Village Gamer

The call for submissions to present lectures, roundtables and panel sessions for the 2009 Game Developers Conference Canada (GDC Canada) is now open through midnight, Friday, November 28, 2008. Presented by Reboot Communications and Think Services, organizers of the industry-leading Game Developers Conference, GDC Canada will take place at the Vancouver Convention and Exposition Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada May 12-13, 2009. GDC Canada will provide insight into the thriving Canadian game development community and will serve as an opportunity for developers to share best practices for fostering excellence and quality games within their region and distributed globally.

The Game Developers Conference Canada emphasizes studying the challenges and opportunities of creating games with long production cycles, large development teams, and multi-platform releases. The tracks for GDC Canada are structured according to production stages of game development and submissions should address the most pressing game development challenges that fall under the following development stages:

• Concept/Preproduction
• Production
• Finalling
• Post-Launch

Some of the Submission Guidelines Are:

The GDC Canada Advisory Board is looking for high-level, specific content that will fit into one of the tracks listed above. An extended abstract will be necessary for the advisory board to determine whether your talk will be a good fit. Concise, precise language and a discernable thesis will also help your chances in the review process.

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Toronto – JoWooD Productions and DreamCatcher Games, leading publishers of interactive entertainment software around the world, today announced Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods for Windows® has shipped to retail stores in North America. Also releasing today is the Gothic 3 Collector’s Edition, the complete Gothic 3 experience in a special collector’s tin case containing the most up-to-date version of Gothic 3, the complete version of Forsaken Gods Add On, a ‘Making of Gothic’ DVD, Official Soundtrack CD and a full-color map.

The official Gothic 3 Add On, Forsaken Gods takes you a step further into the fantastical world of this epic RPG series. This exciting new chapter of the Gothic series introduces intoxicating new quests, monsters, armour and weapons while the gaming experience offers a sense of intense realism, provides 15-20 hours of non-stop gameplay and introduces an improved combat system.
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EA’s Award-Winning Videogame Brings the Thrill of Skateboarding to Gamers of All Ages Today

EA Montreal and Black Box, studios of Electronic Arts Inc. have announced that their award-winning Skate It videogame hits retailers in North America today and in Europe starting November 20th for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™. Gamers can feel the rush of nailing the perfect skate line by using the Wii Remote, nunchuck and Nintendo DS stylus controls. Or they can get in touch with the skateboard even more by planting their feet on the Wii Balance Board and using it to skate, manual and throw down dozens of other authentic moves.

“We wanted to reinvigorate the action sports genre for the Nintendo audience,” said Scott Blackwood, Executive Producer, Black Box. “Skate It is not only true to the soul of the Skate franchise, but also leverages everything unique about the Wii and Nintendo DS, making it one of the best and most intuitive skateboarding games for the Nintendo platforms.”

In Skate It, gamers return to a destroyed San Vanelona, where they’ll skate their favourite skate spots, customize areas to make them their own, and earn the opportunity to travel the world, all on their path to becoming Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of the Year. The game also boasts a variety of high-action multiplayer challenges that will have players competing for ultimate bragging rights.

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Companies Offer Solutions for Photo Specialty and Wide-Format Printing Markets

Ottawa – Corel Corporation today announced that it has signed WYNIT, Inc., a leading national distributor of computer peripherals and consumer electronics, as a new partner in the U.S. and Canada. Serving customers in a variety of markets including photo specialty and wide-format printing, WYNIT now offers the entire Corel digital media and graphics software lineup including the recently released Corel^® Paint Shop Pro^® Photo X2 Ultimate and Corel® VideoStudio^® Pro X2, along with CorelDRAW^® Graphics Suite X4 and Corel^® Painter™X.

WYNIT is also the exclusive distributor of the Wacom® Cintiq® 21UX which it offers bundled with Corel Painter X. Designed to maximize the creative power of Wacom’s industry leading pen tablets, Corel Painter X is the standard for digital painting and illustration for professional photographers, illustrators and designers.
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Montreal – Interactive entertainment company Ludia and FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), the brand extension arm of The Price Is Right™ producer FremantleMedia, today announced the launch of The Price Is Right game on the Apple App Store. Based on the highly successful television game show, iPhone and iPod touch owners can now “COME ON DOWN” anytime, anyplace for their shot in Contestant’s Row, to bid on items in 16 different pricing games, to test their luck with spinning The Big Wheel, and experience the winner-takes-all tension of the Showcase Showdown.

“After more than 35 years The Price Is Right remains one of the most successful game shows in history, and it’s very exciting to expand The Price Is Right experience to revolutionary products like iPhone and iPod touch.” said David Luner, Senior Vice President, Interactive & Consumer Products, FME, North America.

Ludia’s founder and CEO, Alex Thabet said, “We are thrilled to bring The Price Is Right to such truly groundbreaking devices. The intuitive Multi-Touch screen, rich graphics and great sound capabilities all combine for a tremendously satisfying game play experience for iPhone or iPod touch users.”

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