Village Gamer

A total of 18 new interactive digital media projects received a combined total of $10.7M as part of the Canada Media Fund’s (CMF) Experimental Stream second round of funding  for production support. The 18 new projects are comprised of 8 games, 9 interactive digital media platforms and 1 new social media application. Read the rest of this entry »

Nintendo has launched Mario.ca, a dedicated mobile site that allows fans to check out games for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. With categories to choose from like New Releases, Great Gifts, The Classics, Family Fun, Starring Mario and Hardcore Gamers, there’s something for everyone.  In addition to information on games, which includes trailers, screen shots, and recommendations on similar titles, Mario.ca includes information on the Nintendo family of consoles: Wii U, Nintendo 2DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, and Wii mini.

Xbox has announced that it’s bringing its own Xbox Video service, with a catalogue of more than 300,000 of the latest movies and TV shows, to the Web. Xbox Live members can rent movies and TV shows for streaming from the second largest digital video catalogue in the world, now available in 21 markets. With cloud capabilities, you can take your video collection with you wherever you go, including your personal collection. You can now take your Xbox Video collection where you go. Movies and TV shows purchased on Xbox Video can be streamed on XboxVideo.com, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Windows 8 PCs and tablets. Read the rest of this entry »

Griflens, the new startup that hopes to spark a playground craze, are the winners of Startup Weekend Maker Edition Toronto. Their team beat out stiff competition from ten other innovative hardware startup ideas to win the contest that empowers entrepreneurs to launch businesses in a single weekend. They impressed judges with their 3D printed story beads that combine to tell an interactive online story that changes depending on which beads you have in your collection. Read the rest of this entry »

Big Blue Bubble Inc. has released an Apple-exclusive 3D follow-up to their smash hit iPhone game Burn the Rope. Burn the Rope 3D literally adds a whole new dimension to the Burn the Rope franchise, featuring 3D environments and a wide range of new puzzles. Wickman’s world comes alive as you navigate your way through the various locations in 3D. Read the rest of this entry »

Montreal-based startup game studio Jellyfish Games has announced their new game, Astrobase Command. The game uses groundbreaking AI to treat characters within the game world as people. You can go anywhere and do anything, and the choices you make have real consequences because everything is controlled by the AI-Storyteller. The game encourages attachment and emotional investment in personality driven characters, an Astrobase Command, you feel like you’re inside your favorite sci-fi TV shows. Read the rest of this entry »

The Banff Centre has issued a call for applications for WIDC Aspects of Camera and Post Production, a mini master class led by award-winning cinematographer and senior picture editor (TBA)Roger Vernon. Beginning with the end picture in mind, this class is facilitated by Women in the Director’s Chair producer Carol Whiteman and will be run January 15th through 19th, 2014 – the application deadline is December 11th. This program is open to up to eight Canadian women directors. Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver Film School (VFS) is pleased to announce that it will be adding a brand-new, one-year program to its educational roster. Starting March 2014, VFS will offer Programming for Games, Web & Mobile, a course that is all about becoming a better, smarter, more versatile and hireable developer. This one-of-a-kind program teaches individuals how to create and bend programs; to develop software that is impressive, innovative, and entertaining. Students graduate with a high-powered portfolio along with the skills to impress professionals and recruiters from an incredible range of industries. Read the rest of this entry »

The next generation of game developers are here – and they’re already hard at work on the next big thing. Today, Mind Pirate and the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) announced the four participants selected to participate in the ideaBOOST/Mind Pirate Production Lab: a three-month boot camp that gives developers the resources to create games and apps for wearable technology devices.  The four winners selected to participate in the ideaBOOST/Mind Pirate Production Lab consist of high caliber developer talent from both the United States and Canada. The winners are: Read the rest of this entry »

As an indicator of the continued growth of messaging apps as a platform across music and brand interaction, IPG Media Lab and Sony/Columbia Records have announced a partnership for One Direction (1D) on Kik, a mobile messaging tool with over 95 million users. The first-of-its-kind campaign will introduce a 1D Kik Card – a shareable mobile experience built on Kik’s HTML5 platform. Today, fans from around the globe will be able to chat with each other on Kik and unlock exclusive One Direction content through a unique group “unlocking” program centered on the band’s new album Midnight Memories.  Read the rest of this entry »