Village Gamer

Reminder: Submissions for Digital Launch Pad at Banff World Media Festival Close April 22nd. ($100.00 entry fee)

The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, will meet with representatives from the Waterloo-area information and communications technology (ICT) industry tomorrow morning to discuss issues of importance to the industry, including Canada’s forthcoming digital economy strategy. The meeting will be held at The Research Advancement Centre in Waterloo University’s Research and Technology Park.

TransGaming Studios has released a new update for Garage Inc in the iTunes App Store. The time management strategy title now features an Endless Day mode and you can now compete against other players via the Game Centre Leaderboard, fixing as many cars as your mechanics possibly can. Battle for automotive supremacy and you help Angelo work towards his dreams and fend off the Mafia.

Kung Fu Master for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad is now available at the iTunes App Store for 99 cents USD. Developed by Big Bad Brush, this Retina Display and Game Centre-enabled features the venerable Kung Fu Master, who has fallen victim to hordes of zombies and pandas intent on stealing his magic gems and shiny gold. Show them who’s boss by mastering the bamboo poles and gathering all your gold and gems back.

Get set for some action-adventure play time with Rango The Video Game from EA and Behaviour Studios, because it will be on store shelves this March 1st. Based on the Paramount Pictures full-length animated feature film Rango, the video game invites players to continue on Rango’s wild journey through new adventures inspired by the movie. The game is set in the Old West town of ‘Dirt’ where players romp through a gritty, pint-sized, Wild West filled with wild rides, off-color characters and frantic shoot-outs.

The Quality Assurance Division of Beenox Studio in Quebec City has launched an unprecedented recruitment campaign in order to fill 100 summer jobs for video game testers this summer. Interested candidates must submit their applications (French) before Friday, March 4th. Candidates chosen for the next stage of selection will be invited to the official recruitment day on Saturday, March 19th. These summer jobs are a great opportunity for gamers. We are seeking candidates with an excellent sense of observation, are energetic and who perform as a team.

The 11th edition of the CEO Vision Forum for CEOs of technology companies in Quebec ended on a high note on Saturday, February 19. Record numbers of company CEOs and their partners participated in the “Davos” of Quebec technology organized by the Quebec Technology Association, an indication of the interest it is generating and its importance in the IT and Communications industry. The 117 CEOs who registered took advantage of the opportunity to discuss issues and business practices, recharge their batteries by listening to the well-known conference speakers and meet potential buyers and partners in the industries present.

Decision makers representing major technology buyers and an American investor participated in the VIP Salons, an excellent networking opportunity. VIPs were invited from the following organizations: Aveos, CCSR (a group of purchasing departments for educational institutions in Quebec and Ontario), Cisco, Kirchner Private Capital Group, The Desjardins Group, RBC and Public Works and Government Services Canada.

On the evening of February 17, the 2011 SGF CEO of the Year, (Claude McMaster, President and CEO, D-BOX), was chosen by the CEOs in attendance by using of secret ballots; an article on the subject will appear this week in the newspaper Les Affaires, the media partner for the Award. A video clip of the 2011 SGF CEO of the Year and interviews with the three company heads vying for the title are also available in the file on the Award.

“The ever-increasing interest shown by Directors and the exceptional support for CEO Vision on the part of governments and private partners confirms the level of confidence they have in the role the AQT plays in representing ITC companies in Quebec and in supporting their growth. My warmest thanks to all who contributed to the remarkable success of the 2011 CEO Summit”, said Nicole Martel, Chief Executive Officer of the Quebec Technology Association. Attendance at the forum is limited exclusively to industry partners, the many 2011 CEO Vision sponsors and partners actively participated in the success of the summit meeting. They are as follows:

– Prestigious Partner: Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton
– SGF CEO of the Year Award Partner: Société générale de financement
– Platinum Sponsors: BCF, BDC, The DynaVision Group, Heenan Blaikie, NATIONAL and RBC
– Gold Sponsors: Essor Insurance and GCWL-Desjardins Securities
– VIP Salons Pavilion: Public Works and Government Services Canada (partner) and Cisco (sponsor)
– Media partners: Direction informatique and Les Affaires

The Economic Development Agency of Canada and Développment économique, Innovation et Exportation Québec also provided financial support for the event. The 12th edition of CEO Vision will take place from February 23 to February 25, 2012, at the Fairmont Tremblant.

With the business world being reshaped by mobile technologies, companies are moving to embrace the highly portable, Internet-linked tablet computer. Four in 10 (40 per cent) of CIOs in a recent survey said their companies will increase the use of tablets in the next two years.

The survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology (IT) professionals on a project and full-time basis. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with more than 270 CIOs from companies across Canada with 100 or more employees.

CIOs were asked, “To what extent, if any, do you think your company’s use of ‘tablet’ computers will increase or decrease in the next two years?” Their responses:

Increase – 40%
Decrease – 6%
No change – 49%
Don’t know/not applicable/no answer – 5%

“More organizations are discovering that tablet computers offer yet another way to increase employee mobility, while maintaining & even improving productivity,” said Lara Dodo, Canadian regional vice president of Robert Half Technology. “It’s no secret that these computers have quickly gained popularity in the market over the last year, and CIOs have recognized the potential of these devices. However, the challenge that IT departments will soon encounter is providing enough support and security in the workplace. ”

Dodo adds that businesses will likely need to hire skilled IT professionals, either on a full-time or project basis, to help manage the implementation, maintenance, development and security of tablets. This will ensure companies makes greater tactical use of these mobile devices, in order to augment their customer service and profitability.

    - Prestigious Partner: Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton
    - SGF CEO of the Year Award Partner: Société générale de financement
    - Platinum Sponsors: BCF, BDC, The DynaVision Group, Heenan Blaikie,
      NATIONAL and RBC
    - Gold Sponsors: Essor Insurance and GCWL-Desjardins Securities
    - VIP Salons Pavilion: Public Works and Government Services Canada
      (partner) and Cisco (sponsor)
    - Media partners: Direction informatique and Les Affaires

Note: The World Wide Short Film Fest has opened Screenplay Giveaway to submissions.
Note: Nominations now open to Canada’s emerging technology companies for PricewaterhouseCoopers 2011 Innovator of the Year Award.

The third Game Prototype Challenge ended earlier this week with a total of ten game submissions centering around the theme of Loneliness and Dimensions. There are some very cool ideas in this last round, and considering that they were all done as side projects between February 14th and February 21st just makes them even better. The Challenge just keeps growing with every iteration, and I am looking forward to seeing comes out in the next one in March.

The final installment of the Ask Dr. Mike video series has been released by Hothead Games. Check out the in-studio rivalry between Producer Joel DeYoung and Lead Designer Pete Low as Joel tries to trump Pete’s new high score in the upcoming platformer Swarm.

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

Watch the gameplay carefully and listen closely to the commentary for some inside secrets on game-play and high scoring tactics. See how the sacrificing of squishy blue guys will lead you to multiplier supremacy and achievement completion.

Post-secondary students these days have so many cool new specialty areas to study, sometimes I wish I could go back to school full-time. Yes, I liked school. Except for Math. And Science. History, Law and English – those were my favourites. There weren’t really any courses leading towards any specific type of creative career when I was in high school, not counting the classes for performing arts or traditional trades like welding and wood-working.

A new graduate studies programme has been introduced at Waterloo University’s Stratford Campus. The Master of Digital Innovation (MDI) is a one year project-based interdisciplinary degree programme. Students will work through the programme as they would if they were working for an employer, in teams, working on core projects. Throughout the process of completing these projects, students will consult with faculty and industry partners, gaining hands-on experience in many areas, including Team Building, Design Thinking and Business Modelling as well as Marketing Strategy and Critical Cultural Analysis. That last one sounds like it involves Math.

This new full-time program, which will be offered for the first time in Fall 2011 pending final Ontario Council on Graduate Studies approval, will take place over three consecutive terms: Fall, Winter and Spring.

The Fall Session will focus on Working in Teams, Principles of Marketing in a Globalized World, Digital Media Solutions Design and New Perspectives on Media History and Analysis.  During the Winter Session, students will continue Working in Teams as they look at Digital Media Solutions: Project Management, Media Innovation and Impact as well as Understanding the Consumer Universe. The Spring session focuses entirely on Projects.

Longbow Games has launched the latest game in their Hegemony series of historical RTS wargames. Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece expands upon last year’s PAX 10 finalist Hegemony: Philip of Macedon, adding two new campaigns and an all new diplomacy system plus an open sandbox mode with 26 playable factions and significant gameplay upgrades and refinements. The game is available online from Longbow, priced at $29.99 for the complete version or $9.99 as an upgrade from the original game.

“After spending the last year building a community and talking to fans about what they liked best in the first Hegemony, we’re really excited to show off all that we’ve added for Hegemony Gold,” said Jim McNally, President and Lead Designer of Longbow Games. “Not only do the new features significantly expand the range and depth of the tactics in Hegemony but the new campaigns and sandbox mode exponentially increase the amount of gameplay available.”

Conquer the ancient Greek world in Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece, a real-time strategy wargame that expands and refines the award-winning Hegemony: Philip of Macedon with brand new content and features. Experience the full range of warfare from reconnaissance and raids to field battles and mountain blockades as you campaign across a continuous satellite-accurate map of ancient Greece. Siege and starve your enemy by cutting their supply lines or burning their crops, all the while building and protecting your own supply network to support your growing kingdom. Play as Macedonia, Athens, or Sparta in the three historical campaigns, or choose one of the 26 factions in the epic sandbox mode and forge your own empire. With a dynamic new diplomacy system and greatly expanded tactics, Hegemony Gold sets the new standard for ancient warfare.

IUGO Mobile Entertainment has released a trailer for its latest announced title, Pricklees, which has been submitted to Apple for approval. Jump, duck and roll to the beat with the Pricklees in this new music game that features 3 adorable characters you wish you could cuddle, if they weren’t covered in prickles.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKfrQc26oKw]

There are 3 levels of difficulty in the game: easy, medium and hard for tons of replayability, with more unlockable content through IAP. Dead easy controls and intuitive UI in dynamic 2D/3D environments allow for unique rhythm-based gameplay with 7 Fresh Electronic tracks and more songs coming in future updates.

TVO is pleased to announce the launch of its new digital Public Archive, a free online resource that unlocks four decades of made-at-TVO educational programming that stands the test of time. The centerpiece of TVO’s 40th anniversary celebrations, TVO’s Public Archive is full of rare moments in television history including:

* popular Saturday Night at the Movies host Elwy Yost’s conversations with film legends of the 70s and 80s;
* insights from some of the greatest minds in science and technology like Richard Dawkins, John Polanyi, Carl Sagan and Steve Wozniak;
* interviews with political leaders including every Ontario Premier since John Robarts;
* rare moments with Canadian icons like Mordecai Richler, Leonard Cohen, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence and John Candy;
* and Canadian heroes like Jane Jacobs, June Callwood and Roberta Bondar.

TVO’s Public Archive is a valuable resource for researchers, filmmakers, writers, bloggers and anyone who wants to learn more about the cultural history that has made Ontario what it is today, and features beloved TVO programs that have defined TVO over the years. It launches with over 375 programs and segments that would take more than five days to watch.

The site includes episodes of Polka Dot Door, Today’s Special, Prisoners of Gravity, Imprint, Realities, Studio 2, the interviews portion of Saturday Night at the Movies, The Education of Mike McManus, Between the Lines and more. It also includes the new “Think Again” podcast series where programs are re-cut and re-mixed, examining important issues and placing them in context of the world today. New content that can be searched by program title, year, guest, subject or playlist will be added to the Public Archive regularly.

The Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) today launched a major international TV, print and online campaign to showcase Ontario’s thriving cultural media sector. The campaign encourages consumers and investors to “be part of it” by buying Ontario’s award-winning cultural media products and investing in the province’s dynamic companies.

The six-week television campaign, showcasing more than 80 Ontario companies and world-renowned cultural exports, features a soundtrack by indie band Metric, which won the 2010 Juno Award for Best Alternative Album. The campaign was created by Toronto ad agency Brandworks International Inc. and will be supported by print and online ads in a variety of Canadian, U.S. and U.K. publications, along with an interactive website.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh04nxiJZ1M]

Ontario’s entire creative cluster includes: book and magazine publishing, film and television, interactive digital media, music, performing arts, radio, advertising, architecture and design. Together, they contribute more than $ 12.2 billion to the provincial GDP and employ more than 300,000 people.

Ubisoft is going on tour with its Kinect titles, but it seems BC is not on the list, at least not yet. One would think that BC would be on the list considering that Ubisoft has a development studio in Vancouver. The only confirmed locations thus far are for Halifax, when they will be visiting the Halifax Discovery Centre on February 25th and 26th before moving on to the Wal-Mart at Halifax Shopping Centre on February 27th. All other provinces are listed as “Coming Soon” with BC and all three territories not appearing on the schedule at all.

Frima Studio has earned two of the five nominations given out for the Best PS3/PSP Mini Game by Sony Computer Entertainment of America for its 2011 PlayStation®Network Gamers’ Choice Awards. Frima’s latest effort, the aptly named A Space Shooter for Two Bucks!, has recently crossed the 100,000 downloads mark, and Young Thor is one of the most critically-acclaimed Minis in history.

Voting will be open for one week until Tuesday, March 1st, with PSN users across North America choosing their favorite game in each of the four categories by downloading a free XMB theme corresponding to that game, voting for one game in each category. When the voting is over, the winning game from each of the four categories will go on sale for 30% off at the PlayStation Store and 50% off to PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Nexon America has kicked off the second round of the Nexon iNitiative, a million dollar program designed with the intent to seek out the most promising independent video game projects and provide funding to support the next generation of game developers from around the world. Open for submissions until April 30th, the Nexon iNitiative will award game developers a share of $1 million in development funds for projects that align with Nexon’s focus on community building and long-term user engagement.

The first Nexon iNitiative was launched in March 2010, which saw Canadian developer Antic Entertainment and Polish developer one2tribe chosen from a pool of more than 100 candidates in 2010. Each of the studios earned a share of more than $1 million in development funding. Both companies are currently creating online game projects that will be co-developed and published through Nexon’s global distribution network, which currently services 30 games in more than 71 countries.

Through the Nexon iNitiative, Nexon is looking for potential games that have wide-ranging audience appeal and which encourage community and social interaction. Flash, client-based games or ports from other platforms are all welcome submissions. Games with strong online and multi platform elements will get serious consideration, as will game concepts that align with Nexon’s goals.

Rogers Media (RMI) today announced the appointment of Jason Tafler to the newly created position, Chief Digital Officer.  A veteran of the U.S. and Canadian digital sector, Tafler comes to Rogers from PointRoll, a leading provider of innovative digital marketing solutions and technology based in Pennsylvania.

Tafler will be responsible for strategic and operational leadership for the Digital division of Rogers Media with accountability for financial and operational targets.  Rogers Digital Media is responsible for over 250 Rogers Digital products including brand websites, mobile products and client microsites as well as pure digital plays such as Sweetspot.ca,  BRANCHEZ -VOUS!, PoolExpert and Canadian Parents.  The range of partnerships and acquisitions brings Rogers Digital Media over 16 million unique viewers per month and reaches 65% of Canadians online.  As well, Rogers Digital Media provides ad solutions and content for Rogers Communications and ad representation for foreign clients.

Tafler grew up in Toronto and has spent most of the past decade of his career in the U.S. building, advising and investing in entrepreneurial growth-oriented companies in the media, advertising and technology industries.  He joined PointRoll in 2005 and became CEO in 2008.  Prior to PointRoll, he worked in a boutique investment bank in New York and with Zoomer Media and First Marathon Securities in Canada.

Vancouver-based mobile game development studio Compass Engine has released their newest location-based game, Bounty Island.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to get this game out to market and show the world that location doesn’t just have to be about coupons and deals but can simply be fun. Bounty Island is going to prove that location can be used to personalize a game, and we all know that the more personal the game the more engaging it is,” said Compass Engine CEO Mack Flavelle.

Available as a free-to-play download in the iTunes App store for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, Bounty Island uses the player’s location in the real world to generate tropical islands for them to discover and explore. As the location space continues to heat up, Bounty Island stands apart from other offerings by putting the GAME in location based games. The check-in mechanic has always been a great starting point for location services but has never been incorporated into a truly fun game. With Bounty Island, players check-in at a venue and are given a tropical map unique to that location where they can explore, dig for exotic treasures and try to discover the secret of mysterious Bounty Island.

Current in-app purchases include additional gems, which is the in-game currency and needed for buying supplies. Players can buy gems in lots of 10, 22, 30, 100 or a treasure chest full at 380. Purchase price for the extra gems starts at 99 cents USD for 10 gems, and goes up to $23.99 USD for 380 gems.

I have downloaded Bounty Island to my iPod Touch, but haven’t yet played it as, according to developer Compass Engine, some devices are having issues with the game. A few of the older phones and iPods are experiencing a bug which prevents Bounty Island from opening. Compass Engine has worked on a fix for this, and the update will be submitted to Apple tomorrow. In the meantime, other people with newer devices do not seem to be having any issues at all and are happily enjoying the game.

Reminder: IGDA Vancouver soft-launch and Global Game Jam Post-Mortem takes place tonight. More info on the event’s Facebook page.
Reminder: Ontario companies, get your submissions in for the INplay Ontario Show & Tell Kids Interactive Showcase, the deadline is April 1st. Also note that the INplay Kick Off registration rate for attendees will end tomorrow.
Reminder: There is one week left to get your nominations in for the Canadian Video Game Awards. I nominated at least a dozen, is your favourite Canadian-made-in-2010 game nominated? No? Make it so – nominate it today.

Congratulations to VFS Game Design graduate Zach Williams, who has been named as the very first recipient of the Brian Wood Memorial Internship, an internship that will be awarded three times annually to celebrate the life of Relic employee Brian Wood, who was killed in a tragic car accident last year. Zach, who has previously worked in the local industry as a QA Tester, will begin a four-month internship at Relic Entertainment.

Relic’s General Manager Jonathan Dowdeswell stated on the VFS blog that “Zach’s personal drive to become a great game developer, his broad skill base across a number of the disciplines, as well as his passion for Relic and knowledge of the culture and practices that we maintain were the things that made him stand out as a clear choice for this internship, he even had a Relic shirt ready to put on when we announced the winner to the class!”

Unless you have absolutely no interest gaming, you will be well aware that today is the launch of the demo for Dragon Age 2, available on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.  Bioware will, as we told you last week, unlock two perks should the demo be downloaded and played by 1 million gamers before March 1st. The key to answering this Call To Arms, as the demo phase has been dubbed, is that you must sign in to your EA account. So in our house, at least, that has been achieved by two of us on two separate Xboxes. I’ve played a few minutes of the demo, and thus far Dragon Age 2 looks awesome – the only part I’m concerned about is that the text is awfully small and sometimes difficult to read on a CRT television, even with a large screen.

Of course downloading two demo files also burned up 3.96gb of our new lower monthly cap of 100gb, and upon checking our nifty new Shaw Bandwidth Monitor we are now at 80gb with two weeks still to go on our billing cycle. Yes, we’ll be over – again. We are such bandwidth hogs – especially since Shaw decided we could do with 25gb less per month, but still pay them the same amount of money. Good thing that Shaw is holding off on charging for overages until after they hold their Customer Consultation sessions. I know there will be one in Langley next month, and Shaw has confirmed that my request to attend a session, but I have not yet been emailed about the exact location and time. 

Speaking of User Based Billing, Open Media is still fighting the good fight, and have issued their own call to arms as Rogers and the other obese telecoms meet to find ways to defeat the right of Canadian consumers to have access to fair and affordable internet services. In a post on their site, Open Media asks for the support of consumers in continuing the fight for our rights, and yes, this fight will require funding. We don’t have a huge amount of disposable income in our house, but honestly I would rather help Open Media with a $20.00 donation than pay it to any telecom for an already overpriced cable plan. If Open Media can raise $15 000.00 in the next 48 hours, indie ISP providers TekSavvy and Acanac will match those funds. Please help if you can.

What really, really irks me – besides the high prices for less service, that is – is that the telecoms are telling the CRTC how we internet hogs are clogging up the interwebs so steps must be taken to curb our overuse, yet they continually come up with new “limited special deals” to sign up new customers. If those of us already using the Net are clogging it up, stop trying to sign up more people, because they’re just going to clog it up even more!

While I want to direct you over to Open Media’s site to read their plan in full, here is a quick look at their initial plan of action:

1. Unleash the creativity and ingenuity of Canadians. People from all walks of life — innovators, educators, students, entrepreneurs, and everything in between — are getting together on February 26th for a Day Of Action to educate our fellow Canadians about Internet metering.

2. Put together a united front of public interest groups, creators, indie ISPs, online service providers and half a million Canadians to put forth a well-researched, evidence-based submission to the CRTC.

I would like to add to this plan of action by asking all of you to write your MP and Industry Canada – don’t just accept the bullying of the telecoms as a done deal. We can fight back – we’ve already shown that with the delay of User Based Billing – and we can make a difference. I found an old flyer the other day when I was making an attempt at cleaning up the clutter in my office. This flyer was from our local MP, Mark Warawa (Conservative) and the headline phrase on this flyer is that the Conservatives stand up for Canadian consumers. Well? Let’s see some action behind that statement. Not sure how to contact your MP? Check here. And don’t forget – the CIRA-hosted Canadian Internet Forum being held in Ottawa on February 25th will be available via webcast (yup, burning up more of those gigabytes), so remember to tune in and watch the discussion about the future of Canada’s internet and digital economy. There is also an active discussion group on the CIF site, registration is required to view and post on it.

Ubisoft has finally confirmed a release date for the PC version of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Those of you who prefer to battle the Templars and Borgia on your computers will be able to do so beginning on March 22nd.  Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood for PC will be available at retail stores and for digital download in two different versions:

Retail and Digital Standard Edition:

Main game + Abstergo Project Update 1.0 and 2.0 and The Da Vinci Disappearance

Digital Deluxe Edition:

·Main game + Abstergo Project Update 1.0 and 2.0 and The Da Vinci Disappearance

o Assassin’s Creed® Lineage: discover the story of Giovanni Auditore, Ezio’s father, by watching this three episodes short movie.

o Exclusive additional content featuring the Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood original soundtrack, galleries, Making-of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood…

o Exclusive unlockable content:

* One Multiplayer Character: The Harlequin, a deadly assassin lying behind a gaudy costume and a twisted smiling mask
* One Multiplayer Character: The Officer, a stealthy assassin who can assassinate his targets with a swift and powerful attack
* One exclusive single player indoor map: The Trajan Market
* One exclusive single player outdoor map: The Aqueducts map
* Ezio “Drachen Armor”

Both the Standard Digital Edition and the Deluxe Digital Edition can be pre-ordered at the Ubiworkshop Store.

Microsoft has announced that it will release a non-commercial Kinect for Windows software development kit from Microsoft Research later this spring, followed by a full commercial version of the SDK later in the year. This “starter kit” for application developers is intended to make it easier for academic research and enthusiast communities to create even richer experiences using Kinect technology. Through its collaboration with the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB), Microsoft Research is hoping to support a growing community of academic researchers and enthusiasts who are exploring potential applications built using Kinect.

The starter kit will give academic researchers and enthusiasts access to deep Kinect system capabilities such as audio, system APIs, and direct control of the sensor. Microsoft has deep investments in R&D in natural user interfaces (NUI), which is a part of the company’s long term vision of creating computers that are intuitive to use and able to do far more for us. The fruits of those investments manifesting across many of Microsoft’s products, including Kinect for Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7, Microsoft Surface 2.0, Bing for Mobile and Office 2010 Mini Translator.

Ubisoft has announced that new downloadable content (DLC) for Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood for the Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 will be arriving next month. This new DLC chapter is called “The Da Vinci Disappearance” and will be available for 800 Microsoft points or $9.99.

The Da Vinci Disappearance will include both single-player and multiplayer content for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. After the fall of the Borgias in Rome, Leonardo Da Vinci is kidnapped by the Hermeticists, an underground cult dedicated to transforming mankind. Ezio will embark on a relentless quest to recover stolen paintings in order to find Leo before it is too late, discovering two new locations and two new gameplay features along the way.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa3az-cMwy4]

The multiplayer addition is the biggest expansion to the award-winning multiplayer yet, including one new map, four new characters and two new game modes. The new multiplayer map, Alhambra, is a lush environment set in Spain’s Albaicin of Granada and provides multileveled indoor and outdoor areas perfect for predators to lurk in the dense crowd for unsuspecting targets. The four new characters will undoubtedly be a huge hit with Assassin’s Creed fans, consisting of the Dama Rossa, the Knight, the Marquis and the Pariah. The two new gameplay modes, Escort and Assassinate, will provide a whole new gameplay experience for Brotherhood players. In Escort mode, two teams of four players compete in this team-based mode where each team must protect their VIP target or assassinate the other team’s VIP target. In Assassinate mode six to eight players are pitted against each other deathmatch style in one ten minute round.

Everyone who has an EA account MUST download the Dragon Age 2 demo when it’s released on February 22nd. Why, you may ask. Well, because if the demo is downloaded and played by one million EA account holders before March 1st, Bioware will release special bonuses, that’s why.

If the Dragon Age 2 demo reaches the one million milestone across the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms combined, we will all receive in-game items that will give bonuses to our characters’ financial and experience stats. I want The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall, which rewards players with extra money, and I definitely need the experience boost offered by Lothering’s Lament, so you all have to do your part and follow procedure so that Bioware unlocked these perks.

In the actual demo, we get to play through the prologue of the game, choosing from among three character classes before venturing off to the new region of  Kirkwall and meeting a new romantic prospect, Isabela the Smuggler. Playing through and completing the Dragon Age 2 demo will unlock Hayder’s Razor, a dwarven blade which will provide various ability boosts when the full game is released.

With the perks and bonuses already due to arrive from my pre-orders, and if the Dragon Age community pulls together to unlock these two new perks, my characters are going to do quite well for themselves, I think.

IUGO’s foray into rhythm-based games has begun with Pricklees. Pricklees is a FREEmium title offering an appetizer of tracks to play and enjoy for players currently making its way through the submission process at Apple. Additional characters and tracks may be purchased for $1.99 through IAP.

“We see room for creativity and innovation in the music genre,” states IUGO’s VP of BD Sarah Thomson. “What companies like Tapulous have done is incredible. They have proven their formula to be successful time and time again. But we feel there is so much opportunity to create a unique game mechanic and appeal to an even broader market. We wanted to combine the brilliance of music-based games such as the Tap Tap series with the cuteness and personality of broad appeal titles such as Angry Birds.”

In this latest offering from IUGO, players will be able to jump, duck and roll to the beat with the Pricklees! Try out IUGO’s latest venture with this unique and highly fun 2D/3D rhythm- based game. This is a music game made for everyone… just try and put it down.

Features include:

3 adorable characters you wish you could cuddle; too bad about those prickles!
Unlock more content through IAP
3 levels of difficulty: easy, medium and hard for tons of replayability
Unique rhythm-based gameplay
Dead easy controls, intuitive UI
Dynamic 2D/3D environments
7 Fresh Electronic tracks
Look for more songs in future updates

Vancouver indie developer Dark Acre Game Development announced today that its new game, ‘Ball of Steel’ is now available as a free-to-play title via Kongregate.com for gamers with Unity-enabled web browsers.

Ball of Steel is a marble tilt-maze with a twist: in addition to navigating twisting passages, players must guide their ball through high-tech teleporters and avoid burning pillars of scorching flame to clear each table. Players may choose their challenge levels and warp or skip to any of the 20 boards.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcNYhYRFkIo]

Ball of Steel was built in Unity 3D during two weeks of intensive full-time development. It was developed as an entrant to the Unity Game Contest currently underway at Kongregate.com, and represents the second in a series of free-to-play efforts from Dark Acre. You can check out more information on Dark Acre’s first title on the project’s web page.

In the category of receiving the news a day late (honest, I just got this today), Frima Studio apparently celebrated Valentine’s Day by unveiling a host of new updates for Pocket God with Episode III – The Birds! This third episode follows in the footsteps of the recent Episode II: Clash of the Frightened for the social game, which is currently in an open beta and growing rapidly with more than 175,000 monthly active users on Facebook.

The new updates for The Birds include:

* The Return of the Dodo! – While it may have gone extinct hundreds of years ago for being too passive and peaceful, this reincarnation of the Dodo could not be farther from its ancestors – keep an eye out as it will terrorize your island, making short work of your fish and pygmies!
* New “Dodo Down” Item – Usually there’s a limit on how often you can sacrifice your friends, but with the new Dodo Down power, feel free to resuscitate them and bring them back to life…only to kill them again!
* More Customization – Make Pocket God your own! Players now have the ability to name their individual pygmies so there’s no need to have to settle for the pre-assigned monikers…name them after your enemies and get extra satisfaction from their sacrifice!
* Fat Cupid! – It’s gorgeous, lovely, and quite Rubenesque – it’s Fat Cupid and it needs to be stopped! Band together with your Facebook friends to take down the ultimate evil god.
* Valentine’s Treats – Take a break from drowning your Facebook friends and get into the spirit of Valentine’s Day…send them chocolate treats to let them know that each time you sacrifice them, it’s a gesture of love.

Since its debut on the world’s most popular social network in December of 2010, the Facebook version of Pocket God has grown exponentially and is quickly approaching a quarter of a million active users in less than two months. More than 20 million hapless and helpless pygmies have been sacrificed over that time, and one million of those are friends on Facebook sacrificing other friends in a host of brutal ways, including electrocution, drowning, shark attack, tornado, volcanic lava and much more! The lucky user who sacrificed the one millionth friend, Jessy Rivas of France, received 350 Pocket Change, the in-game currency for Pocket God!

With the city quaking in fear and no help in sight and a rumoured release date of March 23rd*, who ya gonna call? Atari, one of the world’s most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment, is once again answering the call for gamers everywhere by delivering the first ever Ghostbusters digital title, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime. In conjunction with Sony Pictures Consumer Products and developed by Behaviour, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime will be available on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360®, PlayStation®Network, and Windows PC Download at Atari.com.

Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime is a four player, ghost-busting adventure that will take players on a brand new paranormal experience. Players will suit up with their proton packs and assume the role of a rookie hired by the Ghostbusters to save New York City from a disaster of ghoulish proportions.

The action-packed gameplay progresses as players complete jobs as fearless rookies who explore a series of haunted environments that must be cleared of any ectoplasmic threats. The gripping adventure rages on as players encounter gigantic bosses that require a concentrated effort to defeat using a medley of highly destructive weapons including the Proton Stream, Plasma Inductor, and the Fermion Shock. Rookie Ghostbusters will face the dangers of the eerie world alone or with a ghostbusting team of friends both locally or online through the game’s multiplayer capability.

* Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime has yet to appear on the Xbox Marketplace or on the Atari store, so the release date as of yet has not been confirmed. Perhaps someone in the know could let me know?

Edmonton’s Fluik Entertainment has announced that Gunner Galaxies, the sequel to top-downloaded game Gunner will is scheduled for release this March, and will pack new galaxies, new gameplay, fun new unlocks and ship upgrades into this latest chapter. Gunner Galaxies is an asteroid-blasting classic arcade action game for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Fluik’s previous game releases include the aforementioned Gunner, Bubble Rainbow (which are free in the iTunes store and now residing on my iPod Touch), the also free Tic Tac Draw and Airport Madness Challenge, Airport Madness Mobile, Will It Fly, and CoolSpell, which all have both free and paid versions.

Toronto publisher DreamCatcher Games and parent company JoWooD Entertainment have confirmed the release date for the official Painkiller Standalone Add-On “Redemption“ as February 25th 2011 – although there is no official page on the DreamCatcher site yet for Redemption, the game will continue the epic Painkiller conflict between good and evil.

The kingdom of heaven is threatened by a ruthless army from hell. Two champions, Daniel and Belial, who we already know as the two previous heroes of the series, combine their forces and join the never-ending battle between good and evil.

“It demands quite a bit of skill to confront the countless hordes of monsters – to vanquish them you can equip some really crazy weapons“, says Markus Reutner, International Product Marketing Manager at JoWooD. “We also have the right soundtrack for the fast-paced action because the atmosphere is particularly important when countless monsters attack you without mercy. An insiders’ tip for Painkiller friends as well as for new fans!“

Features:

· 7-10 hours playtime
· Transform yourself into a demon once you’ve collected enough souls!
· Use the occult powers of tarot cards
· More than 6,000 enemies and up to 1,000 monsters on all of the 6 new maps
· Easy to use map editor for your very own Painkiller experience
· Adrenaline pumping soundtrack

Another Toronto-based publisher, Game Bridger Entertainment, has unveiled the latest game to come to their free-to-play gaming platform, GamerKraft. Aida Arenas, developed by Korean developer GalaxyGate, is an “MMORPG Brawler” set in the raucous world of Aida – a land where adventuring, treasure-hunting, and good ol’ fashioned rough-housing are the primary pastimes.

“We are excited to announce Aida Arenas’ arrival on the GamerKraft platform in the first quarter of 2011,” said Matthew Denomme, Marketing Manager for Game Bridger Entertainment, “the game’s charming cartoon graphics and whimsical game world, plus its accessible controls and gameplay mechanics, are sure to appeal to a wide range of both hardcore and casual gamers.”

Create a hero, explore dungeons, fight monsters, compete with friends, and discover hidden treasure in AIDA Arenas, the new MMORPG Brawler from GamerKraft, where you can Combine elements of the classic beat ‘em up arcade genre with the character progression and social features of modern MMORPGs.

And of course I would be totally remiss if I did not even mention the big Triple A game news of the day, which is the announcement that Felicia Day has written a new web series based on Bioware’s Dragon Age series. The six part Dragon Age: Redemption series will star Ms. Day as elven assassin Tallis. In an article on USA Today, (no, I was not one of the lucky ones who were sent a press release about the web series, I found out about it via Twitter) the story will revolve around Tallis’ personal quest to capture a renegade magician and the companions she enlists into her fellowship along the way.

Reminder: There are 15 days left to get your nominations in for the Canadian Video Game Awards.
Reminder: There are 15 days left to submit entries for the 2011 Design Edge Canada Regional Design Awards
Reminder: Digital Media practitioners, don’t forget to fill in the industry survey over at Pixel to Product.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed in today’s conference call to investors that there will be a new Assassin’s Creed game this year, however we will all have to wait until May for more details.

Winnipeg studio Infinite Ammo, the co-developer of Aquaria, has posted a dev diary update for Marian and the Fantastic World of Dreams, and the game thus far looks great. In this very detailed dev diary you read about the process of meshing 2D with 3D and the trials the team has experienced thus far as the game unfolds. You can also hear a sampling of the game’s soundtrack as you read the diary post.

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

If you are unfamiliar with Infinite Ammo’s project, the game’s main character is Marian, a beautifully carved marionette who rips her strings from the grasp of ‘The Narrator’ and to become her own master. She becomes caught in the dream world between life and death, learning to her own puppet strings as a tool in her quest to discover her true identity, and in fitting with today’s universal Valentine’s Day theme, she may even find true love.

Rocket5 Studios has released the first teaser trailer for that studio’s upcoming iOS game XS Force, which the creators will be demoing at GDC 2011. XS Force is an explosive arcade shooter starring characters inspired by some of the biggest action movie stars of the 1980?s, and this trailer lets you get a glimpse of one of the XS Force heroes.

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

Rocket5’s previous titles for the iPhone and iPod Touch include Giant Moto and Holeshot Drag Racing as well as amusement apps Alien Booth and iSpoof Walken.

Source Studio has announced new DLC for the recently updated Proto Galaxy. Proto Defense, the first DLC release for Proto Galaxy, will soon be available for free via the game’s Steam page. Check out what’s coming in this expansion:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZpW8IKPG2k]

Released in October 2010, Proto Galaxy is a turrent defense game that allows up to four players to team up and save the galaxy from an alien force determined to enslave humanity. As Earth’s last line of defense, you must put an end to the attacks and rebuild a home for the survivors.

Distribution360 has acquired rights to distribute the Cartoon Network U.K. version of Skatoony to French and German-speaking Europe as well as Spain. The company will also distribute the North American version of Skatoony—produced by marblemedia—to the same territories. Skatoony (U.K.) airs on Cartoon Network U.K.; Skatoony (North America) was commissioned by TELETOON, and premiered on the Canadian kids network in English and French this past October. Skatoony is the first animated/live-action quiz show adventure that pits tweens and ‘toons against each other in four frantic, trivia-based rounds. Set in a fantastical television studio in the fictional town of Showtown, the series is anchored by the cartoon duo of host Chudd Chudders and his lounge-singing sidekick, The Earl. Each week, they attempt to put together another show, while all manner of mad happenings occur around them. Skatoony Interactive features the “Skatoony Home Game,” a multi-player game where kids play Skatoony in real-time against other kids online.

“We’re excited to be distributing both versions of Skatoony to international markets,” says Stéphanie Röckmann-Portier, Managing Director/Head of Sales, Distribution360. “We’re looking forward to offering broadcasters a library of versioned episodes in order to identify content that best suits their needs.”

“Working with Distribution360 gives us the opportunity to exploit new territories for Skatoony,” says Michael Carrington, Chief Content Officer, Turner Broadcasting. “It’s a fantastic fast-paced game show which is sure to delight new audiences across Europe.”

In addition to Skatoony, D360’s kids slate also includes Splatalot, Ambition Skatecamp, This is Daniel Cook, and This is Emily Yeung for distribution to international markets.

Communitech’s annual Tech Leadership Conference on March 2, 2011 is the place to be for anyone in high-tech — to hear keynote speakers author Geoffrey Moore and futurist Watts Wacker, share views with journalist and author Scott Berkun, and gain insights from a high-tech power panel moderated by former Global national news anchor Kevin Newman. More than 500 people are expected to attend the largest such one-day event in Southwestern Ontario.

“It’s an action-packed day that will focus on the new fundamentals of business in an era where the power of the crowd shapes everything from marketing practices to purchase consideration, and leading-edge innovation continues to drive rapid change,” said Iain Klugman, president and CEO of Communitech.

The Tech Leadership Conference will feature a ‘BIG Conversation’ between Canadian industry leaders — MKS CEO Philip Deck, Sr. VP OSI John Ruffolo, and CTO OpenText Eugene Roman with Geoffrey Moore and moderated by Kevin Newman — addressing the major shifts occurring in the tech industry. Startup companies will also pull back the curtain on latest innovations moving from stealth mode to commercialization in the annual Tech Expo staged at the conference.

Geoffrey Moore is best known as the author of the ground-breaking book “Crossing the Chasm” and is a managing director at TCG Advisors and a venture partner at MDV. Tech leadership attendees will hear from Moore how disruptive innovation can have a positive impact on their business plans. Lecturer, best-selling author, political commentator and social critic Watts Wacker will bring a futurist’s perspective to the Tech Leadership Conference, focusing on navigating the sea of change in business.

Scott Berkun — author of three best-selling books, contributor to publications such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian, and a blogger for Harvard Business and BusinessWeek — will investigate the myths of innovation.

Breakout sessions at the Tech Leadership Conference include the following topics and leaders:

* Myths of Innovation: Scott Berkun
* Developing Your Digital Roadmap: Dan Christian, DanoDigital
* Recruiting Trends: Sharon Rudy, SpencerStuart
* Under Construction: The Sales and Marketing Organization of the Future: John Neeson, Sirius Decisions
* Life After Exit Leadership Panel: Steve Woods, Google; Yvan Couture, Primal; Ron Neumann, Dejero Labs; moderated by Greg Barratt, Communitech.

Congratulations to Toronto-based SecureKey Technologies Inc., who has received an investment from Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s global investment organization. SecureKey designs hardware and software solutions to enable the strong cryptographic capabilities of debit, credit and identity smartcards including those within NFC based phones to be used for online authentication and online purchases. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Canon Canada is launching a national print and broadcast campaign, developed with JWT Canada that is uniquely Canadian – for Canadians by Canadians. The campaign, with additional online elements to be incorporated in the next several months, aims to deepen Canon Canada’s emotional connection with its consumers through the telling of important shared moments in life.

JWT Canada undertook strategic sessions with the various business units, which resulted in the notion that people need and want Canon imaging products when the output really counts; be that a photo of your child’s graduation, a retina camera that can detect early warning signs of diabetes or print-outs for an important client presentation. The campaign takes the focus off the product attributes and shines a light on the people who use Canon products.

Last Saturday we ventured to the Grand Court at Metrotown in Burnaby to meet up with Pikachu, who was at the mall to celebrate the upcoming release of Pokémon Black and Pokémon White editions with Nintendo Canada – and the five million copies that have already sold in Japan since the game’s launch in that country two months ago. Hundreds of Pokémon fans young and old were given the opportunity to experience the game at the Nintendo DS display, where other activities included free face painting and a colouring page station.

It would seem that the Pokémon tribe has many loyal followers, as evidenced by one young lady who showed up in her own Pikachu attire, spending a good part of the afternoon at the colouring station. Eighteen year old Andrew spent quite some time exploring the game, and stated that he’s been playing since he got his first Pokemon game when he was seven. To date his favourite iteration of the franchise is Pokémon Gold.

Sisters Emma (12) and Kaitlin (9) were visiting from Kelowna, and between the two of them own ten Pokémon titles for both the DS and Wii. Their Dad will most likely be purchasing both the White and Black editions for his gaming gals, who also have many Pokémon cards that they like to read and organize.

Pokémon Black and White versions offer two different worlds, the Black City and the White Forest, with each game offering locales unique to its environment. Players will be introduced to 150 new Pokémon, and throughout the RPG style of the game will find new areas and experiences which only become available as the seasons change in the storyline. It is these new features that keep players coming back for more according to Nintendo representative Julie Gagnon, and she confirmed that she’s met many young parents who are now introducing their own children to the world and wonders of Pokémon.

The Black and White editions introduce the Unova region, which is located far away from the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions – and will appear differently depending on which game edition you own. Unova is a forested region, dotted with modern cities. People in the Unova region live in harmony with many previously unseen Pokémon, and as most of the Pokémon from other regions don’t appear in the Unova region, visitors are guaranteed to meet many new and interesting characters – some of whom also differ between the two editions. In the Black edition, you will encounter Reshiram, while in Pokémon White edition you will meet Zekrom. You will also find the dastardly Team Plasma, who want to steal all of the Pokémon and aren’t very nice characters at all.

According to Nintendo, when these new game editions launch on March 6th, players can get a head start in collecting every Pokémon in the Unova region when they receive the Liberty Pass. The Liberty Pass is an item that is used in-game to hop aboard a ship and sail to a secret location the Mythical Pokémon Victini can be captured.

Victini is a Fire- and Psychic-type Pokémon—the first of its kind. And Victini has the Victory Star Ability, which raises the accuracy of all Pokémon in battle, so it’s the perfect Pokémon for the new Double Battles and Triple Battles that are introduced to game play with these new chapters in the Pokémon story. Also new is the ability for Random Matchups, where players can battle others around the globe without needing Friend Codes – however a wireless broadband Internet connection and Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection are required to battle others around the globe.

In the Black and White editions you’ll also be able to feel the beat in the Pokémon Musical! Dress Up your Pokémon with various Props, then watch it dance to the music. You can even play the Pokémon Musical with your friends! Just get up to four players together, each with their own Nintendo DS system and copy of Pokémon Black Version or Pokémon White Version.

Both Pokémon Black and White editions are available for pre-order at retail outlets including GameStop Canada, Future Shop and Best Buy, and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

Happy first anniversary to Snowed In Studios. The Ottawa studio is currently working with Eidos Montreal on the upcoming Deus Ex: Human Revolution and recently worked with Artech Studios on The Undergarden for Atari. The Snowed In team has also worked with two other studios on our Favourites List, Behaviour and TransGaming. Here’s to many more years of gaming goodness for the team at Snowed In!

Vancouver indie developer Josh Brown has released his first Android title. Vertigo Towers is a physics based 3D action puzzler with 3 game modes which requires the player to match sets of three or more bricks and create chains for huge points. Vertigo Tower is OpenFeint-enabled complete with a Leaderboard and Achievements. There is both a paid version (1.99 USD) and a lite version available in Android Marketplace. I would buy this game if it became available for iPod Touch.

Relic and THQ have opened up the Warhammer®40,000®: Dawn of War®II – Retribution™ BETA to anyone who has bought a Dawn of War game through STEAM or has registered a Dawn of War II product on their STEAM account. In addition, gamers can get access to the beta by registering on the Dawn of War Community site and following the instructions under the Beta Key giveaway tab.

Featuring all six multiplayer races including the new Imperial Guard faction, the beta will run through the end of February to test the new Steamworks network and matchmaking features and help balance the multiplayer mode. All new units for each race will be available in the beta along with the new multiplayer maps that will ship with Retribution. The Dawn of War II – Retribution multiplayer beta is currently planned to run until midnight on February 24th, at which point the developers will take all feedback into account to create a day-zero balancing patch.

The Cavechild checked out the Retribution Beta last week, and his thoughts thus far are: HOLY WTF WIN! FREAKIN’ EPIC OMG WEEEEEE. That pretty much sums it up, there is more and all but that is for another time.

Retribution is very very VERY pretty, it a new thought out army panter so that you can see what many of you squads will look like, they made it a little less shiney and more grungy like the old dawn of war which is freaking amazing! The sound in the game, the effects, ambiance, voices, yelling, gunfire, tanks, orcs and so on are very clear even in the middle of a giant war with 2 Imperial guard armies taking down Orcs, more Orcs and some weird looking Eldar.

In my opinion the Imperial Guard are just a little OP considering I was able to beat down the Orc Warboss pretty easy, same with the Eldar Farseer. The game play is the same as the two games previous so none of you have to worry about changing style and how to do things. If I remember correctly you are allowed to import everything for Last Stand mode which is you versus a ton of AI which aren’t too hard then casually grow in difficulty. Dawn of War II: Retribution is by far one of the best games for 2011 and the year has only started…

Congratulations to the Mass Effect 2 team on all of the hardware they picked up at last evening’s AIAS Awards, winning in three categories: Outstanding Achievement in Story,  Role Playing / MMO Game of the Year and Game of the Year – and of course congratulations to Bioware co-founders Doctors Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk on their induction into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame. Congratulations also to the FIFA 2011 team over at EA Sports for picking up the Sports Game of the Year award.

Frima Studio titles Widgets Odyssey I and Widgets Odyssey II are now available in Europe as a single game bundle for the super low price of £1.74 / €1.99! As PlayStation®Mini titles, Widgets Odyssey I and Widgets Odyssey II are playable on both PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®Portable. Both titles are rated as PEGI 7 (ESRB rated E for Everyone).

In the Widgets Odyssey saga, five robots aboard their space vessel have just one simple mission…to save the universe from the tyrannical Yagor and his evil henchmen! Armed with the unique abilities of Spad, Cosmo, Bruce, Helmut, and Monk, players will guide each robot along their exciting adventures filled with puzzles, mazes, minigames and intense platforming challenges.

If you’re in the Vancouver area on March 9th, you may be interested in attending BCTIA’s TechBrew event being held at the Stanley Park Pavilion. The mega-mixer invites entrepreneurs, investors, professional service providers or anyone interested in technology companies to meet, talk, and make new connections in a casual setting. Featured companies at the March event include: D2D Campaign Solutions, Gogiro, ikamobile, Jostle, Nexterra Systems Corp., NGRAIN, REV, Rx Networks, SewerVUE, Snap Technologies, Solegear Bioplastics and Wishpond. Tickets for TechBrew are $34.95 for BCTIA members, $44.95 for Non-Members or $19.95 for Students.

bant, an iPhone based application to help adolescents improve diabetes self-management by capturing, analyzing, and sharing their blood glucose data, is being tested by teenagers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Diabetes Clinic in Toronto. The pilot program will assess the impact that social networking and rewards that encourage and reinforce self-management behaviours have on young teens as they become more independent in managing their diabetes. The pilot will run for three months.

bant was developed by University Health Network (UHN) in collaboration with SickKids and with input from patients, families, doctors, nurses and engineers. The multidisciplinary teams from SickKids’ Diabetes Clinic and Division of Adolescent Medicine worked closely with colleagues at UHN to design the application. bant is partially funded by the Saint Elizabeth Health Care ACT research grant program.

People with type 1 diabetes need to maintain their blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible to decrease diabetes-related complications, such as kidney and heart disease. Optimal blood glucose is very hard to achieve; requiring frequent measurement of levels, detailed analysis of the results, and continued adjustments of the treatment plan.

A free version of bant is already available in 10 languages at the Apple App Store. An advanced version of the application has been developed for use in the pilot which will use a LifeScan OneTouch Mini blood glucose meter to collect and wirelessly transfer readings directly into bant using a Bluetooth adapter developed by the UHN team. The data are then displayed and organized visually. Teens can customize the tool to categorize readings according to their activities and daily schedule to enable accurate decision-making and medication adjustments. They will also be able to share their experiences in a private social network within the app and earn experience points leading to rewards in the form of iTunes redemption codes to purchase music and other apps. bant is integrated with TELUS health space, Powered by Microsoft HealthVault, giving pilot participants the ability to store, review, and control the sharing of their personal health information with their care team and family members.

Sierra Wireless has unveiled a multi-purpose wireless gateway that defines next-generation intelligent machine-to-machine (M2M) networking. The powerful Sierra Wireless AirLink™ GX400 gateway offers a leading-edge combination of features, including cloud-based device management, extensive hardware and software enhancements, mil-spec ruggedness, GPS and associated location-based services, and advanced configuration options with comprehensive expandability for both hardware and software features.

Flexible and powerful enough to meet the needs of a wide range of applications in the transportation, industrial M2M and enterprise markets, the AirLink GX400 will make solution deployment faster, easier and less expensive for mobile system operators, OEMs, application service providers and end customers. With the AirLink GX400, system integrators can standardize on a single gateway platform to serve the needs of all of their customers.

Sierra Wireless also announced AirLink Management Services (AMS), which will facilitate comprehensive cloud-based device management for the AirLink GX400, as well as other AirLink intelligent gateways and routers. Based on the Sierra Wireless AirVantage™ Platform, this powerful hosted device management service means small and large deployments can affordably take advantage of the comprehensive AMS management features from any location with Internet access.

Sierra Wireless boosted processing performance five-fold, basing the AirLink GX400’s design on an ARM 11-class microprocessor architecture operating with high-capacity DDR memory. This provides a powerful foundation for exploiting existing and new features and functionality. Other hardware enhancements include external antenna connectors, Ethernet, Serial and USB “OTG” (On-the-Go), as well as an expansion slot to accommodate future integrated add-on capabilities such as additional physical interfaces and wireless local and personal area networking and communications.