Village Gamer

Ottawa SaaS eCommerce company Shopify has launched its second annual Build-A-Business Contest. The company is offering over $500,000 in winnings, including a $100,000 first prize, to inspire entrepreneurs to start an online business. To provide entrepreneurs with additional support, Shopify has teamed up with industry titans Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk and Tim Ferriss to provide ongoing advice, education and encouragement to contestants. The concept is simple: think of something to sell, create an online store and then build your business.

The contest runs from May 1, 2011, to December 31, 2011, but participants can sign up any time as long as they’re selling for at least two months. The store with the highest grossing two months (non-consecutive) wins the grand prize, with six $20,000 prizes awarded to winners from designated categories: Apparel and Jewelry, Food and Health, Sports and Hobbies, Art and Photography, Home and Office and Other. Because of Shopify’s easy-to-use platform, previous technical or eCommerce experience is not needed.

“The prize money is significant, but don’t forget the spirit of the contest: to give a kick in the pants to all those people who have wanted to start businesses but haven’t,” said Tobi Lütke, co-founder and CEO of Shopify. “The real prize is having a business of your own at the end of the contest.”

Shopify, a company that is deeply rooted in entrepreneurial spirit, is committed to helping participants along the way by offering world-class marketing and sales tips through a special Build-A-Business website, which will offer knowledge and insight from its partners and sponsors, including Google, MailChimp and PayPal. Shopify has also built out significant prizes for the winners to help their businesses succeed long after the contest:

• Grand Prize: $100,000 cash; VIP trip to New York for lunch with Seth Godin (he’s cooking); one-hour power session with Gary Vaynerchuk; trip to Google Headquarters to chat with Google experts; and a dinner with Tim Ferriss.
• 6 Industry Prizes: $20,000 cash each; VIP trip to New York for lunch with Seth Godin (he’s cooking); $7,500 Google AdWords credit.
• Canadian Prize: $5,000 at the Apple Store; VIP trip to New York for lunch with Seth Godin (he’s cooking); $15,000 Google AdWords credit.

The winner of last year’s contest – which created nearly 1,400 businesses and generated over $3.5 million in combined revenue – was DODOcase, a San Francisco company that makes iPad cases using traditional book-binding techniques. The founders, Patrick Buckley and Craig Dalton, are now running a company with projected annual earnings of $4-5 million.

Researchers at Queens University have found a strong association between computer and Internet use in adolescents and engagement in multiple-risk behaviours (MRB), including illicit drug use, drunkenness and unprotected sex.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meetup: Vancouver Social Game Devs at Calabash this April 28th from 6 – 9pm. Sign up on the Meetup page.
Edmonton Game Pub: April 27th in the Bioware Theatre from 6 – 9pm. Sign up on the event page or on Facebook.
Speaker Session: Wired Woman Presents A Blueprint for Implementing a Successful Mentorship Program, 6pm at the Vancouver YWCA Royal Bank Room on April 27th.
Deadline: IGDA Scholarship Applications for E3 – get them in by April 29th.
Attention Canadian Students: If you would like to take part in the Impact Apprentice 2011 challenge, now is the time to start your plan of attack. Submissions open on May 11th.

Coming Soon: VI Technologies has announced that the company will be releasing VI Racing 964 3.3 Turbo: AI First Drive on April 30th.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT3EuqtmX5Q]

Digital Leisure Inc. has launched Word Searcher Deluxe exclusively on WiiWare for 500 Nintendo Points. In this follow up to last years ‘Word Searcher’, gamers will need a sharp eye and a quick mind to complete these 100 themed word search puzzles. Word Searcher Deluxe contains fun words from multiple categories including palindromes, pirates and painting. Packed with a huge assortment of subjects to choose from, there’s sure to be a puzzle anyone will enjoy.

Word Searcher Deluxe will help improve your vocabulary, memory and problem-solving skills with its addictive puzzles. Keep track of your progress and try to beat your own play through times again and again as words are scrambled every time you play. Get your thinking cap on and conquer all 100 today, or take on the whole family and your friends with the full cooperative and competitive multi-player modes. You will also be able to download and enjoy additional puzzles via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play

Toronto’s Mobile Game Studio will be releasing Web Swinger, the studio’s newest arcade game  in just a few weeks’ time. This new fun packed game will put you in the role of a tiny creature who despite his size, is determined to rule world, reaching incredible heights while defeating enemies in a life and death battle for barn supremacy. Arcade-styled Web Swinger will take you into the world of insects, casting you as a spider and pitting you against numerous insect enemies as you battle against time in your quest to the bottom of the barn.

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

Click on the down or up arrow to move the spider down or up the web and drag your finger on the screen to swing the spider. Web Swinger features 20 different levels of unbelievable fun, but it is up to you to make your mark and defeat your enemies. You will lose the game if your spider loses all of its lives or is crushed by time.  Stay tuned for the official release of Web Swinger in the Apple Store.

Parksville’s Pixton has been selected as an Official Honoree in the Youth category of the 15th Annual Webby Awards, one of the Internet’s most respected symbol of success.  This year’s Webby Awards received 10,000 entries from 60 countries and 50 U.S. states. The Official Honoree distinction is awarded to the top 10 percent of all work entered. Fellow Honorees in the Youth category include such powerhouses as Disney, Lego, Teen.com, and Nickelodeon.

“We’re incredibly honored that Pixton has been selected. It reinforces Pixton as one of the best websites for youth, and that wouldn’t be possible without our active, vibrant community”, says Clive Goodinson, Creator and Founder of Pixton Comics.

Pixton pushes the limits of creativity on the web by giving anyone the power to create comics, full of original characters with life-like expression and movement. Every element of a comic is controlled with an intuitive click-and-drag motion. Comics can be shared in print as well as across the social web, in browsers, mobile devices, tablets, and interactive whiteboards.

“Kids today want not only to get inside their favorite characters’ worlds, they want to actively shape those worlds, in an online social environment,” says Clive, “Pixton is that place. Kids can carve out their own niche while being part of a shared world of digital stories and comic conversations.”

Already available in 9 languages, the website is continually growing as Pixton expands its reach to homes, schools, and businesses around the world.

Vancouver based interactive digital agency Appnovation Technologies has become an official systems integration partner with San Francisco based Strobe Inc., a company founded by SproutCore creator Charles Jolley, enables the delivery of cross platform mobile solutions using HTML5 and SproutCore technologies.

Appnovation’s expertise lies in designing, building and deploying content rich web and mobile applications using open source technology platforms such as Drupal and Alfresco. By adding SproutCore and Strobe technologies to their services arsenal, Appnovation will now be able to blend the robust content and document management capabilities of Alfresco and Drupal with ability to deploy applications across multiple mobile platforms. Appnovation is already working with Strobe to bring the value of this partnership to market and continue to drive open source solutions for its customers.

Vircom, an award-winning e-mail messaging security software company in Montreal has released directQuarantine™, an Outlook add-on module for its modusGate™ email security software that provides end-user control of quarantine emails directly from Outlook. Vircom’s directQuarantine software is compatible with modusGate 4.7 or 5.0, runs on Windows platforms (2003/2008/2008R2 for the server and XP/Vista/7 for the client) and is available to order today.

directQuarantine provides a Spam folder in Outlook that allows end-users to search for quarantined emails in real-time using the Outlook search toolbar or the blazingly fast native Windows search – no more waiting for nightly quarantine reports, logging in to a Web portal, or depending upon IT to check for and release blocked emails. The directQuarantine folder contains all emails caught and filtered by modusGate and any false positives can be quickly and easily released directly from the Outlook toolbar. Any attachments, viruses, phishing links and all other electronic threats remain safely on the modusGate server and are not downloaded to Outlook, ensuring the highest level of security.

Toronto’s AVIX Technologies, Inc. has announced that its its proposed wholly owned subsidiary, Florida-based Actus Interactive Software, LLC has developed a suite of cutting edge graphical multi-touch capable interactive kiosk and active digital signage products that are intended for broad market and vertical appeal.

Divided between active digital signage and interactive kiosks, these solutions feature self service content management in an easy to use, dynamic way, deploying to countless end point devices in a real time or scheduled manner. ACTUS’ kiosk and digital signage owners can also dynamically brand or “skin” end point devices uniquely or in groups.

Cornelia Volino, President of AVIX stated that, “As the Company moves closer to completing the acquisition of ACTUS, our focus is shifting towards integrating vertical and horizontal industry segments and those that will be capable of supporting the development efforts of ACTUS, which include multi-touch capability and gesture based technologies built on the NUI.”

This suite of kiosk and interactive digital signage products has the potential to significantly affect competition in the kiosk and interactive digital signage spaces across multiple vertical industries. ACTUS kiosk solutions are multi-touch (and eventually gesture) capable based on the latest advances in Natural User Interface (NUI) providing for high levels of usability beyond what is normally seen in today’s web based kiosk software. ACTUS kiosk and digital signage solutions deploy to multiple form factors on multiple platforms including large HD screens, computers, slates, and mobile devices and all leverage a common web & cloud capable back end architecture.

Montreal indie studio Exequor has released a free, ad-supported beta of its debut game Heroes of Zulula on Android Market. Heroes of Zulula is a strategy RPG game which sees the vile Akolan declare himself as overlord of Zulula, and his first order of business is to ban the traditional tournaments of Zulula forever. Ex-champions Grunty the Cyclop, Ledouche the Knight and Oulette the Slime join forces along with other combatants to defeat Akolan and bring the tournaments back to Zulula.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KI1UWvrzvQ]

As you take on Akolan, you will move your armies around 10 battlefield areas in turn-based strategic play, establishing a battle plan and positioning your forces for action in real-time simulated combat. With over 30 items with which to equip your characters and improve their stats and powers, your ex-champions will soon become heroes.

Heroes of Zulula also features:

* Deep, emotionally charged storyline of brotherly love, redemption and more
* Returning champions include the Cyclop, Human Knight, Slime, Eye, Dog, Land Octopus, Stone Golem, Human Mage and Snakeman
* Among the minions of Akolan are the Dark Knight, Warlock, Slime, Mud Golem and Scorpak
* Face Yvan Shar Ooze, the horrific protoplasmic horror in his labyrinthine sewers
* Unlockable Feint achievements

You can keep up with the latest Heroes of Zulula news and provide game feedback on the official Facebook page.

Max The Mutt Animation School knows the importance of networking for career success and as such offer students multiple opportunities to meet and showcase their work to Industry professionals in their field. The annual 1st Year Show and open house will be held at the school on April 30, 2011 from 10am – 4pm and the annual Grad Exhibition has its Grand Opening on May 21, 2011 running until June 30, 2011.

The first year show hosts the visual art work for first year students from all of Max The Mutt’s diploma programs: Classical & Computer Animation & Production, Illustration for Sequential Arts, and Concept Art for Animation & Video Games. If someone is interested in going into any of these fields this would be an excellent opportunity to see what skills are being taught at Max the Mutt. It is also a great opportunity for people to soak up the ambiance of this small, unique environment geared to give students “skills that count.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYMicXGlcA0]

The Grad Exhibition will feature work and demo reels from the graduate students from the animation, concept art, and sequential arts programs. This will be an especially exciting year as they celebrate the first group of graduates from the Concept Art for Video Games & Animation four-year diploma program. To kick off the Grad Exhibition and put the students and their work in front of potential employers, Max The Mutt hosts a private Industry Night before the opening.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BI5RaIrErI]

Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, Comic Book Illustrator and Max The Mutt Instructor Dave Ross has worked for them all, drawing and writing for Captain America, Spiderman, Batgirl, Star Trek, Daredevil, Birds of Prey, JLA: Act of God, and many more. “Last year for Industry Night we were able to bring in the traffic director of Marvel,” explains Ross, “he is the liaison with the editors to know who is going to need talent to come onto a project and suggests people. He came in to speak with the graduating class, spent a lot of time with them to help them with portfolio development and told them what Marvel would expect. We had industry people from the various publishers in town and a few of the graduate students did get jobs from that industry night so that night is hugely important.”

Event Details:

*First Year Show: Saturday April 30, 2011, 10am-4pm Max the Mutt Animation School, 952 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J 1G8. An information session will be held at 11:30 a..m. sharp with reservations required.

*Graduation Exhibition: May 21, 2011 running until June 30, 2011. Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Max the Mutt Animation School

For more information and to RVSP you can email or call the school at 416-703-6877

The FIFA Interactive World Cup is set to climax with the most exciting Grand Final in the event’s seven-year history. FIFA and the event’s Partners Sony PlayStation^®and EA Sports™today announced that they will be flying the 24 finalists of the world’s largest virtual football tournament to Los Angeles, where the winner will be crowned amidst a three-day entertainment extravaganza. The Grand Final will be held from 7-9 June 2011, to coincide with the world’s largest gaming conference E3, which will be held in Los Angeles on the same dates.

Since the first of six online qualifying seasons kicked off in December 2010, over 700,000 gamers from all over the world have competed  with EA Sports FIFA 11 online via PlayStation®Network and at live qualification events held all over the world in an effort to claim a seat at the Grand Final, and ultimately be crowned the new FIFA Interactive World Cup Champion. All 24 finalists will be treated to a world-class action packed LA experience, sampling the local sights before competing in the first knock-out stage which will cut the numbers of competitors down to the final 12.

“I’m so excited to hear the news that the FIFA Interactive World Cup is coming to the United States” said 2010 FIFA Interactive World Cup Champion Nenad Stojkovic “It will be a great honour to welcome the challengers to Los Angeles and defend my title on home soil”.

The lucky remaining finalists will then participate in the final stage of the tournament, which will be held at the Home Depot Centre, home of LA Galaxy, at 4pm on June 9, 2011. US football stars will be present at the final event to cheer on the remaining contestants. The freshly crowned Champion will walk away with $20,000 USD, a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 as well as a whole host of memories of a truly exclusive LA experience.

Earlier this week OCAD University (OCAD U) and CFC Media Lab (Canadian Film Centre) announced their partnership in the launch of a new and innovative Graduate Program in Digital Futures, with a part-time Graduate Diploma and full-time (MA, MDes, and MFA) Master’s Degrees. The program received its final approval from the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies last week, and applications for the 2011/2012 term will be accepted until Monday, May 2, 2011. Complete program details, application information, program requirements and a list of faculty members for each program may be found on OCAD U’s Graduate Studies web pages. Late applications may be considered depending on the availability of places in the program.

The graduate program is situated within the Digital Futures Initiative at OCAD University, a set of cross-disciplinary programs in practice-based research and innovation in digital media and emergent technologies. Having been at the forefront of incubating and accelerating Canadian digital media talent and companies for over a decade, CFC Media Lab is a uniquely positioned partner in this practiced-based graduate program aimed at future innovators, leaders and creators of digital media and new technologies.

“Students in the Graduate Program in Digital Futures will contribute to creative innovation and the application of new knowledge in digital technologies, practices, content, systems, and experiences, in addition providing insight into sustainable development in a technologically mediated world,” said Dr. Helmut Reichenbächer, Associate Vice-President, Research and Dean of Graduate Studies, OCAD U.

“Together, OCAD U and CFC Media Lab have created one of Canada’s leading digital media partnerships, with highly experienced faculty, interdisciplinary teams, diversified industry and cultural partnerships, as well as key cross-sector expertise,” said Ana Serrano, Director, CFC Media Lab.

A partnership with the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Media Lab, whose established, critically-acclaimed post-graduate residency in digital media production will be integrated into both the degree and diploma programs will afford students the opportunity to participate in an Intensive Project/Prototyping Spring Institute held at the MaRS Discovery District.

Frima Studio, in conjunction with Bolt Creative, has announced that the Pygmies of Pocket God on Facebook are having a bit of a fire ant problem in Episode VI: Kiss Your Ants Goodbye. The latest expansion for the Pocket God world introduces an all new animal power, a horde of ravenous fire ants, features a new Easter-themed challenge where players will battle the legendary Chocoro, and gives the ability to send friends an Easter treat.

Since its debut in December 2010, the Facebook version of Pocket God has grown exponentially and is attracting more players every month. More than 55 million loyal, unquestioning Pygmies have met their demise over that time—that’s approximately the same amount of USD spent on Super Bowl food each year. Another two and a half million sacrifices can be attributed to friends on Facebook sacrificing other friends in a host of brutal and irreverent ways, including electrocution, shark attack, venus fly traps, tornados, tar pits, and more! Impairing means caring, right?

The new updates for Kiss Your Ants Goodbye include:

• Get Antsy: Fire Ants have burrowed their way to the island and they’re looking for pants to invade! But since Pygmies don’t wear pants (most of the time), the ants will have to settle for covering a Pygmy’s entire body instead. And, devouring them. Selectable as an animal power, Fire Ants can now be earned and used to torture Pygmies.

• Defeat Chocoro the Bunny: He’s like Cthulhu, but more chocolatey and bunny-shaped. Okay, so maybe there’s no resemblance to Cthulhu whatsoever, but Chocoro is still big and it’s up to you to help the Pygmies defeat him. How is this done, you say? By feeding him to your tribe, of course! For a limited time, coconut trees will not grow coconuts but instead will bear chocolate eggs, just feed your Pygmies as many of the chocolate halves as possible to best the chocolate monstrosity. And don’t worry, chocolate eggs still count towards your coconut-related quests. We’re not accountable for any dental work your Pygmies need after all this candy though, just saying!

• “Treat” Your Friends: Smiting your buddies is all fun and games but there comes a time when some good old-fashioned gift-giving is in order, and that time is now! For only 2 bones worth of Pocket Change, send your friends a treat by clicking on their icon and selecting “Treat.” What kind of treat will you give? That’s a surprise and we’re not going to spoil it. It could be a chick, a bunny, an egg, who knows?! Well actually, we know, but that’s beside the point. Treats will give a significant boost to devotion for your friends’ tribe, spread the love!

Here are some recent and new releases from a few of our fine Canadian studios:

SkyModo has released free and paid versions of Dog Pile on the iTunes App Store and Android Market. The free version gives a bonus of 50 dog bones for the customization of your dog pack and comes with the Easter Pack that is also available in the full 99 cent version. The paid version of Dog Pile starts gamers off with a 250 dog bone bonus. Players can spend the dog bones in the store, purchasing items with which to dress up your Dog. I have not yet played this game, but it appears to use a combination of tilt physics, pachinko-styled levels and power-ups to match your Dog to the ones in the pile – in a match 3+ kind of way. Dog Pile is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. I have downloaded the free version of Dog Pile, but it will not load on my 2nd gen iPod touch, so I’ll have to get Scott to try it on his iPhone.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QPcqgWAmKM]

Chicken Balls (99 cents USD) by Endloop Systems has taken to the skies. You play as Crash, the bravest chicken this side of New Mexico. It’s the summer of 1947, you’ve just come back from the war and had hoped to hang up your flight cap for good. When a UFO crash lands just outside the nearby town of Roswell you knew you’d have to take to the skies – one more time. At launch, Chicken Balls features 50 levels of physics puzzles, with more levels in coming updates. The game makes use of an innovative mix of slingshot physics destruction and pachinko/breakout styled play, with the Farmaggedon power-up achieved by collecting all of the eggs on each level. Crash can also harness the power of alien technology to make himself bigger, faster and stronger. Chicken Balls is OpenFeint and GameCentre enabled. Future updates will offer more levels, more power-ups and more unlockable animals. Chicken Balls is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.1 or later.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xSDwg4AL34]

Loud Crow Interactive has a new children’s book out on the market. The studio has released its second Sandra Boynton book, Moo Baa La La La to the iTunes Store. This interactive version of Ms. Boynton’s best selling book “will intrigue and amuse little kids and big people alike, and perhaps even elicit an appreciative snort from the occasional uninvited rhinoceros.”

Moo Baa La La La is narrated by Keith Boynton and includes Country Air, an original instrumental soundtrack composed by Michael Ford. Each of the illustrations, which have been redrawn and recoloured by Ms. Boynton allows young readers to interact with the animals through touch and sound. This young reader app also features “The Big Guy Reads It” with word highlighting to help improve reading skills or the “I want to read it myself” mode which allows children to hear individual words pronounced with the tap of a finger. Moo Baa La La La is $1.99 USD for the iPhone or iPod Touch version while the iPad version is $2.99 USD. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c8KA1uZ9F8]

The debut title from Silicon Sisters Interactive, School 26, is available now for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. School 26 takes a less-trodden path in game play and is aimed at the female tween market, although some older gamers may find this title engaging as well. I do have a copy of the game and will be sharing my thoughts on this new title with you over the weekend.

School 26 follows the efforts of a female student named Kate, who, due to having nomadic parents, is now in her 26th school. Her parents have struck a deal with her, and if she can forge new and lasting friendships with people at the school, they won’t move. School 26 makes use of conversation, mini-games, puzzles and choosing the correct most appropriate emotional responses in advancing players through the game.

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

The iPad version is $4.99 USD while the iPhone version is $2.99 USD. School 26 requires iOS 3.1.3 or later and does have a content warning with a 12+ age rating for:

• Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes
• Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content or Nudity
• Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References

Gamerizon’s newest title is Chop Chop Rocket, a 99 cent (USD) game that features the adventures of lost space explorer Alexis Rocket. This fast-paced one finger tilt and play game features 18 achievements to unlock with GameCentre and OpenFeint leaderboards on which to compete for space supremacy. Chop Chop Rocket is rated 9+ for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. This colourful, cartoon-styled game is the 8th title in Gamerizon’s Chop Chop franchise and requires some pretty fast reflexes to use the power-ups, change your speed and navigate through space to make it through the game.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kln1bCYHhzg]

The IGDA has put out a Call for Speakers for its two Leadership Forums. Qualified individuals are being sought who can provide insightful leadership and production-related sessions for the 5th Annual IGDA Leadership Forum US and new this year, the First Annual IGDA Leadership Forum EU, focused on advancing the state of the art in game production and management. Both forums will take place this fall, with the European forum being held in Copenhagen on October 20th and 21st. IGDA Leadership Forum US is taking place at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Los Angeles on October 27th and 28th.

Toon Boom Animation Inc. has release of its initial line up of fun apps for the Apple community, from mobile devices to Mac computers. Each app has several entertaining features, these vary depending on the app and device used. The Mac AppStore now offers Flip Boom Cartoon and Flip Boom Doodle which are available internationally.

On the mobile devices front, Toon Boom has launched Flip Boom Lite for the iPhone and iPod, a free app that lets your fingertips doodle, scribble or draw fun animations. Flip Boom Lite is already available for the iPad and has received rave reviews.

“A natural synergy exists between Apple and Toon Boom Animation, as our award-winning applications are used by the largest animation studios in the world, while Apple products are the most popular devices in the world,” said Joan Vogelesang, President and Chief Executive Officer of Toon Boom Animation. “Toon Boom is an amazing example of the potential that can be unlocked by applications that can run smoothly on any Apple platform.”

Vancouver-based JAH App Development is pleased to announce the release of the fun, interactive Kids Anatomy Puzzle iPhone App is available through iTunes App Store. The Kids Anatomy Puzzle is a series (16 in Total) of body part puzzles with easy tap and swipe controls that lets your child learn the anatomy of his or her body by building each puzzle. Upon completion of each puzzle your child will see and hear the body part they have just completed.

Starting with a basic Boy or Girl head, kids can can choose a part of the face and create a puzzle to complete the face. There are audio and visual rewards upon completion of each puzzle. This game is recommended for kids aged 2 – 10.