Village Gamer

Interactive entertainment company Ludia Inc. has announced that the studio has sold over 10 million games across digital and console platforms since the release of its first title The Price Is Right three years ago. This figure equates to a Ludia game being sold on average every 10 seconds across mobile, PC, and consoles. As of today, four Ludia games have risen to the desirable top 10 Paid Apps spot on the Apple App Store and over seven million Facebook users have installed Ludia’s The Price Is Right and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

“I am very proud of the Ludia team and all we have achieved together to propel us to this exciting milestone today,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia Inc. “Our expanded Facebook and mobile strategy combined with our multi-platform console releases will continue to foster years of future growth.”

The second half of Ludia’s 2011 slate includes the release of 11 new games. The company will also expand its Facebook offering to feature a broad range of titles including five new TV game shows, a major film franchise, and an original IP.

To fuel Ludia’s ongoing growth, the company plans to hire 50 new employees by the end of the year.

Every so often I run across an interesting site – sometimes led there by Twitter, as I was today – I followed a link tweeted by Corwin Hiebert of Creative Mix. Today’s discovery is Creative Couples Network, founded by creative Vancouver couple and Creativitality proprietors Igor Terzic and Slava Micic, and Megan Williams – who also puts on game day events for the Vancouver Canucks. I bet she’s very busy right now. 😉

According to the site’s information, “Creative Couples is a global network connecting and featuring couples successfully balancing work, love and lifestyle. More often than not, we hear about couples who are either splitting up, cheating on their partner or living a ‘single’ life while in a relationship. With all that attention on tumultuous relationships, where and when is it ‘cool’ to be in love?”

Being one half of a creative couple myself, I thought that I would pass along this great resource to all of the other creatives who read this site – many of whom are also part of a creative duo. The site has many articles that are educational, inspiring and meaningful, as well as a global directory of sites and special feature areas such as Cooking for Two, Music Mondays and Historic Couples. There is also a wealth of video and photographic content for viewing.

By the way, Creative Couples is hiring as well as looking for interns.

The Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) aims to promote innovation and support the development of small and medium enterprises (SME) in Canada. The goal of CICP is to help bridge the pre-commercialization gap by purchasing innovations through a Call for Proposals. The Program targets innovations in four priority areas: environment, health, safety & security, and enabling technologies.

There are 19 pre-qualified innovation proposals from the first round of the program, and now The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) invites you to attend the Spring 2011 Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) Forums taking place from 9:00 – noon on:

• June 20, 2011 Kelowna – Delta Grand Okanagan – 1310 Water St. in Kelowna
• June 21, 2011 Kamloops – Kamloops Convention Centre – 1250 Rogers Way in Kamloops
• June 27, 2011 Vancouver – Marriott Pinnacle – 1128 West Hastings St. in Vancouver
• June 28, 2011 Victoria – Hotel Grand Pacific – 463 Belleville St. in Victoria

Come out for a free coffee and learn more about the program – register today, it’s free.

By attending the CICP Innovation Forum, you will have the opportunity to:

• Learn about the CICP and other Government of Canada programs that support innovation
• Meet face to face with Government of Canada representatives
• Find out what new innovations local businesses are working on

Forum Agenda

9:00am – 10:30am (Information session)

The agenda for each Forum is similar – there will be information sessions for businesses on CICP as well as on the Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program, the Industrial Research Assistance Program, Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade and Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada Programs during the first portion of the event from 9:00am – 10:30am.

10:30am – Noon (Networking and Tradeshow)

The second portion of the event runs from 10:30am – noon and during this portion businesses are invited to showcase their innovative goods and services to government. (Please note that there will be no tradeshow at the Kamloops event.)

If you have any questions about CICP, please do not hesitate to contact Scarlett Chan, Regional CICP Coordinator, at 1-866-602-0403 or visit the CICP web site.

Nightingale Informatix Corporation, an application service provider (ASP) of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software and related services today announced it has partnered with ExpeData LLC, an innovative software company and global leader in digital writing based in Ohio, to launch “Clinipen”, a potentially game-changing technology within the North American EMR market. Clinipen will enable EMR software providers to deliver an integrated digital writing solution with which healthcare providers can input structured data into a patient’s EMR directly from paper.

“Through this partnership with Nightingale, we will be making the adoption of EMR technology much more appealing to a large segment of North American healthcare providers, which is very exciting,” said Brandon Major, Vice President and COO, ExpeData. “We are looking forward to a successful launch of Clinipen.”

The EDW® digital writing platform from ExpeData leverages Anoto® digital pen and paper technology and Vision Objects’ industry-leading handwriting recognition technologies. ExpeData has demonstrated the effective use of its platform solution in a number of industries, including financial services and certain segments of the healthcare industry. Via the partnership, Nightingale and ExpeData will expand the deployment of the EDW® digital writing platform to the EMR market.

Nightingale and ExpeData have entered into a joint venture agreement for exclusive distribution rights for the Clinipen technology products for the EMR industry in North America. Each company will maintain 50% ownership.

Nightingale On Demand, Nightingale’s leading, web-based EMR, will be the first solution seamlessly integrated with Clinipen. The Clinipen-enabled solution for Nightingale On Demand is expected to become commercially available to physicians in Canada and the United States during the fourth quarter of this calendar year.

“Nightingale is committed to innovation and making the transition from paper records to EMR as seamless as possible for physicians,” said Sam Chebib, President and CEO of Nightingale. “Clinipen will be a major breakthrough in EMR data entry as it will allow healthcare providers to continue using their current paper forms to document patient encounters and write prescriptions. We believe integrating ExpeData’s digital writing technology with Nightingale On Demand will position both companies as leaders in the North American EMR market.”

According to the 2009  study Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians, it is estimated that more than 60% of Canadian physicians are still using paper-based records. A recent independent survey conducted in the US by CompTIA indicated that only 34% of healthcare providers use a comprehensive EMR system, while 16% indicated using a partial system. 29% of respondents indicated that they are evaluating solutions, while 20% indicated that they have not yet started the adoption process. (2nd Annual Healthcare IT Market: Insights and Opportunities Study)

ExpeData and Vision Objects are part of the digital writing investment portfolio held by Myrian Capital, a private equity firm focused on emerging technology businesses.

“Clinipen is a strategic opportunity and provides a natural way to expand our digital writing investment portfolio into the EMR market,” said Paddy Padmanabhan, Managing Director, Myrian Capital. “The advanced input technologies in this joint venture allow physicians to use handwriting, the most natural and flexible data capture method available, to easily transition to electronic records. This provides groundbreaking potential to accelerate EMR adoption.”

Co-founder of Ubisoft Montréal and founder of EA Montréal Alain Tascan has opened the doors to his next large-scale project in Québec’s video game industry: SAVA Transmedia. The new venture is one of the first entirely independent gaming companies specializing in games for social and mobile platforms.

SAVA Transmedia aims to redefine the future of social games so that players can “connect and play on every screen”. The company’s mission is to offer gamers an unparalleled entertainment experience by combining cutting edge technology and design with the artistic vision of the best creative minds in the business. SAVA is devoted to developing innovative, quality social games for new and fast-growing platforms, including Facebook, iOS,  Android and Windows Mobile.

With the establishment of the new studio, SAVA Transmedia plans to create 50 jobs within its first year of operation and aims to add a total of 200 new jobs over the next five years. SAVA Transmedia is not only a great addition to the video game industry, but to Montréal’s economic development as well.

“It is with great pride and enthusiasm that I announce the official opening of SAVA Transmedia, located in the heart of Montréal,” said Alain Tascan, President and CEO of SAVA Transmedia.  “Québec is my adopted home where I have lived and built my career in the video game industry over the last 14 years. I can think of no better place to embark on this exciting new journey than in Montréal with its incredible opportunity and support for entrepreneurship and technology innovation.”

Tascan added, “The combination of social media and new mobile devices has led to the creation of a new market segment for the video game industry. The province of Québec, and Montréal in particular, rank among the world’s best in terms of video game production, and our goal at SAVA is to now make it the global hub for social gaming.”

“The opening of a new video game development studio in Montréal demonstrates once again that this city is a key global player in the entertainment software industry,” noted Raymond Bachand, Minister of Finance, Minister of Revenue and the Minister responsible for the Montreal region. “SAVA Transmedia will immediately create jobs and will also contribute to the development of local expertise in this continuously growing industry, namely in social media.”

The President of the Montréal Board of Trade Mr. Michel Leblanc was also in attendance to mark the occasion. “We welcome SAVA Transmedia to our city with a great sense of enthusiasm and today’s announcement is another example that Montréal is a global leader in the gaming industry, and in particular in this new rapidly growing social media category” said Mr. Leblanc. “Efforts to ensure our next generation of workers are generating encouraging results, with an ever growing number of graduates.”

SAVA Transmedia will start recruiting and hiring immediately. As part of its search it will be seeking talented programmers, designers and graphic artists to build the foundation of the company for the future.

“We plan to hire employees that are ready for a new adventure in the gaming industry,” stated Tascan.  “I want to bring together a passionate team composed of industry veterans and young, promising talent. I encourage potential candidates to visit www.sava.com or to email us at info@sava.com for more information.”

The global social games market is estimated at nine billion dollars and should double over the next five years, reaching 20 billion dollars by 2015. From 2010 to 2015, the social games markets of China and the United States should expect annual growth of 20% and 15%, respectively, according to a study on the Future in Digital Media conducted by William & Blair Company. (The Future in Digital Media. Chicago, 2011. p.1)

Currently, there are just under 300 million previous generation gaming consoles in the market. In comparison, there are 1.6 billion social network accounts, 150 million games for Apple devices and approximately 20 million Android devices. The combination of social media and new mobile devices led to the creation of a new market segment for the video game industry, and this segment will continue to grow, again according the Future in Digital Media report.

Online gaming is increasing in popularity, specifically after the arrival of games in social networks. In 2010, 30% of Québecers online took part in games on the Internet during a given month, as compared to 21% in 2009. Gaming ranks third overall in terms of most popular entertainment sources on the Internet, behind watching videos and watching TV / listening to the radio. ⁽CEFRIO. Divertissement en ligne : place au jeux sociaux. Montréal, 2010. p.5)

Online Québecers enjoy different types of games: 21% entertain themselves on sites dedicated to games, 11% do it on social networking sites and 9% play over a network on consoles over the Internet. ⁽CEFRIO. Divertissement en ligne : place au jeux sociaux. Montréal, 2010. p.5)

The Entertainment Software Association of Canada is unveiling its 2011 Report on the Canadian Entertainment Software Industry (PDF) right about now at a luncheon event in Toronto. This year’s report shows that our industry, while undergoing somewhat of a metamorphosis, is maturing and becoming more mainstream as games become more and more a part of modern culture.

The study was conducted by Secor, and shows the many components of the digital media industry sector that play a part in Canada’s success as a leading developer of entertainment software. From schools to ancillary contractors and service providers, it is apparent that our national development landscape is comprised of highly talented people across the creative, technological and managerial sectors.

There is a wealth of information contained in this latest study, but I will not go into a lot of detail here, because I feel that it’s more important for those of you who are stakeholders in the entertainment software industry to read and digest the information for yourselves.

The main drivers of this success as a national video gaming industry include:

• Being predominantly a ‘made-in-Canada’ industry: many of the most important video games and video game companies were started in Canada by Canadians.
• Offering increasingly rich ecosystems of video game development and related support companies, providing to publishers the ability to build and test all components of a new product locally.
• Producing well-trained talent, particularly at the university and college levels.

As well as our having attractive economics for video game companies:

• Canadian governments at both the federal and provincial levels have developed a range of programs applicable to video game companies.
• Over several decades and until very recently, the Canadian dollar has been relatively cheap in comparison to the U.S. dollar.
• Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, Canada’s dominant video game clusters, are well-known for their quality of life and more broadly, Canada itself has long been known as a desirable country to live and do business in.
• Positioning between the export markets of Asia and Europe, and in the same time zones as the major U.S.-based video game publishers.
• Being a multicultural society, Canada has significant language and cultural overlaps with the United States, Europe, and Asia.
• Receiving support from a variety of video game and interactive/digital industry associations
• Attracting frequent and well-informed attention from the Canadian media.

Overall industry developments since the release of the previous report in 2009 include the arrival of tablets and the increasing penetration of smart phones, along with the success of motion-sensor games and changes in the console introduction cycles. As well, there have been changes within the Video Gaming Categories as a whole, with console gaming profits still concentrating on blockbusters and Triple A console publishers increasing the proportion of their revenue earned through online sales. The rise of social, mobile and cloud gaming has also played a significant role in both industry changes and challenges.

As you read through this report, you will see how important it is for companies to participate in studies such as this, and it was somewhat disheartening to see that information about companies from an entire province was not included in the overall snapshot of our national positioning because no companies from the province participated in the study. I will not reveal which province it was, because as I mentioned above, I feel that all of you should download and study this report to interpret what it means not only for your company but for the future of digital media production in Canada. I’ve said many times that if we want to see Canada move to the top of the global list and dominate the world in entertainment software, we will all have to work together to get there. Just as each title is more often than not a team effort, so should the health of this industry be a national effort.

I am not naive in thinking that regional politics, economics and personalities won’t always play a part in this industry, but I think there comes a time when those politics need to be set aside for the greater good of our success, because we can accomplish more with team work than by pitting sectors against each other and diluting the quality not only of our titles but of our community.

Congratulations to everyone at ESAC and Secor – and to those companies who participated –  for producing a very insightful and informative report – and thank you for letting me play a small part in the final product.

Funcom has released a developer diary for its upcoming and highly anticipated modern-day MMO ‘The Secret World’. Watch as the developers delve into the story behind the game, and take a look at some of the many unique missions in the game. With hundreds of voiced characters, ‘The Secret World’ offers a rich and immersive gaming experience with a storyline that dares to go deep into the realm of myths and legends.

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

‘The Secret World’ is a next-generation massively multiplayer online game for the PC platform, where players are given total freedom to create and progress their characters, unbound by the restrictions of classes and levels. Players will get the opportunity to join one of the three secret societies and fight for power over important locations throughout our own world.  Players will also journey through familiar places across the globe, such as Egypt, New England, London, New York and Seoul and battle monsters of myth and legend.

Monster Media, an Orlando-based company with an office in Oakville and BMO Bank of Montreal have installed a monster-sized, 12′ X 7.5′ interactive electronic marketing display, prominently placed in Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, in an effort to capture the attention and the interest of more than 20 million travellers who move in and out of Pearson’s Terminal 1 domestic departures level each year.

The bright, bold display is comprised of an interactive memory game and credit card rewards calculator, promoting the bank’s new premium travel rewards credit card, BMO World Elite MasterCard.

“The sheer scale of the installation gives the display a fantastic presence for our World Elite MasterCard and for the BMO brand,” says Su McVey, VP, Marketing, BMO Bank of Montreal. “It’s a creative and effective way for us to build awareness amongst a key market segment – frequent travellers – about BMO World Elite’s superior travel benefits, using touch screen technology on a grand scale. The game provides travellers with an engaging way to get to know us a bit better.”

Travellers can test their memory by uncovering matching icons hidden behind the display’s virtual screen panels. The icons represent various BMO World Elite credit card features. Players can also calculate how many points they can earn – and what destinations they can travel to – by sliding a virtual scale over a range of monthly credit card spend amounts.

Ms. McVey says the display has a practical benefit beyond its sheer entertainment value. “Customers become engaged in the game and walk away with a much more immediate sense of if and how BMO World Elite MasterCard fits their travel needs,” she explained.

“We already have a strong presence in top airports across the U.S. and this new partnership is a natural and major step in our strategy to aggressively expand our presence throughout Canada,” said David Leetham, vice president of Canadian sales for Monster Media. “We are very pleased to be working with BMO to be the first to bring this engaging, interactive and effective form of advertising to a Canadian airport.”

The Pearson installation is another “first” for Monster Media and BMO. Last year, BMO introduced Canada’s first large-format digital storefront game to pedestrians outside the bank’s flagship Toronto branch at King and Bay Streets. Passersby were challenged to tend goal against five virtual youth soccer players. The campaign supported BMO’s sponsorship of grassroots soccer across Canada.

Google Earth continues to be a popular way to showcase 3D versions of Canadian communities to the global audience.  Vancouver and Toronto are so popular that they have been added to Google’s Building Maker online 3D modeling tool.  This tool allows 3D freelancers from around the world to remotely create 3D buildings for these cities.

Local governments of smaller Canadian communities like Fredericton and Banff have successfully tapped into Google’s ‘Cities in 3D Program’.  These municipalities understand the benefits of having a 3D model of their communities for use in promoting economic development, boosting tourism and visualizing community planning.

For smaller towns and villages, there are businesses like Nanaimo’s JAC GeoDesign that specialize in creating 3D models of buildings and structures to showcase on Google Earth.  Owner Judith Chinn is Canada’s First Google Certified Geo 3D Developer.  “My business gives me the opportunity to showcase our well known Canadian communities alongside some of our hidden gems to a regional, national and global audience,” says Chinn.

Businesses like Chinn’s are popping up all over the world.  They service businesses, as well as, communities.  They create 3D buildings to help preserve and share our past, promote our current state, and help plan our future

The Beban House - Tourism Nanaimo

development.  According to Chinn, “Google Certified Geo 3D Developers from around the world are in regular contact with each other and Google Earth representatives.  We get to share our experiences, troubleshoot issues, collaborate on projects and celebrate our successes.”

Advancements in technology offer new and exciting ways to showcase Canada’s 3D communities.  New applications for mobile devices are being developed showcasing 3D models in Augment Reality.  In New York City, tourist can use touch screens monitors to create and view a 3D tour of their itinerary.  3D models can be imported into 3D gaming software.

Chinn will be celebrating her first  year in business next week.  “It has been a challenging first year.  It is not easy to introduce a new service into the marketplace.  I spend much of my time educating and informing the public and potential clients about the benefits and versatility of showcasing locations in 3D.  The community of Nanaimo has been very supportive of my efforts.”  The Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce recently, presented Chinn with the 2011 Sterling Business Award for New Business.  “I am hoping to gain additional support from my fellow Canadians as I expand my service throughout Canada,” says Chinn.

Electronic Arts Inc. has announced that EA Sports™ has developed the Player Impact Engine, a new physics engine that will deliver revolutionary changes to the best^ sports videogame on the planet. Two years in development, the new Player Impact Engine inside FIFA Soccer 12 delivers real-world physicality in every interaction on the pitch. It is one of several major innovations for FIFA Soccer 12 that have been inspired by the real-world game and created by the FIFA development team at EA Canada – and is available now for Pre-Order.

The transformation FIFA Soccer 12 has undergone is revolutionary not evolutionary,” said Kaz Makita, Executive Producer for the FIFA franchise, which has won 136 videogame awards the past three years. “To create the best and most authentic FIFA game ever, we needed new technology to deliver on our vision. Fans will see, and more importantly feel, the significance of the Player Impact Engine immediately.”

The game-changing new Player Impact Engine will drive FIFA Soccer 12 on the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. Fans will experience the way real-world players challenge each other for the ball, win possession, and test each other physically. The Impact Engine processes decisions continuously in real-time at every point of contact on a player’s body to create an infinite variety of natural and believable outcomes in every collision. Players now feel more resilient, push and pull during the fight for possession, and recover from light challenges more easily.

Revolutionary gameplay innovations inspired by the real-world sport make FIFA Soccer 12 deeper and more engaging. All-new Precision Dribbling delivers a higher fidelity of touch on the ball for attacking players, while Tactical Defending makes defending as skilful and meaningful as real-world soccer. Plus, players have been infused with Pro Player Intelligence, the next generation of player intelligence and performance, and the new Career Mode delivers real-world storylines that brings enhanced depth and realism to the experience. Read the rest of this entry »