Village Gamer

The Board of Directors for Digital Alberta would like to take this opportunity to introduce Jo-Anne Douthwaite, the organization’s new Executive Administrator. Jo-Anne has a wealth of managerial experience in both the non-profit and financial sectors. In her new role with Digital Alberta, the Association expects that she will contribute significantly to the organization’s ongoing initiatives to sustain a strong, vibrant and competitive digital media industry in Alberta.

FITC will be back in Edmonton for two days of design and technology goodness on November 6th and 7th. With presentations, panel discussions, and an evening event, this is sure to be an amazing event. Confirmed presenters include Jamie Kosoy (Big Spaceship), Keith Peters (bit-101), Branden Hall, Jeremy Thorp (blprnt.com), Mike Chambers (Adobe), Grant Skinnerr (gskinnner.com), Joel Wan (Critical Mass), Phillip Musser (Critical Mass), Trent Oster, Jason Theodor, and Hugh Elliott.

The first BCTIA TechForum of the season, Building our Future, will take place at the Sutton Place Hotel on September 15th, will feature Iain Black, Minister of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development for BC. Minister Black will speak about the importance of building capacity in BC technology companies and the role our industry plays in building British Columbia’s economy.

Following Minister Black’s address, honoured representatives from the Federal Government, including Ed Fast, MP for Abbotsford and appearing on behalf of the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification Canada, and Neil Bailey, Industrial Technology Advisor of NRC-IRAP, will announce their support of a new initiative designed specifically for our technology companies.

Registration is still open for Interactive Exchange 2010, which begins this Sunday in Toronto. There are still a limited number of discounted Startup Passes available to Interactive Ontario members, so if you are a new digital media enterprise, be sure to check and see if you qualify for one of these passes.

This year, IN 2010’s move to September also aligns it with the Toronto International Film Festival. To celebrate the serendipitous timing, IN will feature several sessions and speakers who will examine the opportunities in transmedia development between interactive media, film and TV entertainment.

Most notably is the opening keynote presentation by Jordan Mechner, creator of both the successful video game franchise Prince of Persia, as well as the recent feature film of the same name produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The Prince of Persia game franchise has sold over 14 million units while the film has grossed well over $300 million making it the most successful video game to movie crossover ever.

IN 2010 will feature almost 90 presenters participating in five programme tracks including: Games, Mobile, Blackberry Social Media Stream, Rogers Digital Media X-Platform Stream and OCAD University Visionary Stream. IN 2010 also offers registered delegates the opportunity to meet with conference speakers and attendees via the one-on-one meeting system. This year IN is also a partner in MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK, one of Canada’s largest festivals of mobile media content and services which takes place September 13 to 18.

I just found out about a week-long showcase that will feature games from Toronto-area indie game developers — professionals, well-known names and bedroom coders alike. This showcase, titled The Start Show, will offer visitors the chance to play free indie games on multiple screens at OCAD University’s Great Hall. Exhibitors at the showcase include T.O. Jam, GamerCamp and The Hand Eye Society. There will be a gala event on September 16th, complete with live music, and the showcase opens daily at 8:00a.m.

The Canadian Innovation Exchange, which takes place at the MaRS Discovery District on December 7th is pleased to announce two exciting keynote presentations from international leaders in innovation.

Russ Daniels, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, HP Enterprise Services, Hewlett Packard Company is a veteran of the technology industry, with more than 25 years of experience specializing in software architecture, enterprise management, and software development methodologies. As Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for HP Enterprise Services, he sets the technology strategy and architecture for HP’s Enterprise Services portfolio.

Doug Merritt, Executive Vice President, SAP OnDemand Solutions, is responsible for all sales and Go-To-Market (GTM) activities related to the entire range of SAP’s cloud offerings.

Just a reminder also, that Early Bird ticket prices for CIX end on October 1st, which is also the last day of submissions for Canada’s Hottest Innovative Companies.

A memorial trust fund has been opened in Brian Wood’s name at the North Shore Credit Union to help his widow Erin and their unborn child through these rough times. As many of you know, Brian, who was lead designer for Company of Heroes Online, did not survive a car accident which happened on Whidbey Island last Friday. If you are able, please donate through any of the three following channels:

* In person by making a deposit to “The Brian Wood Memorial Trust” at any North Shore Credit Union branch in the Lower Mainland area of British Columbia. Please visit the Memorial Page for the PayPal information

* Online via PayPal. The donations will be deposited directly into the Trust account set up at North Shore Credit Union. Please note you do not need to have a PayPal account to donate online.

* By Mail: send your donation to:

North Shore Credit Union
3059 Edgemont Blvd.
North Vancouver, BC
V7R 2N5, Canada

Please make cheques payable to The Brian Wood Memorial Trust Fund.

Capcom and Blue Castle Games are happy to announce that its recently released downloadable title, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, has broken all records on Xbox LIVE with the best week one unit sales in the history of all content distributed through Xbox LIVE Arcade. The prologue to the highly-anticipated Dead Rising 2, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, launched last week as a unique piece of downloadable content exclusively for Xbox LIVE Arcade. A standalone title that helps bridge the gap between the original Dead Rising and the soon-to-be-released Dead Rising 2, it allows fans a taste of the new Dead Rising world on Xbox 360.

The unique prologue experience gives gamers a glimpse of what’s to come in Dead Rising 2 as it includes new combo weapons; your first look at survivors and a psycho; an introduction to new protagonist, Chuck Greene and his daughter Katey and a system that allows you to carry your character attributes collected in Dead Rising 2: Case Zero into the main game.
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is now available exclusively to download on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Dead Rising 2 will launch on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on September 28, 2010.

EA Black Box has announced that Need for Speed™ World, the massively multiplayer online action racing game, has surpassed one million registered users. In the coming weeks and months, Need for Speed World will be adding new features and game-expanding content including more cars, deep performance customization, a new world region and a co-op pursuit mode.

Starting today, all players will have full access to Need for Speed World for free (see site for details). Racers can play the entire game at no cost or can purchase SpeedBoost items to accelerate their career progression including items like power-ups, double XP periods and even rental cars. Every player can now feel the rush of illicit street racing as they speed their way through an immersive, socially-connected Need for Speed experience.

“Need for Speed fans have played a critical role in making Need for Speed World a success. Fan feedback has helped shape every aspect of the experience – whether it’s the creation of a new feature or improving polish and progression,” said John Doyle, Senior Producer, Need for Speed World. “We’re excited to open the gates so that every Need for Speed World player now has free access to all current and future content including new modes, cars, features and more.”

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, 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.