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  • The Cavechild Previews Garage Inc From Transgaming Studios

5th January 2011

The Cavechild Previews Garage Inc From Transgaming Studios

Editor’s Note: The Cavechild does not believe in standard game reviews, and I try not to cramp his style. This review has been altered to correct his Cavechild English. 😉

Garage IncLast night I received an advance copy of Garage Inc., which I immediately took for a spin. This is a new title from TransGaming Studios that officially launches for the rest of you tomorrow, January 6th. Garage Inc. will be playable on the PC,  Mac and GameTreeTV as well as Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.TransGaming

First Impression: When starting up the game I had my doubts but I was slapped in the face right away by how visually awesome the game is, how classy the music sounds and how awesome the cutscenes are and how they describe the story.

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The story for Garage Inc is pretty awesome, opening up your own car shop in a mob filled city, trying to make an honest living, although being in a city of mobsters makes things quite difficult for your character, which makes things more and more interesting to me as a player. Also, I personally love it already and I’ve only gotten to the part where your cousin “Sal” is saying “Angelo, my cousin. Any luck on the job front?”

Personal Thoughts: Just completed the tutorial stage, was easy to learn and see how things are done, the game is Garage Incrunning VERY smooth and the graphics may seem cartoonish, but it is still a very fun game and I’ve only just finished the tutorial.

Just got my first worker in my Garage which I decided to call “Olde Iron” and the game got a bit more challenging by trying to throw in a second worker, but after a few cars I was able to keep a some what steady pace going and production became a little less intense.

Oh boy! A new type of customer! The old guy! It makes things a little more interesting, not as challenging but more coordination is needed. Adding this new type of customer is quite the change, because you need to think a little more on the pattern of how you get things done.

-Sal Vists-

Sal seems to have got his ass kicked and needs money back.. apparently Angie needs to help his cousin out of a jam.

Garage IncSecond service bay.. Oh boy. This adds more challenge, which I enjoy.

A new worker! These people are starting to love me! Except some customers, which I don’t fully understand yet as to why they get mad at me and next thing you know I”ve lost a customer.

WOO! Reputation! Yeah.. that’s right, Olde Iron is getting its name out there! So by fixing cars and being awesome like me, you get reputation. With this new reputation you get special guests which take a little longer to fix up and get them on their way.

Yay! A police officer stopped by and needed some work done.. no pressure.. right?

When you’ve completed each level, you then have a clipboard with paper that tells you:

1. Successful repais
2. Overtime Repairs
3. Missed Repairs
4. Sales

and deductibles such asGarage Inc

1. Parts
2. Labour
3. Overtime

and the best part

PROFIT!

You get money for your hard work but you also get things, I suppose they’re reward type achievements and unlocks such as Goal Reached, Perfect Day, New Worker and Reputation.

Hint! Apparently making people wait brings rep and sales down.. I wish this happened in real life so bad companies would close up.

CUTSCENE! -The Pitbull-

Yay the Mafia showed up.. *Gets my baseball bat* Im’a show them who the REAL king of auto repairs is!

Bloody Mafioso… think they own me! They want me to make their cars bulletproof and they will cut my debt down some.

The side jobs for the mafia guys are quite fun, I just did the first one to install the bulletproofing for the doors. Interesting stuff it is! It’s a step by step to make your own!

Garage IncNEW WORKER! Electrical worker dude works only with electrical stuff which is indicated by RED so this adds a whole new twist to what I am able to do. OH YEAH! MORE CHALLENGES!

Final Thoughts: This game is extremely addicting. Transgaming approached a different style of play and it has worked out really, really well in their favour! If anyone likes games like Bejeweled, Tetris, and other puzzle games where they build up in challenge then this is a game you will most definitely want to check out. This is a MUST BUY for everybody in my opinion, even hardcore gamers such as myself can sit down and enjoy this game. For those of you with iOS devices, Garage Inc. is definitely an entertaining way to pass the time on journeys.

Voice Acting: From the first cutscene I was pleased to hear how wonderful the voice acting is and how clear it sounded.

Graphics: Though they are cartoonish, I think the cutscenes make the game appealing to all ages, and they still look very 1920s and 1930s. When playing the game itself, the graphics may seem a little less cartoony but none the less the way it looks is definitely worthy of the game play.

Audio: The music is pleasant to listen to as you play this wonderful game – the sounds of the cars, the repairs , customers, bells and so on are all very authentic.Garage Inc

Gameplay: The gameplay is like a new form of RTS from what Im used to, as I usually play games such as Dawn of War or Dawn of War II or even Medieval II: Total War. For a switch like this it’s quite empowering.

Replay Value: Very replayable!

Suggestions: Multiplayer? It would be interesting to see how that could be intigrated into this type of game, where one person could possibly compete against another in a race to earn more money than the other, and the one with the least amount of money gets hammered by the mob? Other than that this game is perfect.

So… When can we expect Garage Inc. 2? 😀

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5th January 2011

Behaviour Interactive President to Keynote at GameON Finance

behaviour gamesEA and Behaviour Games have released a few screenshots for upcoming movie-tie-in action-adventure game Rango Golden BulletRango, which invites players to continue on Rango’s wild journey through new adventures inspired by the movie. The game is set in the Old West town of ‘Dirt’ where players romp through a gritty, pint-sized, Wild West filled with wild rides, off-color characters and frantic shoot-outs.

“We are thrilled to be working with Paramount and the upcoming release of the video game version of its first animated feature,” said Sinjin Bain, Vice President of EA Partners at Electronic Arts. “Rango is a one-of-a-kind character that we know kids will love. We’re excited to give families worldwide the opportunity to take the humor and fun from the big screen into their living rooms.”

Tom Lesinski, President of Paramount Digital Entertainment stated that the studio is “pleased to team up with EA to deliver an exciting, action-packed adventure game that captures the spirit of the film and puts the fate of Dirt in Rango Zombiesplayers’ hands. We’ve added exciting twists and turns in the video game that will challenge players of all levels on their adventures as Rango.”

Rango is Paramount Pictures’ first full-length animated feature film. Rango the Game will be available on console platforms including the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360®, WiiTM and Nintendo DSTM in March 2011, when it will be launched simultaneously with the movie. Rango has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Speaking of Behaviour, Interactive Ontario has Interactive Ontarioannounced that RĂŠmi Racine, President and Executive Producer of Behaviour Interactive will be a keynote speaker at GameON: Finance 2011. Don Carmody, President of Don Carmody Productions, and Dino Patti, Co-Creator of LIMBO, and co-founder of Danish studio Playdead Games will also be featured keynote interviews at the conference, taking place on January 20 & 21 at the Design Exchange, Toronto.

For the past 18 years, Racine has positioned Behaviour as a world leader in the video game industry. Under his leadership, the company has ranked simultaneously amongst the Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ and Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies™ from 2006 to 2008.

Carmody produced feature films Silent Hill and Resident Evil: Afterlife, which recently topped worldwide box office receipts of over $280 million – making it the most successful production in Canadian feature film history, surpassing previous box office champion PORKY’S, also produced by Don Carmody. In November 2010, Boondock Saints was released on the iPhone, iPad & iTouch.

Patti is co-creator of the critically acclaimed title, LIMBO, which has now received several international awards including two awards at the Independent Games Festival in San Francisco and 3 Milthons for Game of the Year, Best Indie Game and Best Visual Art at the European Games Awards.GameON Finance

GameON: Finance offers advice on transmedia digital game projects, and funding strategies on how to create a game or app that expands screen-based creative. GameON: Finance offers delegates the insider business and market knowledge needed to understand how to budget, build and finance your mobile, online, social, or ipad, game. Through one-on-one meetings, GameON: Finance fosters partnerships and connections needed to get a game financed, developed and distributed. Keynotes, panel discussions and interviews will cover boot-strapping, venture capital, government programs and alternate funding models.

UbisoftTwo brand new fitness programs for the Ubisoft’s Kinect exclusive fitness game Your Shape: Fitness Evolved are now available for download on the Xbox Live:

· “New Year New You”, a specific program to get back in shape after Xmas and New Year’s celebrations
· “Dance Workout: Bollywood”, a dance take on fitness, matching efficient exercise with Indian-inspired moves and atmosphere.Your Shape New Year

These 2 extra workouts are offered individually or as a bundle package. The bundle, including “New Year New You” and “Dance Workout: Bollywood” is priced at 560 Microsoft points, while each workout purchased individually costs 400 Microsoft points. In the first half of the calendar year, over 12 new pieces of add-on content for Your Shape: Fitness Evolved will be released on Xbox Live. Two other workouts, the “Toned Body Program” and the “Cardio Boxing Platinum” are already available for download.

task aveThere is a new location-based task management app available in the iTunes App Store today for $2.99 USD. Task Ave., which hails from Toronto and was the winner of Startup Weekend Toronto last September.task ave screenshot

Task Ave.’s Features Include:

? Location-aware reminders with local notifications on iOS 4.0+
? Add, edit and delete tasks on a beautiful map or list view
? Drop or drag task pins on the map with an active task count
? Find locations with a search of nearby places or add your own
? Configure reminders’ proximity from 500m to 13km
? Switch location tracking between GPS and cell tower (battery friendly with iPhone 3GS & 4)
? Disable task reminders for specific locations or everything
? Remove completed tasks at an adjustable interval
? Disable anonymous data collection
? Send feedback in one tap

vanartsVanArts is now accepting applications for its Media Arts Boot Camp, which is open to BC high school students. Applications are due January 28, 2011. Late applications will not be considered. Seats are limited, so apply early! Students will be notified of their acceptance in early February 2011. Boot Camp recruits will have the opportunity to receive 4 days of hands-on training in one of these two courses:

Media Arts Boot Camp: This course will take students through the VanArts experience, introducing them to the variety of different programs we have to offer. They will be able to see how each program is unique, while seeing how they can also complement each other in the large scheme of the industries we train for.

Monday March 7: 2D Character Animation
Tuesday March 8: 3D Character Animation
Wednesday March 9: Game Art & Design
Thursday March 10: Visual Effects for Film & TV

Acting for Film & TV: For students who have aspirations of being a professional actor for film, television, or even theater, this is a great way to learn about the lifestyle of this industry, for 4 full days. Hands-on workshops will be explored and give students a chance to learn exactly what being an actor is all about, directly from professionals in the field.

Students will be selected based on a combination of factors: relevant experience, motivation behind their interest in the program of their choice, current grade and date of application. Priority will be given to Grade 12 students but other grades will always be considered. If selected, students must send a $50 administrative fee by an established deadline to confirm their enrollment.

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5th January 2011

Gesture Controls Coming To GameTree TV

TransGamingLeading 3D gesture software and solution provider Softkinetic (Brussels) and Toronto’s TransGaming Inc. have announced their collaboration to bring gesture-based video games to TransGaming’s on-demand gaming platform, GameTree TV. TransGaming’s video game enablement technology, combined with Softkinetic’s iisu™ (“The Interface is You”) gesture recognition software, provides consumers with an innovative experience previously only available on specialized video game consoles. The integration of iisu with the GameTree TV SDK toolkit will provide game developers the ability to create and distribute their interactive gesture-controlled content through the GameTree TV Platform, reaching a global audience of millions. This new gesture-based solution will be demonstrated at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show from January 6–9 in Las Vegas.

The GameTree TV Platform is the premier on-demand video game solution for consumers, optimized for the next generation of set-top boxes and connected consumer electronics (CE) devices. GameTree TV delivers a comprehensive catalog of video games to consumers right in the comfort of their living rooms through a variety of flexible transaction and pricing models. The availability of gesture-based games will allow GameTree TV customers to enjoy an unparalleled interactive gaming experience through their next generation set-top box or CE devices, without the need to invest in a dedicated gaming system. GameTree TV is the only next generation on-demand video game platform for set-top boxes and connected CE devices to feature gesture-based video game capabilities.

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In addition to the compelling value add for consumers that gesture-based games offer, Managed Service Operators and CE device manufacturers (OEMs) can enhance their overall entertainment portfolio with the addition of GameTree TV. The Platform offers MSOs and OEMs new revenue streams that strengthen their consumer value proposition by catering to the broad family demographics represented in their customer base and improves the marketability of their product.

“Gesture-based gaming represents the next true innovation in video game interactivity,” commented Vikas Gupta, gametreetvCEO and President of TransGaming. “Our ability to offer games that allow the player to be the controller on a set-top box or CE device is a demonstration of the combined expertise of Softkinetic and TransGaming, and truly reflects the comprehensive capabilities of the GameTree TV Platform.”

iisu™ is the de facto standard in gesture recognition middleware, with over seven years of research and development behind its creation. Compatible with Adobe Flash, Unity 3D and 3DVIA Virtools development environments, its uses include video game projects as well as many other non-gaming markets including fitness, senior rehabilitation and e-learning. The versatile nature of iisu™ makes it highly compelling for developers interested in multi-platform compatibility (e.g., PC, console, set-top boxes) that allows apps to be released on Windows or Linux.

“We have been very impressed by the TransGaming team and its technologies for quite some time,” said Michel Tombroff, CEO, Softkinetic. “The combination of the our iisu gesture-recognition software and the GameTree TV platform will provide not only an enhanced experience for consumers but also a great distribution channel for our game and application developers.”

A demonstration of the gesture-based gaming experience will be available during CES at both the IntelÂŽ Consumer Electronics Network private meeting room (Central Hall #7153) and Softkinetic’s private meeting room (South Hall MP 25166). For business appointments, please contact Virgile Delporte at Softkinetic or TransGaming’s Paul Nowosad.

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