Village Gamer

Microsoft Corp. today announced the Games for Windows Marketplace, a new online PC games store that combines the convenience of the Web with the power of Games on Demand online distribution. Launching November 15th, the Games for Windows Marketplace will offer PC gamers a robust lineup of games they love, easier navigation and purchase, and recurring specials such as Deal of the Week.

“With Games for Windows Marketplace, we set out to create a digital store built for PC gamers end-to-end,” said Kevin Unangst, senior global director, PC and Mobile Gaming, at Microsoft. “And by integrating with our existing Xbox LIVE and Windows Live services, we’ve made it easier than ever for millions of gamers to see for themselves how easy buying PC games can be.”

Built from the ground up for convenience and performance, the Games for Windows Marketplace will remove the barriers between gamers and the games they love by offering the following:

* Online access, anywhere. Optimized for speed, the store allows for ultra-fast downloads; this means fewer clicks to purchase and download, delivering faster turnaround for gameplay. And since the service lives on the Web, gamers can download games on a PC, anytime, and can easily redownload games they purchase if needed.
* Deals and discounts galore. Gamers can check out screaming deals on select games every time they visit the Marketplace, as well as the Deal of The Week and other recurring and seasonal offers.
* Game search functionality. Gamers can search by titles or genres to quickly find the games they want; they can even find new games from their favorite publishers with dedicated publisher pages.
* Fresh design. The clean, intuitive look and feel makes browsing for games a simple, enjoyable experience. Gamers can easily navigate between pages as they search for the perfect game.

Games for Windows Marketplace will launch with a managed portfolio of 100 top-quality titles. The launch roster includes blockbuster games such as “Fable: The Lost Chapters” (Microsoft Game Studios) and “Grand Theft Auto III” (Rockstar Games Inc.) from some of the industry’s biggest developers, such as Capcom Entertainment Inc., 2K Games, Square Enix Co. Ltd. and more. In addition to top retail games, the portfolio will bring new indie titles to the forefront and continue to grow with many of the best games in the industry including titles such as “Lego Universe” (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) and “CarneyVale” (Microsoft Game Studios), which will hit the Games for Windows Marketplace and retail stores at the same time and date; recent hits such as “Dead Rising 2” and “Lost Planet 2” (both from Capcom); and perennial best-sellers such as “Max Payne” (Rockstar) and “Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition” (Square Enix). Read the rest of this entry »

Kik Interactive, Inc. today unveiled the next generation of Kik Messenger, a free, cross-platform mobile instant messaging (IM) service. The new version – available worldwide starting today – makes texting conversations more real-time than ever before.

Kik Messenger, officially out of beta today, now ensures lightning fast delivery every time. It’s about four times faster than the old system, which was already pretty quick! That means every message – and Kik’s message sent, delivered and read receipts – appear in real-time. So messaging with Kik now feels more like a real conversation.

Other cross-platform mobile IM apps are more like regular, plain texting; none offer message receipts, nor Kik’s speed and reliability. Only BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) provides similar receipts, but Kik Messenger stands apart because it works on all smartphones – iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.

“Kik Messenger offers the closest thing to a real-time, face-to-face conversation. And you can connect with all your friends, no matter what smartphone they use or where they live,” said Ted Livingston, President and CEO, Kik. “With the latest improvements and global reach, we expect more and more people to get Kik-ing.”

Introduced six months ago, the beta version attracted more than 175,000 users, even with availability limited to the US and Canada and no marketing push. The new system is more scalable and reliable, ensuring Kik will remain fast as user numbers continue to grow.

If you’re a Kik user now, or if you’ve ever used BBM, you’ll know why message receipts are so popular. Receipts tell you more information about your message. ‘S’ means your message has been sent. ‘D’ means it has been delivered to your recipient. ‘R’ means your message has been read. And ‘Is typing’ means your friend is currently typing a reply.
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Montreal publisher Meridian4 has signed a digital publishing agreement with Welsh developer Arberth Studios to publish its 2008 haunting adventure game Rhiannon – Curse of the Four Branches Premium Edition.

“We see this new alliance with Meridian 4 as the ideal completion of our strategy for sales of Rhiannon in North America,” comments Karen Bruton, one of the three partners at developer Arberth Studios. “Meridian knows and understands the complexities, pitfalls and potentials of the North American market. We are confident in their ability and dedication in bringing our game to new audiences who have yet to experience our chilling, Welsh, supernatural mystery.”

“We are so pleased that we can make Rhiannon available to the wide audience that digital distribution provides. Arberth have created a game that weaves a deep and immersive storyline that has you hooked from the beginning. With the Premium Edition, they have listened to their community and have offered up features that increase the value of the gameplay. We know that this game is a ‘must’ with any adventure fan.” said Andy Sher, CEO at Meridian4.

Rhiannon is hearing noises and seeing things she can’t explain. Living in her family’s remote farmstead miles from friends and neighbours and having ambitious, busy parents, Rhiannon is alone. Her parents believe her stories to be an overactive imagination and teenage angst. So the Sullivan’s decide to take their daughter away for a break and have asked you to look after their home. The moment you enter, you suspect that something is not right. Rhiannon’s stories are true and the farmstead is engulfed in supernatural happenings as an ancient myth spills over into reality.

Discover dark secrets in this chilling point and click adventure as you encounter an ancient evil lurking in the walls of the home that holds a terrible connection to a timeless struggle between man and magic.

Features

· Set in present day, the plot draws from ancient Welsh myths and legends
· Explore the eerie Welsh farmstead, from the imposing house, to its extensive grounds and buildings
· First-person point-and-click with approximately 20 to 30 hours of largely non-linear gameplay
· Involved multi-threaded plot
· Features classic themes such as: magic, paranormal phenomena, and technological gadgets
· Interact with a comprehensive inventory of nearly 200 items
· Engaging and unusual challenges, mostly plot and inventory driven
· A haunting musical score will send chills up your spine
· Solid chapter structure to the compelling and ultimately uplifting story

The Rhiannon – Curse of the Four Branches Premium Edition includes an in-game tutorial and hint system, interactive map and improved navigation.

Meridian4 has also signed a digital publishing agreement for the 2007 horror/adventure game Scratches – Director’s Cut was developed by now-closed Argentinian developer Nucleosys Digital Studio.

“Scratches is one of those rare games that genuinely gets under your skin. Its storyline, dark graphics and all too effective soundtrack will have you looking over your shoulder and hearing strange noises long after you turn off the computer. Meridian4 is excited to be able to bring this quality of adventure game to a wider audience through digital distribution. We know that anyone who likes adventure games or a good scare will love Scratches.” said Andy Sher, CEO at Meridian4.

Dark Legends surround the old abandoned Blackwood house, secluded far away in the northern wastelands.

For writer Michael Arthate, this cold, solitary atmosphere is fodder for his restless imagination. But Michael soon becomes distracted by the mysteries offered up, as he follows a trail exploring and delving into the secrets of the past. As he is drawn deeper into the story, his sleep is shattered by mysterious noises, and he is plagued by nightmares that cross into reality.

Whose shadows lurk in the dark corners? Is that lonely house inhabited by restless spirits of the past or something more sinister? What is that sound that chills to the very bone…scratching?

Join Michael in a suspenseful adventure, as you explore beautiful and chilling environments. Prowl dark corners and solve puzzles leading to the solution of a tale begun with obsession, and ending with madness and murder.

Features

· Eerie and immersive story
· Haunting soundtrack
· Full 360 degree panoramic viewing
· Puzzles and challenges throughout
· Numerous hours of gameplay
· Explore a Victorian mansion, sinister chapel, forbidding crypt, musty rooms, greenhouse…

Director’s Cut includes:

· An alternate ending that might be more shocking than the original
· A new chapter: “The Last Visit” will have you back at the house 10 years after the events of the original game
· Michael’s diary with more clues and thoughts from the main character
· Upgraded graphics and an eerier soundtrack

Air Canada is pleased to announce the award winners of the 2010 annual Air Canada enRoute Film Festival.

Best Short Film: Adam Shamash for La Khaima: The Tent of Mile-End (Montreal)
Achievement in Direction: Adam Shamash for La Khaima: The Tent of Mile-End (Montreal)
Achievement in Cinematography: Shervin Kermani and Aita Jason for Sofia (Toronto)
Achievement in Animation: King Mugabi for Red Snow (Toronto)

“After receiving this award, I feel very honoured to have been highlighted as an emerging filmmaker from Air Canada, enRoute and renowned jury members,” said Shamash, originally from Vancouver and a Langara College alumni. “The festival has given me an amazing platform to network and communicate my message.”

Millions of Air Canada passengers around the world will be able to view the award winners on their personal entertainment system with 8.9-inch wide digital in-seat monitors and touch-screen controls offering hours of audio and video on demand programming at every seat.

Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre hosted a free public screening of all the nominated films yesterday, followed by the awards celebration at The Drake Hotel. The grand prize winner was awarded $5,000 courtesy of Cineplex Entertainment. All winners were awarded an all-inclusive trip for two to the Whistler Film Festival courtesy of Air Canada.

Filmmakers, jury members and industry luminaries were in attendance at the exclusive event, including celebrity presenters Kari Skogland (Genie Award-winner for Best Adapted Screenplay, director/writer, Fifty Dead Men Walking), Carlo Rota (24), Rob Stewart (director, Sharkwater), and Kathleen Robertson (A Night For Dying Tigers, 90210).

Just in time for the holiday season, Rogers Media announced the launch of Today’s Parent’s first mobile application, the Today’s Parent Gift Finder application available for iPhone, iTouch, and iPad.

The free Today’s Parent Gift Finder application lets users find the perfect gift for any child based on a child’s age, play preference and price range. Users can also create wish lists for each child they are buying for and share the list with others through email, Facebook and SMS.

The majority of the toys in the Gift Finder come from the Today’s Parent “Top Toys” list, a highly anticipated annual feature in Today’s Parent magazine. The Today’s Parent Gift Finder Application is the first iPhone application from a Canadian parenting magazine brand.

“The Today’s Parent Gift Finder application is a great tool for anyone with a child on their shopping list – anytime of the year,” says Claude Galipeau, SVP & GM, Digital Media, Rogers Media Inc. “We are excited to launch this application using the reliable reviews from Today’s Parent to help parents, relatives and friends, pick out the best presents for the children in their lives. Santa himself will want this app!”

Presented by Toys”R”Us, Canada’s Greatest Toy Store, this app not only helps gift givers find the perfect toy, but gives them the opportunity to save money while doing so. In the holiday spirit, when users download the app, they will receive a special code which entitles them to save $5 off any purchase of $25 or more at Toys”R”Us stores across Canada.

The Today’s Parent Gift Finder iPhone app will be available exclusively to Rogers Wireless and Fido customers when accessing through a 3G connection and available to all users via their wi-fi connection. The content can also be accessed on all Web-enabled mobile phones at the Today’s Parent web site.

Waterloo’s Open Text Corporation has announced that Idaho-based The Stelter Company is now using Open Text Social Communities to foster communities and encourage collaboration and communication with its clients.

The Stelter Company takes a leading role in marketing communications to help more than 2,600 charities with campaigns that identify, educate, and motivate donors to make planned gifts. As part of its communication management strategy, Stelter distributes information using a variety of old and new media, such as direct mail and email newsletters, while managing the gift-planning content of more than 1,200 charity websites.

In order to better assist its clients and in an effort to reach a more tech-savvy audience, Stelter increased the number of channels it uses to communicate its clients’ messages and develop its expertise in online communication. In 2010, the company established Bestow, a community space for those who have a passion for nonprofit fundraising. Its efforts to embrace social media Stelter faced several challenges, including its limited marketing resources and a lack of social media expertise. Its clients faced similar difficulty adapting to new digital media.

To resolve this, Stelter approached Open Text to implement Open Text Social Communities, a social media platform that offers social portals and communities through drop-in, easy-to-configure portlets.

“We approached Open Text to use the Open Text Social Communities product, which we essentially implemented pretty much out of the box. It was implemented by the Open Text Professional Services team, which for us was just a real turnkey and simple process,” said Bev Hutney, Director of Innovation and Research at The Stelter Company. “The new community has provided the company with an opportunity to enhance its social networking, demonstrate its lead in innovation, and exchange communications with other professionals in the industry.”
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Untold Entertainment has launched a new game portal for all of you zombie fans out there. Zombie Game World offers from the best to the worst of free-to-play zombie games. There are currently 40+ games on the site, with more to come. According to the Untold Entertainment blog, future plans for the site “include community-based game-on-game elimination battles, badges, and possibly even an online loyalty system.” Zombie Game World joins Word Game World, a portal loaded with quality word games, on Untold’s Game World Network.

Untold Entertainment’s CEO Ryan Creighton has also released a book for those of you who are interested in learning how to develop games using the Unity engine. St. Louis designer Scott Petrovic has posted a review about Ryan’s book, Unity 3D Game Development By Example, which is available now for purchase from Packt Publishing as either a physical book or an ebook (or both).

Speaking of zombies, the next Dead Rising 2 Theme Pack is now available for 160 MS Points (or $1.99) The Soldier of Fortune Theme Pack lets you live in your own 80’s action flick as the new DLC gives players extreme firepower to plow through hordes of zombies with Chuck’s new amped up arsenal of guns.

With the Soldier of Fortune pack, all guns will now have increased firepower, better accuracy and their ammo capacity doubled. Nothing will get in Chuck’s way as the pack will also include a new special “hail of bullets” attack where mowing down masses of zombies will be easier and more fun than ever before.

Canam Software Labs, Inc. has announced the availability of XML Thunder Lite, a free downloadable software tool that allows quick conversion of COBOL COPYBOOKS or C data structures to XML, XSD or SOAP. By automating an essential process for application modernization that up to now was manual and error prone, XML Thunder Lite benefits end users as well as IT services organizations. XML Thunder Lite is a bi-directional solution as it also allows conversion of XML, XSD, WSDL or SOAP to COBOL COPYBOOKS or C structures. Built on years of experience working with enterprise customers this solution encapsulates best practices and practical project experience.

Most application modernization projects taking advantage of XML, web services or SOA technology include the need to map existing application data structures to XML or SOAP nodes. This mapping serves as the basis for constructing program logic that will enable existing application programs to consume or produce data as XML or SOAP. The creation of XML schemas or WSDL files describing the rules for XML or SOAP from existing data structures is a manual, time consuming and error prone process. XML Thunder Lite automates this and provides software developers with the freedom to perform rapid conversions. The converted data structures can also be used as input to other technologies, such as Java or .Net. Read the rest of this entry »

Dolby Laboratories, Inc., has introduced a turnkey solution that saves time for game developers who are adding high-quality voice chat to their online games. Called the Dolby® Axon Network, it is making its debut in Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed™ World, the massively multiplayer online action racing game.

“Game developers are under tremendous time constraints to deliver their product. With the Dolby Axon Network, Dolby helps developers channel their resources and attention to deliver the best-possible gameplay,” said Matt Tullis, Marketing Director, Games, Dolby Laboratories. “With this new offering, Dolby has been able to dramatically reduce the time required to implement voice chat.”

With the Dolby Axon Network, Dolby provides engineering support, flexible APIs, detailed documentation, and sample code—all with the aim of easy implementation. The Dolby solution eliminates the cost of building, maintaining, and monitoring servers and includes round-the-clock multilayer support with guaranteed uptime.

In addition to Need for Speed World, Dolby Axon technology has been adopted by several online games, including Dragon Nest® (Nexon Corp.), ZT Online (Giant Interactive), Mission Against Terror (Kingsoft, published by Wicked Interactive), and Jumpgate Evolution® (NetDevil). By integrating Dolby Axon into online game titles, game developers can provide gamers with ease of use and a new level of immersion in online gaming, including:

* Improved audio chain processing (noise suppression and echo suppression) for clear voice communication
* Surround sound voice chat over stereo headsets, stereo speakers, and 5.1 playback systems delivering premium in-game voice communication with teammates
* Compatibility with any stereo headset, enabling gamers to experience high-quality voice without specialized equipment

Canadian developers who would like more information can contact Dolby Laboratories at the company’s Vancouver office in Building 3 at 2985 Virtual Way, telephone 604.216.0020.

Beginning today, Netflix members in Canada can stream content through their Wii™ consoles with Netflix installed on their Wii Menu. The Netflix disc that was used for instant streaming on the Wii console will no longer be required. Netflix members who have a plan starting at $7.99 a month, a Wii console and a broadband Internet connection can now instantly watch movies and TV shows streamed directly to their TVs by simply downloading Netflix from the Wii Shop Channel. This new channel is available at no extra cost. The new disc-free option installs Netflix on the Wii Menu, making it convenient for Wii owners to quickly access streaming movies and TV shows.

“At this time of year, consumers have a near-insatiable demand for family entertainment,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “And this simplified Netflix access will help bring families together more quickly, more easily and in more ways than ever before. More than 3 million Wii systems have already connected to Netflix, demonstrating how easy the service is to set up and use.”

“Wii is a consummate home entertainment platform and has quickly become one of the best and most popular ways to enjoy movies streamed from Netflix,” said Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix. “The availability of Netflix right on the Wii Menu adds significantly to the ease and convenience that attracts our members to the Netflix streaming experience and is an important step in our efforts to continuously improve the service.” Read the rest of this entry »

I received a letter in my email yesterday which was sent out by Ontario developer Brent Howard, stating that he had purchased the formerly based in Santa Monica company Subdreamer, previously owned by Ziad Hilal. According to the letter, Brent Howard became involved with the Subdreamer community in 2003, and worked for Subdreamer from 2005 through 2009. Brent has named this newly-Canadian company Subdreamer Web Development, and has listed several items which he would like to work on in continuing the development of Subdreamer CMS.

I purchased a license for Subdreamer way back in 2006, when we were looking for ways to improve and grow one of our other sites – one which has since fallen off in use and will probably be integrated in some way into the future of Village Gamer. We didn’t use Subdreamer for very long, because while it started off promising, I soon found the software to be confusing, hard to learn, and not very friendly when it came to integrating our forum. When I look back in my Subdreamer Outlook folder, I note that it’s full of trouble tickets sent to Subdreamer customer support by the student coders who were, at that time, helping to develop our sites. After weeks turned into months of stagnation with Subdreamer, we mothballed the software somewhere in a cobweb-filled corner of our server reserved for failed design attempts. A costly lesson, with the license having set me back 100.00USD for a site which has no external income.

While I am definitely not the most knowledgeable person out there when it comes to using a CMS, I know when it frustrates me beyond redemption, and there are two CMS products out there which succeeded in doing so – Subdreamer and Drupal. I have been in the web game long enough to know that every CMS product has a learning curve as well as limitations, and I, nor anyone behind the scenes here at Village Gamer (that would be Scott), has the time or funds to develop a custom site from the ground up, so we depend on products like WordPress (which we currently use) to be the backbone of our sites, and even though WP has also frustrated me at times, it seems easier to get along with, despite my lack of time for learning, absentmindedness and low frustration threshold. In my mind, what I want to do is very logical and solid – however it appears that software developers don’t think like Geminis and presume that everyone with a web presence knows the ins and outs of code hacking, site security and features integration.

So with all that said, and despite my personal past experiences with Subdreamer, I do wish Brent Howard and his development team all the success that I know they are hoping for with this new acquisition.