Village Gamer

Toronto game developer Alexander Shapovalov has announced the release of iPhone game Aliens Attack Deluxe. Available now for 99 cents USD, the game is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Rated 4+, Aliens Attack Deluxe requires iOS 3.0 or later.

Aliens Attack Deluxe has a simple concept and game play is easy to understand. Aliens have arrived and attacking Earth is their prime objective. The user must protect the planet using laser cannons. The game resembles 1980’s Missile Command game, but with better graphics and a variation on actual game play. To shoot down the aliens, players tap the screen to fire the cannon and knock the invaders out of the sky and earn money for your defensive efforts.

For the wee folk in your house, Wrinkled Pants Software, Ltd. has released it’s debut title, My Word! Reader – Are Bees Smart, or What? for iPads with iOS 3.2 or later. Available now for $4.99 USD, My Word! Reader – Are Bees Smart, or What? is a ground breaking app for the iPad based on sound educational and literacy theory that is designed to improve literacy skills in underachieving students.

This app will be an essential tool for literacy learning for education and home markets. Simple to use, but sophisticated in design, it incorporates word analysis, phonics, writing skills, word recognition, comprehension and spelling in a series of dynamic, engaging, and delightful “word games” that are rooted in the easy-to-read, but sophisticated story, Are Bees Smart, or What?

“My Word! Reader provides a resource for teachers to use with underachieving students, thus allowing them more time for other demanding instructional tasks,” said Dr. Selma Wassermann, CEO of Wrinkled Pants.

The application is designed to be self-instructional – giving the student control over the learning process. The “Bees” story features an interactive experience on the iPad with 6 learning games designed to engage the reader and develop basic literacy skills and comprehension.  Wrinkled Pants Software intends to release more titles in the My Word! Reader series on an ongoing basis.

Renegade Citizen has released Infinity Control, a game that casts players as new recruits for the Federation of International Space Marines. You begin your career on Earth, where you learn the basics of game play, managing incoming craft while avoiding collisions with orbiting satellites. Once you’ve mastered these skills, you will move on to help scientific researchers maneuver craft around the dense asteroids of Saturn. The random spawning of black holes adds even more challenge to your flying skills as you move up the career ladder through 40 ranks – from young recruit to skilled veteran.

Infinity Control is comprised of 3 incredible worlds built in high resolution retina graphics accompanied by a dynamic orchestral score. The game also features a stats screen along with full Openfient and GameCenter integration with Leaderboards and Achievements. Infinity Control is available now on iTunes for 99 cents USD and is rated 4+. It is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad running iOS 3.0 or later.

A team of four Game Design students at Vancouver Film School have released the school’s first iPad game to be available on iTunes. Faine’s Melody was developed by Sharai Grant, Steven Martin, Christopher Ellington and Michel McBride-Charpentier as a way to experience the game mechanics and overcome the challenges they presented as the team worked towards their goal. The result was a fun and unique puzzle adventure that makes imaginative use of all of the touch controls available for iPad interaction. This initial release is a presentation build and is free to download. Faine’s Melody is rated 4+ and is compatible with iPads running iOS 3.2 or later. Watch the trailer for a close up look at the innovative game play of Faine’s Melody.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3HZxulBuFc]

As part of its “International Leaders” series, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is pleased to announce that Chris Hughes will be speaking at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Thursday, June 16, from 1:45 to 3:30 p.m.

In 2004, along with Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin, Mr. Hughes co-founded the social network Facebook, which today has more than 600 million active users in 190 countries. In 2007, Mr. Hughes left Facebook to join Barack Obama’s team and headed up the American presidential candidate’s online campaign. Through this historic campaign, Chris Hughes revolutionized how new media are used as political levers, helping Mr. Obama raise more than $500 million from over two million donations.

More recently, in February 2010, Mr. Hughes founded Jumo, an organization that connects “individuals and organizations working to change the world.”

“Chris Hughes is a young entrepreneur with an impressive track record,” said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade. “Not only has he been integral to the emergence of social media by co-founding Facebook – a company valued at over $50 billion – but he also contributed to the success of a historic American presidential campaign.”

“We are proud to bring the business community a leader like Chris Hughes, who has demonstrated innovation, daring and vision,” Mr. Leblanc said. “Local businesses and the younger generation of businesspeople will definitely be inspired and motivated by his speech and his unusual career path.”

The Board of Trade’s International Leaders event is presented by Bell Canada, in cooperation with Les Affaires, The Gazette and w.illi.am/, and with the participation of Infopresse for content and promotion.

International leaders who have spoken before the Board of Trade as part of this series include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, George W. Bush, Alain Greenspan and Sir Richard Branson.

Hothead Games has announced a batch of updates to the popular 99 cent iOS zombie-defense game Bunny the Zombie Slayer. Released today, this update offers expanded game play and in-game improvements for additional hours of zombie killing fun.

Bunny the Zombie Slayer version 1.2 now includes:

• Three different modes to play
  • Classic: how many waves of zombies can you defeat with your hardboiled hand-grenades?
  • 28 Waves Later: Put your skills to the test with even more hordes of zombies and no special eggs to bail you out.
  • Time Attack: Kill as many zombies as possible in 2 minutes—aim for the head for bonus time and high scores.
• Game Center support with leaderboards for each mode
• Native Retina Display support
• Automatic detection for device orientation

“Bunny the Zombie Slayer was a top 50 overall app in the first week it launched, and even with that success we still want to keep improving the game and make it even more fun for the players,” said Hothead Games producer Joel DeYoung. “We’ve listened to all the feedback that the game has received and are offering this update thanks to the comments and reviews from our customers.”

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

Bunny The Zombie Slayer is Rated 9+ for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence and is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later.

Loblaw’s is launching a menu of unlimited monthly plans for the first time as PC® mobile products and services offer Canadian families brand name mobile phones and new options for simple, affordable plans.

“We’re offering Canadians a great selection of stylish mobile phones to choose from and the value they’ve come to expect from the President’s Choice® brand,” said Sandra Daniel, senior director, PC Telecom. “Starting this month, shoppers will have new flavours of Unlimited talk, text and tweet options to choose from.”

PC® mobile products and services are offered through many of Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) banner stores across the country and now include great new ways for customers to get value for their hard-earned dollars:

• Unlimited plans starting as low as $15 per month and the first month for free
• Simplified plans with talk and text options to suit any budget for $15, $25 or $35 per month
• All monthly plans include UNLIMITED regular text messaging throughout North America and Unlimited
• PC® mobile Family Calling, letting customers reach out to other PC® mobile customers locally, any time of the day or night
• Plans stuffed with more value so that Canadian families can talk and text to their hearts’ content, without blowing the family budget

“We want to make life easier for Canadian families,” added Daniel. “With PC® mobile products and services, what you see is what you get. There are no zones, gimmicks or hidden costs – just Unlimited calling and texting options using brand name phones, easy on-the-spot comparisons and unparalleled value.”

The PC® mobile line of products and services were introduced by Loblaw in 2005. PC® mobile customers enjoy free voice mail, call display, call waiting, call forwarding and three-way calling as well as free incoming texts. In addition to new unlimited monthly plans, Canadians can count on their PC® mobile service to keep them connected, running on a network that serves over 96 percent of the Canadian population.

New PC® mobile customers can enjoy a limited time offer: With the activation of a PC® mobile $35 monthly plan and phone by June 30, customers will receive 150 local anytime minutes each month and free unlimited incoming calls for as long as the plan is active.

Toronto-based GoGoNews, the online news resource for children, has launched GoGoNews.com, an interactive web site featuring daily news for school children ages seven to 13 years old. GoGoNews.com features popular headlines from mainstream media with filtered content, informing children of global events while simultaneously protecting them from images and story details appropriate for more mature audiences. In addition to breaking news, GoGoNews covers Science, Art, Government, Politics and Geography, offering fun facts and stories that capture children’s attention and encourage exploration of new subjects.

Designed to provide parents and teachers with interesting topics to engage children in conversation and expand their knowledge, GoGoNews provides a safe means for addressing the harsh realities of today’s world. The site is organized in stories that are packed with facts but concise enough to keep young readers engaged and hungry for the next article. The news articles can be readily accessed with the site’s simple and intuitive navigation:

Headlines – covers breaking news
Cool & Fun – contains items like brain teasers, puzzles and jokes
Picks – is filled with editor’s and children’s recommendations on top books, toys, and gift ideas
Planet – feature interesting facts about space and the environment
Talk – provides a forum for kids and parents to post feedback, comments and ideas
Teach – offers  suggestions for parents and educators on how to approach difficult news topics and innovative ways to introduce new lessons

“We created GoGoNews to inform kids about world events in a safe manner, feeding their young, inquisitive minds with real news, while also protecting them from content that is too sophisticated or beyond their

Golnar Khosrowshahi

comprehension,” said Golnar Khosrowshahi, founder and editor in chief of GoGoNews. “As a parent, I want my children to grow up and be educated in a global context; to think of countries near and far as their neighbors who do things just a little differently. I believe that the next generation of leaders will be those who have grown up connected to the world around them intellectually, academically and socially. With GoGoNews, we are creating the opportunity for children to improve their literacy, gain a new vocabulary and learn about different people, countries, and cultures in a fun and entertaining format.”

Khosrowshahi started GoGoNews in 2007 for her then five-year-old twin daughters after they saw a newspaper cover with a devastating photograph of a little girl after an earthquake in Pakistan. Rather than ignoring her daughters’ ensuing questions and finding them an alternative distraction, Khosrowshahi explained earthquakes and the types of damage they can cause.

The interest, emotions and discussion that followed inspired Khosrowshahi to create a daily online newsletter for her girls. The result was a compilation of culled headlines and relevant data that encouraged conversation about what they read, learned and felt about the news. The newsletter quickly gained a following among family, friends and elementary schools and led to the creation of GoGoNews.com, which, unlike other similarly branded news sources geared for children, is updated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Today, GoGoNews is compiled by an editorial team, with consultation and input from an advisory board that includes teachers, child psychologists, curriculum specialists and various educators who guide classroom discussion and materials and advise on the treatment of stories about natural disaster. GoGoNews is currently being syndicated to elementary schools throughout the United States and Canada via the newsletter, GoGo On The Go.

Denver-based MapQuest, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Inc. has just announced the launch of MapQuest.ca to provide accurate mapping tools and directions for Canadian addresses.

“MapQuest has been providing solutions to Canadian users to meet their trip-planning needs for years,” said Christian Dwyer, senior vice president and general manager, MapQuest. “The launch of MapQuest.ca speaks to the growing needs of Canadian consumers for MapQuest tools, including search results and Canadian-specific directions providing a localized experience.”

MapQuest.ca is a key part of MapQuest’s strategy of inspiring consumers to explore and discover while on their travel journeys. MapQuest also offers tailored opportunities for advertisers looking to engage users.

According to comScore’s 2010 Canada Year in Review (published March 2011), Canadians are one of the most engaged online audiences, ranking highest among the top markets in both average hours and visits per visitor. MapQuest’s new, dedicated site provides a better experience to users through customized features including precise search, advertising messages geared toward individual inquiries and needs, and directions defaulting to kilometers.

Additional information on Canadian users:

• Directories/Resources (where mapping is) grew 18% Y/Y and is a top category
• Canadian males spent the greatest amount of time on Directories sites, averaging more than 94 minutes per month in Q4 2010.
• Women spent double the amount of time on Photos and Directories sites when compared to Q4 2009

“Though Canadians have been using MapQuest for 15 years, the new site provides new inventory for advertisers looking to reach travelers in all stages of trip-planning and discovery,” said Graham Moysey, general manager, AOL Canada. “We’re thrilled to bring these enhanced, new opportunities to our current and prospective advertising customers.”

MapQuest.com also operates with 14 language localization options and 27 country-specific open-source mapping sites that harness crowd-sourced map data. The launch of the dedicated Canada site underscores AOL Canada’s continued commitment to the Canadian marketplace, coming on the heels of the recently announced IAB Portrait (formerly known as Project Devil), the new ad format that could transform online marketing and the announcement of a Canadian version of The Huffington Post.

New to the Banff World Media Festival this year is Deal Makers Live, a new pitch competition and market simulation reflecting the realities of creating, selling and making shows in 2011 that will see eight finalists pitch their concept, winning audience and judge approval. The competition is open to industry veterans, emerging producers, writers, digital thinkers – anyone who thinks they can deliver a great elevator pitch and then, if selected by the audience, hold their own in a 15-minute creative meeting with major international content gatekeepers. One gifted participant will win top marks and be named Ultimate Deal Maker in this exciting new live format, created by Allan Novak and co-produced with AllScreen Entertainment.

The eight finalists will be selected based on their response to the competition’s Creative Brief (PDF). The Brief lets you choose your own genre, star, brand partner and cross-platform approach from a short list of possibilities. These choices will form the backbone of the pitch, but turning these elements into a compelling project and selling it effectively is entirely up to the entrant. This pitch is not intended to become a real project, but is a vehicle to explore different ideas and approaches, and for the eight Deal Makers to show the audience and judges what they’ve got.

Jonathan Torrens will host the final event, when the eight pitchers will take the stage at Banff, going head-to-head in a high-profile, high-tech battle for the hearts and minds of both the expert panel and the live Banff audience.
With state-of-the-art surprises, world-class guests and exciting twists and turns along the way, Deal Makers Live promises to be an exhilarating race to the finish as the eight contestants are narrowed down to one final winner.

To format your entry, use the Creative Brief as your guide, completing the questions to create what will become your introductory pitch to the judges. Along with your entry, send the selection panel a short, one-minute video telling them why you should be chosen to present live on stage in the first ever Deal Makers Live Showcase. Show off your outstanding pitching style and creative prowess, and give the selection panel a taste of what the show’s judges and audience will be seeing on the pitching floor if you are selected. The panel has posted a sample entry form to get you started.

To enter the Deal Makers Live, you will need to create an account on the Banff World Media Festival site. Once your account is created, you can log in as necessary to revise your submission(s). In the case of multiple entries, you can share your user name and password with colleagues, so that others may also submit programs on behalf of the company.

Entries will be accepted until May 20th, 2011 and this competition is free to enter.

Vancouver Film School will be holding its 4th Annual Impact Awards Gala in a formal affair on May 9th at FiveSixty, 560 Seymour in Vancouver. Tickets for the event cost $10.00 each for food, entertainment and the award presentations. They are available from the Entertainment Business Management department, which is located on the third floor at the VFS 198 W. Hastings Street campus.

Award Categories and Nominees:

More Than The Sum Of Its Parts

• Compendium Vol. 2 Lotus Eaters
• Square One
• Miles Off Track Episode 2

Difference Maker

• Army Wives Calendar
• Autumn
• Beautiful One

Outstanding Performance

• Melissa Steblyk
• Patricia Carr
• Bobbilee Mercer

Zero to Sixty

• The Blast Light “Le B’Anana”
• Littering
• Achito

Outstanding Character Design

• Professor Gianotten & Doctor Casion in A Case of Stars and Daggers
• Sundown Castle
• The Qallupilluk

Public Enlightenment

• Big Brother PSA
• Quake Ready
• Earthquake Preparedness Infographic

Outstanding Emotional Impact

• I See You
• Edie and Me
• Little Hero

Outstanding Setting Design

• Gaia
• Sweetest Thing
• Gliese 851

Friend of VFS

• Doug Carnegie (Vancouver Props and Costumes)
• Jonas Young (Technicolor)
• Debbie Mahood

Technical Achievement

• Face of the War
• Compendium Volume 3
• Kettle Corn

Mission Impossible

• Sudoku
• War Torn
• Square One

Story Teller

• I See You
• The Notepad
• Zombie Chicken

Award Presenters include Sebastien De Carstell, Louise Lee, Ncholas Humphries and Peter Marshall
Sponsors for the Impact Awards include Five Sixty, Megabite, Hollynorth, Artistat, Delectable Events and London Drugs.

A group of university students in BC have developed and released a colourful and challenging math game for mobile iOS. BeanNcounters by Think At The Park offers 8 levels of difficulty ranging from Grade 1 to PhD, a Daily Challenge and a Leader Board for the mathematically gifted, which I am not. The estimated time to get through each level is around the 1 or 2 minute mark, but they do admit that the more difficult puzzles could take longer. BeanNcounters is available now for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad for $1.99 USD. It requires iOS 3.0 or later and is rated 4+. There will also be a version for Android, but a release date has not yet been announced.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hM60wP-q5g]

The development group also has two fundraising activities tied to the game. For every game purchased, they will donate 10 cents to Water.org, a charity ensuring sanitation and fresh drinking water for developing countries. The other contest is directed at various university clubs. For a one year period, each club has a special purchase code that they can give to fellow students, family and friends. Those people then enter the code when they buy the game, and this code translates into 50 cents for the club whose code is used. The contest seems easy to understand, but not easy to explain, so here’s the video explanation directly from the developers:

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

From Black Swan to Bones: The Work of LOOK Effects is an evening session event being presented by the Vancouver chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH. Being held at the VanCity Theatre on May 18th, the evening will feature a cash bar networking reception when the doors open at 6:30, prior to the main event, which begins at 7:00. Tickets are $15.00 for SIGGRAPH members, $25.00 for non-members, with Group Pricing available at a cost of $20.00 per ticket for groups of 5 or more. Please note that Group Pricing is available only through advance on-line purchasing.

The evening’s presentation will offer insight’s into the company’s most recent work, including Black Swan, Limitless, Bones. LOOK Effects co-founder and visual effects supervisor Henrik Fett will give attendees a peek at how and why LOOK does what they do so well. Mr. Fett supervises digital effects production both on-set and in post production, and he is highly-accomplished in live-action production, 3D animation and digital post production.

Among LOOK’s other film credits are The King’s Speech, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Step Up 3D, Just Wright, and Bounty Hunter. The studio’s television credits include Harry’s Law, No Ordinary Family, Bones, Lost, and the Emmy-nominated effects for Life After People.

This event is sponsored in part by Annex Pro.