Village Gamer

Quebec City – Activision Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Entertainment have released the first details of Spider-Man™: Shattered Dimensions, the newest entry of non-stop heroic action to star the iconic wall-crawler. In development at Beenox, the video game is scheduled for release in September 2010 and will allow players to travel through four different worlds as distinctly different versions of Spider-Man from four universes across Marvel lore, two of which are announced today: The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man Noir.

As Spider-Man, players will experience a wide variety of gameplay and dramatic environments. The Amazing Spider-Man experience delivers innovative web combat and visuals in a world that pays tribute to the classic era of the legendary Super Hero. In contrast, Spider-Man Noir features a cunning and covert depiction of Spider-Man, who utilizes shadows to perform stealth takedowns in a 1930’s-influenced, black-and-white cinematic environment.

“Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions delivers an original storyline that bridges four unique worlds,” said Rob Kostich, Head of Marketing, Activision Publishing, Inc. “Each action-packed universe will have its own detailed art design and thrilling missions, challenging gamers to use new skill sets to defeat enemies as they unlock powerful new moves and progress through the game.”

Penned by acclaimed Marvel comic book writer Dan Slott, the story takes players on a mission to capture the magical energy of the Tablet of Order and Chaos, which has been shattered and scattered across parallel universes. Gamers are challenged to battle fan-favorite villains such as the lethal Kraven and a custom, never-before-seen Noir version of Hammerhead, in a quest to restore the fabric of reality.

Montreal – Ubisoft has released a video wrap-up from their live Splinter Cell: Conviction competition which was held this past weekend in Toronto. By the looks of it, a good time was had by all, especially the winners, who got to leave the competition Sam Fisher style, in a helicopter. Splinter Cell: Conviction is rated M by the ESRB and is slated for release on April 13 2010.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCYP_bQaP4w]

Toronto – Rogers Digital Media and Brightcove Inc., the leading online video platform, today announced they have partnered to deliver a newly re-designed Citytv.com video theatre, which features a variety of locally-produced Citytv content along with exclusive full-length episodes of popular television shows including 30 Rock, The Bachelor and The Biggest Loser.

The new Citytv.com video theatre also utilized search technology from Endeca Technologies to improve the site’s overall search and navigation capabilities and the speed at which content is delivered.

“Brightcove and Endeca have enabled Citytv.com to rapidly introduce a scalable and flexible video experience that meets the evolving needs of our online audiences and deepens consumer engagement with our video content,” said Claude Galipeau, senior vice president of Rogers Digital Media. “At the same time, our new video theatre has furthered our video-related sales product offerings for advertisers.”

In re-launching on the Brightcove platform, Citytv.com now provides viewers throughout Canada with exclusive access to HD-quality full-length episodes of popular U.S. and Canadian television programs. With Brightcove, Citytv.com is able to deliver the highest quality user experience possible, as well as to extend the reach of its video content through Brightcove’s advanced social sharing capabilities. Brightcove’s ease of integration with leading advertising networks and servers also enables Citytv.com to introduce new monetization opportunities for its long and short-form video content.

“Millions of consumers throughout Canada turn to Rogers Digital Media web properties on a daily basis for innovative, highly immersive online video experiences,” said Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove chairman and chief executive officer. “Brightcove is proud to be the online video platform behind Rogers’ new video initiatives at Citytv.com and other properties, particularly as the organization looks to expand the reach and distribution of its video content to mobile devices and Internet-connected TVs.

“By integrating the Brightcove platform with Endeca’s technology, Citytv.com can now deliver advanced search and navigation capabilities across all of their video content to help viewers easily find and view the most relevant videos. As a result, viewers are drawn deeper into the rich video content that Citytv.com delivers.

“Rogers Digital Media is on the forefront of innovation in the media industry, offering consumers an interactive user experience across of all their online content,” said John Andrews, vice president, solutions marketing and product management at Endeca. “Our partnership with Brightcove enables Citytv.com to leverage video metadata to create a rich search experience across video, articles, and photos, making it easy for consumers to quickly find and view the best content based on their interests.”

Montreal – Eighteen years after introducing the first business game, L’Oréal is once again revolutionizing the world of student recruiting. Today the Group launches Reveal by L’Oréal, an online career orientation game for students from all academic backgrounds who wish to explore a range of vocation options before heading into the workforce. As the name implies, all is revealed: enhanced self-knowledge, the world of business and its opportunities, and maybe even an internship or job with the Group itself.

Each participant takes on the role of a newly hired employee at L’Oréal. Immersed in a Web 2.0 environment where virtual and reality intertwine, participants’ skills emerge as they learn about the L’Oréal culture and the many occupations the company offers. Once the game is finished, participants receive a personalized account of their visit. Top talents are invited to spend two days in a L’Oréal office in their country, where they’ll have the chance to further expand their horizons through team activities and meetings with local employees and recruiters.

Reveal by L’Oréal is a versatile recruitment tool that stands apart from traditional business games, which tend to specialize in specific sectors and target only young university graduates. Open to all students, Reveal by L’Oréal does not focus on the training or career path of an individual but rather on the person’s unique skills, which are evaluated online with an assessment tool designed by an independent firm of experts (CUBIKS). L’Oréal’s aim is to find the top talents from all walks of life.

Candidates may be studying finance, hold a degree in art history, be biological engineers, or have graduated from a major business school; regardless, each is invited to explore the numerous facets of L’Oréal and discover skills that may be unrelated to their education. Through realistic role playing within the Group, Reveal by L’Oréal allows students to immerse themselves in all of the fields represented in the company-R&D, Operations, Marketing, Finance, Sales, etc.-many a far cry from their formal training. Reveal by L’Oréal not only unveils hidden talents, it also leads participants into vocations and sectors they may have never before considered. L’Oréal has always practised responsible recruitment driven by three main priorities: recruiting the best talents, promoting diversity, and maximizing employee development.

“At L’Oréal, we place a high value on skill diversity,” explains Audrey Tremblay, Director, Human Resources Management and Development, L’Oréal Canada. “We want to explore the potential of students from around the world, regardless of their education and training, and we believe that Reveal by L’Oréal can help them as they set out to make career decisions. This business game is a bold initiative that will allow us to recruit the best among our participants and offer them a chance to realize their full potential as part of the Group.”

A pioneer in business games, in 1992 L’Oréal introduced the L’Oréal Marketing Award, today known as L’Oréal Brandstorm, for marketing students. This year, some 5,000 participants from 40 countries will join in the 18th international competition. In 2007, L’Oréal was the first to organize a Second Life virtual job fair, designed to discover candidates with the greatest potential. The company currently makes use of a range of social media (facebook, LinkedIn, Viadeo) to connect with the new generation of candidates.

In 2009, a major international study undertaken by L’Oréal and developed by CEMS (a strategic alliance of 28 academic institutions) strengthened the Group’s knowledge base of “Generation Y.” For a number of years, the company has been interested in the potential of these students: with eyes that are open to the world, they are curious, creative, hands-on and connected 24/7. They are also ambitious and expect much from their future employers, particularly when it comes to personal and professional growth. With Reveal by L’Oréal, L’Oréal is offering them guidance as they make their career choices. Through this multi-vocation online platform, the Group is taking an inspired step forward in its recruitment strategy.

Toronto – The world’s largest photography festival has a new partnership with Scotiabank as the event’s title sponsor. At a news conference this morning, Scotiabank and CONTACT announced the festival’s renaming to Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, and introduced the Scotiabank Photography Award for 2011 – the largest photography award for Canadian contemporary photographers.

“At Scotiabank, we pride ourselves on our commitment to art, culture and heritage in the communities where we live and work here in Toronto, across Canada and around the world, and art is a key area of focus for us,” said Scotiabank President and CEO Rick Waugh. “We are very proud to assume title sponsorship of this year’s festival, after several years of sponsoring the primary exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) and featuring photography in our own Banking Hall throughout the month-long festival.”

The title sponsorship announcement today also introduced the Scotiabank Photography Award – the largest photography award dedicated to recognizing Canadian contemporary artists working in photography. Launching in September 2010 and to be awarded in 2011, the award will consist of a $50,000 cash prize, a pre-negotiated book publishing contract by internationally acclaimed photographic art publisher, Steidl, activated with the approval of the award recipient and Scotiabank, and a feature exhibition in the following year’s Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. World renowned Canadian photographer Ed Burtynsky will chair a panel of three jurors for the award in 2011.

“Canadian photography has reached a level that deserves to be recognized here in Canada, after all, photography – like all visual art – is about communication,” said Jane Nokes, Scotiabank Director of Corporate Archives and Fine Art. “Through the Scotiabank Photography Award, we are helping engage Canadians in the photographic art scene and reward outstanding photographers for their contributions, and further support their careers.”

Beyond title sponsorship and photography award, this year’s Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival will invite the public to enter an online contest to win a limited edition print by Ed Burtynsky from the Australian Mines series. Starting April 1st and throughout the month-long festival, the public can enter on the official web site (note, site is not live until April 1).

“This new partnership with Scotiabank represents a massive step forward for CONTACT,” said Darcy Killeen, Executive Director, Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. “Scotiabank has demonstrated their leadership in Canadian photographic arts, and through this partnership we will be able to support galleries, museums and all other venues in Toronto and across Canada in their efforts to attract the public to view the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.”

Port Moody – Spring is upon us and the world seems to be off its axis. Flowers are blooming early and the Winter Olympics saw unprecedented sunshine and warm weather. Two elementary students in Port Moody, BC, feel it is time to find out why.

“We keep hearing that the world is changing and we must be ‘greener’, but we don’t know what WE can do to help,” says Mckenna, an 11 year old elementary student. While earth-friendly school initiatives are growing rapidly, are students really feeling like they’re making a difference when there always seems to be more that can be done?

“I just want to help the environment” says Morgan a seven year old elementary student, “but I’m only 7 years old and no one will listen to me. I wish there was a way for me to really help save the earth.” This wish spawned the birth of a new organization that will give people a place to share their voice on environmental issues. The brother and sister team decided to create a company that would allow kids like themselves (and adults) to talk about and help the environment. They called it Environment 9-1-1 because the earth is in trouble so we need to call for help.

So with some help, this idea has become a social networking site Facebook search engines hopefully will begin sending traffic. With this we will build valuable awareness and hence generate opportunities to raise funds for various environmental causes. The new site will officially launch on April 22 2010.

“Wow, if we could even raise $5000 we would be really happy.” says Morgan. The goal may be a modest one, but the reality of a gathering space where earth-concerned people can talk is priceless.

“I am thrilled my kids are interested in helping the environment and are taking the initiative to have their voices heard.” says Carleen, mother of Mckenna and Morgan. “We hope we can help make their idea a reality and show them that they can make a difference in the world right now while they’re kids.” Environment911.org is a small idea that came from an afternoon of playing and thinking, which hopefully will turn into a big space that actually changes people’s environmental habits, opinions and beliefs. “Size and age should not matter when it comes to the environment.” says Mckenna.