8th May 2008

Vancouver International Game Summit Finalized

VIGS 2008

Title Sponsor: Electronic Arts

Vancouver International Game Summit 2008

The agenda is now finalized and this is one Game Summit you don’t want to miss!

The Vancouver International Game Summit and its Advisory Board are pleased to announce that this year’s closing keynote event will feature the key leaders behind the 2007 Game of the Year: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

“Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – The Business and Game Design behind the 2007 Game of the Year” – “Tabitha Hayes of Activision, and Infinity Ward’s Vince Zampella will discuss the success of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and how business, brands and exceptional game design come together for a blockbuster hit of the year.”

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8th May 2008

Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

Review By: Tami Quiring

Puzzle Quest

Okay now that I have beat Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords from Infinite, here are my thoughts on it.

The controls work well – it’s about 99% stylus controlled. The music is annoying – but it’s one of the few games I can play without the sound turned on, so that’s good.

For a DS game, the map is quite large with lots of cities to get quests from and to lay siege to. The more cities you “own” the faster you can easily get a lot of money, as the residents have to pay a tithe each month. Of course they can also stage a rebellion so you have to go back and siege the city again. Battles are waged against opponents following the Bejeweled model – drop down gems which increase your mana when you match three, four or five sets. You can also get wildcards, which multiply the mana you gain. You attack your opponents by matching skulls. Some skulls have higher power and do more damage. You can also use spells to heal, protect and do damage.

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7th May 2008

Videogame Marketing and PR – Volume 1 Playing to Win

Review Written By: Tami Quiring

Videogame Marketing and PR – Volume 1: Playing to Win
Author – Scott Steinberg
June 2007

I bought this book quite some time ago, and I’m regretting not getting to it sooner. Having read a previous title by Scott Steinberg, I should have known better. Videogame Marketing and PR is packed with literally decades of knowledge and experience. Mr. Steinberg not only imparts freely with chapter after chapter of methods and ideas which he has practiced in his own career, he has presented a collection of brief articles from many of the key people in the videogame industry. From these men and women come gems of wisdom, because they have literally been there and done that. While there are many books sitting on shelves in many stores which can tell you all about how to market, none of them carry the unique situations which sets the videogame industry apart from other retail markets.

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7th May 2008

Fantasy Clip Art – Everything You Need to Create Your Own Professional-Looking Fantasy Artwork

Review By: Tami Quiring

Fantasy Clip Art: Everything You Need to Create Your Own Professional-Looking Fantasy Artwork
Author: Kevin Crossley
June 2007

I found this book quite by accident while browsing away an afternoon in Chapters Book Store, and as I have a latent desire to learn how to draw creatures, I bought it. The volume is accompanied by a CD containing hundreds of fantasy clip art pieces. All images are simple outlines in PSD layered format and compatible with Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe PhotoShop Elements and Corel Paint Shop Pro.

The author spends the first part of the book giving a brief look back at human imagination and the need to express ourselves, going back through time to the advent of cave paintings. He follows this with a quick introduction to the file contents of the compact disc and plants the seeds in the reader’s mind as to how the image files he has provided can let your imagination roam free in the world of fantasy art.

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7th May 2008

Construction

Some sections are having content added and will be fully operational soon. Thank you for your patience as we build our new site. 🙂

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posted in Action Adventure, Adult Only, Animation, Associations, Audio, Careers, Casual, CGFX, Dev Diaries, Driving, Early Childhood, Editorials, Educational, Everyone, Everyone 10+, Fighting, Gear Reviews, Mature, Music, Party, Platform, Puzzle, RPG - MMORPG, RTS, Serious, Shooters, Simulations, Site News, Software, Sports, Studios, Submit, Teen By: | Print This Post Print This Post

7th May 2008

Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart Wii (US Edition)Grab your steering wheel and put your foot on the gas! Nintendo has come a long way with Mario Kart which first appeared on the SNES in 1992. Mario Kart Wii brings the classic Mario Kart games and gives them a huge facelift with a gigantic array of new game-play features. One of the biggest features Nintendo has incorporated into Mario Kart Wii is the ability to compete with other players globally, regionally, or with your Wii Friends via internet connection. While Nintendo has brought a great deal of new features you will still feel at ease with the very similar game-play as previous versions.

The first hour I was playing, I felt very at home with it. I was rapidly getting used to the steering wheel which my Wii-mote fit right into. With this, I can actually guide my go-kart along the race track! Just using this steering wheel you all ready feel like you’re having fun. Of course, those of us who have played all the previous versions of Mario Kart will immediately want to jump right into the race track that we all know from previous games. Nintendo was gracious enough to include some previous popular tracks in this latest version. How cool is that?! Alongside the old tracks are new tracks that are catered around other Nintendo games and previous Mario games. (e.g. Super Mario Sunshine.)

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6th May 2008

StoneLoops – One Great Game

Written By: Tami Quiring

This game is maddeningly addictive. I opened it up expecting to just take a quick tour, try a few levels to check out the game play, and here I am two hours later writing my review. I finally found the strength to end the game, even though I really wanted to unlock that last volcano level in Survival Mode.

StoneLoops, a game from Polish indie game developer Codeminion is a refreshingly new twist on the “match three or more” puzzle genre occupied by other casual games such as Luxor and Zuma. I found everything about the game to be pleasing – except the failing to clear a level part, that is. The graphics are very well done, with attention paid to detail, depth and colour. The audio soundtrack is a very nice tribal, monastic style combining orchestration with haunting vocals, matching the game atmosphere very well. The entire theme of the game has been carefully thought through, with bits of humour mixed in if you take the time to check trophy descriptions and other subtle graphics.

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6th May 2008

How to Use Technology to Better Prepare Students for the Workforce

By Tina O’Block

Technology is becoming more and more prevalent in our everyday lives as well as the workforce.Recent studies predict that by the year 2010 almost every job in the American workplace will require some use of technology. This influx in technology has caused changes in the way the computer is being used in the workplace and in the way computer literacy needs to be taught in our schools.

When the personal computer was first introduced in the 1980’s, people had to learn how to operate it, program it, and utilize its basic functions. Today, people and businesses are becoming more familiar with technology and using it more as a tool for such things as information gathering, data analysis and interpretation, presenting information, problem solving, communication, etc. This technology is also continually being updated and changed to allow for more efficient and productive work, causing people to have to keep pace with this new information. In such a knowledge-based economy, knowing how to locate information quickly, evaluate this information for bias and accuracy, and synthesize and apply that information to solve problems will be needed and valued skills. Therefore, teaching students skills such as these will better prepare them for the workforce of the 21st century.

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6th May 2008

Breaking Into Gaming

By Tami Quiring

Written from notes on a lecture given by Vlad Ceraldi, President and Joint CEO of HotHead Games, Vancouver.

Vlad Ceraldi

Mr. Ceraldi began his lecture by asking attendees what they love most about gaming. The top four answers were story, action, interaction and environments. He next asked why they wanted to go into game development, and the top two responses were for the creativity and enjoyment of doing the work. He then held up the box for a PlayStation 3, and asked if given the choice, would they choose the console or having a job in the industry, and without hesitation the answer was having a job in the industry.

Throughout his lecture, Mr. Ceraldi was brutally honest with attendees. He did not paint a Hollywood fantasy picture of the game development industry, and I feel that because of his honesty, those looking for jobs in the industry have a much clearer idea of what it takes to enter such a competitive field. He stated that if you only wanted to become a game developer to get rich, you would be better off pursuing another career, because you would have to work just as hard in game development, if not harder, as you would to be successful in any other career.

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6th May 2008

Game Dev Student Checklist

This checklist was prepared by the Game Developers’ Association (Australia)

STUDENT CHECKLIST: Questions that every potential games student should ask

The following checklist has been prepared for students and parents to use when reviewing potential game courses and educational institutions.

What links does the course have with the games industry?

Is there anyone in the game industry that could be spoken to regarding the course?

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