Village Gamer

Following the worldwide success of Naughty Bear for the home console systems, 505 Games and developer Artificial Mind and Movement (A2M) today announce the release of an Apple iPhone/iPod® Touch game featuring everyone’s favourite omni-present and, let’s face it, omni-moody bear.

“In the last six months Naughty Bear has captured the imagination of a very wide fanbase and very quickly become an icon within the gaming world and a beacon for the disenfranchised and the disgruntled everywhere,” said Tim Woodley, Head of Global Brand Management, 505 Games. “With the launch of the iPhone version, Naughty Bear fans can finally, and quite literally, take matters into their own hands.”

“We knew that Naughty Bear was perfect for on-the-go gaming and we have put a lot of time into refining the experience to reflect the new format, controls and objectives,” said David Osborne, creative director at Artificial Mind and Movement.

Naughty Bear for the iPhone ($2.99) delivers an all-new way to take control of the vengeful title role and once again wreak havoc on every stuffing-filled foe that crosses your path. With a unique control system tailored specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch’s touchscreen inputs and a top-down viewpoint, the camera zooms in for up-close-and-not-so-personable signature kill moves which have become the trademark of our hapless bear.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIezoKGypG4]

Following the already established formula of the console versions, the game features a vast array of weapons, objects and scare tactics for gamers to employ to maim, bash and slash their island cohabitants in the quest for ever-important Naughty Points, earned by exacting sweet revenge against any stuffed animal brave—or stupid—enough to cross Naughty’s path.

BC analogue game studio Funleague Inc. has announced the release of its horse card game called “Perfect Stride”. It’s a fun gather-round-the-table experience designed primarily for those who love horses.

Perfect Stride is a horse-themed card game that can be fun and challenging for everyone, but it will hold particularly strong appeal for girls and women. “There are many games out there that are primarily directed towards boys,” said Kay Darby, President of Funleague Inc. “I decided that it was time girls and women, particularly those who love horses, had a game designed with their interests at heart.”

In the game Perfect Stride, players are horse riders who gallop across the countryside toward the finish line over a random course of jumps. The players must combine their skills as riders with their horse’s abilities as they attempt to clear each obstacle. Ribbons are earned along the way and at the end of the race the rider with the most ribbon points wins the game.

In addition to the engaging game play, there’s a lot of visual interest here to satisfy the eyes. Almost 100 unique pieces of art are in the game; each is drawn and painted with an eye for accuracy. “I wanted Perfect Stride to be fanciful, yet still believable and somewhat accurate,” said Kay Darby. “As a horse-lover myself, I always appreciated when horses were portrayed in a thoughtful and informed way.”

While Perfect Stride features a theme that is typically of interest to girls, the design was mindful of others too. “It’s an inclusive game that doesn’t indulge in stereotypes,” Darby explained. “We worked hard to keep the design open and approachable and make it inviting to everyone who would like to enjoy the game.”

In celebration of Mega Bloks’ 25th birthday, MEGA Brands will be launching its first iPhone and iPad application ‘Mega Bloks Playground,” a unique mobile-based toy designed to give younger children a fun and engaging experience developed by

MEGA Brands is proud to bring the realms of children’s toys and digital entertainment together with the release of their first-ever iPhone and iPad application based on its founding product ‘Mega Bloks Playground.’. This intuitive new app will be available October 1st, 2010. The preschool world includes two playable characters, a boy and a girl, who interact with a full set of playground elements, such as swing sets, slides, teeter-totters, playful animals, a lake with a sailboat, and even a hot air balloon. While playing the app, children will be delighted to collect piles of colorful bloks that will ultimately piece together to form new Mega Bloks creations every time!

New Quebec-based Budge Studios, the developer and publisher of the Mega Bloks app, specialize in creating children interactive products for touch devices and tablet computers. Budge Studios goal was to create the ultimate digital playset for preschoolers with the number one preschool construction brand, Mega Bloks.

Both iPad and iPhone versions will be released October 1st, 2010. Mega Bloks Playground is $1.99 (iPhone) and $3.99 (iPad) and available worldwide exclusively through the Apple App Store in the Game – kids section. Starting on the day of the launch, the app will be 50% off for 48hours.

Offers.com launched Offers.com Canada earlier this week to help Canadian consumers save time and money. Offers.com Canada is a one-stop resource that brings together the best money-saving offers available for online shoppers in Canada. The site helps consumers save money when shopping online and save time by presenting all the best offers in one well-designed site. Read the rest of this entry »

Our fifth annual Game Design Expo will take place on January 22-23, 2011 in Vancouver, BC. This two-day event features lectures and panels with some of the top minds in all aspects of game design, including designers, producers, artists, sound designers, and writers.

GDX is now accepting submissions from game industry professionals wishing to present at Game Design Expo 2011. They are looking for guest speakers with a desire to share their game industry expertise, and would like to encourage you or any of your colleagues to submit a proposal to speak at this event. It really is a unique opportunity to give back to the next generation of game designers and the whole community of genuine game-fans. The deadline to submit a call for speaker form (PDF) is October 4, 2010.

Haliburton-based School’s Cool is a participant in the online, global competition entitled the Best Brilliant Ideas for Humanity. The competition has three rounds and School’s Cool is currently in the top 12 as round one ramps to a close. Through participation in this contest, School’s Cool is launching a global social marketing campaign with hopes of providing services in Asia, Australia, the UK and elsewhere.

As part of their commitment to making kindergarten readiness skills available across the globe School’s Cool is proud to announce their involvement in the Best Brilliant Ideas for Humanity competition. This global competition allows School’s Cool to showcase its phenomenal 72 hour school readiness program throughout the competition’s various phases with an initial social media campaign. Read the rest of this entry »

Via DFAIT: Hong Kong has one of the most liberalized and sophisticated telecommunications markets in Asia. As of April 2010, Hong Kong’s mobile phone penetration rate reached 180% – one of the world’s highest. Currently there are five mobile operators serving 7-million highly tech-savvy Hong Kong residents. Four out of the five operators have deployed 3G services using HSPA, which support mobile data services such as downloads, multimedia services, video calls and mobile TV.

Hong Kong is a major test-bed market for new smartphones. Leading smartphone brands such as iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia, HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, consistently choose Hong Kong as one of the first markets in Asia to launch their new phone. A recent survey (TNS) revealed that 50 % of mobile phone owners in Hong Kong carrry a smartphone. With a sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure and a highly tech-savvy population, the smartphone market is poised to grow at an even higher rate in the coming years.

To capitalize on the increasing popularity of smartphones, major smartphone manufacturers and mobile operating systems are encouraging development of mobile content and applications. Smartphone brands and operating systems currently active in Hong Kong include:

Blackberry – applications are being developed on Java, convertible to Blackberry platform and available for download from Blackberry App World. RIM has established an Asia Pacific alliance team in HK. One of the key functions of this team is to co-ordinate with mobile content/applications developers and promote Blackberry mobile content and applications in the Asia market.

iPhone – content and applications are being developed on iPhone platform and available for download on its dedicated App Store.

Nokia – content and applications were being developed on Symbian, but have now moved to open source Java; applications are available for download from its dedicated Ovi Store. Nokia is leading the market share in offering Chinese language applications with a flavour of local culture.

Android – a Google operating system; despite being a late comer to the market, its open source platform and free usage make Android OS increasingly popular for smartphone manufacturers such as HTC, Motorola and Samsung.

Windows Mobile – a Microsoft mobile operating system; similar to the desktop version of Windows and supported by business users.

The success of smartphones depends largely on the availability of content and applications that are user-friendly. While smartphone manufacturers and operating systems are increasing their downloadable content and applications through collaboration with local developers, some mobile phone value-added service providers in Hong Kong are acting as content providers and seeking to collaborate with Canadian developers of mobile content. Types of content that are of interest include: travel, games and entertainment, lifestyle, social networking and videos.

For more information on opportunities for mobile content in Hong Kong, please contact Eunice Wong, Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong.

For BC Developers: The British Columbia Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development is organizing a BC Pavilion at G-STAR 2010 in Busan, Korea this November 18-21, 2010.

G-STAR is Korea’s largest international game exposition and convention, and is endorsed by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Last year’s event drew over 240,000 attendees and featured 198 exhibitors from 21 countries. The annual exhibition will feature a wide selection of local and international gaming presence, including PC and online gaming, console, and mobile. It is a largely consumer-facing event with its own mini-conference and B2B section for those looking to make deals.

Currently, Korea’s game industry is among the top in the world and is constantly expanding. In this year alone, Korea’s game exports created revenues of about 1.09 billion US dollars. G-STAR is Korea’s largest international game exposition and convention, and is endorsed by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It also features a concurrent International Content Creator’s Conference (ICON 2010). Read the rest of this entry »

Wicked Interactive, a leading North American MMO publisher, has announced that World Online Gaming League (WOGL) will organize a special ladder competition this weekend for its popular free-to-play shooter Mission Against Terror (M.A.T.). The competition, celebrating the second explosive week of the game’s open beta, begins today, Friday, September 24 and runs through Sunday, September 26.

“Our community has been instrumental in getting M.A.T. to this point so quickly,” said Stephen Tucker, CEO, World Online Gaming League. “While the game is still in open beta, we expect a fun weekend, with a strong turnout from some of our best players.”

The World Online Gaming League is a leading eSports company dedicated to providing competitive play for gamers around the world. WOGL is based in Florida and covers games such as Combat Arms and Alliance of Valliant Arms. WOGL is continuously expanding to new games and provides its clients with the ultimate in competitive gaming. WOGL also has a streaming media arm named WOGL.TV in which it casts live tournaments utilizing Silverlight Technology.

“We are deeply grateful to the WOGL community for their input,” said Sam Ho, Director, Wicked Interactive. “As we work on implementing it into the next upgrade, we thought we’d up the ante again with a no-holds-barred ladder event to showcase the open beta’s new modes. Kudos to WOGL’s talented tech team for making the ladder a reality.”

The Competition

Format: 5v5
Mode: Bomb Mode
The Payoff: Points rewards to winning teams + other in-game surprises
Ladder on WOGL
Official M.A.T. site

THE SKINNY:

The highlight of the open beta patch is the debut of one of MAT’s most popular game modes, the Phantom Mode. Phantom Mode is a spin-off of the highly popular Bomb Mode. In Phantom Mode, one team plays as the ghosts who are highly translucent figures that are difficult to see but are restricted to melee attacks only, and they’re out to bomb key locations around the world. The other team is identical to that of Bomb Mode–soldiers with anti-Phantom training who are out to drive the ghosts back and save these locations from being bombed. Read the rest of this entry »

The winners of the Deloitte Canadian Technology Fast 50™ set a record pace in 2010, with an average five-year revenue growth rate of 5,638% – an all time high. Some of this was due to the economic rebound and exciting new technology niches, but some was also due to the small size of these companies five years ago. In addition, this year’s survey of Canada’s fastest growing technology companies reveals a domestic tech sector that’s been resourceful in bootstrapping its growth, but sees the country’s domestic venture capital industry as in crisis and potentially unable to help sustain future expansion.

“Canada’s tech companies set records for growth in 2010: Both the top five companies and the entire Fast 50 roster were at all time highs for five-year growth at almost 43,000% and 5,600% respectively,” said John Ruffolo, National Leader, Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Group, Deloitte.

“While we take time to celebrate the winning companies’ achievement, we also need to keep in mind that this year’s winners have grown off very small bases and tend to be successful in what are relatively smaller technology niches.”

“Over the last twelve years, there have been some interesting trends (and non-trends) within the Fast 50 list,” said Duncan Stewart, Director of Research for Technology, Media & Telecommunications for Deloitte. “Although the growth rate and the winners change over time, the split between hardware, software, telecom and other technology areas has been fairly consistent. Equally, the regional split of winners hasn’t varied: Ten years ago, 26 of our winners were from Ontario, and in 2010, we have 27 Ontario winners. On the other hand, reflecting a difficult time for initial public offerings (IPOs) and the ongoing venture capital crisis, the number of winners who are public companies has fallen from 54% a decade ago to 30% today. Turnover is up too – the five fastest growing companies on this year’s list weren’t even on the 2009 list.”

Richmond Hill-based Clickfree (Storage Appliance Corp), a hardware company specializing in automatic computer backup, has emerged as a strong winner: Sitting atop the ranking of this year’s Fast 50 list with a 64,240% five-year revenue growth.

Second and third spots go to Real Matters (40,532%, a Markham-based software company operating in property information solutions, and Varicent Software Incorporated (40,269%), a Toronto-based sales performance management software firm. Rounding out the top five are Toronto-based NexJ Systems (36,128%), an Enterprise CRM Software company, and Avigilon (33,664%), a Vancouver-based high-definition surveillance company.

As happened in 2009, a Quebec GreenTech company is a winner in multiple categories: Montreal-based 5N Plus Inc. appears on the Fast 50 list and it is present on both the Green technology and the Leadership rankings as well.

Deloitte’s annual survey of Fast 50 Tech CEOs, also released today, provides further causes for concern and some glimmers of hope. Almost 80% of respondents to Deloitte’s survey of tech CEOs say Canadian-based venture capital firms are in danger of becoming an irrelevant source of financing for the country’s companies, and 83% see this development as jeopardising future generations of technology companies in Canada.

This year’s Tech CEO survey showed that the main source of financing was cash flow from operations for 76% of companies, higher than in past years, while angel and VC funding was ranked as less than half as important. “Although this year’s winning companies are doing incredibly well,” added Ruffolo, “who knows how much bigger they would be today if they had had access to more growth capital in their formative years?”

“This persistent weakness in the country’s venture capital ecosystem began around 2004, it has now reached crisis levels and it has serious implications for the future of our technology sector and the future of Canada,” said Ruffolo. The ongoing Canadian funding crisis in venture capital continues to have a negative effect on our tech sector, and as a nation we need to rapidly adopt key policy responses that will help build our Innovation Economy, create jobs, and make future Technology Fast 50 lists even better.”

According to survey results, 73% of Tech CEOs said their company’s performance was negatively affected to some extent by the recent recession. At the same time, 68% predict either weak or negative growth over the next 12 months.

On the job front, more than 53% of CEOs indicate their firms have benefited from current conditions thanks to the greater availability of skilled labour at a reasonable cost.

Carbon credits are a hot topic for many tech companies: Of survey respondents who saw credits as relevant to their businesses, a surprising 40% said that future carbon credits were a major part of their strategic thinking.

“Cloud computing is often seen as a beneficial technology for early stage tech companies,” said Stewart. “But there has been a debate if it helps more because it is cheaper than traditional infrastructure-based computing, or if it was the time-to-market factor. The results, at least for Canada, are in: More than twice as many CEOs said that cloud helped them grow/scale more quickly than those who cited the cost benefit.”

Canadian Technology Fast 50 2010:

1 Clickfree – Richmond Hill
2 Real Matters – Markham
3 Varicent Software Incorporated – Toronto
4 NexJ Systems – Toronto
5 Avigilon – Vancouver
6 Vital Insight Group Inc. – Mississauga
7 ProSep – Montreal
8 OmniGlobe Networks, Inc. – Pointe-Claire
9 GuestLogix Inc – Toronto
10 In Motion Technology Inc. – New Westminster
11 ARISE Technologies Corporation – Waterloo
12 Vision Critical – Vancouver
13 CarProof – London
14 Solace Systems – Kanata
15 Strategic Connections, Inc. – Markham
16 Impact Mobile – Toronto
17 ParetoLogic Inc. – Victoria
18 QuickPlay Media – Toronto
19 KineticD – Toronto
20 PNI Digital Media – Vancouver
21 ViXS Systems Inc. – Toronto
22 Allegro Mobile Solutions – Mississauga
23 H2O Innovation – Quebec City
24 Opale Net Inc. – Montreal
25 RuggedCom Inc. – Concord
26 SherWeb inc. – Sherbrooke
27 Dominion Voting Systems Corporation – Toronto
28 Nightingale Informatix Corporation – Markham
29 DragonWave Inc. – Kanata
30 Research In Motion – Waterloo
31 Tantalus Systems Corp. – Burnaby
32 Averna – Montreal
33 Diversinet Corp. – Toronto
34 Coveo – Quebec City
34 Corinex Communications – Vancouver
35 Vantrix – Montreal
36 5N Plus Inc. – St. Laurent
37 iBwave Solutions Inc. – St. Laurent
38 Absolute Software – Vancouver
39 Nexterra Systems Corp – Vancouver
40 uptime software – Toronto
41 GEOTAB, Inc. – Oakville
42 WellPoint Systems Inc. – Calgary
43 In-Touch Survey Systems Inc. – Ottawa
44 MAKE Technologies Inc. – Vancouver
45 Adenyo – Toronto
46 EION Wireless – Ottawa
47 Haivision Network Video – Montreal
48 Level Platforms – Ottawa
49 Sandvine Incorporated – Waterloo
50 Payworks – Winnipeg

Leadership Awards single out companies that are the elite members of the Canadian technology industry, whose ability to create a distinct competitive advantage in a high-growth market allows them to dominate their sector and quickly join the ranks of other Canadian global leaders. This year’s four Leadership Awards recipients are:

5N Plus Inc. – Montreal
Evertz Technologies Limited – Burlington
Open Text Corporation – Waterloo
Research In Motion – Waterloo

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50™, the Companies-to-Watch (CTW) Awards honour early-stage Canadian technology companies who have been in business less than five years, and have the potential to be future Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ winners. The ten companies recognized as CTW this year are:

Awasi Incorporated – Waterloo
Dayforce – Toronto
Morega Systems Inc. – Mississauga
N4 Systems – Toronto
Neuralitic – Montreal
Polar Mobile – Toronto
Syncapse – Toronto
Telepin software – Ottawa
Tynt Multimedia Inc. – Calgary
X20 Media – Montreal

The Deloitte Technology Green 15™ Awards recognize Canada’s leading GreenTech companies who promote a more efficient use and re-use of the earth’s resources in industrial production and consumption. In doing so, they use new, innovative technologies to create products and services that compete with existing products and services on price and performance while reducing our impact on the environment. The 15 winners are:

5N Plus Inc. – Montreal
Bionest Technologies Inc. – Grand-Mère
Cavet Technologies – Toronto
ecobee – Toronto
Energate – Ottawa
Fielding Chemical technologies Inc. – Mississauga
GEEP – Barrie
Global Emissions Systems Inc. – Whitby
H2O Innovation – Quebec City
McMillan-McGee Corp – Calgary
Nexterra Systems Corp. – Vancouver
Odotech – Montreal
ProSep – Montreal
Real Tech Inc. – Whitby
RTI Cryogenics – Cambridge

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ ranks companies based on their past five-year revenue growth rates. Celebrating business growth, innovation and entrepreneurship, the program features four distinct categories including the Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ Ranking, Companies-to-Watch Awards (early-stage Canadian tech companies in business less than five years, with the potential to be a future Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ candidate,) Leadership Awards (companies that demonstrate technological leadership in four industry subcategories: Hardware/semiconductor, software, telecommunications and emerging technologies) and the Deloitte Technology Green 15™ Awards (Canada’s leading GreenTech companies that promote a more efficient use and reuse of the earth’s resources in industrial production and consumption). Program sponsors include Deloitte, Gowlings, GrowthWorks, Wellington Financial, TMX, HKMB Hub, CVCA, NACO, IGLOO Software, MaRS. Media partners include Canadian Business magazine and La Presse.

The Game Creators have teamed up with Intel to offer game developers the chance to win some amazing prizes for developing new games for netbooks. There are several fantastic prizes on offer with the top prize being an all expenses paid vacation worth up to US $5,000!

We’ve all been there, on the road on vacation with the family and our trusty old netbook is ready at the go to Facebook, Twitter and surf the web. But after all the chatty time, aren’t you really just itching to have a death race, zap alien ships, and kill zombies on your netbook too?

Well Intel wants your help, and has partnered with The Game Creators to seek out, recognize and reward excellent game development for netbook devices. So, if you’re on your summer holidays, on a break from work or just simply love to develop games, The Game Creators and Intel want you!

The Game Creators’ Financial Director, Rick Vanner, said “This competition is aimed at empowering the many talented amateur game makers that love to spend their spare time coding games and demos. The Intel AppUp store will give them a direct channel to market and sell their small game apps to millions of users worldwide. By using Dark Basic Professional or Dark GDK they can create games in a very short time scale. We have a very creative community and it will be very exciting to see what they develop.”

For this competition there is a deadline of 3rd October at 12PM GMT so those looking to enter need to get cracking now!

October 28 is International Animation Day, and to mark the occasion, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is presenting free screenings of great NFB animated films in cities across Canada as part of its Get Animated! series.

The full schedule has not yet been announced, but here is what we can look forward to here in Vancouver:

As part of the Vancouver Short Film Festival, you can see NFB New Releases on Thursday October 28 at 2:45 pm (Vancity Theatre)

Saturday October 30
1pm Master Class with Matthew Talbot-Kelly (Trembling Veil of Bones) (Vancity Theatre)
4pm NFB New Releases (Vancity Theatre)

Sunday October 31 – 10am Fairy Tales for All (Vancity Theatre) – Fairy tale lovers, young and old alike, will be charmed by this selection of animated shorts, including Molly in Springtime, awarded Best Animation at Banff World Television Festival 2010.

Monday November 1 – Ron Diamond’s Animation Show of Shows (Emily Carr University of Art & Design)

The NFB New Releases Program allows viewers to discover the latest works by NFB’s award-winning filmmakers, including Higglety Pigglety Pop!, an adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s book from filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Oscar® nominees and Genie Award winners for Madame Tutli-Putli), featuring the voices of Meryl Streep and Forest Whitaker.

Emily Carr University of Art & Design is offering a new immersive 4-day workshop on Digital Storytelling. Course participants will come with ideas for a story, family legend, or a piece of personal non-fiction, and leave with a 2 to 3-minute video, formatted for web-broadcast, family viewing or DVD distribution.

Digital storytelling, which sprang from The Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, California in the mid-’90s, was designed as a method of personal and community empowerment, bringing the tools of digital media production to the tech-wary and those usually kept on the other side of the lens. It has become a worldwide and dynamic movement to humanize and personalize fields as varied as health services, multimedia journalism, education, historical projects, literacy, marketing and communications, community development, tourism, research and evaluation. Read the rest of this entry »

Hack em’, stab em’, burn em’ and kill em’! In the new Dead Rising 2 launch trailer, you can watch Chuck Greene do it all to the undead mobs that threaten to destroy Fortune City. On a quest to save his daughter and escape the massive zombie attack, Chuck will use a roll of duct tape and a lot of creativity to make some of the most outrageous weapons you have ever seen! Check it all out in the newest trailer from Capcom Studio Vancouver (formerly Blue Castle Games).

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SB4Lntm4Dc]

Coming to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, Dead Rising 2 launches next week for North America on September 28, 2010.

Brand engagement pioneer VideoEgg has announced that it has agreed to acquire Six Apart, the leader in conversational media, to form SAY Media, a modern media company. SAY Media brings together influential voices and their communities to enable advertisers to reach a global audience of 345 million (according to comScore’s global projections for VideoEgg and Six Apart as well as comScore’s measurement of total unduplicated audiences in US, Canada and the UK.) The company provides systemic ways for advertisers to engage the social consumer in an era when attention is scarce and interruptive ad models are less effective.

Connecting rich experiences with attentive audiences. The new entity combines VideoEgg’s engagement technologies with Six Apart’s social publishing platform to power advertising campaigns that are more conversational and interactive. Through the creation of social hubs and influencer-driven custom content programs linked to the innovative AdFrames offering, SAY Media delivers engagement across display and mobile. The result is advertising that is more efficient, useful and social.
Read the rest of this entry »