Village Gamer

Vancouver – Spark FX 2010 is fast approaching, and they have a full slate of events happening. With 8 films, more than 30 speakers taking part in 17 presentations, a party, a mixer, hundreds of industry attendees and, of course, T-Shirts! SPARK FX 2010 is helping to start the year off with a bang (along with that other winter party). Taking place January 27 – 31 at VanCity Theatre on Seymour, full event tickets are $200.00 for members, $250.00 for non-members – it is also possible to purchase tickets to individual sessions and films which may better suit your schedule or areas of interest.

The films are almost fully confirmed – a mix of classic films and recent blockbusters – and there is an unbelievable line-up of industry speakers led by ILM veteran John Knoll. There will be film makers talking about their work on virtually every big effects film of the past year including Avatar, District 9, Transformers 2, GI Joe and half a dozen more. If you’re eager, you can buy a pass now for full access to all the main speaking sessions. Full passes include the 3-day conference, 2 party tickets and an event T-shirt.

Brought to you by the SIGGRAPH Vancouver Chapter, SPARK FX 2010 is sponsored in part by Telefilm Canada, Vancouver Economic Development, BC Film, Digital Domain Vancouver, Annex|Pro, MPC, 3vis, Visual Effects Society, Visual Effects Association of BC, Graphic Designers of Canada – BC Chapter, and Women in Games Vancouver. If you need a place to stay, the Sheraton Wall Centre is the official partner hotel of SPARK FX 2010.

Montreal – Catch Me! If You Can is an iPhone and iPod Touch game from ODD1 that pays tribute to a classic arcade game. Available in both free and premium ($1.99 usd) versions, this chasing game through colorful mazes presents a thief fleeing from three guards who try catch him to… take his place and get rich!

As player, you first take on the character of the thief and must collect a maximum of gold nuggets. If you’re caught, the roles are reversed and you become one of the guards who each have a unique special power. Your goal, then, is to catch the thief and switch back to your original role – starting again to get rich! But be careful… the rules can change and you might need to catch all of the thieves who keep appearing out of nowhere!

The game features a “Story” mode with progressive levels to unlock, and a “Challenge” mode for more fast-paced action. Players can also join the “Band of Thieves” community to send their gold into the collective “Treasure Vault.” The faster players accumulate and share gold, the faster new levels and content will be unlocked!

The free version includes the first three levels of the “Story” mode as well as the “Band of Thieves” community feature, which is key to the release of new, generally free content. All levels and the “Challenge” mode are available in the premium version.

ODD1 also recently released a game based on the TV show Grossology for Tribal Nova and Nelvana. Kids become special agents and dive into the Grossology universe to play four gross missions or to use the level editor to create their own mini games to challenge their friends. There is also a free version which can be played online.

Terrace – Rusty Axe Games has released the Financial Guru Value Pack for Windows based PC home computers. Financial gurus rejoice as they can now show their financial acumen playing Rusty Axe financial strategy games… and at the cash register by picking up all of our most popular games bundled together for one low price! Real Estate Empire 2, Real Estate Empire and Big$hot have all been bundled together into the Financial Guru Value Pack for $29.99.

Real Estate Empire 2 is a goal based game that is easier to pick up and play than it’s predecessor. Big$hot is a turn based property management game featuring simple game mechanics that allow for complex business property management strategies. Real Estate Empire is the classic house flipping game that teaches people how and when to buy, fix up and sell houses through an ever changing economic climate and against cutthroat AI adversaries.