listed her favourite and most played game as Disgaa: Hour of Darkness for the PS2. Both Jen and Celeste stated that if they had to pick an all-time favourite game, their choice would be Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Lisa Cool Babe

Not surprisingly, the Sports genre, while played by several of the survey respondents, was not highly ranked as a favourite genre. While Lee did pick Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 as her favourite game, it is the only sports game she plays. She stated that “she is attracted to Action-Adventure games such as the Ninja Gaiden and Spiderman franchises, along with Superman Returns.” Lee continued that she “likes the stories behind the games, along with the challenges they provide in order to progress forward in the story.”

The two top-played categories will not surprise many – RPG was a narrow winner, with FPS right behind in second spot and action-adventure in third. Chloe stated that she “will play anything at least once, but there are some game types that she just sucks at. RTS, tower defense and third person shooters are examples.” Chloe also stated that her favourite genre is “RPG because she loves questing, levelling and collecting. Time management – I suck at it in real life, but excel at it in games.” I can relate, Chloe, believe me. Other genres that were listed as played, but not favourites were third person shooters, survival-horror, sim, racing, fighting, puzzle and sports.

xRLx Miss Halo

Annette, Rachel, Jen, Jessica and Jenny all agree that their least favourite genre is sports, with Rachel stating that “if I want to play tennis/football/hockey, I’ll just go outside.” Megan and Sabrina totally went against the pack here, listing their least favourite genre as RPG, while Lee’s least fave are First Person and Shooter games. Her favourite genre is action-adventure because “they keep me interested for longer periods and tend to be the games I purchase as opposed to renting, because completing them gives me a great sense of satisfaction.”

When she was asked about her least favourite genre, Celeste replied that her least favourite was strategy “not because I dislike how strategy games work but more so, I cannot wrap my mind around how to get good at the game. You would think that devising strategies in competitive Halo 3 matches would help, but it’s a lot different when I pick up Warcraft 3, Starcraft or even Halo Wars. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching games like that, but as soon as I’m in control…no thanks.” Allyson and Anastasia also listed RTS as their least favourite, while Netzach stated that puzzle games were her least favourite.

My next questions really show the history behind this group’s involvement in gaming. I asked how they were introduced to gaming, and what was the first game they remember playing.

Rachel: I remember gaming with my cousin on a Coleco Vision as young kid, but “really” gaming would’ve been in my teens with a Sega Genesis. The first game I remember playing was Snafu.

Megan: My Dad got me into gaming when he bought a Super Nintendo when I was 6, and Super Mario World was probably my first game.

Chloe: I started gaming when I was 19; I asked for and received a Game Cube for my birthday, and the first game I played on it was Super Smash Bros., while her first game on the Xbox was either Deus Ex, Chronicles of Riddick or Blinx. Bejeweled was first on the 360, followed closely by Halo 2.

Jenny: I’ve been gaming for roughly 20 years, and the first game I remember was Pitfall.

Lee: I started gaming in the Nintendo days, but I’d say I was 15 when I started to notice that gaming was a hobby. I went to a friend’s place one Friday after school and we ended up pulling an all-nighter just playing video games. The old arcade games were my first: Pacman, Double Dragon, Ninja Gaiden.

Jen: I’ve been gaming since I was 4 or 5, when my Dad used to take me to arcades and we used to play on the Atari and Nintendo. I remember sitting around as a family playing the original Zelda on the NES. I’d say that the first game I played was River Raid for the Atari.

Celeste: To be honest, I don’t remember the exact age I was when I first started playing, but I think I was around 8 years old. I think my first titles were Bust a Groove for PSX/Pokemon Yellow for GameBoy. I was introduced to gaming by cousins. I was usually surrounded with my boy cousins a lot and I swear at every waking moment, we were playing a game. They had all the systems and I was always stuck playing with or against them since they found it more fun when someone else was playing with them. Yeah, I would definitely say my cousins were a big influence on introducing me to gaming. Even my Step-dad had another big role in letting gaming become a part of my life. I used to sit with him for hours watching him play Starcraft and Risk, and then we ended up buying an Xbox for Christmas and well, the moment he asked me to play a co-op game he found called “Halo”, I got hooked. So, Dad is to blame for me taking gaming to the next level – competitive gaming.

Jessica: I’ve been gaming since around the age of five, I was introduced to video games at a very early age by my father, who was a “gamer” back in the day. He started me off on Sonic and Mario and we worked our way up from there. The first game I ever played was probably the first Zelda, though not properly. I would hold the controller and my father would instruct me where to go and what to grab. The first game I played on my own was probably the original Mario Bros. for the NES.

Allyson: My parents bought me a Super Nintendo as a makeshift babysitter. I gamed fairly casually on the SNES, but I’ve been more hardcore since the original Xbox. The first game I played was Earthworm Jim.

Netzach: I have been gaming on and off since I was 6 or 7 years old, and I blame my Father. When I was very young he taught me how to use DOS, and I believe this was solely to stop the “DADDDDDDY!? How do I turn on the mystery game!?” Of course they were educational games such as Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego, Math Blaster or Commander Keen, but beggars can’t be choosers. I got my first GameBoy (classic of course) soon thereafter, and it’s been on and off ever since, until now.

Annette: I started out on the Atari 2600, which my Mom brought home when I was 5 or 6 years old. Among my first titles were Q-Bert, Galaga and Dark Chambers.

Anastasia: I’m actually late to the game (pun intended), I’ve been regularly gaming for about 6 years. I cannot remember the first game played, but I do remember which game it was that got me into regular gaming – Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. I used to have a co-worker who gamed on the original XBOX. He was playing through KOTOR and each day he would recount the tale of the previous night’s quests. He is also a funny guy so the stories were amusing. I also love Star Wars so it was a story that was familiar to me. Eventually, I went out and bought an XBOX and picked up KOTOR and Halo. I loved both games immediately.

Sabrina: I first picked up a controller when I was about two years old. My Step-dad taught me to play, and my first game was Mario Bros. on the Super Nintendo. My brother got me back into gaming when I was about 12.

…and thus ends part one of The Other Side of the Coin. Part Two will focus on title choices, why these ladies game, gaming parents and more.

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Audio is an integral part of a video game. In fact, even a simple score can create a very large impact. Take the classic: Space Invaders. The music is 4 tones, but is considered by many to have one of the most successful scores.

1978
Space Invaders
Midway imports Space Invaders from Taito. A great example of simple, effective sound design, Space Invaders owes a large part of its appeal to its menacing, paranoia-inducing soundtrack. Not music per se, the thumping audio track actually accelerates in tempo as the enemy invaders draw nearer (and move faster). The effect: sweat, panic, and increased blood pressure in a generation of gamers.
From “A History of Video Game Music” on http://www.gamespot.com/features/6092391/p-2.html
As the music speeds up, so too does the heart rate of the player; this is so much so, that if one plays Space Invaders with the TV on mute,  s/he will find the game to be much easier. (give it a try! PLAY HERE).
Clearly audio has a great role to play, even on the most basic levels. Audio plays a very visceral role in game immersion and great audio will enhance your game, bringing it to the next level.

So now that the WHY is covered, we will move on to the HOW.

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Using an in-house audio provider will surely create a tighter product as the audio designer is involved in and surrounded by all aspects of the game. Of course, budgets do not always allow for in-house audio, and so many game companies choose to farm out the audio to a wide slew of providers of which I am one.

From environmental sound design and SFX to custom compositions and interactive scores, there are many types of audio assets that will add to a game. What all these types of audio have in common is they are all best approached through the five guidelines below.

1) Bring the audio designer into the game development cycle early.

Audio is often thought of as something that can be dropped in last minute, and as an audio person myself, I can often tell this to be the case when playing the finalized game. If the audio provider was brought in early, s/he can give many creative ideas of how to use the audio in a game to not only react to the game, but even advance the story (such as interactive music that gives feedback to the player letting them know they are moving in the right direction). If the audio designer is made aware of the story and game mechanics nearer to the beginning of the production cycle, a more interactive, interesting, and polished sound track can be created.

2) Relate some examples of what you like via links/samples.

Producers, programmers, artists and audio designers are not always speaking the same “language.” If a producer is looking for a sound to be more “sad“, I can easily modify the sound to be so; yet, descriptions are not often that simple. The complications arise when words of more depth are thrown around, or

words are not enough. This is where audio samples are of great value. If I am able to hear the emotion via a youtube clip, I am much more easily able to reproduce/create that effect in the language of music rather than through the intermediary that is the language of words. When speaking to an audio designer, speak in audio. Ideas will come across much more clearly and the results will be more accurate and impressive.
3) Ensure that the file naming protocol is very organized.

As an outsider creating audio, filename conventions are of the utmost importance. A solid nomenclature allows for greater organization and faster implementation into the pipeline. I am sure to name my created files the exact way they have been written by the client, and as such, the naming convention needs to be very solid on their end. It will save a great number of headaches and help to identify bleep_01a from bloop_02b.

4) Understand and appreciate that high quality audio takes time.

As with any sort of design, a rushed product can often show. This is especially true for custom compositions which really benefit from having extra time to develop a solid melody to truly immerse your player into the game. A melody need not be obvious, but needs to be there to keep the brain’s attention. This takes time to create – please be mindful of this fact.

5) Use audio to create your brand.

Every explosion, voiceover, and custom track created for your game should be a cohesive whole. This will identify the sound of the game much in the same way as the visual art and code performance does. Every game needs to be held together by its design, and audio should not be forgotten for its integral role in this. Be sure to leverage your audio designer’s talents to create a cohesive audio brand for your game. It may take more meetings to solidify this audio brand along with the other design elements, but surely the rewards will be in the strength of the final product.

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We spend much of our days listening and hearing.  As games are in some way a recreation and/or alteration of life, this listening and hearing needs to be included in the planning and creation of a game. A game without great audio is a loss to both the producers and the players. An audio designer should be 1) brought in early 2) related to in a language of audio 3) helped to be organized and efficient through a cohesive nomenclature 4) respected for her/his talents and 5) leveraged for their creativity, talent and branding ideas.

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Any feedback is welcome and I appreciate all dialogue.

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Ryan Arndt
Composer/Audio Designer
ryan@certainsound.ca
www.certainsound.ca

Ryan Arndt is a Composer/Audio Designer at Certain Sound, a studio which operates on an innovative “Pay What You Think It Is Worth” arrangement. He has composed music and created custom audio design for 10 games and counting and is currently producing a Vancouver Game Industry Fundraiser for the Vancouver Food Bank called “Ghoulash Bash” to be held October 2009. Please feel free to follow him on twitter @RyanAComposer and @GhoulashBash.

Credits list and more at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanarndt

“The video-game industry is the fastest-growing sector of the entertainment industry in Canada, and one of the most vibrant, fastest-growing industries in the world. Canadian video-game companies are renowned for producing high-quality games, and are behind some of the world’s most successful titles. In fact, 20 percent of the top-selling games in North America and Europe in 2008 were developed by Canadian video-game companies, many of them in B.C., and Canada recently overtook the United Kingdom to become the third most successful producer of video games in the world.

With increasing popularity, however, comes increasing instances of illicit activity, specifically piracy of video-game software and circumvention of digital locks (called technological protection measures or TPMs) that are built into consoles and handhelds that prevent illegally copied games from being played. According to industry research, some 34 percent of Canadian gamers have acquired pirated games (compared to only 17 percent in the United States), while 22 percent of gamers have modified their video-game consoles or handhelds to play pirated games. Furthermore, Internet piracy of video-game software in Canada has undergone explosive growth, and we detected a stunning 300 percent increase in the number of games illegally downloaded via Canadian ISPs between 2007 and 2008 (and this reflects but a fraction of the total illegal downloads in Canada detected by the industry as a whole).

Today, it costs between $10 and $30 million to develop a top-tier video game, and few games actually sell enough to achieve profitability. In light of the substantial investment required and the high degree of risk associated with the production of entertainment software, piracy fundamentally undermines the industry’s ability to recover its investment, resulting in fewer games as well as lost revenue and employment opportunities.

Particularly in this economic climate, where jobs are an especially precious commodity, it is critical that the government play its part in adequately protecting the Canadian video-game industry from piracy. Specifically, new copyright legislation must provide legal protection for TPMs, prohibit trafficking in “mod chips” and other circumvention devices and services specifically designed to facilitate piracy by defeating TPMs, and implement deterrent criminal and civil remedies against those who provide such services and tools—those who are profiting from piracy at the expense of legitimate businesses.

For the video-game industry, TPMs are not only used to prevent piracy and cheating (e.g. “modding” game code to give an unfair advantage over other players); they also enable access to a greater range of features and options that would otherwise be unavailable. Things like parental controls (which allow parents to control what games are played by their children and what kinds of content they are exposed to), “trial” or “demo” versions of games, and new digital distribution platforms like Valve’s Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, or the PlayStation Network, all provide greater choice and access for consumers.

Ultimately, implementing legal protections for TPMs will benefit consumers by providing greater certainty in the digital marketplace, which will, in turn, spur investment in the development of new digital products, services, and distribution methods; more consumer choice; and lower prices. Furthermore, legal protection for TPMs also enables a vibrant ecosystem of digital business models. If a creator or company chooses to sell their work as a digital product or service, legal protection for TPMs helps ensure that this choice is respected, much in the same way that locks on the doors of a bricks-and-mortar store allow the owners to determine when and how consumers can access their product. However, if they choose to give their work away and make money in some other manner (or not at all), they are free to do so.

By ensuring that consumers have a variety of digital offerings to choose from, legal protection for TPMs allows market forces to protect consumer interests, so if a consumer does not like the conditions of sale or terms of service for one digital product or service, they can simply take their business elsewhere. Failing to protect TPMs under the law effectively means that the government is dictating the business model, which is bad news for business and for consumers.

Canada urgently needs an updated copyright regime that protects our creators and rights holders, in recognition of the important role they play in the digital economy and in terms of Canada’s future prosperity. We have a lot to lose.”

Now, from the headline there, you are probably expecting me to go into some rant about how it should be okay to tamper with Apple’s software because you are paying for the phone anyway.  Nope, not gonna go there.  So what’s the point in starting with such a controversial topic?  Well, hopefully over the next few paragraphs, I can explain further.

Apple is claiming that jailbreaking an iPhone will allow the user unlimited uncontrolled access to the cell towers, essentially giving them the ability to make free phone calls.  Yes, this is somewhat true, but HIGHLY misconstrued.  With a jailbroken phone, you COULD make free phone calls, and this has some cell providers very nervous.  Google is working hard to bring their new service, Google Voice, to cell phones everywhere.  And why shouldn’t they?  It’s a great service that allows you to be reachable on a single phone number, no matter where in the World you might be.  It’s like Skype times 2.  Cell phone services like AT&T are worried about this, thinking that it will pull their customers away.  What AT&T are not realizing is that yes, while a user can have Google Voice for making phone calls, they are still going to require some sort of data service to make it usable in non-WiFi locations.  So yeah, WiFi seems to be everywhere these days.  Have you tried to actually connect to any available City-wide WiFi services and use a streaming service like Skype Voice?  You may as well be using 2 cans and some string… work out the math when you have a thousand or so people on wireless… you might rank just slightly better than dial-up… if you’re lucky.  Don’t worry yourselves AT&T, people are still going to need your service… though I’m starting to wonder why.

Apple claims that jailbreaking their phones will give users unrestricted access to the insides of the phone’s Operating System.  Yep, that is actually true, and likely results in a lot of hard resets.  But only the dumbest of the dumb would actually go in there and screw around with something they don’t understand.  Okay, yeah, that sums up a good 80% of the population it seems (with a +/- of 15%, but those are the same people who take the cover off their electrical outlets so they can find out where the electricity comes from, and wake up an hour later in an ambulance commenting on how they didn’t think it would hurt to use a screwdriver on the screw with a wire attached.  Only the more educated and understanding of users would actually even know how to get into the operating system (here’s a hint for the lower-evolved… it doesn’t require opening the phone case), and what to do once they were in there.

Yes, Apple has every right to say to the user that jailbreaking is not allowed.  Heck, they’re right now trying to get the DMCA ammended to include jailbreaking as a form of copyright infringement (huh?).  But what harm is coming from the end user getting all the use out of their phone as they can?  The iPhone and iPod Touch have the opportunity to be the elite in PDA’s… what they don’t have is the functionality to be as big as they could be.  For everything you want the phone to do, you need to track down an App for it.  Can’t find one in iTunes because Apple already has a program that does something a little simular (I’m looking in your direction, Firefox)?  Tough luck then.  Maybe you have the coding skills to make an App that does exactly what you want… you’ll need to pay Apple for the right to make it, then the right to install it on your own phone… all this being based on whether Apple even approves the App in the first place.  Windows Mobile and RIM allow any user to install any program they want… yet Apple is locked right down.

When a user wants to jailbreak their phone, it’s not so they can screw over Apple, or pull one over on their cell service provider… it’s so that they can receive the functionality that the iPhone is capable of providing but that Apple has decided you don’t deserve.  It’s so users can install the Apps that THEY need, and not the Apps that Apple has told them they want.  If a user wants to install a program on the phone so that they can receive greater functionality from it, why not let them?  They know the BS about taking chances on it not working… let them make their own decisions.

While I would not go so far as some by comparing Apple to Hitler and the SS Army, I will go far enough to compare them to Microsoft (*shock* *gasp* *oh, the horror!*).  While Apple as long claimed to be the representation of all that is cool and hip with the computing world, they have begun to slip and fall from grace.  I guess things get lonely at the top.  While Microsoft is working to escape their Monopoly claims and work with the users to bring them what they want and need, Apple is moving in the opposite direction.  Prime example, the OS that the iPhone and iPod Touch run on is a trimmed down version of Unix, which in itself began as open source programming.  Now, you can’t even look at your own folders on it without jailbreaking the phone/iPod and using a third party program to browse the system.

So now I come back to the beginning… why you should jailbreak the iPhone.  Up to this point, I imagine that you were thinking I was talking to the average reader through the article.  Only partially… it’s primarily a direct address to Apple.  Why should you break the iPhone?  Well, because you should have already had it jailbroken when you gave it to us.  Bring back the rights for the user to install what they need, and reclaim your position at the top.  The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be to dust off all the footprints from being trampled by all the others who have passed you by.

So Apple, Google Android has what it takes… do you?

Toronto

The Pro Tech program offers free digital arts and technology skills training. The expansion effort is made possible by a Microsoft Canada Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills grant of $1 million in cash, digital learning curriculum and Microsoft-based technology. “The overwhelming success of the Rexdale ProTech Media Centre in Jamestown is motivating Microsoft Canada, the City of Toronto and community partners to expand the program to three additional neighbourhoods,” said Eric Gales, President, Microsoft Canada. “Today’s youth incorporate technology into every part of their daily lives. By providing access to technology and education we’re feeding their curiosity and creativity with the hope of generating interest in pursuing careers in technology related fields.” The City of Toronto is also supporting the program through its Partnership Opportunities Legacy Fund, which has set aside $13 million for Toronto’s 13 Priority Neighbourhoods for Investment, to be leveraged by funding from outside partners for youth-focused social and recreational infrastructure projects.

ProTech Centres provide neighbourhood youth with free access to state-of-the-art technology including digital arts (animation, web design, digital photography, audio and video editing) and Microsoft curricula to introduce youth to potential careers in new media while providing computer literacy skills and creating opportunities for self-expression.

The Kennedy-Eglinton ProTech Media Centre is the second centre to open after the Rexdale ProTech Media Centre in Jamestown launched in July 2007. Rexdale’s centre has been an overwhelming success; since the doors first opened the centre has attracted more than 1,000 registered members and more than 9,600 repeat visits from local youth. Planning for additional ProTech Media Centres in Malvern and Weston-Mount Dennis is underway, with those centres set to open in the near future .

Partners for the Kennedy-Eglinton ProTech Media Centre include Tropicana Community Services, the City of Toronto, the Toronto Public Library and Centennial College. Tropicana Community Services is acting as the grant trustee and will be responsible for the day-to-day centre operations. “Tropicana is thrilled to be a part of this initiative. We envision the Kennedy-Eglinton ProTech Media Centre becoming a real hub for youth in this community,” said Sharon Shelton, Executive Director, Tropicana Community Services. “Many of today’s youth are very excited about technology. The media centre is a great opportunity to really connect with youth and assist them in turning a curiosity or passion into a lifelong hobby or career.”

The City of Toronto paid to create a brand-new space for the centre, which is supported by and housed within the Toronto Public Library – Kennedy/Eglinton branch. “We were so pleased that the local youth wanted the library to be the location for the Kennedy-Eglinton ProTech Media Centre,” said Jane Pyper, City Librarian, Toronto Public Library. “This really speaks to the library’s role as a dynamic community destination that engages youth in meaningful ways, that encourages them to develop their skills and interests, and that provides them with opportunities to advance their education and explore their creativity.”

Centennial College is helping to develop the centre’s programs and providing volunteers to mentor youth and coordinate new media workshops. “Centennial College has long been a community touchstone for outreach projects in Scarborough, and I am delighted that we can be part of this excellent initiative to introduce new media skills to local youth,” said Ann Buller, President and CEO, Centennial College. “I’m especially happy to see our own creative communications students taking a lead role in coordinating the workshops and mentoring other young people. Learning is especially engaging when it’s peer to peer.”

Editor’s note: We tried unsuccessfully to open a centre somewhat similar to the ProTech programme in our hometown of Aldergrove, where this is next to nothing for teens to do – our application for a business license was turned down, and we were informed by both the Licensing Department and the Township Council that we were welcome to open – as an arcade, with arcade limitations. Or, we could open as an educational drop-in centre, but no games allowed, not even in development and testing stages. One memorable quote from that appearance before Council: “The computer industry is very competitive and we (the Township) have to protect ourselves.” -Councillor Mel Kositsky. I have no idea what he meant by that, and I’m sad that the majority of Township Councillors voted our bylaw amendment proposal down. We had some support on Council, but not enough.