Village Gamer

Vancouver – IUGO Mobile Entertainment is proud to announce its debut onto BlackBerry devices with one of its successful iPhone titles, Cliffed.

Presenting the most addictive race to the bottom with this frantic 2D scrolling racer! IUGO presents its latest iPhone sensation in casual gaming brought over to the BlackBerry. Cliffed is set to appear on BlackBerry’s App World and other gaming portals soon. IUGO has more titles set to release for your BlackBerries in upcoming weeks.

WARNING: This game will get your heart and fingers racing!

Features:

• 12 unique and playful characters to choose from
• Pick up and play! Great for all ages
• Endless game play
• Local leaderboards
• Stylized, clean graphics
• IUGO’s signature quality and polish

Coburg – Liz Walker and Ken Burgin, Partners and founders of Marketing Masters have announced the availability of a comprehensive, and easy to follow, Social Media Training Program that clears up the confusion people have about how to use social media for business. The course, called “Social Media Pro” is available as an online self-study course or as a one-on-one personally “coached” program.

Developed by internationally famous marketing “guru” John Jantsch of Kansas City, MO, author and originator of the Duct Tape Marketing System, this is a five session course delivered through the Duct Tape University web site. Walker and Burgin are the Authorized Duct Tape Marketing Coaches in the Eastern Ontario area.

Says Burgin, “Social media has come a long way since the original Facebook.com site was introduced. Facebook is now a major site for businesses wanting to connect with prospects. But that’s not all, now there’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Biznik, Meetup and a host of other sites where a business must be represented. The Internet has a whole parcel of free real estate that you must claim or miss opportunity—and why would you not? …it’s FREE!”

The Social Media Pro course covers a range of topics using videos and instructions online. Participants work through the segments, delivered each week, at their own pace. They can stop, back up and review at any time—the segments remain online for at least six months.

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Toronto – Zombies are on the loose and invading your iPhone and iPod touch in the newly announced Dawn of the Dead game, created by Bytemark Games and Universal Partnerships & Licensing. Based on the smash hit movie of the same name, the Dawn of the Dead App takes you inside the legendary Crossroads Mall in a series of intense and terrifying levels as you fight to survive an onslaught of bloodthirsty zombies.

“We are thrilled to bring this hit movie to life as we challenge gamers of all levels to defeat the undead and survive by any means necessary, ” says Bytemark CEO, Jon Walsh.

“Bytemark’s reputable lineage in the interactive space is beautifully showcased by the Dawn of the Dead App with its creative use of the iPhone OS platform’s remarkable capabilities,” said Calvin Lim, Director of Mobile Sales, Universal Partnerships & Licensing. “Fans of this timeless classic and zombie enthusiasts alike can now play out each terrifying moment anywhere they go.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH7RCCknzek]

A terrifying zombie plague of unknown origin has broken out in your town. You’ve escaped your zombie-infested suburb and arrived at the entrance to the Crossroads Mall. Now you must fight to reach other survivors and get out alive.

Game Features:

* Play as one of three characters, each with different attributes; the nurse, the police officer, or the salesman.
* Discover new, more powerful weapons as you make your way through the mall.
* Survive by any means necessary: find and use a variety of guns or get up close and personal with a baseball bat, golf club, axe and more.
* Visuals created from fully rendered 3D models establish an unmatched sense of realism and immersion.
* Two ways to play: Play through Story mode or test your skills in a variety of intense un-lockable Challenges.
* Multiple levels of difficulty offer a challenge for any level iPhone gamer.
* 5 unique levels that take you from the parking lot to the terrifying underbelly of the Crossroads Mall.

The Dawn of the Dead App is available for $1.99, from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch

Vancouver – Local interactive industry folks are invited to the Help Haiti Pub Night being held on Thursday January 28th from 7-11pm at Steamworks Brew Pub and Restaurant (375 Water Street Vancouver). There are plans for a silent auction, with a few items already on the block, including tickets for Casual Connect to auction off! Two winning bidders will receive 1 year conference passes to Seattle, Hamburg, and Kyiv, 1 with speaker’s dinner. If you are interested in donating items for auction, please contact Bren at 604.765.7273. Net proceeds from this event will be donated to UNICEF for the purchase of water.

According to their website, UNICEF is working to provide survivors with family water kits, water-purification tablets and other supplies aimed at mitigating the deadly effects of contaminated water.

“Aside from simply delivering these essential supplies, we must also work to promote hygiene by providing soap and issuing messages in French and Creole on preventing and treating diarrhoea, cholera and dysentery,” said UNICEF Emergency Operations Officer Ainga Razafy. “Our priority is to prevent a second wave of disaster and ensure against the outbreak of any life-threatening, water-borne diseases.”

Canada – DFAIT invites Canadian interactive companies to participate in The Canada Programme at GDC San Francisco, March 10 – 12, 2010. For further information on The Canada Programme, please contact Victoria Hayes at 604.666.1409 (for BC Companies – please contact your local digital media association or DFAIT office in other parts of Canada.) For companies in Alberta, please contact Rene Smid from Digital Alberta. The deadline for BC applications is today, while Alberta’s deadline is January 25.

Prior to GDC, the Canada Programme offers Business to Business Matchmaking – DFAIT is currently collecting company profiles to share with foreign purchasers and developers attending GDC to determine mutual meeting interests and facilitate those meetings in advance.

Two webinars are also being offered, which are geared towards Canadian attendees making the most of their time at GDC in San Francisco. The first webinar is titled “Meet the Publishers” will be held on February 2 from 1-230pm. Major publishers (yet to be announced) will discuss what’s hot and what’s not, what the want to see in 2010 and how Canadian companies can best position themselves in 2010.

The second Webinar, “Make the Right Pitch, At the Right Time” will feature experienced industry leaders who will present on how to prepare and execute an effective 30-second and 10-minute pitch to both game publishers and potential financing entities (Angels and Venture Capitalists). The air details for this webinar have not yet been finalized.

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