Village Gamer

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today introduced new policies to prepare the Canadian broadcasting industry for the transition to a fully digital environment. In developing these policies, the Commission has simplified its regulation in order to foster a more coherent and well-calibrated broadcasting system.

“Following a comprehensive review, we have streamlined a number of rules and eliminated those that were no longer necessary,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC. “These measures will contribute to a more dynamic broadcasting system, which will be in a better position to respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by new media. They will also make it easier for viewers to choose the programs they want.”

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Women in Film and Television Vancouver is accepting submissions for the 4th annual film festival. The festival is an internationally affiliated non-profit society committed to advancing and celebrating women in screen-based media. The festival seeks submissions in the following categories: Narrative and Documentary, Shorts and Features, New Media, Music Videos, Video Poems, and Experimental. Any genre, animated or live action, will be considered. Eligible films must have women in creative control, and films featuring female characters and stories are encouraged.

This year’s festival will be dedicated to new media and we are accepting submissions for a wide variety of projects such as visual/ audio installations, mobile films, nonlinear narration, and online projects. Two days of the festival will feature new media projects and dedicated panels and workshops discussing the future of women in the new media industry.

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Vancouver – New Media BC, in partnership with the Revenue Services Group will be presenting a seminar about the SR&ED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development) tax credit and refund incentive program designed to encourage product development and innovation among Canadian businesses.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008
12:00-2:00pm
577 Great Northern Way, Vancouver BC
$10 for Members / $20 for Non-Members

At this seminar, you will learn:
– If business activities that make up your day-to-day operations qualify for an SR&ED refund or tax credit
– The amount of money you can expect to receive
– How to access this funding
– When banks will accept anticipated SR&ED funding as present security
– The inside story on the CRA’s internal SR&ED refund approval process

Who should attend?
If you are interested in accessing SR&ED funding or SR&ED – secured bank financing, this seminar is relevant to you.

-Networking catered lunch is included
-Space is limited

Register Here

Last night we attended Video Games Live at The Orpheum, and while we knew from other KillaNet Community members that the show would be awesome, the only way to truly appreciate the show is to experience it first hand. We took part in the pre-show as volunteers, running the Guitar Hero 3 challenge as well as the Costume Contest. The evening was full of surprises and debuts, as music from the upcoming Need For Speed: Undercover was performed for the first time in public, including a track by Vancouver’s own indie band Splitting Adam.

Of course being in Vancouver, what would Video Games Live be without a guest appearance by Victor Lucas, who is partners with Tommy Tallarico on Electric Playground and Reviews On The Run. Victor unveiled a certificate from The Guinness Book of World Records recognizing Electric

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Toronto – Microïds, one of the leading adventure games producers and publishers, owner of the Syberia franchise, and Dreamcatcher, a leading publisher of interactive entertainment software, announce they have signed an exclusive agreement to publish and distribute the Syberia video game on Nintendo DS™ in North America.

Produced by Microïds and developed by Tetraedge Games, Syberia will be released in December 2008 and published by Dreamcatcher in North America.

Roch Roustan, Microïds’ Managing Director, comments: “We are thrilled to partner with Dreamcatcher for our adaptation of Benoît Sokal’s best-seller game on Nintendo DS. Dreamcatcher’s seasoned and passionate team will ensure Kate Walker a large exposure in the North America markets”.

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Vancouver – Hothead Games today announced that Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two is now available worldwide simultaneously via Xbox LIVE® Arcade (except Korea) and via the Greenhouse digital distribution platform for the Windows®, Mac®, and Linux® versions. Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two is expected to offer players six to ten hours of gameplay, and is priced at $14.95 for the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions and at 1200 Microsoft points via Xbox LIVE Arcade. The game has been rated “M” for Mature by the Entertainment Software Rating Board for all platforms.

The madcap Penny Arcade experience continues in Episode Two of the RPG-adventure game series! Players can jump right in with a fresh character and new customization options or carry over their look and stats

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Montreal – Meridian4 is chilled to announce that they have signed an agreement with Frogames to help digitally distribute their FPS (First Penguin Shooter) through numerous online sites across the net.

“I have bookmarked their website for a long time because Meridian4 has always published great games made by indies!” said Christophe Canon at Frogames.

“Put a penguin in a game and I’m hooked, but put a penguin in a surprisingly sophisticated and well crafted FPS where bullets are replaced with snowballs and I’m addicted. The moment we played Penguins Arena, we knew that it fit our company and the games we publish.” said Steve Milburn, Marketing Director at Meridian4 and penguin lover.

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– Vancouver – EA and Nissan shift into high-gear this holiday! The series continues the tradition of featuring the most desirable cars as Need for SpeedBlack Box, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. and Nissan today revealed the highly-anticipated all-new 2009 Nissan 370Z. This marks the first time an auto manufacturer has partnered with a videogame company for the world premiere reveal of a car. The Nissan Z^® will be available exclusively in this holiday’s hottest action driving title, Need for Speed™ Undercover, available in North America on November 18 and in Europe on November 21.

“For the past 15 years, Need for Speed has helped define contemporary automotive culture by bridging the gap between gamers and the world’s hottest cars. As such, we are very excited to partner with one of the automotive powerhouses today to exclusively reveal the all-new Nissan Z^®,” said Keith Munro, Vice President of Marketing at Electronic Arts. “Need for Speed is about style, fast-paced action and power; this is definitely a car made for Need for Speed fans. Come November, they’ll be able to test drive the all-new 370Z in the game before the car is released on the market.”

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The Coming, a feature film written and directed by Vancouver Film School graduate and instructor Chad Costen will be shown in a special sneak preview at the VanCity Theatre this November 11th. A film which tells a story about the end of the world brought about by humanity’s fear of itself was produced by Nicky Forsman, a graduate of VFS’ Entertainment Business Management programme and also features the talents of several other VFS Film programme grads.

Costen began production of his film with a rather unique grass-roots fundraising campaign which rippled out from his site I Am Canalien. Fundraising involved T-shirt sales and “gathering specimens” which was essentially film supporters gathering lists of “human specimens” who each donated $11.00 towards the cost of producing the film.

At the beginning of this project, Chad had this to say on the VFS Blog: “It’ll feel good to finally just get out there and shoot something. We have the best cast and crew in the world, so no matter what happens we know that we’ll end up making a movie worth being proud of. You don’t need a fortune to make good films, you just need to be fortunate enough to know good people that will make films with you.”

The Coming’s pre-show activities begin at 1:15pm, with the film’s presentation at 2:15pm. Please see The Coming’s official site for teasers, trailers and more information.

Vancouver VFX studio The Embassy has been nominated and short-listed in the AEAF Awards for their work on the short film Terminus. The list of finalists were narrowed down from over 200 submissions in 11 categories. Award winners will be announced at the AEAF Awards ceremony on November 12th, which is held in conjunction with Sydney, Australia’s Digital Media Festival. Terminus was also an Official Selection at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and was chosen as the Best Canadian Short Film at the 2008 Montréal ‘Just for Laughs’ Comedy Festival. Terminus was directed by Trevor Cawood and co-written by Jason Cawood.

According to writer Jason Cawood, Terminus is about a 1970’s businessman who, after he unknowingly offends “a strange entity that accosts him on his way to work, quickly finds himself in the midst if a bizarre predicament. What follows is a rapid descent into madness, a journey both eerie and darkly humorous. The exact nature of the businessman’s tormentor is purposefully ambiguous, lending itself to a variety of interpretations. Is Terminus a surreal critique of human alienation in the modern urban environment? or is the protagonist’s struggle an internal one, his mysterious stalker a manifestation of his repressed subconscious mind? Either way, Terminus’s innovative visual effects and distinctively vintage atmosphere make it a highly engrossing experience.” From the IMDB listing for Terminus