Village Gamer

Hot on the heels of Tuesday’s new DLC pack Overlord for Mass Effect 2, Bioware has announced a new DLC expansion for Dragon Age: Origins. In Leliana’s Song, players will assume the role of party-member Leliana, a young bard involved in a criminal ring that deals in political secrets. While accompanying her mentor Marjolaine on a high-risk mission, Leliana soon finds herself entangled in a game of intrigue that she cannot escape with just her beauty, charm, or stealth. The only way out of this game is to kill or be killed.

DLC Features:

* Explore Leliana’s dangerous past and why she joined the Chantry
* Fully voiced cinematic experience brings the characters to life
* Unlock a unique reward that transfers into your Awakening and Origins campaign

Digital Alberta has put out an official call for applications to become the association’s new Executive Director. There is also a career opening for the position of Executive Assistant. Interested parties are asked to please contact Larry Jacques, Digital Alberta President,  with your resume if you wish to apply.

Alberta’s 2nd Annual All Associations BBQ will be held on Tuesday June 22nd at the Alastair Ross Technology Centre.  Members from 26 industry groups, ranging from such sectors as research, marketing, gaming, investment, design, arts, hi-tech, media, magazine, music, book, tv and film will get together at 5pm for some great food and awesome networking.

The Alberta ICT Council will also be hosting a Digital Economy Symposium Luncheon which will offer an overview of the Alberta Innovates Technology Futures initiative, followed by an afternoon symposium on building Canada’s digital media economy. Recommendations will be submitted to Industry Canada as part of their cross-Canada consultation process associated with their Digital Economy strategy announced in May at Canada 3.0. Luncheon presentations also include a welcome by the president of Olds College and a review of sector activities by the Alberta ICT Council. This signature luncheon provides an opportunity for Alberta ICT sector stakeholders to meet and discuss the Alberta Innovates program and related opportunities open to Alberta’s ICT sector. The luncheon will be held at the Olds College Alumni Centre on June 25th and will begin at 11:45a.m. Tickets are available now for $30.00

If you couldn’t make the trek to Banff for the 2010 World TV Festival, fear not – you can find lots of great articles, videos and photos online at the Festival’s web site, from opening day to closing BBQ. There have been a number of great announcements since this year’s event began. One such announcement came from the National Film Board, who added to their long legacy of avant-garde technical and creative firsts when Government Film Commissioner & NFB Chairperson Tom Perlmutter, Rob McLaughlin – Director, Digital Content and Strategy, English Program, and Hugues Sweeney – Advisor and Conceiver, Digital Programming, French Program officially launched Interactive.NFB.ca at Tuesday’s NFB Lunch.

As noted on the Banff 2010 Highlights page, Interactive.NFB.ca is a site that hosts a growing “collection of projects – interactive documentaries, video and animations, photographic art and essays, data visualization, mobile and locative media, community media and user-generated media,” which aims to support content that has yet to be, or may never be broadcast . Not without risks, the site is an ingenious way to facilitate conversations and collaborations for creatives in this new media landscape.

Congratulations also to all of this year’s Rockie Award Winners:

2010 Rockie Awards for Fiction:

Entertainment Categories:

* Animation: Le Printemps de Melie/ Molly in Springtime, National Film Board of Canada in association with Folimage, PIWI, Divertissement Subsequence Inc – Canada
* Comedy Programs: Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Table Read, HBO Entertainment, Home Box Office – USA
* Music & Variety Programs or Series: Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra, Glassbox Productions, BBC – United Kingdom

Children Family and Youth Categories:

* Children’s Programs (2+): The Yellow House, Pausefilm, Danish Television, DR1 – Denmark
* Youth Programs (13+): TeenNick HALO Awards, Nickelodeon, TeenNick – USA

Drama Categories:

* Continuing Series & Serial Programs: In Treatment, Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions and Sheleg in association with HBO Entertainment Home Box Office – USA
* Made-for-TV-Movies: London River, 3B Productions in association with ARE France, ARTE France – France
* Mini-Series: Flesh and bones (Van Vlees en bloed), Woestijnvis, VRT – Belgium
* Soap Operas: Where is Elisa?, TVN, TVN – Chile
* Telenovelas: Cats Cradle, TV Globo, TV Globo – Brazil

Catégories Francophones:

* Divertissement: Tout le monde en parle, Avanti Ciné Vidéo, Le gars de la TV, Les productions Jacques K Primeau et Radio-Canada, Radio-Canada- Canada
* Fiction: Musee Eden, Les Productions Sovimage, Radio-Canada – Canada
* Jeunesse: La joute junior, Avanti Ciné Vidéo, Télé-Quebec – Canada

Non-Fiction Rockie Awards:

Entertainment Categories:

* Lifestyle & Information Programs: Pitchin’ In: Shrimp, Frantic Films, Food Network – Canada
* Reality Format Programs: Famous Rich And Homeless, Love Productions, BBC – United Kingdom

Catégories Francophones:

* Documentaires: Les vrais gagnants, Productions RPM inc., Radio-Canada – Canada

Documentary Categories:

* Art & Performing Arts Programs: In A Dream, Herzliya Films and Red Light Films association with HBO Documentary Films, Home Box Office – USA
* Environmental Programs: How the Earth was Made, Pioneer Film & Television Productions, HISTORY (A&E Television Networks) – United Kingdom
* History & Biography Programs: Miracle of Leipzig, Broadview TV GmbH in association with MDR, Arte – Germany
* Investigative & Current Affairs Programs: Waste: the nuclear nightmare, Bonne Pioche and ARTE France in association with Sundance Channel, ARTE France – France
* Political Documentaries: Iran and the West, BBC Current Affairs in association with Brook Lapping Productions, BBC – United Kingdom
* Popular Science & Technology Programs: The Music Instinct: Science and Song, THIRTEEN in association with Mannes Productions Inc., PBS – USA
* Social & Humanitarian Programs: The queen and I, Real Reel in association with SVT Sveriges Television – Sweden
* Sports Documentaries: Ton Sijbrands – checkers player despite all consequences, NPO / VPRO Television – The Netherlands
* Wildlife & Natural History Programs: Life, BBC in association with Discovery/SKAI/Open University, RTI Spa – BBC1 – United Kingdom

Also from the Festival’s Show Highlights, nextMEDIA announced the winners of the nextMEDIA Banff Interactive Awards:

* Best Branded Entertainment: In Gayle We Trust, Universal Media Studios in association with Mindshare Entertainment and American Family Insurance, NBC Universal – USA
* Best Cross Platform Project: The Well, Conker Media, BBC – United Kingdom
* Original Online Programs: FREAK, FremantleMedia – United Kingdom
* Best Interactive: The Well Conker Media, BBC – United Kingdom

The winners in the first annual International Pilots Competition were also announced, with awards presented to 2 winners in each category – a veteran and a newcomer:

* BEST PILOT: El Sistema, Greg Hemmings, Hemmings House Pictures

* Over 20 Minutes:
o Players, Exclamation Films, Mona Grenier, Exclamation Films
o The Gayest Show Ever, Pink Triangle Press, David Walberg, Pink Triangle Press

* 5-20 Minutes:
o American Wife, Frigate Films Inc.
o El Sistema, Hemming House Pictures, Greg Hemmings, Hemmings House Pictures

* 2-5 Minutes:
o Sterile Atomic Fly, spicybackpain Productions, Riley Beach, spicybackpain Productions
o Cubicle to the Cage, Hemmings House Pictures, Greg Hemmings House Pictures

The renowned Digital Hot List competition awarded Anaid Productions and Slice Networks’ XWEIGHTED.COM with its prestigious top honour as well as a full-access registration to MIPCOM 2010, provided by contest sponsor Reed Midem and valued at over 1,000 euros.

nextMEDIA’s new iPad/Tablet Competition presented Peter McNeill, of Deloitte and creator of the iStoreWine app with the top prize. iStoreWine received a development deal worth $25,000 to make their concept a reality via leading interactive development agency Trapeze and the Toronto-based Mobile Experience Innovation Centre.