22nd April 2011

FIFA Interactive World Cup 2011 In Los Angeles

EA SportsThe 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 FIWCexperience, 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.

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21st April 2011

New In The App Store

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

skymodoSkyModo has released free and paid versions of Dog Pile on the iTunes App Store and Android Market. dog pileThe 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]

endloopChicken 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 chicken balls HDthe 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 InteractiveLoud 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’sMoo Baa La La La 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]

Silicon Sisters InteractiveThe 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 school 26market, 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

GamerizonGamerizon’s newest title is Chop Chop Rocket, a 99 cent (USD) game that features the adventures chop chop rocketof 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]

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20th April 2011

No Gravity Now On iOS Android and HP webOS

realtech-vrMontreal’s realtech VR has launched its No Gravity application for iOS, Android users and is now extending the offer for iPad 2, taking advantage of the power of the new tablet from Apple, extending its support for more Android devices and adding availability for HP WebOS devices. No Gravity, originally released as a PSP game on the Playstation network, is now available for iOS and Android operating system. Players will love the fast action as they work their way through thirty-one dangerous missions in a spaceship, in an attempt to save their people. No Gravity has a history of being a popular favorite with PSP players.

PSP players will recognize the name of one of the Android Market and iTunes App Store’s newest additions. No Gravity has already been a very popular game on the Playstation Network for some time. Realtech VR has been busy, adapting this space/action game to take advantage of HD display and open the world of No Gravity to iOS and Android users. The game pits the player against evil forces who have unleashed a mind-altering sickness across thousands of colonies. It’s up to the player to try and save people, or at least prevent more damage.

[youtube:http://youtu.be/nXExAkUi_rk]

Players have thirty-one mission levels to play, can choose from six different spaceships and two levels of difficulty. To help in the fight, each ship comes equipped with six weapons, everything from lasers to ion blasters. Along the way, players will enjoy the massive explosions, first or third person views and rewards for a job well done. No Gravity is a very fast-paced, action packed game that is not for the weak at heart. Good reflexes and a calm hand go a long way to helping the player succeed.

These are some of the features offered in No Gravity:

* Incredible, fast-paced, non-stop action
* This is the iOS and Android version of the PSP for Playstation favorite
* Full frame rate
* Massive explosions and damages
* Play in first or third person viewno gravity
* Select from 5 characters and 5 space ships
* Each ship available in 4 different colours
* Choose from 6 different, awesome weapons
* 31 mission levels to play
* 2 difficulty modes to test a player’s skills
* Reward system with achievements to unlock
* Multitouch and Accelerometer
* iOS Game Center (requires iOS 4.1 or better)
* Google Backup Service for ‘on the cloud’ save games
* Support for phone and tablets (Android 2.2 support for PowerVR, Tegra GPU and Adrenon GPUS including Android 3.0 support – including Motorola Xoom )
* Support for the iPad 2 new graphical processing power.

With the popularity of this game already established on the Playstation Network, No Gravity is being featured on the iTunes App Store in more than 500 places while still being a brand new launch. This should help players find yet another way to enjoy the nail-biting action offered in this all-time favorite.

No Gravity is only $2.99 (USD)  and available worldwide through the iTunes App Store, Mac App Store, Android Market and HP WebOS Application Store in the Games category.

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19th April 2011

iRok2 Introduces Next Generation Music Game With Playbook Debut

iRok2 mediaKelowna-based iRok2 Media Inc. has announced the Playbook App release of its iRok2 Online social music game. iRok2 for BlackBerry PlayBook, a free app available on BlackBerry App World, provides users with a new rhythm music game customized and synchronized to a YouTube music video every day.  As well, it serves as a gateway to the infinite choice of iRok2 Online – essentially all the world’s music, more than 16 million tracks.  The game is quickly gathering user acceptance, already logging over a quarter million play sessions with users from North America, Asia and Europe.  iRok2 is accessible from anywhere – home, office or remote connection and can be played through a computer keyboard or by plugging a Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitar into your computer. Online play is free as well.

iRok2 CEO, Dr. Robert Arn, commented on the PlayBook introduction, “The unique rapid development capabilitities, high performance video streaming and support of Adobe Flash on the PlayBook platform have allowed us to create a Playbook App from elements of our online game – even before PlayBook hardware was available and our iRok2 Online game was still in Beta testing.”  Dr. Arn added, “Such speed and flexibility allow us to experiment with building synergy between pad, mobile and computer game versions in a totally new way.”irok2 media

iRok2 is based on new, patent-pending technology that automates the production of custom music games.  iRok2 servers analyze music videos as they stream from YouTube and create a unique custom game for each video.  If a user wants to play with a video that is not already in the catalog, it takes only a single click to request a new custom game which will appear in the catalog, available for everyone.  Users have already built up the iRok2 catalog to over ten thousand custom games and there is no barrier to it growing to match the scale of the tens of millions of available YouTube music videos – including the new ones that appear every day.  In play, the video streams to the player directly from YouTube and the custom game synchronizes to the video without storing or modifying the video or music in any way – in effect, an internet air guitar.

As well, iRok2 breaks down the barriers between players. iRok2 is a social game that allows players to connect to others of similar tastes around the world.  Players can issue direct challenges to other players or join in real-time multi-user tournaments.  A unique in-game scoring monitor allows players to directly see how their performance compares to others second-by-second, not just in final scores.

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19th April 2011

Burn The Rope On Your Mac

igdaThe IGDA has posted a response to Amazon’s clarification of seller terms for its digital marketplace, stating that the company’s policy is still unfair to developers and fails to fully address developer concerns. The article urges developers to join the conversation and let Amazon know that their policies need to be changed.

Big Blue BubbleBig Blue Bubble’s Burn the Rope has ignited puzzle gaming on the iPhone and iPad, and will soon be burn the rope for macdoing the same for the Mac OS. Wickman has been looking to make his next move, and with brand new cursor and keyboard-driven controls, Burn the Rope for Mac OS brings the original hit mobile gaming experience and proven flame-lighting fun to Mac gaming enthusiasts everywhere, now from the Mac App Store.

The goal of Burn the Rope is to burn as much rope as possible on each level. The fire only burns upwards, so the player must rotate the rope to keep the flame going – once all the flames are out, it’s game over. With clever puzzle designs for each level and rope-crawling insects that add to the game-play in unique and interesting ways, Burn the Rope is one of the hottest apps in the App Store. Burn the Rope is fast-paced addictive fun, and the Burn the Rope for Mac OS is sure to please puzzle game fans of any age.

EA Black BoxEA Black Box invites you to experience the white-hot intensity of illicit street racing in the all-new Team Escape mode in Need for Speed™ World, the Play4Free online PC action racing game from EA. Available now, players can team up with three friends to win the race while battling a determined police force. This is a race to the finish line using any means necessary including roadblocks, spike strips and deadly rhino SUVs. Players can also fight back with two brand new power-ups; Team Emergency Evade, which can be used to save friends from getting busted with a more powerful blast than regular evade, and Team Slingshot which gives one team a huge burst of speed. NFSW car customization

Need for Speed World players will be the world’s first game to use Dolby® Axon voice technology. This innovative new technology lets players stay in constant contact as they organize objectives, create race strategies and perfect escape tactics without requiring a separate application or any drain on bandwidth.

Additionally, Need for Speed World players can now further personalize their cars with an enhanced visual customization system featuring window tints, underbody neons, license plates, wheels, and lowering kits.

Need for Speed World brings together best-in-class action racing with an unparalleled social experience on the PC. Players can compete against their friends and family or pick from thousands of players to challenge in intense online battles and police pursuits. Gamers race the way they want in an ever-expanding world with a constant stream of new content, cars, and features.

Eidos MontrealSquare Enix Ltd. has announced that Deus Ex: Human Revolution™ Collector’s Edition, an extremely limited, exclusive product will be releasing in select European countries on August 26, 2011 and in Australia and New Zealand on August 25, 2011, snubbing the Deus Ex fans in the home country of developer Eidos Montreal – unless the publisher is being coy and simply not yet announcing something special for the NTSC zone gamers, but why do something that will blatantly alienate the gamer community the studio has worked very hard at engaging prior to the game’s release?

The Collector’s Edition will include some extras that can be purchased with one of the Augmented Reality versions or as a standard edition pre-order bonus (I’ve had an AR copy on pre-order since the title showed up in the GameStop computers), and while this newly announced edition will include all of the previously mentioned bonuses, it will also include the highly coveted and highly collectable Adam Jensen action figurine designed by Play Arts Kai – a Square Enix company.

This is not the first time Canadian gamers have been shut out of collectable extras sold by the publishers of Canadian-made titles. One of the most recent incidences was with Assassin’s Creed 2, when gamers in Canada (and the USA) could not purchase the AC2 CE with Ezio dressed in black Assassin’s garb, only white. Wouldn’t it be nice to see Canadian developers recognize their “hometown” supporters with a Canada-only special edition?

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18th April 2011

Game Prototype Challenge Five Is On

Wordcamp Montreal, which is taking place this July 9th and 10th at Coeur des Sciences, Agora Hydro-Québec – UQAM has put out a call for speakers. Early Bird tickets are also on sale now for $30.00.

Game Prototype ChallengeGame Prototype Challenge has announced its development theme for April – Companion and Rising. Participants have until 11:59pm on April 25th, 2011 to submit their game prototypes. That’s one week away, with a preview event known as Screenshot Saturday taking place on – you guessed it – this coming Saturday. This is the fifth round of prototype challenges, and if the previous four are anything to go by, this one will also see some awesome entries. You can check out all of the previous entries on the challenge’s web site.INplay 2011

The Early Bird registration rate for Interactive Ontario’s INplay 2011 conference has been extended until April 27th. Get your tickets now for what promises to be a great event. If you are a Canadian digital media designer, don’t forget to send in your submission for the CMF Canadian Interactive OntarioInteractive Showcase, the deadline is May 2nd.

Interactive Ontario has also released the results of its recent eLearning survey. Designed to examine the challenges faced by the province’s eLearning and cultural industry sectors, the 63 page PDF report (which I am still working my way through) looks at opportunities for growth and cross-pollination among all industry genres, including books, gaming, film, television and music.

OMDCSticking with Ontario for the moment, OMDC is now accepting applications for 2011/12 cycle of the OMDC Export Fund – Interactive Digital Media. This program provides eligible Ontario interactive digital media content producers with funding to participate in export development activities that correspond to a strategy for company growth. Primary activities supported are market event attendance and targeted sales trips that relate to the strategy.

In order to be eligible, all applications must be submitted electronically through the Online Application Portal (OAP.) Interested applicants must register their company’s corporate information here prior to commencing an application.

For technical assistance with registration or the application process send an email to OMDC. Applicants are encouraged to commence the application process well in advance of the deadline in case technical support is required. Complete Guidelines and the link to the OAP are posted on the OMDC website.

In lieu of an information session, applicants will have the opportunity to receive feedback on a first draft of their OMDC Export Fund application through a one-on-one pre-application meeting with an OMDC Consultant. Participation in pre-application meetings is not a requirement and is offered as a courtesy for applicants who may be unfamiliar with the program and/or require additional assistance. Applicants are also encouraged to contact OMDC at any time with questions regarding this program.

Pre-application meetings will take place on May 9 and 10, 2011. Please send in an email to schedule a meeting please email programs@omdc.on.ca. Once your email request has been received, OMDC will contact you to schedule a time on one of these two days.

Here is a look at Part Two of the EA Sports video series on re-launching the SSX franchise with SSX: Deadly Descents:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69cGRZ3pzbs]

mts-allstreamManitoba’s MTS has joined the “PVR from Anywhere” movement with the the launch of its My PVR (Personal Video Recorder) service which enables MTS Ultimate TV customers to add, change or delete their Whole Home PVR recordings using any computer with an Internet connection or from select mobile devices. This service is available free of charge to all MTS Ultimate TV Whole Home PVR subscribers.

“My PVR is a great addition to our MTS Ultimate TV service and will give customers the freedom to manage their Whole Home PVR from outside their home,” said Stan Kurtas, Vice President, Marketing, MTS. “We are always working to bring our customers the latest in technology in order to enhance, what we consider to be, the most feature rich television service in Canada.”

My PVR, which can be accessed through the customer’s MyAccount portal, offers customers the opportunity to browse through MTS’s online program guide to see what programs will be on in the next 12 days, search by title and create a shared login so anyone in the family can manage recordings over the Internet.

rabbleIndependent media site rabble.ca is celebrating its 10th anniversary by launching Media Watch, an initiative committed to dispelling myths perpetrated by ideologically driven reporters and sensationalist media. “We don’t want people to be blinded by SunTV,” said rabble.ca Publisher, Kim Elliott. “Our new media watch blog will feature a media consumer Twitter feed #sunwatch and the keen eye of Alheli Picazo.”

Coordinator of Media Watch and rabble.ca blogger, Alheli Picazo, wrote an expose in 2010 entitled “Ezra Levant vs Reality – A Prelude To Fox News North” in which she thoroughly challenged Levant’s characterization of George Soros. Following this piece Soros filed suit against Levant and Sun Media, resulting in a full retraction and apology printed in The Sun’s editorial section 13 short days after Levant’s original column ran.

“With the official launch of Sun TV News – featuring none other than Levant himself – there has never been a better time to establish a media accountability service,” said Picazo.

Though it’s starting off small, Media Watch aims to cover a wide range of media, from uninformed editorials and inaccurate reporting. rabble.ca’s team of dedicated spin decoders and lie detectors won’t just point out misinformation, but will provide readers with links to, and information about, the sources from which we cite accurate information. Be it scientific data, peer reviewed research, documented fact or expert analysis, we’ll share the tools you need to further investigate the issues.

Canadian voters are invited to tune in to rabbleTV on April 18 to watch special election coverage (“for the rest of us”) with the launch of the show Real Issues. Host Trish Hennessy (researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the Hennessy Index) will be joined by guests Canadian Auto Workers economist Jim Stanford, Greg Elmer, Director, Infoscape Research Lab and Bell Globemedia Research Chair, and Atkinson Foundation’s Olivia Nuamah. This first panel responds to the leaders’ debates and the campaign so far, and will tackle the issue of strategic voting. 


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16th April 2011

Spring Bonus Available for PC and Mac

grey alien gamesGrey Alien Games has just announced that its latest casual puzzle title, Spring Bonus, has been released for the PC and Mac platforms. We saw this game demonstrated at last Monday’s Indie Dev Meetup, and I highly recommend this title for the whole family.

A very highly polished production, Spring Bonus is an Easter-themed game that offers very cute and well-drawn graphics, a Disney-esque soundtrack and non-irritating sound effects. While the soundtrack and sound effects are pleasant to listen to while playing the game, it is possible to adjust the volume or even turn it off. An important marker for me is if I can play through the game with no sound and still do well. I know that much effort goes into writing soundtracks and getting just the right sound effects, but being able to play a game without the sound a bonus point on development as far as I’m concerned. spring bonus level 15

Spring Bonus releases with 100 levels spread across a colourful map in a country setting, which pairs up nicely with the game’s pieces which feature spring flowers, bunnies, carrots and various Easter egg treats.  The first 18 levels of Spring Bonus are available in the game’s demo, which installs smoothly and easily.

There are a variety of board shapes, each of which with its own challenges. Some are filled with ice blocks that need to be broken either by matching the game pieces or using power-ups to break or melt them. Some levels only require the matching of a set number of pieces to advance to the next level, while others require a combination of pieces to be matched or removed. There are even some level with multiple mini boards to work through – and luckily for the player, the power-ups can cross board borders.

Every few levels feature the elusive golden eggs, which must be moved down the board by eliminating the pieces below them until the golden eggs fall off the board. To add to the challenge, you can opt to play against the clock or play in relaxed mode, which is a great option for younger children to play, especially as they may get distracted simply by looking at the the puzzle pieces or they may want to play by their own methods, as children sometimes do. The only negative point of the entire game is that it lacks a keyboard lock-out to prevent children from exiting the game and accidentally accessing your files or the web. While I don’t condone using games as a babysitter, even those parents who are sitting with their children while playing a game get distracted – the phone rings, another child needs attention, dinner needs to be prepared, and it’s always nice to know that if you do have to leave the computer for a moment, your child cannot leave the game screen.

The instructions and tool tip windows are very easy to understand, but they will need to be explained to children who either can’t yet read or who are at the beginning stages of learning how to read. This is another opportunity for parents to work with their children in learning not only game play but also new words and meanings. The tool Spring Bonus Power Boosttip popups can also be turned off if they are not needed, plus they can either be left to fade from the screen or closed by clicking on the X. Another option is to play the game either in full screen or tiled mode, which is handy if you have other things going on such as chat windows.

If you have chosen to play in relaxed mode, you can easily up the ante by switching to timed mode with a click of the mouse, as there is a check box on the game screen to switch back and forth. Even relaxed mode gives you extra bonus points if you finish within the set limit, but does not penalize you for running out of time, other than to not give you the extra points. The time limits given for each level are realistic, and really won’t put you into panic mode unless you get sidetracked with just matching the pieces.

There are several power-ups available to help you advance faster through the levels- something which comes in handy not only in timed mode but also when you need to drop the golden eggs off the board or change up some pieces. You gain power-ups by matching 4 or more pieces, with bubbles being the first power-ups to appear. When you click on a bubble, it clears the blocks around it – but in order to really power-up your power-ups and spring bonus row cleargive them more range, you need to make matches with the glowing pieces. When you do this, your magic rainbow will fill up with colour, and once it’s bright and shiny, your power-ups will harness the power of the rainbow and clear even more tiles, columns or rows.

Power-ups come in the form of the aforementioned bubbles, birds in a nest, four-leaf clovers, storm clouds, hammers, magnifying glasses and the sun.  The nesting birds fly out horizontally when you click on them, clearing from one to three rows, depending on your shiny Rainbow power. Storm Clouds will clear one to three columns, while the Four Leaf Clovers clear a star-burst pattern vertically, horizontally and diagonally. The Hammer will break ice cubes, the Sun will melt a circle of ice cubes much the same way as the Bubble clears squares, and the Magnifying Glass will clear one tile of ice.  There are also Mystery Boxes which appear later in the game (beyond the 18 demo levels) that contain a surprise. I imagine there are power-ups hiding inside, but one never knows.

Spring Bonus is a very high quality casual game – the colours are bright and appealing, the characters and scenery are well-drawn, the menu is easy to use and understand, and you can even save the game’s background to your PC or Mac as desktop wallpaper. For those of you constantly on the go, Spring Bonus will also be available for iPad and Windows Phone 7 in the near future. The game has also been localized into 9 languages including English. Spring Bonus does not require the latest computing power to run on your PC or Mac, which is always a bonus, because not everyone has the latest high-powered gaming rig, and as it’s a downloadable title, I can even play it on my netbook.

PC Minimum System Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7
Processor Speed:1GHz
RAM: 512MB
Hard Drive Space: 27MB
Graphics Card: DirectX7 or OpenGL compatible 3D graphics cardspring bonus mystery box
DirectX Version: 7
Sound Card: Any

Mac Minimum System Requirements:

CPU: Intel or PowerPC
Operating System: OSX 10.3
Processor Speed: 800MHz
RAM: 512MB
Hard Drive Space: 32MB
Graphics Card: OpenGL 3D compatible graphics card
Sound Card: Any

Spring Bonus offers very good value for it’s price of $9.99, is DRM-free and also has a 60 day no quibble, money back guarantee. Overall, I give Spring Bonus a 9.5 out of 10 – if it had a keyboard lock-out option, it would be a 10.

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14th April 2011

TransGaming Studios Announces New Title

TransGamingThis morning I also woke up to an announcement from TransGaming Inc. about the new title its Studio Division, creators of the popular title Garage Inc., have been teasing about the past few weeks on both Twitter and Facebook. This new title, Kula Blox, is a  multi-platform game targeted to a broad family audience. Leveraging TransGaming’s innovative cross-platform game enablement technologies, Kula Blox will be simultaneously released on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, PC and the GameTree TV Smart TV Gaming Platform in the summer of 2011. Kula Blox

“Our original game Garage Inc. was an incredible success and has garnered a user base of almost 500,000 since its release. The casual gaming sector is a high-growth market with lots of potential. These are exciting times, and we are very pleased to be launching a new title based on our own IP”, commented Wojtek Kawczynski, Managing Director of TransGaming’s Studio Division. “By incorporating both TransGaming’s own enablement technologies, as well as innovative micro-transaction business models Kula Blox,  is well-positioned to become profitable quickly while at the same time generating a long-term revenue stream.”

Kula Blox will be an animal-themed arcade-style game that allows a broader audience of non-traditional gamers to have immersive, but still “snack” gaming experiences. The Kula Blox property is designed to become a franchise that spans across multiple future titles with Kula Blox being the first. When paired with the lucrative in-game micro-transactions and content updates, the result will be a game that maximizes both profitability and long-term playability.

Strange Block Fellows

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13th April 2011

And As The First Puck Drops

EA SportsStarting today, NHL fans will have the opportunity to make their Stanley Cup® Playoffs predictions in the EA SPORTS™ NHL®2011 Playoff Bracket Contest on Facebook. Fans can make their predictions on the real series using the EA SPORTS NHL 11 simulation engine that will link to the Playoffs bracket and predict who will advance to the next round. The engine correctly predicted that the Chicago Blackhawks would win the Stanley Cup last year, and that the Vancouver Canucks would win the Presidents’ Trophy this year. Fans will vote on the winner of each series at the start of each round, accumulating points for Canucks vs Hawkscorrect selections; prizing will be available for each round so fans can continue to enter after the playoffs start. A grand prize winner will receive two tickets to the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa for the most points accumulated throughout the contest; the winner will be announced at the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.*

The NHL 11 computerized simulation is conducted using artificial intelligence that uses real-life data from each team, such as player ratings and line combinations, and includes variances such as injuries and hot streaks to predict a realistic outcome of each game and series.

Contest Schedule:

First round selections open today, and subsequent rounds will be announced at the end of each series.

EA SPORTS NHL 11 Round One Predictions – Conference Quarterfinals:

Western Conference

(1) Vancouver defeats (8) Chicago; 4-2

(2) San Jose defeats (7) LA Kings; 4-1

(3) Detroit defeats (6) Phoenix; 4-2

(5) Nashville defeats (4) Anaheim; 4-3

Eastern Conference:

(1) Washington defeats (8) NY Rangers; 4-0

(2) Philadelphia defeats (7) Buffalo; 4-1

(3) Boston defeats Montreal (6); 4-3

(5) Tampa Bay defeats (4) Pittsburgh; 4-2

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Eligibility restrictions apply. Contest starts April 13, 2011 and runs through the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Complete Contest rules can be found online.

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6th April 2011

Smiles Now Available in Ovi Store

Talent Lab: Applications are open for the TIFF Talent Lab. Deadline is June 8th.
Nominate: Gemini Awards now accepting Digital Media nominations. Deadline is May 24th.
Apply: Mesh Prize is now open for submissions.
Register: BCIC New Ventures 2011 Competition applications open until April 18th.
Register: Search Engine Strategies Toronto is open for registration.
Survey: Vancouver’s Network Hub is looking for your input on a second location.
Open Today: Disney Store locations at Metrotown in Burnaby and Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga
Hiring: Hothead Games in Vancouver is looking for programmers

sykhronicsSmiles Zen and Smiles Drop, two mobile games by Sykhronics Entertainment have made their debut in the Ovi Store smilesas a dual game pack for $2.99.  The games are also available on iTunes as a pack for $4.99 or you can buy them separately for $2.99 each. There is also a lite version of the two pack on iTunes that lets you experience both games. The Android pack is also priced at $2.99 for the dual game pack. Smiles works on both phones and tablets for iOS and Android.

Smiles Drop is an unconventional action puzzle game of the “match 3+” genre, but unlike other games, you don’t have to wait for the tiles to stop moving before you make your next move. You can also play at your own pace, making matches and using power-ups to work your way through the levels. Also unlike conventional match 3 games, you don’t slide the tiles to make your matches, you use the single tile at the bottom right of the screen, so placement of the tile becomes very strategic as you want to match as many at one time as you can while setting off more matches in succession.

Smile Drop’s companion game Smiles Zen is a relaxing game of strategy that borrowing heavily from the Solitaire and Sudoku style of game play. Instead of clearing the board of pieces, you need to make enough matches to light up the full board.

Smiles features 14 game modes, including Avalanche, where the ice constantly pours out, Hard Mode where the ice is harder to break, Long Play, where multiple matches and combos are easier, and Six, where you can lose in as few as two moves. The games also offer three different themes – blocks, vegetables and weather, along with 140 achievements. You can also keep track of your high scores and game statistics.

VI TechnologiesVancouver middleware developer VI Technologies has released a beta version of their SDK, which is currently free. VI Technologies has two game development products based on AI and Animation available. The company plans to release programming tutorials on a regular basis, and its first tutorial is a soldier squad evolving on difficult terrain, which is part of this first SDK release. The next tutorial will be about racing.

Canada PostCanada Post announced today the addition of a BlackBerry version of its Mobile Apps suite, which broadens its family of mobile applications and provides consumers and small businesses with new ways to access to its Track a Package and Find a Post Office tools.

The new application is available as a free download from BlackBerry App World and follows the release of the app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch a few months ago. These tools provide customers with the ability to track their packages and find nearby post offices, either by typing in an address or by using their device’s GPS feature.

“More and more, our customers are interacting with us on-the-go using their mobile devices,” says Louis O’Brien, Senior vice-president and Chief customer officer at Canada Post. “With this new BlackBerry application we are becoming as mobile as our customers. This is a great example of how we are embracing new technology to become a truly modern post.”

Canada Post is expected to release an Android version of the application this spring, and will also be adding a Find a Postal Code tool to its mobile applications on all three platforms within the next two months.

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