Village Gamer

Now you can compete against your Facebook and Twitter friends in the latest release of ApeZone’s SoliScare card game for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. The new version adds 11 leaderboards and 18 achievements to this already addictive little card game.

SoliScare lets you embark on a fantastic journey through graveyards, haunted houses, and spooky castles. Put the beat down on ghosts, zombies, and classic movie monsters in 100 levels of play.

Game play follows one simple rule: move monster cards to your hero pile by choosing cards that are one higher or lower than your current hero card. As you make longer card runs, you’ll capture these creatures and add them to your jailhouse. Capture all 37 ghosts, zombies, and monsters to become the new Van Helsing.

Ludia Inc., and Sony Pictures Consumer Products announced today that Ludia will create video games based on the hugely popular Pyramid series of television game shows. The licensing deal will result in games across major console platforms, PC/Mac, iPhone/iPod touch and iPad, the first of which games is slated for release in Q1 2011.

“Pyramid is a classic TV game show favorite, and we are thrilled to create games around the property so that fans of the show and broader audiences alike are able to feel the thrill of reaching ‘Winner’s Circle’ from home,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia Inc. “This deal serves to further expand Ludia’s prominence across platforms in the game show video game category, which has been a successful growth strategy for us.”

Pyramid will feature all the favorite elements from the show as the game pits pair against pair in a bid to reach the coveted ‘Winner’s Circle’. Players pick from six categories on the pyramid-shaped game board, and guess a series of words or phrases as described by their team mate. The duo that scores more points than their opposing team wins the match, and gets a shot at the grand prize. Additionally, the Pyramid video games will incorporate thousands of questions, connected gaming elements, single and multiplayer game modes, as well as reward systems to fuel the competitive fun between players.

“Pyramid has been a long-standing and successful game show franchise, and we are delighted to work with Ludia to create new opportunities that will bring an engaging entertainment experience to fans of the show,” added Mark Caplan, Vice President Licensing, Sony Pictures Consumer Products.

Three of EA Sports’ titles are vying for the top spot in the Golden Joystick Awards. FIFA 10, Skate 3 and 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa are all in the final run to the top. Ubisoft Canada is also competing against itself in the Action Title category, with both Assassin’s Creed 2 and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction in the running.

Assassin’s Creed 2: Bonfire of the Vanities and FIFA 10 are finalists for Downloadable Game of the Year while Next Level’s Punch Out!! and EA Sports’ Fight Night Round 4 have entered the ring for Fighting Game of the Year. EA Blackbox is trying to be first over the finish line in the Online Game of the Year with Need For Speed World while franchise twins Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines and Assassin’s Creed Discovery are both in the running for Portable Game of the Year. We have a cross-country showdown going between EA Montreal’s NFS Shift and United Front’s Modnation Racers in the Racing Game of the Year category.

Bioware fans will have a real problem voting in the Role Playing Game of The Year category as Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age Origins Awakening have all made it to the final list. In the soundtrack category, we have Mass Effect 2 competing against Assassin’s Creed 2, and in the RTS category we have household favourite Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising from Relic. The voting for Ultimate Game of the Year is going to be hot and heavy with Assassin’s Creed 2, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins all hoping to take the podium.

According to a new study by FADE, congratulations are due to Hothead Games, whose new release DeathSpank topped PSN sales during the July period with 50,000 units sold during the month. Comparatively, DeathSpank sold just over 70,000 units on XBLA, bringing the title to over 130,000 units sold between both console platforms.

In another study, this one conducted by The Creative Group, it seems that social media provides new channels to marketers but they are challenged when it comes to staying current on developments. More than seven in 10 (71 per cent) advertising and marketing executives interviewed said it’s at least somewhat challenging to keep up with social media trends. According to 22 per cent of respondents, the best resource for staying up to speed on this topic is participating in networking events and industry association meetings. Attending conferences or seminars was the second most common response, cited by 20 per cent of those polled.

The Canadian study was developed by The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service providing creative, advertising, marketing and web professionals on a project basis, and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on more than 250 telephone interviews — approximately 200 with marketing executives randomly selected from companies with 100 or more employees and 50 with advertising executives randomly selected from agencies with 20 or more employees.

Advertising and marketing executives were asked, “How challenging is it for you to stay current on social media trends?” Their responses:

Very challenging………………………………… 18%
Somewhat challenging…………………………….. 53%
Not challenging…………………………………. 29%

Advertising and marketing executives also were asked, “What do you consider the single best resource for staying current on social media trends?” Their top responses included:

Networking events or industry associations meetings…. 22%
Conferences or seminars………………………….. 20%
Webinars or online training………………………. 18%
Trade publications………………………………. 17%
Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn posts……………….. 10%
Blogs………………………………………….. 7%

“The rise of social media has quickly and significantly transformed online marketing practices, making it challenging to stay current on industry advancements,” said Lara Dodo, vice president of The Creative Group’s Toronto operations.

Added Dodo, “To effectively navigate changes taking place within the social media space, it’s essential for marketers to take full advantage of their professional toolbox. Leveraging available resources, both online and in-person, will help identify what information is most valuable.”

For information on developing a strong social media program and team, or to read about common social media roles, download The Creative Group’s new guides, 10 Questions to Ask When Staffing for Social Media and Social Media Job Descriptions.