Village Gamer

Vancouver – Anomaly is fusion of an art workshop and party to be held at District 319 in Vancouver on Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 6pm until midnight. This will be the first event of its kind featuring the best local artists and showcase live art demonstrations, keynote speakers, and a lounge party throughout the night. Presented by CG Movement, the purpose of the event is to bring 2D/3D artists together and provide a platform for inspiration and creativity.

Tickets for Anomaly are now on sale, available on the event’s website. Ticket price includes all presentations, a one year membership to CG Movement, event shirt, door prize raffles, snacks and after-party.

Ticket Prices:

Regular: $90.00 each
Groups of 5 or more: $85.00 each
Student: $75.00 (name of school and Student ID number required)

Anomaly is sponsored by: Mindseeker – Mitts Creative – Offload Studios – Zbrush – Annex|Pro

Featured Speakers:

Marco Menco – 3D Artist, Image Engine
Daryl Mandryk – Senior Concept Artist, Propaganda Games
Jeff Simpson – Concept Artist, Big Sandwich Games
Steven Chen – Artist, Blizzard Entertainment
Jesse Turner – Artist, Threewave Software
David Tran – Lead Character Artist, Smoking Gun Interactive
Peter Zoppi – 3D Character Artist
Julianna Kolakis – 3D Modeler and Concept Artist – Image Engine

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Vancouver – 2K Sports announced today that MLB® All-Star first baseman, Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers, will be featured as the cover athlete and spokesman for this season’s highly anticipated arcade-style baseball video game, The BIGS™ 2, which is currently under development at Vancouver’s Blue Castle Games.

After breaking the MLB record for youngest player (23) to hit 50 home runs in a season, formerly held by Hall of Famer Willie Mays, Fielder has quickly become one of the most powerful and spectacular home run hitters in Major League Baseball® today.

“I’ve been playing baseball video games for as long as I can remember. All of my idols have appeared on a video game cover, and now to have that same opportunity is truly an unbelievable feeling,” said Fielder. “I can’t wait to see myself in The BIGS 2. I’ll be the guy crushing mammoth home runs into the stands.”

Drafted as the 7th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002 out of Eau Gallie High School, Fielder broke out in an MVP-caliber season, in which he was chosen by fans as the starting first baseman for the National League in the 2007 All-Star Game. That season, he won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding Player in the National League as voted on by the players, along with the Hank Aaron Award, given to the top offensive performer in each league as voted on by the fans. Fielder, who also currently owns the Milwaukee Brewers’ franchise record for home runs (50) and extra base hits (87) in a single-season, led his team to an exhilarating Wild Card berth in 2008 and its first playoff appearance in 26 years.

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Montreal – Ubisoft has announced the launch of its first game created specifically for the new Nintendo DSi™: My Healthy Cooking Coach. Already a worldwide leader on Nintendo DS™, Ubisoft is one of the first independent developers to launch a game created to take advantage of the new functionality of the Nintendo DSi. My Healthy Cooking Coach is an easy-to-use, fun game for anybody who wants to eat balanced and fresh healthy meals.

With more than 240 recipes created by a culinary school and in collaboration with a renowned nutritionist, My Healthy Cooking Coach offers player tips and tricks to create healthy and delicious meals that will delight friends and family. My Healthy Cooking Coach is available on Nintendo DS™ as well as Nintendo DSi, in June 2009.

Thanks to the new functionality of the Nintendo DSi, My Healthy Cooking Coach offers enhanced content and gameplay experiences. Ten recipes will be exclusively available on the DSi version, and budding chefs can use the system’s camera to personalize users’ profiles.

In addition to My My Healthy Cooking Coach, Ubisoft will soon launch several other new games specifically created for the Nintendo DSi™.

Images Courtesy of  & Copyright to Ubisoft®

The BioWare Doctors to Discuss the “Emotionally Engaging Narrative: Gaming’s New Frontier” at Inaugural GDC Canada

Vancouver – Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, general manager and CEO of BioWare and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, co-founder and vice president, Entertainment and Miscellaneous, of BioWare will give a keynote address at the inaugural Game Developers Conference® Canada (GDC Canada). The keynote, entitled “Emotionally Engaging Narrative: Gaming’s New Frontier,” will take place on the morning of May 13, 2009. BioWare is an award-winning development studio with locations in Edmonton and Montreal, Canada, and Austin, Texas, known for critical and commercial hit games such as Baldur’s Gate™, Neverwinter Nights™, Mass Effect™ and many others that place storyline and emotion at the forefront. The Think Services Game Group and Reboot Communications will bring GDC Canada to the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre May 12-13, 2009.

BioWare was founded in 1995 by Zeschuk and Muzyka and acquired by Electronic Arts in 2008, where both founders are now vice presidents. BioWare’s games include the Baldur’s Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, Jade Empire™, Mass Effect and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Among the many highly-anticipated BioWare titles are the fantasy epic Dragon Age™: Origins as well as Mass Effect™ 2, the sequel to the 2007 Game of the Year, and Star Wars®: The Old Republic™, a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) title. In addition to their work at BioWare and Electronic Arts, Zeschuk and Muzyka serve as directors and co-chairmen of CodeBaby Corp., a software company developing a next generation interface for digital media and the Internet.

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Burnaby BC – Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that tennis stars John McEnroe, Roger Federer and Serena Williams will be the North American* cover athletes for its new tennis franchise, EA SPORTS™ Grand Slam® Tennis. Eight different regional player partnerships will be announced soon. McEnroe, one of the sport’s most recognizable figures, was recently confirmed as exclusive to the game. Federer and Williams are among the biggest names in tennis and the most accomplished; having won 23 Grand Slam singles titles between them. Williams becomes the first woman to grace the cover of an EA SPORTS simulation product.

“It’s very exciting to be on the cover of EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis. This game not only shows EA’s enthusiasm for tennis but for also women’s tennis,” said Williams. “I know from experience how tough and gratifying it is to win all four Grand Slams so I hope people will enjoy the Grand Slam experience that is offered in this game.” Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver – THQ Inc. today announced Company of Heroes®: Tales of Valor™, the next standalone chapter in Relic Entertainment’s critically-acclaimed Company of Heroes franchise, has shipped for Windows PC. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor immerses players in some of the most historic, tide-turning battles of World War II, offering three intense single-player campaigns, three new multiplayer modes and a new “direct-fire” feature that brings advanced tactical control to the battlefield. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is available now at retail and online outlets for Windows PC.

“Relic Entertainment is an industry leader in the Real-Time Strategy genre and continues to craft genre-defining experiences,” said Kevin Kraff, vice president of global brand management, THQ. “With new gameplay modes and innovative features, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor brings the most intense battles of World War II to gamers like never before.”

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Toronto – SixPack App™, a free iPhone application released late last week has become a smash success around the globe, reaching the #1 position in over ten countries in the iTunes Health and Fitness category.

Developed by Robert Maran and Deirdre Jones, the innovative iPhone/iPod Touch app features a comprehensive list of over 100 exercises (PDF), 400 pictures, and a “SixPack” of features, including:

* Photographs of steps of each weight training exercise
* Detailed step-by-step instructions
* Helpful overview information
* Tips on how to vary the exercises and target specific parts of muscle groups
* Impressive detailed vector illustrations of muscles worked
* A unique “Don’t” tab that describes what Not to do when performing an exercise

Exercises in SixPack App have been handily categorized by category, so a user can easily navigate exercises by muscle type. Categories include chest, back, legs, shoulders, biceps, triceps, abs and a large section of stretching exercises. The application also contains a handy collection of eight pre-configured workout routines.

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Edmonton – BioWare, makers of the highly anticipated video game Dragon Age: Origins, has created a powerful toolset that will allow gamers to easily create their own Dragon Age: Origins levels and adventure modules to share online with the world. Applications are now being accepted for this rare opportunity to test the Dragon Age toolset and help BioWare fine tune it before its release later this year.

To select beta testers, BioWare is seeking a wide range of computer systems, testing experience and technical expertise. It doesn’t matter if a gamer has never used a toolset before – BioWare is looking for testers with different levels of experience, as well as fans who are simply curious about building their own adventures for the first time.

Fans can register with the BioWare Community and apply for the Dragon Age Toolset Beta test online.

Background

The Dragon Age toolset follows the Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset that created one of the biggest and most successful communities in the gaming world with an enormous amount of stunning fan-created work. This next generation toolset takes user-created content to the next level by featuring more depth, more functionality and more ways to make the adventure you want to make.

BioWare has big plans for game, website and toolset integration to bring the talented Builders in the community together to plan, organize and team-up to create new worlds.

Ottawa – New technologies are shrinking our ability to protect our anonymity – a trend being reinforced by laws around the world, according to a new study by leading scholars from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Italy.

The study, unveiled today at a special event organized by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, reveals scant protection of anonymity and a growing preference for laws and policies requiring people to be identified.

For example, some retailers ask for and record identification such as a driver’s licence number when consumers return or exchange purchases. Personal information is being collected and stored more frequently and, in some cases, is disclosed to authorities without a person’s knowledge or approval.

“Driven by curiosity, humanity and a profound belief in the sanctity of the individual, a group of scholars from the University of Ottawa and around the globe set out to describe the state of privacy in Canada and around the world – today, and well into tomorrow,” says the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart.
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Toronto – Corus Entertainment Inc.’s Nelvana Enterprises has reached an agreement with Chorion to become the Canadian licensing agent for its successful Mr. Men and Little Miss brand, to include merchandise such as apparel and accessories, toys and novelty items, as well as live stage shows and character appearances.

Based on the classic 1970s book series by British author Roger Hargreaves that has sold over 100 million copies, the Mr. Men and Little Miss property has a global presence with both children and adults.

The animated television series, The Mr. Men Show, features an ensemble of 25 characters such as Mr. Bump and Little Miss Sunshine, and uses an innovative sketch comedy format. The television series has been sold in 18 territories worldwide and recently launched in Canada on Corus’ kids specialty network, YTV.
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