Village Gamer

Vancouver – The highly anticipated expansion to Dawn of War 2 has gone live today. Chaos Rising is now available for download on Steam – although on the game’s Steam page, there is a message (as of 12 noon PST) which says the game will unlock in ten hours. Also, if you purchase the game right now for $29.99 usd, you will also get a free copy of Saints Row 2 for PC.

In Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising you will take command of the Blood Ravens and defend the sector against the Chaos Space Marines of the Black Legion. Purge the chaos filth and hold the chapter together as traitorous forces work from within to try bring down the Blood Ravens.

* New Single Player Missions – Continue your fight against the enemies of the Emperor and use your squads’ wargear, abilities, and experience to battle Chaos in 15 new missions
* New environment and Multiplayer Maps – New ice planet graphics set will increase the visual diversity and adds 7 new PVP maps
* Aspire to Glory – Build your existing squads up to level 30 and unlock even more devastating abilities
* Chaos Corruption Mechanic – New single player mechanic allows you to equip incredibly powerful equipment that corrupts your squad and will guide the story towards or away from the corrupting influence of Chaos
* New Multiplayer Race – Swear loyalty to the Chaos Gods and play as the bloodthirsty Chaos Space Marines in multiplayer battles against both Chaos Rising and Dawn of War II owners
* New Units – New units for the Space Marines, Ork, Eldar, and Tyranid armies in multiplayer.
* 2 New Last Stand Heroes – Face off against the relentless horde as either the Chaos Sorceror or Tyranid Hive Tyrant

Victoria – Nominations are now open for the 2010 VIATec Awards. Nominations close at 4:30pm on Friday March 19th. Recognizing technology companies in the Greater Victoria (BC) area, there are several award categories open:

* Technology Company of the Year
* Emerging Technology Company of the Year
* Product of the Year
* Innovative Excellence
* Online Strategy of the Year
* Executive of the Year
* Employee/Team of the Year
* The Colin Lennox Award for Technology Champion
* Environmental Excellence
* VIATeC Member of the Year
* Member’s Choice for Service Provider of the Year
* Employer of the Year Award

The VIATeC Awards Gala will be held on May 13th at the Victoria Conference Centre.

Montreal – Emmy® Award-winning Toon Boom Animation Inc. today announced the upcoming release of Toon Boom Animate 2, a new version that provides professional animators with more power and flexibility for creating traditional, digital, cut-out and Flash-style animation. Toon Boom has listened to the animation community and is now delivering a new Animate version that reflects its requests. Animate is totally dedicated to animators and takes care of their needs from start to finish of their animation projects.

New feature highlights include:

• Fast distribution of character parts to layers
• Easy adjustment of velocity on multiple character parts
• Efficient creation of richer-looking ambiance
• Full-fledged SWF export with effects
• Direct import of scanned drawings (TWAIN)
• Convenient text capability

Key benefits
Whether preferring traditional or digital methods, animators will greatly benefit from Animate 2‘s superior feature set throughout their entire production process.

All-in-one Animation Software
From start to finish, Toon Boom Animate enables you to draw or import scanned drawings, colour, animate, synchronize sound, set camera moves, apply effects and render your projects in the leading output formats. No need to jump between multiple applications to make revisions as with Animate, changes can be implemented in real-time at any time during the production process.

Smart Puppet
Toon Boom Animate brings together the most advanced Flash animation feature set available on the market, all embedded in a flexible environment; symbols, pegs, morphing, hierarchy-based rigging, forward and inverse kinematics as well as advanced lip-sync to name just a few. In addition to its Flash shortcut set, Animate fits so nicely into your friendly circle of Adobe® products and animation techniques that you will feel at home in minutes.

Colour Tune
Toon Boom Animate shines when it comes to colouring and creating animation with a unique look and feel. Animate’s smart Colour ID system, palette management, painting tools using vector, gradient and texture translate into significant time-savings. At any point, changing character colours and fine-tuning colour ambiance is faster than filling up your coffee cup!

True Space
Toon Boom Animate comes with a powerful camera tool that enables you to animate it over time and attach it to an object, creating an impressive depth effect. Flying through your scene adjusting speed in real-time makes you want to dive in your own animated world and enjoy the ride.

Pricing and Availability
Buy Toon Boom Animate 2 now at the special pre-launch price of $549.99 US, valid until March 21, 2010. As of March 8, 2010, all new clients will receive a Toon Boom Animate 1 product code. Their Animate 2 product code will be automatically registered and emailed to them upon product release enabling them to download the software. All new clients will see their Animate 2 purchase listed on the “my products” page once the transaction is completed. All orders requiring shipping will be processed upon product release.

Vancouver – The Olympics are over. Countries are counting their gold, silver and bronze medals. One Olympian is even counting his self-awarded platinum. But the real winner? Technology. From mobile apps to summer tech camps, technology is changing the Vancouver landscape. iD Tech Camps, a Silcon Valley-based youth education company, is opening its doors at UBC this summer.

Smart phone equipped and very well-connected, this year’s Olympic viewer didn’t feel the need to be glued to the TV. Visitors to Vancouver could be seen physically attending the Super G with feet planted in the snow, while simultaneously watching curling from their mobile devices. Even Olympians participated in the social media phenomenon by Tweeting and posting timely updates to Facebook. The 2010 Olympic Games have been dubbed by many the “Social Games.” And for good reason. NBC recently released data showing there were 87 million total mobile page views (coming from NBC’s website and iTunes App) for the Vancouver Games, compared to 52 million views for the Beijing Games.

The propensity toward social media and technology blended with the excitement surrounding Shaun White’s Double McTwist and the stunning victory by the Canadian Hockey Team has caught the eye of people and business new to Vancouver.

“Our young students learn to make video games, they learn to program in C++ or Java, they learn to make iPhone Apps and websites,” said Pete Ingram-Cauchi, CEO of iD Tech Camps. “Vancouver is a great spot for our program. The buzz around the Olympics, the great university system, and the youthful, tech savvy population seem like a compelling match for us.”

“It’s no surprise that the more often kids use iPhone apps and other tech products, the more they think ‘This is pretty cool…how does this work?’,” said Mr. Ingram Cauchi. No stranger to kids and technology, the camp, whose presence is well known in the States, is offering tech courses at the University of British Columbia, and also hosts a Visual Arts Academy at McGill University in Montreal.

With the way things are trending, maybe the next hot new Olympic sport attracting the younger generation will blend both technology and sports. Speed texting, anyone? And now there’s even a summer camp for that.

Established in 1999 in Silicon Valley, iD Tech Camps is family-owned and operated, offering technology courses including Video Game Design, 3D Game Modding, Maya®, Game Development, Programming in C++ and Java, Programming iPhone® Apps, Robotics, Web Design, Flash® Animation, Graphic Arts, Digital Photography and Video Editing. The summer camps consist of week-long day camps and sleep away camps, and multi-week teen academies. Courses are appropriate for beginner to advanced learners. The company teaches the latest technologies from Apple®, Adobe®, Microsoft®, Autodesk®, Sony®, Valve® and more.

Toronto – Fresh TV Inc., the award-winning family entertainment company is excited to announce the simultaneous launch of their first interactive character twitter account – penned by Fin McCloud of the hit animated series Stoked – and their blog, Re:Fresh. In response to fan demand, Fresh TV will launch Fin’s twitter account on the heels of the March 4 Canadian premiere of new episodes of Stoked on TELETOON and will promote the second season premiere in September 2010. With an increasing worldwide audience for Stoked, the twitter account will give fans around the world the opportunity to interact with their favourite animated character.

Fresh TV’s Stoked follows six teens from across Canada who travel to Sunset Island, B.C. for a summer of sun, sea, sand and, most importantly, surf. Working at a luxury resort they find that their plans for an endless summer of surfing might not be all that they hoped when, instead of a surfer’s paradise, they find a tacky tourist resort with rude guests, a run-down staff house and itchy, hideous uniforms. The series airs on TELETOON on Thursdays at 7 pm ET/PT as part of TELETOON’s 3 Hours of Really, Really, Really Awesome.

“We are totally excited to start bringing our characters off the page and into the real world,” said Tom McGillis, Executive Producer, Fresh TV. “Fin has a strong voice and is wildly independent so we’re curious to see where she takes it. Fans, brace yourselves!”

In the coming weeks, Fresh TV will launch a second character Twitter account to continue building an online community. Fans can learn about Stoked and other Fresh TV programming by surfing Fresh TV’s blog, Re:Fresh. The multifaceted, interactive site will give fans the unique opportunity to engage with the creative minds behind such popular series as Stoked, 6teen and Total Drama and new shows coming from Fresh such as their first live action feature, My Babysitter’s a Vampire. From exclusive artwork to weekly entries from the executive producers, viewers will get the ultimate Fresh TV experience.

Vancouver – Lotusland Studios is pleased to announce the release of ‘Truck Modz Build And Drive‘, the interactive 3D truck-building game for kids of all ages!

The premise is simple: build, paint and hit the road with your very own trucks! Truck Modz goes beyond other mix-and-match apps by allowing you to build your ideal vehicle from a huge collection of fronts, backs, and wheels, and then being able to interact with your creation – drive it down the highway and play with your parts – from snow plows to squeaky toys, everything is animated. Everything is triggered by a touch or a swipe – simple enough for even the littlest drivers!

The iPhone and iPod touch are intuitive durable devices that will be many kids first computers. Truck Modz is a an entire pocketful of toy trucks for these computers. Creative, nonaggressive play is the emphasis of the game. The user interface is wordless and simple enough for a child of 18 months to learn. Adults may also enjoy the CB banter, cool sirens and endless combinations of Trucks.

Feature Highlights

· Totally intuitive – easy enough for a toddler to enjoy
· Mix and match parts at any time – the combos are endless!
· Cruise down the highway through an endless ever-changing landscape
· Listen to hilarious trucker banter on the CB radio!
· Shake device to check out your ride from 4 different camera angles
· Rocking soundtrack by Billy Joe Huel

Banff – Just a reminder that the Banff World Television Festival is approaching, and more than 1,500 delegates from 30 countries, the Banff World Television Festival is your chance to build partnerships with international development executives, co-producers, funders, TV and interactive producers, advertising agencies and brands.

Stay ahead of your competition and make global contacts with deal-makers who are actively commissioning new shows, supporting co-productions, and supporting game-changing properties with ad dollars. BANFF is your path to decision makers from nearly every key company in the industry.

Commissioning Editors are already confirmed from industry heavyweights such as Fox, Canwest, Disney, CTV, ABC, A&E, BBC, CBS, MTV and TBS, with many more to come.

Attending Ad Agencies include Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Proximity, Trapeze, Tribal DDB, Dashboard, PHD, 58Ninety and Starcom MediaVest Group, to name a few.

To get a sneak peek at the contacts and connections you will network with at the world’s leading event for Production and Development, check out the Look Who’s Coming section of their website.