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  • It’s A Deadly Game Launch Tonight On The Listener

23rd June 2014

It’s A Deadly Game Launch Tonight On The Listener

the listenerIt’s all gamers and hackers tonight on CTV’s The Listener as Toby (Craig Olejnik), Michelle (Lauren Lee Smith) and Dev (Rainbow Sun Francks) delve into shady dealings and corporate secrecy in the game development world. The IIB team investigates the murder of Duncan Quinn (Christopher Russell), a successful video game developer and former hacker friend of Dev’s on the eve of his new game’s release. Duncan had made good in the highly competitive and profitable world of interactive games, but in building his company he also made a few enemies. Read on to find out more about tonight’s episode as well as the Watch & Win Twitter Giveaway that will take place during the June 23rd debut broadcast of The Listener episode 505 – Game Over.

Motion-capture performers (Geoff Scovell, Anita Nittoly, Jennifer Murray) work in front of green screen. Shot on location at Screen Industries Research and Training Centre, Toronto (photo by Christos Kalohoridis for Shaftesbury)

Motion-capture performers (Geoff Scovell, Anita Nittoly, Jennifer Murray) work in front of green screen. Shot on location at Screen Industries Research and Training Centre, Toronto (photo by Christos Kalohoridis for Shaftesbury)

As the show opens, employees at Duncan’s studio, Tough Critter Games, are celebrating with champagne as they count the millions of downloads after the long-awaited release of their new interactive video game, Ogre Fury. Associate Vanessa Reinhold (Cindy Sampson) goes to take a glass of bubbly to their boss Duncan Quinn (Christopher Russell), who as usual is holed up in his office. But the festivities come to an abrupt end when she discovers him dead from two gunshot wounds to the chest.

Meanwhile, across town at the Gastropub, Toby, Dev and Oz are passing the evening with a game of darts. Toby goads his broken-hearted pal Oz to get back into the romance game when he sees him eying women across the bar. Though initially hesitant, Oz makes a bold approach and fumbles badly. Toby is sympathetic and encourages him to just be honest next time. Meanwhile, Dev gets a call about Duncan’s murder.

At the interactive company offices, the IIB forensics team is working the crime scene when Toby and Dev arrive. Given the murder was a clean kill in a busy office, it suggests the killer knew the victim. Michelle (Lauren Lee Smith) arrives frazzled and exhausted by her baby duties but ready to work, and they set out to get employee statements. Though Becker (Anthony Lemke) has already interviewed Vanessa, having seen the success of Toby’s intuitive expertise in action, he suggests the team enlist his skills to see if they can get anything else. As Toby talks to her, his visions paint a picture of a demanding, solitary boss and hardball negotiator. Questions about potential enemies enliven images of Duncan arguing with a bearded man over a contract dispute. Toby reports his findings to Michelle, Dev and Becker. Further interviews reveal the dead man was disliked yet begrudgingly respected, and amongst his employees there are no standout suspects.

As the team zeroes in on associates and outside contractors, they discover that Eddie Duffy (Neil Napier), a software developer instrumental in the success of the game, was going bankrupt trying to meet his obligations. Plus with no backend, he stood to gain nothing for the game’s massive success. Toby and Michelle go to meet with him and are greeted with paranoia and hostility. Aggressive and secretive, the bearded man grudgingly lets them into his lair, an elaborate motion-capture studio. Inside they see specially suited performers dangling in front of green screens. Delving deeper, Toby’s visions lead them to suspect Duncan’s tryst with one of the performers might be linked to his death.

Meanwhile, Becker and Dev meet with Simon Fields (David Patrick Fleming) from another high-tech firm shafted by Duncan’s hardball negotiating tactics. But at least Fields was poised to profit unlike Duffy who could lose everything. With their investigation leading them forward a level, then into dead ends like a video game, Dev realizes they might need additional support and calls in some hacker friends, who reveal a complex computer conspiracy that leads the team on the path to finding Duncan’s killer.

Check out this video preview of tonight’s episode, which also features an interview with Canadian actor, musician and gamer Rainbow Sun Francks – who also has the very popular Console Creatures channel on YouTube. In the third video below you will find details for a special Watch & Win Twitter promotion featuring some cool game-related prizes.

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From the Console Creatures channel, here is a look at Ogre Fury, the game featured in tonight’s episode of The Listener:

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Watch & Win Twitter Giveaway Details:

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The Listener is broadcast on CTV and Bravo in Canada, ION Television in the United States, Fox International Channels internationally, and distributed by Shine International. The series has been licensed in 120 countries and 33 languages worldwide. Produced by Shaftesbury in association with CTV and Fox International Channels, the series is executive produced by Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Craig Olejnik, and Peter Mohan (LOST GIRL, THE BRIDGE), who is also showrunner. Tina Grewal (HEARTLAND) is producer. Sharon Tal Yguado is executive producer for Fox International Channels. Tom Hastings and Rebecca DiPasquale are production executives for Bell Media. Trish Williams is Director, Independent Production, Bell Media and Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks, Bell Media. Phil King is President, President CTV Sports and Entertainment Programming. The Listener is produced with the financial participation of The Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit and The Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2014 at 12:26 pm and is filed under Game Dev, National News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
  1. Tami Quiring (@VillageGamer)
    5:29 am on June 23rd, 2014

    It’s A Deadly Game Launch Tonight On @listenertv – complete with swag! Check it out: http://t.co/0gz2WYQ4Nq #eyeoncanada #cdntv

  2. @TimHinchcliffe1
    5:55 am on June 23rd, 2014

    It’s A Deadly Game Launch Tonight On The Listener http://t.co/V3PMxHUvQj

  3. @hdonty
    6:28 am on June 23rd, 2014

    RT @VillageGamer: It’s A Deadly Game Launch Tonight On @listenertv – complete with swag! Check it out: http://t.co/0gz2WYQ4Nq #eyeoncanada …

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