Village Gamer

One of the most original new titles that has taken the game industry by storm is now available for your iPad. Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure by newcomer Cassie Creighton (and her Dad) was released earlier today on the iTunes Store for $2.99 and compatible with iPads running iOS 4.0 or later.

Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure began as a father-daughter project at TOJam, a Toronto-area Game Jam held in May. The game was designed in Flash and was originally released for play in web browsers, but the overwhelming success of Cassie’s game, for which she created the artwork and voice-overs, has led to additional releases for PlayBook and now the iPad. You can read the full story behind the game’s journey on Ryan’s blog over at Untold Entertainment.

All of the proceeds raised from the sale of Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure are going to pay for Cassie’s education once she is old enough to attend a post-secondary school. Since launch, Cassie’s game empire has also grown to encompass Ponycorn merchandising and appearances on TV and radio, as well as in mainstream print media.

For those who would like to chat first hand with Cassie’s Dad about his young game designer phenom or about Ponycorns, rainbow portals and evil lemons, Ryan will be attending Casual Connect next week in Seattle. Of course, Ryan does have his own projects he may want to discuss – but that’s outside the scope of this article, which is to send all of you iPad and PlayBook owners to the appropriate marketplaces and online stores to purchase Cassie’s game and support her education.

Immersive Media Company has launched im360/im360 Lite, the first iPhone/iPad/iPod touch app that lets consumers watch amazing 360-degree videos on their mobile devices, using the touch screen or motion-control feature to manage what they see. Viewers have access to the world’s largest library of 360-degree videos available today. Whether it’s base-jumping in Malaysia, or exploring the Vegas Strip, im360 ($1.99) and im360 Lite (free, ad supported) allows users to direct the action and take control of their viewing experience.

With the app, viewers select from a diverse set of videos in the online library that they can download to put themselves in the middle of the action. As each video plays, they can move the video up and down, pan left and right, and zoom in and out to see everything in the scene as if they are actually there.

“With im360, everyone can be an armchair adventurer. If you’ve always wanted to surf the world’s biggest waves or explore the Chicago Art Institute, you can do it all from your iPhone or iPad,” said Myles McGovern, CEO, Immersive Media. “This is the same cutting-edge technology we’ve provided to the Black Eyed Peas for their BEP360 app and to ABC.com for the Oscars, among many others such as NBC, CNN and Google. It is disruptive and addictive technology that really demonstrates the interactive power of mobile devices.”

Videos include content in the following categories: Arts & Entertainment, City Highlights, Helicopter Tours, Museums & Science, Nature & Wildlife, News & Events, Parks & Gardens and Sports & Action.

The currently available videos include Red Bull’s extreme sports competitions; helicopter tours over Alcatraz, the Vegas Strip, Los Angeles and Chicago; footage from Northstudio360 of the June 15 Vancouver riots; tours of leading museums, zoos and botanical gardens; and much more. Future upgrades will enable access to live, streaming videos of concerts, sports events and other real-time content.

Two versions of the app are available for download on iTunes: im360 Lite is free with ads; the ads-free im360, which costs $1.99, offers users the ability to use Immersive Media’s publishing tools to view their own images in 360 degrees. Both versions come with a “View in 3D” setting that allows viewing the 360-degree videos in 3D as well. Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Toronto educational developer Spongelab Interactive has opened a beta run for SpongeLab, a revolutionary new web site that is a global science community with educational games, 3D animations and beautiful images, all integrated into a sophisticated teacher management system. Stunning and detailed science content linked with powerful teaching tool stitches all elements of the classroom together in one place. Assessment and reporting is made easy using a flexible system that provides detailed analytical information about the classroom environment, everything from student progress to engagement and user behaviours.

Educators can explore free digital content that can be organized into lessons, shared with students and presented in class. The opportunity to share goes even farther. Members of the Spongelab community can upload their own teaching materials such as images, lesson plans, videos and case studies making this site a current, vibrant open place for communicating about science.

Spongelab.com is also a game, encouraging users to earn rewards in the form of credits and experience points that can be redeemed for premium resources and features. Credits and experience points are earned by every action performed on the site: searching, viewing, creating, contributing, and referring. Redeeming credits provides access to more content at no monetary cost, opening up the world of science for everyone regardless of budget.

TVO gives Facebook politics a whole new meaning and takes another step in promoting citizen engagement with the launch of Honoured Citizen, a multi-player social media game that runs on the Facebook Platform.

Developed for TVO by Lazar Entertainment, Honoured Citizen allows players to participate in all levels of civic society and demonstrates that there are many ways to become an Honoured Citizen, if you are willing to speak out, engage with issues, question, debate and vote.

“Game-based technologies can serve as powerful tools for advancing civic engagement – it’s called gaming for good,” says Christine McGlade, Manager of Interactive and Digital Media for TVO. “Honoured Citizen will immerse gamers in the political process. It’s a great example of how TVO uses digital media as a platform for civic engagement.”

Honoured Citizen is the only Facebook game that realistically simulates all aspects of the political process. Players participate as citizens, politicians, activists or lobbyists. Politicians can seek nominations and woo voting blocs. Lobbyists can wine and dine politicians. Activists can start protests and organize petitions. Citizens can raise issues and participate in polls.

The object of the game is to gain honour points by engaging with and participating in an online shadow government – discussing, debating and organizing around political issues. These points may be spent to take on different roles in the game, perform other functions, or they may be traded with other players or strategically donated. The game runs in real time and every round is one week long, with new issues in play during each round. After every four rounds, there is an election.

Set in a virtual province, Honoured Citizen offers players a chance to simulate the political process. While the topics gamers raise may be real-life issues, it’s not a place for partisan politics. The game focuses on issues of governance, and non-partisan debate.

Honoured Citizen is the most recent addition to TVO’s gaming for good efforts, which includes Inside the Haiti Earthquake, the Games for Change Festival 2010 Transmedia award-winning interactive game.

Honoured Citizen is part of TVO’s Your Vote 2011, a suite of multimedia resources designed to engage Ontarians in the lead-up to the fall 2011 Ontario election.

Majesco Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products and Bagdasarian Productions have announced plans to release the Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked video game, which is based on the third installment of the blockbuster animated feature film franchise, coming to theatres this December 16^th.

Scheduled to launch this November, the game is currently in development at Behaviour Interactive and lets players sing and dance along with the film’s stars Alvin, Simon, Theodore and The Chipettes (Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette), in an immersive motion-based experience. The Kinect™ for Xbox 360^® version tracks full body dance moves as players control their Chipmunk on stage, and plays back their “Alvin-ized” voice as they sing along. The game will also be available for both the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS.

“The Alvin brand has proven to be evergreen with universal awareness and growing appeal,” said Jesse Sutton, CEO, Majesco Entertainment. “The extensive customization and combination of dancing and singing to contagious Chipmunk music will deliver a full-featured experience based on the upcoming movie that the whole family can enjoy together.”

“This game will bring fans even closer to the fun and music of Alvin and the Chipmunks by taking full advantage of the Kinect for Xbox 360,” said Gary Rosenfeld, Senior Vice President, New Media for Fox Consumer Products. “It’s going to be the perfect complement to the upcoming film and we know that fans are going to love it.”

The forthcoming Alvin and the Chipmunks movie finds the trio vacationing aboard a luxury cruise liner, turning it into their personal playground until they become ‘chipwrecked’ on a remote island. The Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked video game continues the story with an around-the-world journey that has The Chipmunks visiting six tropical locations inspired by the movie. Hear your voice “Alvin-ized” when you sing along with the game and unleash your “Munk Power” to perform ultra-cool dance moves.

The Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked video game features include:

• Sing and dance as any of The Chipmunks and The Chipettes — Alvin, Simon, Theodore, Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor.
• Perform more than 50 different dance moves to electrify the crowd with your on screen performance.
• Customize your Chipmunk before you hit the stage by choosing from a huge range of styles and accessories.
• Experience the movie in Story Mode with environments inspired by the film.
• Hear your voice “Alvin-ized” during your on-stage performance using the Kinect for Xbox 360.

An exciting new health and fitness iPhone app has been released by Calgary’s Gratisites Inc. Body Tracker is an app that allows users to keep all of their essential measurements in one place and compare their progress over time when used in conjunction with a workout regime. Progress can be viewed by measurement or pictures to help with motivation.

“Gratisites prides itself on creating technological answers to everyday problems,” says Gratisites spokesman Danton Lalonde. “Our objective is that Body Tracker will fill the need of enabling people to reach their fitness goals.”

Body Tracker monitors users’ body fat and weight, while keeping track of the following measurements:

• Waist
• Chest
• Hips
• Thighs
• Calves
• Neck
• Arms

“We recognize that goals need to be written down if they are to be effective. With Body Trackers “History” and “Compare” functions, you can easily see your progress, encouraging you to stay on track,” Lalonde explains, “Body Tracker is your accountability partner.”

Body Tracker for iPhone is available immediately for $0.99 on your mobile device or from Apple’s App Store. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and requires iOS 3.1.3 or later.

Big Bad Brush has announced that their much anticipated iOS game Big Sticky, will be available on the app store on July 26, 2011 (pending review and approval). Utilizing intuitive controls combined with original gameplay, Big Sticky will be sure to dazzle, challenge, and entertain gamers of all ages. Stay tuned for follow up releases with promo codes.

Sticky is a purple frog prince who was living happily with his princess until one day chaos erupted when a jealous lonely castle abducted her, along with all of the other princesses in the world! Injured by the evil castle, Sticky is forced to use his Big Sticky tongue to stick and swing in search of his beloved princess.

With simple intuitive controls combined with an original gameplay experience, players help Sticky conquer the evil castle, moving him through the levels with his sticky frog tongue. By simply tapping the screen, players will use a stick and swing action to get Sticky to the castle door, where he then must save the princess hidden within each level. With a total of 51 platform-styled puzzle levels, there are always new obstacles and challenges to overcome.

Join Sticky in this wild sticky adventure as you swing over snow, lava, enchanted platforms, moving walls and more. Everyone needs a little purple hero and there’s never a dull moment in this fairy O’ tale.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iv1MiSPV4c]

Big Sticky Features:

• Original gameplay with simple intuitive controls
• Using the tongue, tap to stick and swing away
• 51 platformer puzzle levels to overcome
• 5 beautifully illustrated worlds to explore
• Many out of this world princesses to save
• Collect roses and earn gold trophies
• Obstacles such as fireballs, moving walls, switches and more
• Available on iPhone, iPod and iPad

Frima Studios and Bolt Creative want you to know that the Pygmies of Pocket God on Facebook will be celebrating the 4th of July festivities with a global in-game event. From now until July 7, players can participate in a new dance craze sweeping the island and win a new idol in the process, and can also send a special holiday-themed item to their friends.

Move over Macarena, the Indepen-Dance is the premier dance all the cool kids are doing nowadays. During the night, Pygmies may display the urge to cut a rug—or rather, sand—and it’s up to you to make sure that your hip, little Pygmies keep with the times and participate. Until July 7th, if 100,000 Pygmies shake their booties on the floor, all players will receive a limited edition Liberty Bell idol for their island. What are you waiting for, get on the dance floor already!

Players can also send their “friends” a special gift in the form of a rocket. For just one bone, would-be deities can bestow a rocket to their loved ones, giving the recipient a chance to view a monumental fireworks show. Each fireworks show also recharges five devotion points so you can keep the party going. And no, you can’t light the rocket underneath your friend’s butt.

The world’s most popular dance game, Just Dance^®, will launch its third title, Just Dance 3, worldwide on October 11. Developed by Ubisoft^® Paris and Ubisoft Montreal, Just Dance 3 will mark the game’s debut on Kinect™ for Xbox 360^® and the PlayStation^® Move for PlayStation^®3. The new title will also be available on the latest Wii™.

In addition to the game’s exciting 40-track song list, Just Dance 3 introduces exclusive new game features such as four-player choreographies, a DJ feature that allows custom mixing, freestyle dance options, a new “Shout Out!” feature on Kinect where players can score extra points by belting out their favorite songs – and much, much more!

“As part of the highly anticipated launch, Just Dance 2 will be featured in Katy Perry’s new music video ‘Last Friday Night’. The game will also become an official sponsor of Katy Perry’s 2011 North American California Dreams Tour,” says Lucile Bousquet, Director of Marketing and Communications for Ubisoft Canada. “Our fans really connect with Katy Perry, and we’re excited to be teaming up with such a renowned hit singer.”

The Just Dance 2 concert sponsorship includes a contest where fans can win a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet Miss Perry. The ‘Just Dance Your Way to Katy Perry’ contest challenges fans to record themselves and their friends dancing to Katy’s ‘Firework’ on Just Dance 2^® in an effort to win VIP tickets and meet-and-greet passes to Katy’s U.S. and Canadian shows. “I’m a fan of Just Dance 2^®, and I’m glad it brings people together to dance, just like I get to do on my tour,” says chart-topping Katy Perry.

The Canadian leg of the California Dreams Tour begins in Toronto on June 29^th and ends in Vancouver on July 19^th.

To round out the pre-launch excitement, a Canadian Facebook contest will be unveiled in late July, where one lucky winner and a guest will be flown to Toronto for a VIP experience complete with accommodations at a hip hotel, a shopping spree, dinner at a trendy restaurant and tickets to a top concert.

Featured tracks in Just Dance 3:

• 2 Unlimited – “No Limit”
• Black Eyed Peas – “Pump It”
• Duck Sauce – “Barbra Streisand”
• Groove Century – “Boogie Wonderland”
• Gwen Stefani – “What You Waiting For”
• Katy Perry – “California Gurls”
• Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”
• Laura Bell Bundy – “Giddy On Up (Giddy On Out)”
• LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock – “Party Rock Anthem”
• MIKA – “Lollipop”
• Taio Cruz – “Dynamite”

Well-respected broadcaster and former England forward Alan Smith was unveiled today as part of the main English commentary team for EA SPORTS™ FIFA 12, joining long-time commentator Martin Tyler as the primary voices of this year’s title. FIFA 12, chosen Best Sports Game by the E3 Game Critics, launches September 27 in North America and September 30 worldwide.

“Alan will bring a fresh, new perspective and insight to FIFA 12, working alongside the trusted and well-known voice of Martin Tyler,” said David Rutter, Senior Producer of FIFA 12. “As one of the top-tier broadcasters on the UK football scene, he brings enormous knowledge and expert analysis to the game so that we can deliver the most authentic FIFA experience this year.”

“The natural chemistry that Martin and I have developed working live matches for TV has transferred very well to the virtual broadcast booth,” said Smith. “I’m really looking forward to FIFA fans hearing our work this fall as we bring all the match day emotion and excitement to this year’s game.”

For the first time ever, FIFA 12 will feature two English broadcast teams, and more than 10,000 lines of fresh commentary, making the game sound new and different all year long. The second commentary team, featuring Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, will call tournament matches, giving these games a real-world broadcast feel and sound. Fans will also have the option to customize the audio to their preferred commentators for any matches.

FIFA 12 will be available in stores September 27 in North America for the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360®, PC, Wii™, PC, PlayStation®2, Nintendo 3DS™, PSP®, iPhone®, iPad™, and iPod® touch. The game will also be available for digital download on PC at origin.com.