Village Gamer

Vancouver – The new Vancouver Unity 3D Users Group is celebrating their official launch with a TGIF Networking Event on Friday July 24 at District 319 on Main Street.

dimeRocker.com in partnership with Unity Technologies invites all local game, web, and iPhone developers to a premiere industry Unity Networking TGIF followed the next day by a Unity Skills Workshop.

The entire initiative will be framed within a “web-ready” context, exploring how tools like Unity 3D in combination with a new breed of social gaming hives are enabling developers to create, market, and monetize console-like browser content for a growing audience of online and mobile gamers.

TGIF Schedule:

5:30pm – 6:30pm    Reception, drinks and appetizers
6:30pm – 7:30pm    Key Note followed by Q&A with Tom Higgins (Unity Evangelist, San Francisco)
7:30pm – 9:00pm+  Networking Social

Admission is $20 and includes a free drink, eats and chance to win a Unity 3D License.

The Unity Skills Workshop will be taking place on Saturday July 25 at Centre for Digital Media with Dmitry Shtainer (Unity Stealth Engineer, Vancouver). The workshop will be a day-long Unity 3D skills development event,  intended for students and professionals alike. Workshop curriculum and registration information have not yet been announced, but TGIF registrants will receive advanced email notification for the event.

Vancouver – BCTIA has announced that they will be holding a Members’ Reception on July 21 from 4 – 7pm. Tickets are $50.00, this event is open to BCTIA members only. The BCTIA Member Reception…On the Water is your opportunity to develop new business relationships in a relaxed and casual atmosphere. Join us for some west-coast style networking while enjoying the beautiful view of Vancouver’s harbour and Stanley Park from the water. Mix and mingle with fellow BCTIA members while enjoying delicious appetizers.

On July 22, BCTIA will be hosting a Business Survival Strategies Webinar. The topic will be Proven Techniques to Grow Your Business, with speaker Dr. Jim Sellner PhD., DipC. Cost is $69.00 for members and $89.00 for non-members.

Webinar Details:
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Toronto – Streamlogics today announced that effective July 1, 2009, the Streamlogics business has been acquired by Thomson Reuters. Streamlogics is a leading provider of webcasting applications and services in North America, with a strong presence in the financial, healthcare and technology sectors. The terms of the deal of privately-held Streamlogics remain undisclosed.

Thomson Reuters is a $13 billion company headquartered in New York City with operations in 93 countries. In addition to being the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, Thomson Reuters is the largest webcast provider in the world. With webcast broadcast centers across four continents, Thomson Reuters is committed to providing corporations worldwide with innovative solutions that effectively meet all of their business communication needs.

Streamlogics is a leading global provider of results-driven webcasting solutions for hundreds of enterprises across several verticals including financial services, technology and healthcare/life sciences. Streamlogics’ webcasting solutions are utilized for training and certification, marketing and lead generation, and corporate communications. Founded in 1999, Streamlogics is based in Toronto, with regional sales offices in Canada and the United States. The company also supports a global network of value added resellers.
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Toronto – LG Electronics Canada, a leader and technology innovator in Home Electronics, has announced the inaugural LG Life’s Good FilmFest (LGfilmfest.com), a global film competition open to budding movie makers of all skill sets and abilities. Unlike most film festivals, the Life’s Good FilmFest is free to enter for film-makers, and free and open for all to enjoy this fall.

“There really is no other film festival like the LG Life’s Good FilmFest,” says Tim Barnes, Marketing Team Leader, LG Electronics Canada. “We wanted to create a Film Festival that celebrates Life’s Good, inspiring film-makers to tell their uplifting stories, and allowing film enthusiasts to enjoy those stories. Bring the two together through free and open access inspires us all to celebrate Life’s Good. That’s what we’ve done with the Life’s Good FilmFest.”

Starting today, film-makers can enter their submissions into one of four categories: Animation, Fashion & Music, Sports and Narrative. Each entry must be no longer than five minutes in length and express an uplifting, life affirming message that best demonstrates the notion that “Life’s Good”. There will be four prizes awarded. Three of the four category winners will receive $10,000 in prize money. The fourth category winner, who is chosen as the overall winner, will receive the grand prize of $100,000 in prize money. The entry deadline is 5pm ET, October 16, 2009. Each submission will be judged and winners are to be announced in early January 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

Toronto – In a just-concluded press conference held at the Isabel Bader Theatre, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, with an introduction by the Honourable Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, announced a 263 million dollar commitment and a 10 year partnership with Ubisoft to open a new development studio which will employ a staff of 800 people. Ubisoft’s net investment in the new studio will be over half a billion dollars in the new studio, which will begin operations in late 2009.

“Today’s announcement marks a strategic move for Ubisoft as we continue to expand our internal

Premier McGuinty

development force,” said Yves Guillemot, president and chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “We are in an excellent position to grow and after extensive analysis we are thrilled to have reached an agreement with the government of Ontario to found our new studio in Toronto. The city is one of North America’s economic and cultural epicenters and our expectations are high. We’re excited to be able to count on the exceptional local talent, who will contribute to our accelerated growth and will have a profound impact on the video game industry with the excellence of their creativity.”

Three years in the making, Premier Dalton said that some of the primary reasons Ubisoft chose Toronto for their newest studio was the amazing talent, innovation, and ties to the movie industry enjoyed by Toronto’s creative industry. Collaborating with local film industry veterans to enhance video game production and extend Ubisoft’s convergence strategy, Ubisoft Toronto will contribute to Ubisoft’s global plan of extending its brands to complementary platforms and mediums, including books, comics, short films and other products.
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