Village Gamer

Vancouver and Montreal – Since the conclusion of this year’s E3 conference, I’ve had the opportunity to discuss Canada’s presence with a few people from around the country who were there. The general consensus is that the conference is very much worth attending, whether you have a title or product being launched or not. The experience is very educational and offers many chances to meet new people and to try products you may not otherwise have a chance to.

Wendy Boylan from Ubisoft Vancouver was very pleased with the launch of their first title, Academy of Champions at E3. She said that press reception was fantastic and that their pod in the Ubisoft sector was very busy throughout the show.  Pele’s endorsement of the title and interaction with those at the conference adds to the anticipation for the game’s release, and those who tried the title were impressed with the amount of detail and attention which has been paid to this game’s development.

Chammi Kim, a member of the Big Park crew who unveiled their new title, Joy Ride, as part of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 presentation was attending E3 for the first time, and she likened the experience to what it must be like arriving at Mecca after a long pilgrimage. She said that when she wasn’t working at the Microsoft booth helping with Joy Ride demonstrations, she tried to see as many Vancouver-developed games as possible, and it was very exciting to see such a strong presence at the show. Chammi also said that the Vancouver titles showed a wide range of diversity in talent, with a healthy mix of both hardcore and casual games on display. She also said that one of the best aspects of the show was getting to  see first hand how people reacted to the gameplay in Joy Ride and that getting instant feedback was gratifying.
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Vancouver – With the MLB All-Star Game right around the corner, 2K Sports today announced a free demo of The BIGS 2, which is being developed by Blue Castle Games,  is now available for download through Xbox LIVE Marketplace, and a demo on PlayStation Network will follow shortly. The demo will support two players, local only, and offer fans the exciting opportunity to experience the new Batter’s Wheelhouse, thrilling power ups, and incredible player models in a three inning game as either the American League All-Stars or National League All-Stars. Fans will also have the chance to smash home runs into building windows and neon signs in the return of the hugely popular mode, Home Run Pinball, in an all-new Las Vegas venue.

The BIGS 2, available on all major video game consoles, has been elevated to new heights this season with amazing visual effects and a variety of newly added modes including the fan requested Season and Become a Legend. With improved player animations and pick-up-and-play controls, The BIGS 2 is guaranteed to deliver an action-packed MLB videogame experience.

Scheduled to be in retail stores on July 7, 2009, The BIGS 2 will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo.

Montreal – Following its success in selected territories in Europe, selling well over 100,000 units, Euro Truck Simulator gets a new name for the North American shores; Big Rig Europe.

It’s the same great gameplay and level of quality gamers have come to expect from SCS Software, creators of Meridian4’s previous driving simulation game Bus Driver and creators of the hugely successful 18 Wheels of Steel series, with a new name and logo.

Big Rig Europe is currently available for digital download on Impulse and will be coming to Wild Tangent, Gametap and many other channels in the near future.

About Big Rig Europe

Navigate your way around a realistic depiction of Europe traveling along major trunk routes and visiting famous places based on real roads and cities. Experience the life of a long distance truck driver as you face the challenge of varying road and traffic conditions and meeting the demands of a heavy schedule.
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Toronto – Interactive Ontario today announced that GameON: Finance 2009 will take place October 27 & 28 in Toronto. This two-day investment summit is designed to bring investors and video game developers together to explore financing possibilities for the Ontario games industry. This year, Jason Della Rocca, Senior Consultant for Perimeter Partners and former Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association, will head up the GameON: Finance advisory board.

Event attendees will receive access to special features including case studies, business discussions, examples of successful corporate models, project financing ideas and one-on-one meetings between developers and financiers. More information can be found at www.gameonfinance.com as it becomes available.
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Vancouver – Last evening our local ACM SIGGRAPH chapter presented a post-mortem panel for the movie Watchmen, featuring four of the development team from MPC Vancouver.

Watchmen was the first project for the brand new west coast studio, which completed a total of 300 shots for 24 sequences with 50 team members in only nine months. The team wanted to accurately recreate iconic moments from the original graphic novel, which at times proved to be a big challenge, but they rose to the challenge and succeeded. Archie, the owl ship was by far the heaviest asset in the show and played a major part a pivotal part in the show, during the sequence known as Call to Account.

The panel members – Ben Cole, Landon Bootsma, Harry Mukhopadhyay and Tim Mulvihill led the audience through the processes used in building the major shots from reference photos to 3d builds to finished product. Mixed with bits of humour the session was very educational and offered some very good insight into the amount of time and work which goes into the making of a movie such as Watchmen.

Watchmen Revealed was sponsored by: BCIC, 3vis, VanArts, Sophia Books, AnnexPro, Stash Digital Media, VEAbc and Society of Graphic Designers Canada, Vancouver Chapter.

Toronto – Stealth.com Inc. (Stealth Computer) a leading ISO 9001 manufacturer of industrial rugged computers and peripherals has released the new Model WPC-500F, a waterproof rugged, small footprint, fanless computer for environments where ordinary computer hardware won’t survive.

WPC-500F

The new Stealth WPC-500F is a rugged PC that is completely water-tight, surviving liquids, chemicals, dust and dirt intrusion, meeting IP67/NEMA 6 environmental specifications. Designed without cooling fans the internal CPU is cooled through advanced heat pipe technology. The rugged aluminum chassis also acts as a heat sink to dissipate internal heat and provide noise free operation.

Stealth’s WPC-500F extreme environment PC offers tremendous power in a tiny package that measures only; 7.51″(W) x 11.37″(D) x 2.97″(H) or (191 x 298 x 75.5 mm) yet surpasses the performance of most industrial and embedded PCs available today. Systems utilize Intel’s latest Atom processor technology for maximum performance and power efficiency.
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Vancouver – Renowned for connecting people and systems to global mobile broadband networks, Sierra Wireless was named Company of the Year at the 2009 Technology Impact Awards (TIAs) hosted by the BC Technology Industry Association (BCTIA). The award formally recognized Sierra Wireless’ phenomenal year that included developing the world’s first data devices for the HSPA+ standard, further penetrating the M2M market with the acquisition of Wavecom S.A., increasing their BC-based employees to 250 and, for the first time in company history, surpassing half a billion dollars in annual revenues.

Earning the Leadership in Social Responsibility Award was TELUS and its ‘Give Where You Live’ philosophy. Since 2000, TELUS, team members and retirees have contributed $137 million and more than 2.6 million hours of community service. Having also contributed over 2000 computers and laptops during the 2008 calendar year, TELUS was further recognized with an appreciation award by Computers for Schools – an organization that provides increased access to computer technology for students and learners of all ages.

James Topham, retired partner of KPMG, was awarded the prestigious Bill Thompson Award for career achievement. James enriched BC’s technology industry for over 30 years. During that time, he advised more than 100 technology companies and spent countless hours contributing to technology?related associations and philanthropic efforts. This includes being a founding member of the BCTIA. James is currently involved with three small technology firms as a financial advisor and director.
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Longueuil – D-BOX Technologies Inc., a leader in innovative motion technology for the entertainment industry, announces that it has entered into an agreement with Cineplex Entertainment LP, the largest motion picture exhibitor in Canada, to equip a section in one of its auditoriums at the Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas located in Etobicoke, Ontario with a D-BOX Motion system.

The Canadian premiere will allow moviegoers to feel the motion and on-screen action right from their very own seat. This unmatched, realistic and immersive experience is created with breakthrough D-BOX Motion Code technology in which the movie is coded, frame-by-frame, to create customized motion effects resulting in subtle, refined movements that work in perfect sync with the action taking place on screen.

“Supported by an overwhelming level of satisfaction from moviegoers, D-BOX has partnered with Canada’s largest motion picture exhibitor to equip one of its flagship locations in the Greater Toronto Area. We are pleased to work with Cineplex Entertainment and look forward to an ongoing relationship with them,” stated Claude Mc Master, President and Chief Executive Officer of D-BOX Technologies Inc.
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Ottawa – Corel Corporation today announced Corel® Home Office, a new office suite designed specifically to address the needs of consumers and home-based businesses. With its low memory requirements and small footprint, Corel Home Office is also ideally suited for netbooks – portable, mini notebook computers that comprise the fastest growing PC segment. Corel Home Office includes Corel® Write for word processing, Corel® Calculate for spreadsheets, and Corel® Show for presentations.

Corel Home Office Simplifies Tasks for Consumers and Home-Based Businesses

* Sleek and simple interface: Easily access the tools and features you use most
* File compatibility and document sharing: With extensive file format support (including Microsoft Office) and the ability to create PDFs in all three applications, it’s easier than ever to communicate and share materials with others.
* Multi language support: Quickly toggle between 13 available languages to work in the language of your choice
* Portability: Delivery on a USB stick makes Corel Home Office easy to install on the go – even on netbooks without an optical (e.g. CD, DVD) drive
* Customization: Netbook owners can use manual or auto configuration options to easily adjust their settings and maximize screen real estate
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Ottawa – The game reviewers are calling “by far the best skating game on a mobile device” (GamePro) has recently gone live with its latest update, which includes, among other features, full compatibility with Apple’s newest iPhone and iPod Touch OS 3.0.

The latest update to the official Vans iPhone game adds the additional functionality of allowing players to skate to their own playlists, pulling music from their iPods.

Developed by Fuel Games, Vans SK8: Pool Service allows players to step into the shoes of pro riders Bucky Lasek or Omar Hassan, choose their board and wheels, and session an abandoned pool in one of ten unique events.

Vans Sk8: pool Service is currently available for $2.99 on the App Store, or as a free Lite version, giving iPhone and iPod touch users an excellent opportunity to check out one of the season’s most addictive titles.