Village Gamer

Aeroplan has announced a new Facebook initiative in celebration of the fifth anniversary of its Beyond Miles Program.  Starting today until May 31^st, Aeroplan will donate 50 Aeroplan Miles to its nine Beyond Miles Program charitable partners for each ‘Like’ that Aeroplan receives on Facebook up to a total of 1.5 million Aeroplan Miles.

All miles donated for this initiative will be split equally amongst all of Aeroplan’s charitable partners including: Air Canada’s Kids’ Horizons, Athletes for Africa, Earth Day Canada, Engineers Without Borders, Médecins Sans Frontières, Schools Without Borders, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Veterinarians Without Borders and War Child Canada.  Each of these nine Canadian organizations is committed to improving lives and enriching communities across Canada and abroad.

“Our Beyond Miles partners use Aeroplan Miles to offset travel costs including flights, hotel accommodation and car rentals for projects they work on in Canada and abroad,” said geneviève bich, Vice President, People and Culture, Groupe Aeroplan Canada.  “We couldn’t be more proud of our members as we recently reached the milestone of 200 million miles donated by members to our Beyond Miles partners.  We hope our members and the general public will ‘like’ us on Facebook so that together we can support the incredible work each organization is doing.” Read the rest of this entry »

Peace Point Entertainment Group launched their latest mobile app. SuperBodies is an app that matches science and art through cutting-edge computer-generated imagery to explore athleticism of the human body. With the SuperBodies mobile experience, audiences navigate through the body to observe first-hand the effects, reactions and stressors endured by world-class athletes.

With cutting-edge 3D animation and original video, the SuperBodies mobile app allows users in a game play format to peel away the human skin, revealing what truly happens on the inside when star athletes perform. Choose from gymnastics, badminton, boxing, volleyball, 100m dash and swimming. Explore how highly-tuned bodies cope with such physically shocking tribulations as a knockout punch, a blow to the ribs or fierce muscle tear. See what happens to the circulatory, skeletal, muscular, nervous and respiratory systems, each rendered with vibrant computer graphic animations that appear to probe the human bodies’ intricate mazes.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_klYDou5xo]

Showcasing summer sports in advance of the 2012 Summer Games, each athletic activity is teased apart in compelling short videos featuring the charismatic Greg Wells, Ph.D., a scientist and physiologist who works with elite athletes.  Dr. Wells is familiar to audiences as the SuperBodies TV host for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, regular contributor on CTV’s Canada AM, and medical analyst for ABC News Olympic coverage.  SuperBodies will be a staple feature during the Consortium’s coverage of London 2012.

With Dr. Wells as a guide, the hand held device acts as a camera pod that lets you fly through the body in any direction to see how an athlete’s skeleton, muscles and nerves perform as they compete in top level sports. The user navigates through the body of the world’s greatest athletes by dragging a finger or tilting the device.  Tap the screen once to view the athlete’s vital signs (heart rate, temperature and breaths per minute).  Tap twice to select a sport.

“SuperBodies makes complex physiology fascinating and easy to understand,” said Les Tomlin, CEO of Peace Point Entertainment Group, which produces the SuperBodies properties, including the Gemini Award-winning television documentary and segments for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium during its multiplatform coverage of Vancouver 2010. “From an adrenaline rush to a world record victory, we expose fascinating extremes from inside the human body, making biomedical mysteries accessible to everybody.”

The anatomically precise SuperBodies mirrors cutting edge research in the field of exercise medicine, which tests, trains and heals the human body. “SuperBodies shows people why top athletes are amazing and what makes them different from you and me,” said Dr. Wells. “Kids who see how mind-blowing we are on the inside, and who understand our human potential, may be more likely to participate in sports and take care of their health.”

Superbodies is produced with the participation of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium and the Bell Broadcast & New Media Fund and is available now in HD for the iPad, iPhone 4 and the latest gen iPod Touch for $3.99 USD as well as non-HD for older iPhone and iPod touch devices for just $1.99 USD.

Friday evening we gathered for the official grand opening event at the new VFS Game Design Campus, which has moved to 88 East Pender in Vancouver – the former home of OmniTV. A far cry from the warren-like campus at the corner of Homer and West Hastings, the new campus is the perfect set up for the Game Design program, giving the school room to expand and whittle down its long waiting list of students waiting to unleash their imaginations and creative abilities on the game development industry.

The evening began with opening comments from VFS Managing Director Marty Hasselbach, who was the MC for the event. Mr. Hasselbach spoke briefly about the school and its successes before introducing school founder and President, Mr. James Griffin, who reiterated that one of the major goals for VFS is to teach students for success, something that I feel the school achieves time and again.

Following Mr. Griffin was guest of honour, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. Mayor Robertson spoke to the City of Vancouver’s commitment to the local digital media industry, and the important role Vancouver Film School plays in the continued growth of the industry. Mayor Robertson also spoke to the revitalization of the China Town community, and that the occupation by VFS of the former OmniTV building will assist in breathing new life to the area.

Several Vancouver City council members were in attendance, including Suzanne Anton and Ellen Woodsworth – in fact there were so many members of council present, Mayor Robertson joked that they could hold a meeting right there at the school. He continued, stating that the show of support from the council members’ attendance speaks directly to how the City is impressed with the remarkable achievements of not only Vancouver Film School, but the creative industry as a whole. The City recognizes the importance of the significant contribution the digital media sector has made to the standing of Vancouver as a global centre for creativity, and it is those successes that drives the City’s efforts in seeking out new opportunities, opening doors to new talent and new companies to come to Vancouver.

Also not one to miss an opportunity, Mayor Robertson noted the low carbon footprint of the digital media industry, and how its low impact on the environment will aid in the City’s quest to become the greenest city in the world – and he wasn’t just speaking to the home crowd, according to his bio page on the City’s web site, Mayor Robertson does indeed recognize digital media as being among important green industry sectors. The Mayor concluded his opening speech by congratulating the school on its scholarship initiatives, recognizing in particular the Women In Games Scholarship, the 2011 recipient of which would also be announced during the evening’s festivities.

Following Mayor Robertson, the Head of Game Design, Dave Warfield took over the podium to talk specifically about the past, present and future of the VFS Game Design program – after he noted that the campus’ location meant he would have a shorter walk to Canucks’ games. Mr. Warfield spoke about how far the school has come since launching its Game Design program six years ago, and how with the opening of the new campus the school will be able to double its capacity, helping 180 students enter the ever-changing world of game design annually.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8S4FzsF91k]

Mr. Warfield then introduced Women In Games Vancouver representative and independent game producer Bryna Dabby, who announced the winner of the 2011 Women In Games VFS Scholarship. Ms. Dabby spoke about the importance of scholarships like this one, awarding opportunities for more women to become members of what has until recently been a heavily male-dominated sector of the creative industry. The winner of the first Women In Games Scholarship, which was awarded in 2009, was Toronto’s Shannon Lee, who is currently employed at Silicon Sisters Interactive. Last year’s winner, Annie Dickerson of Washington, DC will be graduating from the school this year.

Dave Warfield echoed her sentiments, stating that “encouraging more women to get involved in gaming will create better play experience that appeal to a wider audience, and with the changing variety of gaming today, that is more important now than ever before.”

The 2011 Women In Games Scholarship goes this year to Larissa Baptista of Rio de Janeiro. While Ms. Baptista was not able to be present for the announcement, the school did release a statement from the young woman, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communication. According to her background information, when she was just 14 years old, Ms. Baptista made a three hour bus commute to attend a year’s worth of classes in 3D software, as she had no other access to either 3D programs or even a computer.

“I am truly beyond honoured to have been chosen to receive the 2011 Women In Games Scholarship,” she said. “Thank you again – although words cannot possibly express my gratitude right now, I hope my future achievements will. A goal is now within my reach.”

Vancouver Film School will also be announcing the winners of three other scholarships to the school provided by G4TechTV, Annex Pro and 3Vis in the very near future.  The VFS Summer Intensives Program is also now open for registration – students can experience 5 days of fast-paced, eye-opening classes in any one of the many programs offered at Vancouver Film School.

Following the scholarship announcement, Mayor Robertson, James Griffin, Dave Warfield and Marty Hasselbach all took the stage for the official ribbon cutting ceremony, which was then followed by tours of the new school classrooms, labs, offices, arcades and theatre. As we here at Village Gamer look at new ways to form partnerships and support the VFS programs and students, we wish the school every success as it embarks on this new chapter in its history.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktQEWaAZN-c]

Vancouver Film School – Results Matter

Tactica Interactive, creators of the Tiga Talk Speech Therapy game have launched a contest with a 4G iPod Touch as the top prize.  The contest is open to anyone aged 15 and up (void in Quebec), and will feature 9 bi-weekly Tiga Talk prize packs on top of the Grand Prize:

Grand Prize Draw: One (1) Grand Prize draw will be made at 1 pm on Friday September 2, 2011. The Grand Prize winner will be randomly selected among the entries and the name of each winning entry will be declared the potential winner.

Bi-Weekly Prize Draws: Nine (9) Weekly Prize draws will be made every second Friday starting May 6th, 2011. Each of the Weekly Prize winners will be randomly selected among the entries and the name of each winning entry will be declared the potential winner.

All you have to do to win is talk about Tiga Talk by using the form or links on the Contest Info Page to share Tiga Talk with your friends on Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr, or show them your  own Tiga Talk blog, YouTube video or other way you are spreading the good word about Tiga Talk. Please refer to the Contest Rules for full entry and prize details.

Tiga Talk, the companion game to APTN’s television show by the same name, is currently on sale for $1.99 USD in the iTunes App Store, and was developed with licensed speech and language pathologists. Tiga Talk is a fun way for children to develop speech sounds through playful voice-controlled games that can improve speech clarity, articulation, and instill confidence. The app is for parents and speech therapists working with toddlers and children with language delays, as well as any parent looking to give their child a head start in early language development.

Children learn fundamental phonetic sounds, that are the building blocks of language, as they play 23 fun voice controlled games on an imaginative adventure with Tiga and friends. Game play rewards are based entirely on participation, not accuracy, so the child is constantly getting positive feedback as long as they are trying to make sounds.

Game activities include piloting a boat, helicopter, hot air balloon, race car, train, submarine, and even flying a rocket ship to visit the moon. Players can pop balloons to reveal clues to guide them on their adventure as well as knock over obstacles that lay in their path, including towers of tires, ice blocks, hay bales, crates, logs or even moon rocks.

Before each game children are introduced to a new phonetic sound by game characters. They are shown a cartoon image representing the sound and are encouraged to try saying the sound aloud. The app listens to make sure they’re verbally participating and congratulates them if they are and showers them with friendly encouragement if they aren’t.

Tiga Talk’s other features include:

• Voice controlled games encourage kids to speak clearly
• Game play based on actual speech therapy sessions
• Beautifully vibrant graphics and a variety fun learning games designed to engage young children
• Entertaining cartoon characters deliver lots of positive feedback
• An exciting interactive story adventure
• Licensed speech therapists selected the apps 23 core phonetic sounds
• Audio and video hints help demonstrate the correct way to make language sounds
• A sound meter to measure voice volume levels
• Track progress and earn gold stars the more you play
• Children are able to practice specific sounds and games
• So easy to play young children can even use it by themselves

Here are just some of the benefits to be gained with Tiga Talk:

• A great way for all kids to get a head start on language development
• Kids learn to pronounce sounds more accurately including syllables, letters, and letter combinations
• Help your child improve coordination and strength of speech muscles
• Children learn through sound repetition and imitation
• Children differentiate between sounds they hear and create a broader base vocabulary
• Improve communication between the child’s brain and the body through visual and auditory aids
• Improve childhood communication with peers and adults
• Instill a sense of pride and confidence in your child

Tiga Talk is rated 4+ and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch (2nd, 3rd and 4th gen) and iPad. It requires iOS 4.1 or later. Tiga Talk is developed with the financial support of the Bell Fund.

Edmonton dev studio Fluik Entertainment and Big Fat Simulations, a BC studio located not far from the Village Gamer cave in the Fraser Valley, have released a new free to play title in the iTunes App Store.  The ad-supported Office Jerk is available now for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, and if you prefer to torment co-workers ad-free, you can purchase the Remove Ads Pack for $0.99 USD.

For anyone fed up with people at their work place – and we’ve all been there – The Office Jerk is the harmless, feel-good game of the year for anyone tired of dealing with brown-nosing, know-it-all coworkers. From the comfort of your cubicle, unleash a barrage of comical destruction upon your unsuspecting victim – from office supplies like paper and pencils to hilariously dangerous staplers and dynamite. You can also purchase the ACME Pack ($1.99), which will add to your arsenal and up the damage you can inflict on your annoying office mate. The ACME pack includes pies, eggs and incendiary devices, while the $0.99 Ad Unlock will provide you with the stapler and coffee mug. The free version includes a wad of paper, a pencil and an eraser.

Of course, just tossing stuff at The Office Jerk isn’t always as easy as flinging the nearest stapler. The office fan adds to the challenge of nailing your target by intermittently causing a draft that can influence the flight path of your weaponry.

The Office Jerk is rated 9+ for Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, requires iOS 3.1 or later.

Decapod Studios has announced that its incredibly addictive puzzle game Murphid will be launching on Windows Phone 7 early next week for $0.99. I can vouch for the addictive quotient, as I have played…and played…and played Murphid on the Xbox 360 – you can read my review of the game here.

Just as in the Xbox 360 version of Murphid, players must use their puzzle solving skills and fast reaction to withstand attack waves of gorgeous marble hordes and bring those beasts under control in this Collapse-Match 3 styled game. Deep, yet simple core game mechanics coupled with astonishing graphics, immersive sound effects and adaptive gameplay result in intense climatic moments that modern gamers are craving. Murphid’s underlying FunQuantization™ technology has been optimized to run flawlessly on Windows Phone 7.

Time-tested, solid fun features include:

* Engaging Campaign spawning more that 70 levels of marble blasting madness.
* Three game modes for players to choose from to suit their playing style.
* More than 10 powerups to help players redefine the game field and wreak havoc in a blink of an eye.
* 8 exclusive Awards to boost the replay value further by throwing extra challenges at the player.
* Pre-filled Leaderboard to give the game nostalgic, old-school touch.
* Awe-inspiring HD visuals with full widescreen support.
* Charming sound effects to create the ambience.
*Adaptive gameplay technology for challenging and fun gaming experience for players of all ages.

The SIGGRAPH Technical Papers program is the premier international forum for disseminating new scholarly work in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2011 takes place this August 7th through 11th at the Vancouver Convention Centre, and 82 Technical Papers will be presented. They were selected from among 432 submissions.

The papers to be presented were chosen by a distinguished committee of 52 experts from academia and industry. This year’s Technical Papers program also includes conference presentations for 33 papers published this year in the journal ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG). A complete listing of all the papers presented in this year’s program will be available on the SIGGRAPH 2011 web site in late May.

“Each year, the SIGGRAPH Technical Papers program evolves to feature the most cutting-edge advances in technology,” says Hugues Hoppe, SIGGRAPH 2011 Technical Papers Chair from Microsoft Research. “This year is no different as SIGGRAPH 2011 Technical Papers will provide a look into some of the latest achievements in facial animation, stereo and multi-layered displays, procedural modeling, and rendering.”

In addition to core topics of modeling, animation, rendering, imaging, and human-computer interaction, the Technical Papers program encouraged submissions from areas related to computer graphics, including: computer games, design, vision, scientific and information visualization, audio, and robotics.

Featured highlights from the SIGGRAPH 2011 Technical Papers program:

High-Quality Passive Facial Performance Capture Using Anchor Frames

A new technique for high-quality facial performance capture that leverages the repetitive structure of face motions to automatically locate frames with similar expressions, called anchor frames. High-resolution geometry is reconstructed and temporal motion is propagated in parallel using robust image-space matching between the anchor frames.

Authors: Thabo Beeler, ETH Zürich and Disney Research Zürich; Fabian Hahn, Disney Research Zürich; Derek Bradley, Disney Research Zürich; Bernd Bickel, Disney Research Zürich; Paul Beardsley, Disney Research Zürich; Craig Gotsman, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; Bob Sumner, Disney Research Zürich; Markus Gross, Disney Research Zürich

Practical application as suggested by the Technical Papers Chair: Highly detailed facial capture using multiple cameras without markers.

Bounded Biharmonic Weights for Real-Time Deformation

Deformation by linear blending dominates practical use as the fastest approach for transforming 2D and 3D shapes. This paper develops “bounded biharmonic weights” that produce smooth and intuitive deformations for any combination of points, bones, and cages of arbitrary topology, making control of deformations simple and flexible. Read the rest of this entry »

Starmine, the debut title for Vancouver’s Zyx Entertainment is now available in the iTunes App Store for $1.99 USD. This colourful match 3-styled puzzle game currently features 120 levels, 3 game modes, multi-touch controls,and Retina Display support as well as  Game Centre Leaderboards & Achievements to unlock. Starmine can be played for a few seconds, a few minutes or as long as you can survive, and you can  join the Facebook community for game updates, tips and tricks.

Every puzzle has multiple solutions, and with no move restrictions, players can solve each puzzle in any way that works for them. Puzzle game veterans will appreciate the fast-paced puzzle action. Special blocks keep the game fresh while the deep scoring system, achievements and leaderboards will push you to your limits and keep you coming back for more.

System requirements:

iPhone 3G+
iPod G3+
iOS 3.2+ (4.1+ for Game Center)

New from game developer Eric Billingsley is Star-Twine, a strategy game with ambient sounds, unique visuals and a virtually infinite number of levels to play on.

Battles unfold on three-dimensional maps where you, a small point of light, must build structures to extract energy from the threads that make up the world. Energy can be spent on new structures, each with their own unique abilities. The enemy AI builds while you build and reacts to your play-style. This results in challenging battles that require strategic insight and quick thinking.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBXQSuScwk]

As a small point of light, you travel along a sprawling three-dimensional map, building new structures as you fly around each level. The game emphasizes positioning and timing rather than micro-management, and there are many options open to you at all times. Your objective is to destroy the enemy’s structures before they destroy yours.

Features:

• Unlimited number of procedurally generated levels
• Skirmish mode with multiple difficulties
• Online 1 vs 1 multiplayer and LAN play
• Fully 3D maps where attacks can come from any angle
• Ambient electronic soundtrack and abstract visuals which create an atmospheric, relaxing experience
• Simple RTS gameplay that emphasizes positioning and timing rather than micro-management

There is a demo version available, and if you like Star-Twine, you can purchase the full version on Star-Twine.net, Desura or GamersGate.com.

System Requirements:

• Operating System: Windows XP/Vista/7
• Processor: 1.5GHz CPU
• Memory – 256MB available RAM
• Hard Disk – 200MB available disk space (Additional 200MB for .NET Framework 3.5 if it is not already installed)
• Video Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible card with Shader Model 2.0 Support and 256MB VRAM (NVidia GeForce 7600 / ATI Radeon x1600 or better recommended)

Going Loud Studios, creators of the XBLIG and WP7 title Zombie Accountant, has announced their sophomore title: Lair of the Evildoer – which leads us to a good news-bad news scenario.

First, the good news! The evil Dr. Odious has created you and given you the gift of life.

Now, the bad news! He’s decided you are not worth his time! Now you must escape his procedurally generated lair, fighting monsters and collecting loot as you go.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1JLIGP7TIM]

Features:

• 20 levels procedurally generated by pure evil, ensuring unique experiences with every playthrough
• 26 types of enemies, also generated by pure evil
• Over 15 weapons with which to destroy those enemies (phew!)
• Weapon affix system to keep you hunting for the best loot. Seek out the “Kickass Shotgun of Haste”, avoid the “Cheap Pistol of the Chicken”
• Stat-based leveling system, to help you escape the lair the way you want to

Lair of the EvilDoer is scheduled for release in Spring 2011 on the Xbox Live Indie Games marketplace.