Village Gamer

Toronto – Know what the Emperor 1510 is? How about Headplay Personal Cinema System? Chances are, you don’t. But ask any hardcore Canadian gamer and they’ll tell you: they are some of the most extreme gaming gear available… in their dreams.

Intrigued? See for yourself this October when the Taco Bell truck rolls across Canada. Taco Bell Gaming Experts Craig Kennedy and Ryan Staples, founders of Canadian gaming company HALOphax – are visiting Taco Bell locations across the country with the ultimate, fully-equipped gaming truck.

Taco Bell FUOGG Tour

The Taco Bell tour is letting Canadians save their cash for tacos. FUOGG is Taco Bell’s contest for Canadians who want win the absolute ultimate gaming gear.

The grand prize? Model 0001 Emperor 1510 – the first ever Emperor 1510 in the WORLD – and a ton of other extreme gaming gear (total prize value worth over $10,000!). More than 300 prizes will also be won nationally

The FUOGG truck is making stops at Taco Bell locations across the country in the Late Night Gaming Tour.

Fans who stop by will be able to try out the gear, win swag and snack on Taco Bell favourites…all while waiting in line to test drive the big prize: the first ever (model 0001!) Emperor 1510.

How to Enter

Canadians who visit Taco Bell and buy a combo or a Big Bell Box meal will receive FUOGG pins – simply enter your pin online for your chance to win! Visit Tacobell.ca for more details.

FUOGG Prizes

Grand Prize

The first ever, custom, limited-edition Emperor 1510 – the most redonkulous gaming experience – plus one of each prize item (retail value approximately $14,000)

National Prizes to be won on Tacobell.ca

– Nokia N95 8GB phones + games (retail value $740.00) – the craziest gaming phones (not even on the market yet!)

– Headplay Person Cinema System (retail value $500.00) – simulates watching a 52″ television!

– Razer DeathAdder Gaming Mouse (retail value $79.99), Lycosa Mirror Limited Edition Gaming Keyboard (retail value $99.99) and Carcharias Gaming Headphones (retail value $99.99) – for gamers, by gamers…bring computer gaming to a whole new level. (I have a Razer Guild Wars gaming mouse and I love it)

– Gunnar Optik eSPORT Collection Glasses ($99.00) – lets you play longer…and better

– Limited Edition AMP Energy Pro Team (N49) Gaming Jerseys

– …and Taco Bell Fuel to keep you going!

Tour Schedule (become a fan on facebook and get full details)

The Tour has already been to Richmond Hill and is in Scarborough today, but here are the other upcoming Tour stops:

September 30: Milton On
October 1: Whitby ON
October 2: Brampton ON
October 6: Winnipeg MB
October 9: Calgary AB
October 10: Edmonton AB
October 11: Sherwood Park AB
October 14: Kelowna BC
October 16: Surrey BC
October 17: Coquitlam BC
October 22: Winnipeg MB
October 26: Waterloo ON
October 27: Windsor ON
October 29: Toronto ON

Montreal – In celebration of International Animation Day and the National Film Board of Canada’s 70th anniversary, the NFB is launching a special edition of Get Animated! – a series of free public screenings, from October 23–31, 2009, in 13 communities across Canada. The NFB’s Get Animated! website will also offer exclusive animation programming from October 8, 2009.

The NFB’s third edition of Get Animated! will showcase amazing new creations for all ages from its Oscar-winning animation studios in two programs: Animation Feast and the NFB Family Program. The Family Program also features special presentations by acclaimed filmmakers Chris Landreth and Cordell Barker, as well as hands-on animation workshops for all ages. The NFB’s new 2-disc set Animation Express, a dazzling collection of films by today’s animation innovators, will also be on sale at screening venues.

Taking place October 28, 2009, International Animation Day is an annual celebration in over 40 countries, initiated by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) in 2002. NFB animation founder Norman McLaren was the first president of ASIFA, and the NFB is proud to be bringing this global celebration to Canadian communities for the third consecutive year.

This year, the NFB celebrates 70 Oscar nominations in 70 years – more nominations than any production company or organization outside Hollywood. Get Animated! is part of a broader commitment to ensuring that Canadians from coast to coast have access to outstanding NFB productions.

Screenings across Canada

Get Animated! free screenings will take place in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, as well as in five communities served by the NFB’s pioneering e-cinema network for francophone Acadians: Moncton, Bouctouche, Caraquet, Edmundston and Kedgwick, New Brunswick. Check the NFB Get Animated! web site for the full schedule of events.

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Vancouver – This past Thursday evening we ventured into the big city to take in the latest presentations from the Art Institute’s graduating class. This was also our first visit to the school’s new campus on Renfrew Street, and it’s an incredible building. As always, we were impressed with the level of talent possessed by this new generation of artists, programmers and designers – and they are all deserving of recognition.  However, the work of two students really stood out to me.

First is the work of matte painter Rebecca Williams. Rebecca’s work is highly detailed, and she works hard to make sure that all of the pieces fit – mood, lighting, depth and as mentioned, details. Rebecca was able to talk confidently about her work, passion and reasons for choosing to become a matte painter – just some of the qualities I look for when I question the grad students about their projects.

Also deserving of recognition is Modeler and Texture artist Susan Gao. Although not featured here, her model of a Caterpillar 797 Dump Truck is what caught my eye. You can see the model on her web site, though. Again, Susan shows attention to detail, mood and has a very high quality to her work, and spoke confidently about her abilities as well as about what she would like see herself doing in the future.

Overall, the AI students put on some very good displays, and for the most part were able to conduct good interviews. However, I found that the layout of the grad presentation rooms was not welcoming, and it was at times very hot and stuffy in the classrooms where they were set up, and overcrowding was a problem, which made it difficult to view some of the work on display. Hopefully future presentations will correct this problem and make it easier to visit with each student. We here at Village Gamer wish all of the graduating students the best of luck with their future endeavours.

Friday was National Digital Media Day, and we spent the evening at Appy Hour, presented by The Social Agency at The Diamond in Gastown. There was some excellent networking happening, and the presentations from the CBC’s digital guru Jonathan Carrigan and Michael Fergusson, CEO of Ayogo were both informative and at times amusing. Event sponsor Rogers Communications also made a very brief presentation to kick things off, and I actually would have liked to have heard more on what the company had to say about the future of wireless communications and innovation in Canada. Congratulations to Kirstin, Kelly and Monica for a well-done event.

Appy Hour was followed by Vancouver’s first NDMD flash mob dance, led by Lynda Brown and friends at the intersection of Powell, Alexander and Carrall Streets. The dancers entertained passing traffic, and got more than a few honks of support and even more than just a quick glance from motorists. A few people walking down the street joined in, and I’m sure the patio crowd over at Chill Winston’s enjoyed the entertainment. Lynda enjoyed the experiment, and rumour is that she’s pondering future flash mob dance events in support of the digital media industry. It will be great to see more people join in with future street dances, and it was also nice to see that not one motorist got upset about traffic interruptions.  You can take a look at some of our video below, shot by Scott with his iPhone, because for some reason my Canon does not wish to part with the movie files on its card. Next time, we bring the DVD recorder.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9rhK4_Njyw]

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of Canada’s National Digital Media Day, when those Canadians who work in the Digital Media industry celebrate the innovation and importance of our contributions to the Canadian and Global economy. No other industry is able to touch so many people in such a wide variety of fields as that of Digital Media. From gaming to education to every day technology, Canadians around the world can be proud of the levels of creativity and success achieved by our Digital Media industry.

If you are in Vancouver, you can join local industry members at Appy Hour which is taking place at The Diamond in Gastown. Following Appy Hour will be the6pm flash mob dance party at the corner of Powell and Carrall Streets. Remember to wear your favourite red shirt!

Another upcoming event which is still searching for an affordable and appropriate venue is Ghoulash Bash. We are currently investigating a few possibilities, but so far nothing has been confirmed. Who would’ve thought that trying to find a cool place for a Hallowe’en fund raiser for the Greater Vancouver Regional Food Banks would’ve been such a challenge. We are also looking for sponsorships, swag and twitter auction items. This Hallowe’en be a part of the first Ghoulash Bash – because everybody hungers.

Don’t forget to grab your ticket for next Tuesday’s Aliens Among Us – the Visual Effects Behind District 9 speaker session, presented by the ACM SIGGRAPH Vancouver Chapter and sponsored by Vancouver Film School and Annex|Pro. Double up on your savings for local SIGGRAPH events by becoming a member – you will get incredible value for your membership.

Congratulations are also due to our WCG Team Canada members who earned 1 gold and 3 silver medals out of a possibility of 5 medals at the WCG 2009 Pan-American Championship, which was held September 12-13 in Guadalajara, Mexico. This incredible performance put Canada in 2nd place in the overall standings just ahead of Brazil. Mexico finished on top, taking advantage of their large team and fielding about three times the number of participants than the other invited countries.

Canada’s gold came after a brilliant performance by Max Rawal and Kevin Garcia in Halo 3. Despite not having played together since their victory in Germany at the WCG 2008 Grand Finals last November, the current WCG world champions had no difficulty adding another gold medal to their collection. They each received $1000 USD for their win.

Daniel Piacampo (Guitar Hero), Alan Joseph (Virtua Fighter 5), and Brandon Schlichting (Warcraft 3) each received $700 USD for their silver medals. It was Schlichting’s first appearance in a WCG major tournament.

In the list of oddly cool web sites I’ve visited lately is the Candy Wrapper Museum. For those who want to take a nostalgic walk down Candy Lane, this site offers a look back at both the mundane and totally weird products which have been marketed to satisfy the sweet tooth everywhere. Although the site is not Canadian, there are even some Canadian candies featured.

Canadians in Digital Media are such a busy group, and being the kind of person who likes to learn about new ideas in the digital media and business sectors, I have decided that first I need to win the new Lotto Max several times, and then I need at least a half dozen Surrogates to send out to all of the great events going on in our country – and that’s just for starters.

I received a mailout this morning announcing registration information for the Digital Interactive Gaming event taking place this November 3 and 4 in London, ON. It looks like there are going to be a lot of great speakers in attendance, and there is a wide variety of ticket pricing available for those who wish to go to DIG.

Nitobi is holding a PhoneGap Training Workshop on October 15th for those who are interested in learning how to build mobile applications in HTML and JavaScript while still taking advantage of core features of the iPhone, Android and Blackberry.

“Building apps on different mobile platforms is hard and time consuming,” said Andre Charland, CEO of Nitobi. “We designed PhoneGap for the large group of developers out there who know how to write for standard languages, like JavaScript and HTML, and who don’t have the time or inclination to learn new languages, like Objective-C. They can use PhoneGap to write an app that will work on many different phones.”

Created at iPhoneDevCamp 2008 by Nitobi, PhoneGap is an open source initiative for bringing native device capabilities to mobile browsers. PhoneGap apps are authored in HTML and JavaScript, but still take advantage of features like geolocation, camera, vibration, local storage and sound. This eight hour session will take place at UBC Robson Square, and will cost $499.00

Also from Nitobi is the Nitobi Hack Day Pirate Edition. Not many details have been released for this event as of yet, but it is scheduled to take place on October 24th at the Nitobi studios.

As many of you, our readers know, we like to publicize which Canadian companies are traveling abroad to attend international events. I had sent a request to those in charge of the Canadian Pavilion at the Tokyo Game Show a couple of weeks ago to find out who would be venturing over to the land of the rising sun. To make a long story of several emails and a 6:30am phone call much shorter, I have just now obtained a list from DFAIT Ottawa of “some of the Canadians participating” at TGS.

Alliance Numérique (QUE)
Bug-Tracker (QUE)
Complex Games (MB)
Creaform (QUE)
DARIM (BC)
Di-O-Matic (QUE)
Enzyme Testing Labs (QUE)
Gesture Tek (ONT)
Inspeck (QUE)
IUGO Mobile Entertainment (BC)
Investissement Quebec
Monde Media Solutions (QUE)
Sherpa Games (ONT)
Quebec Government
Ontario Government
BC Government

I know that our friends over at Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run are also at the Tokyo Game Show, as is the crew from Ubisoft, but if anyone else is over there and not mentioned in the list above, please let us know. I hope you are all having a great time at the show!

The Canadian New Media Awards have extended their Early Bird rates until Friday September 25th, so take advantage of this extension and get your nominations in while saving $50.00. Remember to also get those nominations in for the Most Innovative Online Game (.doc file) award. This is a national competition for online games created by Canadian developers for any market or audience. Entries may include games built for single and multi-player environments.

There is still time to get your Appy Hour tickets for this Friday night at The Diamond in Vancouver. Come out and help celebrate Canada New Media Day with The Social Agency and a lot of great people from our local industry.

Digital Alberta is having a 50% off sale on their membership fees in celebration of Canada New Media Day, so if you aren’t already a member, take advantage of the savings and then take advantage of all the great events the association organizes.

Early Bird pricing for the Montreal International Game Summit ends this Friday as well, so if you are planning to attend the Summit this November, now is the time to grab your tickets. Buying your tickets early can save you $210.00 on this great event and give you the chance to hear a fantastic line-up of speakers.

The time is now to get your ticket for ACM SIGGRAPH Vancouver Chapter’s presentation of Aliens Among Us: The Visual Effects of District 9 on September 29th at the Empire Theatre. This session will feature key members of the VFX team from Image Engine and is sponsored by Vancouver Film School and Annex|Pro.

Vancouver – The BC Civil Liberties Association, in partnership with the UBC School of Journalism and The Tyee, will be hosting renowned copyright and internet law expert Dr. Michael Geist at the Wise Hall in Vancouver on October 1, 2009 for a unique evening lecture.

Dr. Geist is Canada’s leading technology law expert and the guru of the Canadian movement to prevent copyright restrictions from infringing on key free speech principles including parody, artistic use, fair use, and device transferability.

A national innovator in using Web 2.0 tools like blogs and Facebook for campaigns for law reform and policy change, Dr. Geist’s advocacy, in partnership with Cory Doctorow, resulted in more than 30,000 people joining a Facebook group opposing proposed Canadian copyright law changes and ended in the tabling of the proposed changes by then Industry Minister Jim Prentice.

Those interested in attending can RSVP on the event’s Facebook page. This seminar is free.

Vancouver – Via NMBC – Twenty top Canadian Digital Media companies will present their latest ventures at the Fusion Venture Forum 2009 before Google and other top Silicon Valley investors, the only Western Canadian financing forum dedicated to digital media content and technology. The annual event will showcase early and growth stage companies that are original games, mobile & Web 2.0 and new platforms & applications ventures, on November 12, 2009 at Robson Square in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Register today for the Nov 5th Fusion Entrepreneur Boot Camp and the opportunity to be one of the 20 selected to pitch before top tier investors at the Forum including Google Ventures, Google Inc and SoftTech VC, one of the most active Angels in the Digital Media Space. If you have a new digital media venture seeking financing, please sign up early, as places are limited.

Fusion ’09 is organized by New Media BC and is designed to bring Canada’s hottest digital media ventures to the attention of local and international investors, provide valuable insights into key issues in the industry and become a premium networking opportunity for digital media investors and entrepreneurs alike. For more information, please visit the event’s web site or contact Fusion’09’s Director Christine Lim-Labossiere.

Canada – With National Digital Media Day almost upon us, there are many events happening around the country this week – here is just a small sampling; I will be updating our Events Calendar today with a fuller list of coming events.

Village Gamer will be attending Appy Hour this Friday. Presented by The Social Agency, in partnership with Rogers Communications, this event is designed to inform, connect and provide opportunities for the rapidly growing industry surrounding Apple’s i-phone. Appy Hour is taking place this Friday at The Diamond in Vancouver.

“More than ever before, app developers need information, resources and a bit of inside information from the pioneers who’ve already successfully launched with Apple’s i-phone.” Says Monica Krake, Communications Director of The Social Agency, “By bringing this community together to access expertise from pros like Michael Fergusson and Jonathan Carrigan, The Social Agency is applauding National Digital Media Day’s goal to support and promote Canada’s interactive digital community.”

Lynda Brown-Ganzert, Founder of National Digital Media Day adds that “Canada is producing some of the best digital content out there, but companies have big challenges to overcome if we want to be world-leaders in this burgeoning sector. National Digital Media Day brings the industry together to discuss these opportunities and to raise the profile of emerging talent – like the people presenting at Appy Hour.”

Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s National Digital Media Day’s celebration will take place on Thursday, September 24th- they’re getting the party on early at Shannon’s Irish Pub beginning at 5pm.

In tonight’s seminar on Understanding SEO, Web development guru Tim Lloyd and veteran marketer Pam Brain will discuss the relationship between your brand, the language associated with it and leveraging available technology to drive how your clients find you online. Learn how keywords really work on the web so that your site works harder and communicates better.

The Business Council of BC presents Chapter 2 in their Outlook 2020 series, Foundations For The Future, on Tuesday evening at the Pan Pacific Hotel. This session will focus on the following question: In a fast-moving international economy where knowledge is king, how can British Columbia successfully adapt and innovate to carve out a prosperous and sustainable future built on innovation, education, training and fully leveraging the value of human capital in a global economy?

The Web of Change annual retreat is taking place over on Cortes Island from the 23rd through to the 27th. Web of Change, which consistently sells out, is an event which connects senior leaders with a deep commitment to the social change movement.

Another Vancouver event beginning on the 23rd is CMOS Emerging Technologies, which takes place at SFU Harbour Centre through to September 25th. On Thursday evening, we will be attending the Art Institute of Vancouver’s Grad Presentation Night, where we’ll be getting a look at the latest in student projects. We’re looking forward to meeting another round of talented young people as well as visiting AI’s new campus on Renfrew in Vancouver.

The Connect Conference and Click Trade Show 2009 at Niagara-on-the-Lake is in full swing on day two of it three day event. Tomorrow is a workshop focusing on Entertainment, Media, and Communications: New Media: The Emerging Landscape taking place in Toronto. Meanwhile, on September 24th students and prospective students can learn more about the world of game development with the Interactive Onatrio seminar Go Into Games With Big Blue Bubble taking place at Fanshawe College. There will be a similar seminar over at the University of Toronto on September 29th with Go Into Games With Koei Canada. The Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario presents their Creative Business Summit on September 24th in Toronto

Hot on the heels of a very successful Spark Animation Festival, Vancouver’s hardworking SIGGRAPH chapter has opened ticket sales for Aliens Among Us: The Visual Effects of District 9. This speaker session will feature key staff members from the team at Image Engine, who contributed over 300 visual effects shots including digital aliens to Neill Blomkamp’s directorial debut District 9.

On-set VFX Supervisor & Digital Production Manager Peter Muyzers will be moderating this post-mortem discussion with input from Shawn Walsh – VFX Executive Producer, James Stewart – Creature Supervisor, Jon Cowley – VFX Seq. Supervisor and Tim Belsher – CG Supervisor. Aliens Among Us takes place on Tuesday September 29th at the Empire Theatre. Tickets are on sale now.

UBC Sauder has an excellent offering of seminars and continuing education sessions coming up, including Strategies, Skills and Tactics of Negotiations, Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers, Strategic Sales Leadership,  Outlook: Getting Out of the Inbox and Software Architecture and Iterative Development Process: Managing Risk through Better Architecture.

Tomorrow night Digital Alberta is presenting a Summer After Burner event, Social Media and Consumers: Next 500 Days. Join Digital Alberta’s panel of experts to learn how consumers will be using Social Media in the next 500 days. The panel will be moderated by Norman Leach and will be comprised of Manoj Jasra, Lynda Brown, Douglas Walker and Roger Kondrat.

Business In Vancouver presents Investment in Innovation – Investing in Smart Tools For Your Business on September 24 at SFU Segal Graduate School of Business while WaveFront is presenting their WaveGuide Seminar on Mobile UI Design – User Centered Design and UI Best Practices over at the Guinness Tower Conference Centre. The New Ventures BC Awards Ceremony takes place at the SFU Segal Graduate School of Business on September 24th and is hosted by New Ventures BC.  The BCTIA is presenting the next session in their C-Suite series – Behind Your Financing Options on September 29th at the Segal Graduate School of Business.

Also of importance this month are the Focus Group Consultations which are taking place across the country. The Canada Television Fund is on the road looking for industry input. Their schedule for the remainder of this month is as follows:

September 21: Halifax
September 22: Fredericton
September 23: Charlottetown
September 24: St. John’s
September 25: Iqaluit
September 28: Calgary
September 29: Vancouver
September 30: Vancouver (Aboriginal Focus Group)

Toronto – Presented by McLuhan Festival of the Future, The Vortex Competition is a “Dragon’s Den” styled game development event now in its fifth year. Registrants first attend a two day Vortex Boot Camp where they participate in panels and discussions “specifically designed for emerging entrepreneurs in the game industry to provide information and guidance to make their product ready for and a success in the market place.” Once the boot camp is done, participants are given an additional fifteen days to develop their game concepts and submit them for evaluation.

Important dates for the competition:

October 5: Deadline for Boot Camp Registration
October 7 and 8: Boot Camp & Networking Reception
October 23: Deadline for Competition Submissions
October 29: Announcement of Contenders
November 4 – 5: Competition & Awards Gala

Registration fees for the Vortex Boot Camp are as follows:

Boot Camp & Competition – $100.00 (Full Pass – includes Camp, Competition, Reception & Gala)
Boot Camp Registration (No Competition Entry) – $85.00 (includes Reception)
Team Boot Camp & Competition Registration – $85.00 (per team member & is a Full Pass to all events)
Boot Camp Reception & Competition Awards Gala Tickets – $ 60.00
Vortex Webcast Registration – $30.00 (watch the Camp & Competition via internet)

For those who may not be able to afford to enter the competition, the organizers are offering a limited number of scholarships to individuals or companies who meet their criteria. The number of scholarships is limited and will be evaluated on a first come, first served basis. Please submit a statement which outlines the details about you and your team, as well as a description of your project, what you believe you will gain for the Boot Camp and the Competition, and why you should be offered this scholarship.

Speakers for the 2009 Boot Camp are:

Ian Buck – High Road Communications Inc
Vikas Gupta – President & CEO, TransGaming Inc.
Andrea Sheffer – Executive Director, Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund
Blake Lewin – VP, Media and Entertainment Platforms at Turner Broadcasting
Peter Williams – Head of US Business Unit & Chief Strategic Officer, Bamboo Networks (Keynote)
David Woolford – Business Law Partner, Miller Thomson
Rob Sands – Owner, RGS Media

The chosen competitors will then enter one of two tracks – either Prototype or Concept and make their presentations to the jury panel. The presentation will last for ten minutes, followed by twenty minutes of discussion and review with the panel. Two semi-finalists from each category will be chosen. On day two of the judging competition, the four semi-finalists will make ten minute presentations to the panel. The declared winner of the Vortex Competition and will be given their prizes at the Awards Ceremony with Gala to follow. The competition’s organizers are excited to be able to offer this year’s winners mentoring by established industry executives tailored to their needs in addition to cash and other prizes as well as the opportunity to have their games commercialized through a variety of channels.

Jury Panel for the 2009 Vortex Competition:

Yannis Mallat – CEO, Ubisoft Montreal & Ubisoft Toronto
Kevin O’Leary – CBC’s Dragon’s Den
Rita Davies – Executive Director of the Culture Division of the City of Toronto
Mark Montgomery – Product Development Manager, Games & Applications for Telus
Mark Saltzman – Freelance journalist, author, lecturer, consultant, radio and TV personality

Vortex Competition entrants are also encouraged to submit their game concepts to the City of Toronto’s Game Competition, which is being held in to commemorate the city’s 175th birthday. According to the Vortex Competition’s web site, “the City of Toronto is proud to offer all competitors the opportunity to enter their game in a 175th City of Toronto Birthday Videogame Competition. The winning game will be accessible via the City of Toronto’s website which will garner the winner international exposure.” A search of Toronto’s birthday events page did not offer any further information.