Village Gamer

Today at the International Start Up Festival in Montreal the Canada Media Fund (CMF) launched a report it commissioned about the audience engagement activities of Canada’s first digital entertainment accelerator, ideaBOOST.  Available only in English, ideaBOOST: Audience Engagement Report, is the result of a research partnership between the CMF and the Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab and their ideaBOOST accelerator program.  Read the rest of this entry »

Music for Productions has just announced that they have added a chat feature to their stock music library website. With this new chat feature stock music library experts can see when a guest has arrived on the site. This allows Music for Productions to quickly answer questions, help customers with their searches, and even play music to them in real-time. This is ideal for customers that are producing a show or need a piece for a solo performance and may not have the time to search and decide on a track on their own. With the new chat feature, finding production quality music is made easier than ever before. The new chat application will open new possibilities for Music for Productions and their clients by having instant, live access to customers who are on the site and looking for a track or package for their project. Read the rest of this entry »

Bryan Pearson, a best-selling author and expert on using customer data to create emotional brand loyalty, is now tackling a more challenging task: building customer-engagement initiatives that benefit business clients. In his latest book, The Loyalty Leap for B2B: Turning Customer Information into Customer Intimacy, Pearson, president of LoyaltyOne, operator of the AIR MILES Reward Program, draws on more than 20 years experience in building customer loyalty by applying his time-proven principles in the business-to-business context. The e-book, which includes case study examples from American Express, SalesForce and others, was just released by the Portfolio imprint of Penguin Group in Canada and the United States. Read the rest of this entry »

Mind over Monsters! A new expansion is now available for Sword of the Stars: The Pit, the popular role-playing game from Kerberos Productions. The MindGames DLC expands the fan-favorite roguelike by unlocking the eerie powers of the mind for all playable characters. In addition to 28 new psionic powers, MindGames offers two new playable characters, ten new levels, new monsters, new weapons and items, and new game mechanics which will enhance the already-addictive game experience for old players and newcomers alike. Read the rest of this entry »

BC’s provincial government has announced a new technology pilot project that will give BC Corrections‘ inmates and community corrections clients direct, secure and easy access to legal documents, client histories, discharge dates and medical appointments – all at the touch of a fingerprint. The innovative project, called the Integrated Corrections Operations Network (ICON II), is the first of its kind in Canada and is being tested by a select group of inmates and clients in two correctional centres and five community corrections offices throughout B.C. Read the rest of this entry »

Ubisoft has released a new gameplay video for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag featuring commentary from Game Director Ashraf Ismail. On the voyage to Havana with your ship The Jackdaw, learn the rules that Edward and his crew live by, and how they defy the empires of the 18th Century. Read the rest of this entry »

The information contained in The Download on Digital Report (PDF) was commissioned by WorldPay and created by Loudhouse in March 2013. The survey was conducted among consumers who have purchased digital content and video games online in the last 12 months. The sample comprised 11,483 consumers aged 18+, 10,075 of which purchased digital goods and services and 7,554 who have purchased video games and 6,776 that have purchased both. While the consumers were surveyed from 7 different countries not including Canada, I feel that the information contained in the report is of relevance to Village Gamer’s development industry reader demographic.  Read the rest of this entry »

As mobile becomes an increasingly important part of everyday life for Canadians, there is a much greater need for advertisers, publishers and brands to gain Canadian specific insights into those who use mobile. In response to this need, App-Promo, BrandSpark International and Tapped Mobile have partnered to conduct a detailed research study on the mobile habits of three key Canadian personas: Read the rest of this entry »