Village Gamer

Nintendo will offer demo versions of select video games for its WiiWare™ downloadable game service starting November 22. Wii™ owners with a broadband Internet connection will be able to visit the Wii Shop Channel to access demo versions of WiiWare games without using up any Wii Points™. The demos will allow people to sample a wide selection of games to help them decide which ones best suit their tastes.

The initial lineup of demos available includes BIT.TRIP FATE, And Yet It Moves, ThruSpace™ and Jett Rocket. Additional demos will be added on Mondays and each will remain available on the Wii Shop Channel for a limited time. WiiWare game demos are just the latest addition to the wide variety of information and entertainment options available to Wii owners. Wii owners can access various channels on the Wii Menu, including the Nintendo® Channel, which offers information about and videos of current and upcoming games for Nintendo systems. Likewise, Wii owners who are also Netflix members with a qualifying plan can instantly watch movies and TV shows streamed directly to their TVs once they have downloaded Netflix from the Wii Shop Channel.

Ludia Games and Seattle’s WildTangent have signed an exclusive deal that will result in the deployment of WildTangent’s BrandBoost™ advertising platform across Ludia’s current and future social games, starting with FremantleMedia’s The Price Is Right game. BrandBoost will enable advertisers to dynamically sponsor access to premium content within Ludia’s social games, building equity with players through an improved game experience.

“BrandBoost is quickly becoming the ubiquitous in-game ad solution for social games, delivering scalable, targeted, engagement-based advertising that players seek out in social gaming environments,” said Bill Clifford, vice president of global ad sales at WildTangent. “We believe that the next wave of social games will be driven by truly social experiences built around recognizable entertainment brands, and that is what Ludia is delivering. Brands are starving for opportunities to align with premium content in social gaming, and Ludia’s games certainly fill that need.”

After more than 38 years on the air, The Price Is Right from FremantleMedia remains the longest-running game show in television history and one of the most popular game show franchises in the world. Incorporating all of the familiar elements of the beloved television show, the game is one of Ludia’s most successful titles across platforms. The Price Is Right is unique on Facebook as one of the few synchronous multiplayer games, enabling a truly social game experience with engaging live competition elements that fuel long play sessions and repeat visits. Launched in September 2010, The Price Is Right game reached more than 2.5 million players within its first month of availability.

With BrandBoost now deployed by a number of the largest social game developers with many of the most popular games, WildTangent is fast approaching the ability to deliver engagement ads to an addressable audience of more than 100 million monthly players on Facebook. BrandBoost enables brands to dynamically sponsor access to additional playing time or virtual goods that players would otherwise have to pay for. The platform also enables dynamic integration of branded virtual goods into social games. BrandBoost supports 3rd party ad serving and reporting as well as creative formats ranging from long-form video to social engagement activities. Because BrandBoost is a dynamically served advertising platform, utilizing DFP, leading advertisers can deliver brand campaigns and custom items inside of social games experiences while industry standard reporting and metrics.

Rusty Axe Games has announced the alpha playable release of its new free to play browser game, Dungeon Brawl – Proving Grounds. The beta version of Dungeon Brawl is expected to be released in early December. Dungeon Brawl is being developed using Dungeon Demon and accompanying art packs. Dungeon Demon is Rusty Axe Games’ RPG map editing software that can be used for pencil and paper as well as computer game map making.

Babybot, a Canadian online baby store for modern parents, is ready to rumble. In a battle between the coolest characters, the world watches as robots and monsters fight it out in the snow. This winter, it’s Babybot versus Monster Factory in a unique NEW version of SnowRumble – the addicting snowball fighting app for iPhone or iPod touch! Players get to pick their posse from a selection of Babybot or Monster Factory characters. Each with their unique strengths, the characters will use the elements in each landscape to their advantage to beat down the opponent and take over their turf!

Always innovative and light-years ahead, Babybot is the first in the baby space to throw down such a challenge. “But”, counters Adam Dunn, lead Monster maker at Monster Factory, “our monsters have a few tricks up their arms. For months they’ve been honing their catapulting and dive roll skills. They’re pretty stoked to lay down a bit of monster madness.”

Renee Bender, lead Coach for Team Babybot, isn’t worried. “We’ve got major game. You don’t rock the baby space without having highly tuned senses. Our bots have already computed thousands of throw strategies…they’re ready to crush.”

The game is being offered as a free download (limited release). The more butt kicking you do, the more you save! Be the first 300 to unlock and win up to 20% – the promo codes are good for anything on babybot.com

Get the highest score and you’ll be playing real SnowRumble! Monster Factory is giving away sets of three snowballs (made exclusively for this game) to daily high scorers. Plus, if you’re lucky and receive a golden snowball in your three-pack, you’ll be the winner of a grand prize, and those who ‘rate’ the game also have a chance to win a special giveaway from Babybot. For those who get attached to the game characters, not to worry, these little bots and monsters can be purchased – including an exclusive Monster Factory plush doll created only for this game.

You know how you sometimes get incredibly motivated after attending a great event? I’ve been seeing that enthusiasm in the twittersphere, only it didn’t start after this particular event, it started well before. The event I’m talking about is the now two year old GamerCamp, which took place in Toronto over the past weekend. The camp was so successful, organizers Jaime Woo and Mark Rabo have announced GamerCamp Jr., which will take place in Toronto in March 2011. They are also looking at expanding GamerCamp events in other cities. I recommend visiting GamerCamp’s web site to see what a great time everyone had at this second GamerCamp event.

A spin-off activity which I have watched take shape on Twitter is the Game Prototype Challenge. Jason Kaplan, who is a triOS College student currently interning at Transgaming Studios, said that he felt so enthusiastic after GamerCamp, he wanted to start working on something, but he didn’t know exactly what that would be. I asked him to send me more details on this Challenge, which he did. Below is what he told me:

“It was the day after Gamercamp, and like many who attended, I was feeling in a game-making mood. After absorbing all the amazing and inspiring talks from the weekend’s event, it seemed only natural to
immediately start prototyping something; but what, I did not know, so I turned to the Twitterverse.”

“I knew I wanted to make some kind of 2D platformer, but was getting stuck on the collectible that would be the critical component in getting the highest score (something like coins in Super Mario Bros.) After considering several ideas and realizing they had all been done before, I put out a public request for ideas. I only got one response, from my good friend Jon Remedios (@JonRemedios on
Twitter).”

Jon’s response to Jason was as follows:

@JonRemedios: “@JasonPKaplan You mean other than fruit? Dreams. So you can collect a pocketful of dreams.”

Absolutely unhelpful, we exchanged some banter and friendly insults, until the following was said:

@JonRemedios: “@JasonPKaplan I’m going to make a game with that and you’re going to brim with jealousy.”

Jason continued with his reasons for creating Game Prototype Challenge:

“It’s hard to walk away from something like that, so I formalized the challenge, and he accepted. I gave it a time line of a week, and cemented the constraints, and realized that this would be more fun if more people were involved, so I coined the hashtag #GamePrototypeChallenge and started tweeting about it.”

“I’m not sure why, as initially no one really jumped on board, but I got overly excited about this. I created a separate Twitter page, @GamePrototypeCh, formalizing the event as v1, or ‘Version 1’ and setting it up to run immediately, with the requirement that developers use the themes ‘collectibles’ and ‘dreams’. Working in teams is fine, though we recommend keeping them small, to pairs and trios. As this is a rapid prototype challenge, it is suggested developers utilize software like Flash, Unity, Game Maker, or something similar, but of course anybody can choose any tools they want; the goal is to get people making games, and if other people came away from Gamercamp as excited to do that as I did, then this would be a great motivator to make it happen.”

Later that same night, Jason set up a homepage (there isn’t much on it yet, Jason said that could change soon) and a Facebook page and that’s the state Game Prototype Challenge is in today.

He stated that “It’s been only a few days, but we’ve seen a lot of positive reception so far, and I’m absolutely thrilled to see what games we get next week. The Prototype Challenge is completely not-for-profit and just-for-fun, and if it is received well enough we’ll continue doing new versions, probably monthly. To be a part of the experience, simply make the game under the previously mentioned conditions, make it available online, and tweet a link to it with the hashtag #GamePrototypeChallenge on Twitter.”

“If reception is strong, we’ll take this beyond Twitter, but for now it’s all being organized there. If you wish to do this but flat-out refuse to use Twitter, that’s absolutely okay, and you can email me a link to your game at and I will add the link and hashtag for you (the developer). All links to games will be archived on the site (which will likely get an upgrade after Version 1 comes to an end) so that people can quickly and easily check out all the themed prototypes. GamePrototypeChallenge does not claim any ownership over these–the creators retain full ownership–and since the submitters provide the link to the game under their own hosting control, they are free to take them down at will (so I apologize for the potentially many dead links in the archives in the future!)”

The power of buying in numbers is even more evident in Canada, thanks to the introduction of Tech Spree, a social commerce page dedicated to offering the hottest prices on electronics. Future Shop launched the page today, featuring five exclusive deals for three days that leverages the power of group buying. Tech Spree is accessible from Future Shop’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

“With the holidays quickly approaching, Future Shop is thrilled to offer the most popular products and hottest deals on consumer electronics through our latest online offering called Tech Spree,” said Thierry Hay-Sabourin, Senior Manager of eCommerce, Future Shop. “Canadians appreciate the power group buying has, and we’re confident our deals are so hot they’ll want to tell all their families and friends.”

From Tuesday, November 16 to Thursday, November 18, Future Shop’s Tech Spree empowers customers to leverage group buying power to obtain incredible prices on popular electronics. The Tech Spree is “on” only if the required number of persons commit wanting to purchase the item, so customers are encouraged to invite friends and family to participate. Customers may commit to one of the Tech Spree offers once. Limit of one of each Tech Spree per household. The deal is available only online and while quantities last.

Hot pricing is currently available on these following products:

1. Samsung 32″ 720p LCD HDTV with Rocketfish 4 ft. Advance High Speed 3D HDMI Cable. At 32″, this LED HDTV has plenty of screen real estate to showcase your shows, flicks and games. Equipped with a 30,000:1 contrast ratio and rich 720p picture quality, the TV’s output is silky-smooth picture quality. Paired with a Rocketfish High-Speed 3D HDMI cable to keep the connectivity fast and cables at a minimum. Tech Spree price: $399.99

2. Compaq Presario 15.6″ Laptop with Windows7, Kaspersky Internet Security and accessories. In addition to a fantastic Compaq Presario laptop, this Tech Spree offer includes software and is equipped with laptop essentials – a headset with mic and wired optical laptop mouse. Tech Spree price: $299.99

3. Sony eReader and Zipper Case. Keep the books stored in the bookcase with this Tech Spree offer: carry around your entire digital library in style with this Sony eReader with zipper case. Tech Spree price: $149.99

4. iPod Touch (8GB) with Altec Lansing Sound Dock. Take the sounds everywhere you go and keep the music private or share with others with this Tech Spree bundling an 8GB iPod Touch and Altec Lansing Sound Dock. The new iPod Touch does more than music – it also offers Facetime over Wi-fi as well as access to mind-blowing apps from the App Store. Tech Spree price: $249.99

5. Nintendo Wii New Super Mario Bros. Bundle in Red with Icon Balance Board, Wii Fit Plus and Rocketfish Active Bundle Training Kit. Get all of the above for this hot Tech Spree price and have fun gaming and burning away some calories. Tech Spree price: $269.99

“As the number one visited retail website in Canada, Futureshop.ca is all about offering the best selection and lowest prices on electronics year-round in Canada, and Tech Spree is another great example of ways we demonstrate this,” said Hay-Sabourin. “Customers should visit follow our Twitter and Facebook pages regularly or sign-up for the Tech Spree newsletter to discover when the next Tech Spree offers are released.”

Note: Future Shop’s free shipping for orders over $39 applies to Tech Spree. Some conditions apply.

There a number of events recently announced for the Canadian interactive and digital media industries, including the Annex Pro Expo 2011, which will be held on December 8th at the Vancouver Convention Centre. This free-to-attend event will feature some of the latest technology solutions for VFX, animation, games as well as post-production for TV, film and music.

Expo Agenda:

3:00 p.m. – Technology Open House featuring Adobe, AJA, Aspera, Autodesk, Avid Audio + Video, Chaos V-Ray, Craft Animations, G-Tech, HP, Wacom and Blue Arc
5:00 p.m. – Drinks + Apps, Industry Networking, Open House
6:00 p.m. – Keynote: “Trends in Post-production Infrastructure” presented by Tom Burns from Technicolor Creative Services
7:00 p.m.+ Drinks and Open House

Space for the Annex Pro Expo 2011 is limited, so make sure you’re on the list by pre-registering now.

Blogs, online conversations, and social networking have exploded over the past couple of years, making social media expertise a must-have skill for today’s communicators. Opportunities for online engagement, promotion, and monetization are limitless, but when adopting social media, it is critical to demonstrate its business value.

In an exclusive breakfast seminar taking place at the Marriott Downtown on November 17th, Cyrus Mavalwala, ABC, Founding Partner of Advantis Communication and IABC/Toronto Board Member, will draw on his experience as a communications expert to offer practical advice on integrating social media into communication programs and measuring success.

In Selling, Implementing and Measuring Social Media, communicators will learn how to develop their sales pitch and a practical plan to integrate social media into external communications. They’ll also learn how to get approval to double their budget the next time around by tracking the right metrics with the right tools.

WordCamp Fraser Valley, which will be taking place at the SFU Surrey Campus on November 20th has posted its schedule:

John Bollwitt – Building an Intranet using WordPress
Raul Pacheco – Build your Online Community
Tris Hussey – Hacking and Creating Your Own Theme
Dave Zile – WordPress SEO BootCamp
Danny Bradbury – Tools for Gathering Topics for Blog Posts
Lynne Robson – Designing with Child Themes
Kulpreet Singh – To be announced
Leah Cross – Video Blogging

Tickets for this full day event are available online, and cost $45.00 each.

The Citizen Lab, an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs that ferrets out cyber attacks and espionage, will be awarded the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) 2010 Vox Libera Award. The Citizen Lab was selected for its dedication to free expression and access to information online. World leaders in the field of “hacktivism,” the Citizen Lab’s members focus their research on documenting cases of internet espionage and censorship around the world, reinforcing the idea that the Internet should remain a safe, public domain.

In 2010, Citizen Lab (and its partner the SecDev Group) uncovered 1,294 computers in 103 countries (embassies, government agencies etc. including to the desktop of the Dalai Lama) that had been compromised by a virus originating out of servers in China. The Citizen Lab developed the psiphon censorship circumvention software, and continues to provide “red team” research, threat analysis, and support for open source development for Psiphon Inc through the Psi-Lab project.

Victor Malarek, investigative reporter on CTV’s W5, and Anne-Marie Mediwake, news anchor and co-host of CBC News, will emcee the evening that honours the Citizen Lab and journalists from Cameroon and Mexico at the 13th annual CJFE Gala: A Night to Honour Fearless Reporting at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto on Thursday, November 25, 2010.

“Freedom of expression on the Internet is very much under threat today,” said Ron Deibert, Founder/Director of the Citizen Lab and Professor of Political Science. “Citizen Lab is very proud to have been selected for this year’s CJFE Vox Libera Award. We hope that our work and that of our partners will help raise awareness of these threats and safeguard the Internet as an open commons.”

The Vox Libera Award is an annual award granted to a Canadian or Canadian organization that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the principles of free expression and has made an important and sustained contribution at home or abroad to those same principles. The CJFE Gala brings together approximately 500 members of Canada’s media, business and professional communities in support of journalists who are putting their lives on the line to defend freedom of expression. CJFE recognizes its annual award winners as well as journalists worldwide for their extraordinary courage and for overcoming tremendous odds to report on controversial stories despite dangerous circumstances.

Nominations for the 1st annual edition of the Canadian Food Blog Awards (CFBAs) will open on November 21st. Food lovers and blog readers alike are invited to nominate their favourite food and drink blogs from across Canada in sixteen categories including Best Writing, Best Photography, Best Professional Blog, Best Seasonal/Local Blog and Best Baking and Dessert Blog.

“We think there are some fantastic food bloggers across the country and it’s time that they were recognized and supported for their efforts,” says CFBA co-founder and veteran food blogger Sheryl Kirby. “Our hope is that through these awards, we will find Canada’s best online food writers, and that by presenting them with awards to acknowledge their work, this will set a standard of excellence to which food bloggers from coast to coast will aspire.”

Nominations will remain open until December 21st, after which a shortlist will be created for each category, and given to a judges’ panel to select the winners. The panel will consist of a veritable who’s who of Canada’s food and drink scene, including chefs, food writers, newspaper and magazine columnists, and industry experts. The list of judges, which continues to grow as more are confirmed, is available on the CFBA website.

In addition, there will be a special “People’s Choice” award for the overall Best Canadian Food Blog, which will be selected and awarded based on a public vote. Judging and voting will take place January 1st to 15th, and the winners in all categories will be announced on January 31st, 2011.

Clickbox Software, creators of the ilumii.com Social Learning Community & Marketplace, have announced an exciting contest that will give aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to win everything they need to start their very own virtual school or training academy online. The “Teach The World” contest is part of the initiatives to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week–a global movement meant to inspire, connect, mentor, and engage young entrepreneurs around the world.

The grand prize package includes all the tools needed for an entrepreneur to launch and manage a fully-operational online school on ilumii.com. ilumii’s Virtual Academies, a new addition to the ilumii.com platform, allow entrepreneurs to deliver live, instructor-led educational courses online, receive payments for educational services, manage multiple instructors, and market their online schools across the globe. The grand prize, valued at close to $10,000, also includes training, advice, and the opportunity to be featured in advertising campaigns.

Daniel Del Mastro, CEO of Clickbox Software, said, “Our goal is to kick-start young entrepreneurs that are interested in education, and in sharing their knowledge with the world using technology. We know that there are many young, creative entrepreneurs out there wanting to start an education-based business, and through this contest, we can help them fast-track their business set-up and quickly get them sharing their knowledge, generating revenue, and creating jobs.”

To enter the contest, entrepreneurs must follow @ilumii on Twitter and tell us in 140 characters: “What would you teach the world if you won an ilumii online school?” Clickbox Software will select the top ten most compelling and innovative entries, in conjunction with votes collected by Twitter users, and one grand-prize winner will be chosen from this group. In addition to the grand prize, Clickbox Software is also giving away runner-up prizes, including books on entrepreneurship by Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin, and free upgraded instructor memberships on the ilumii.com platform.

Eighty per cent of Canadians who use social media are on Facebook, and now, you can follow Canada’s largest office supply retailer on Facebook and Twitter as well – plus you could win a laptop complete with software, and a day as the president of Staples Canada via the company’s Easy Button Photo Contest. One lucky Staples Canada Facebook and Twitter follower who posts a picture or video with the Easy button in it has a chance to win an HP laptop with Microsoft Office Suite, and spend a day with the president of Staples Canada (excluding Quebec).

“Canadians are a plugged-in society, and very much interested in anything to do with social media. On October 16th, we launched our social network pages on Facebook and Twitter to inform customers about promotions and deals, and any social corporate giving news, as well as invite them to communicate with us,” said Jameel Lalji, innovation and business consultant for Staples Canada.

“We’ve seen some great examples of people taking pictures with the Easy button around the globe. For example, it has been to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and in the delivery room while a woman gave birth. We want to see people be creative – maybe underwater deep sea diving or in a jet. Who knows – the sky’s the limit,” continued Lalji.

Staples will fly the winner to Toronto for the day, where they will be presented with a new software-loaded laptop and spend the day with the president.

And, starting today, Best Buy is asking Canadians to upload unboxing videos and videos capturing precious holiday moments for its first ever UNboxing Day Facebook contest.

Unboxing, the Internet trend of sharing videos where people open hot new electronics, has garnered a cult-like following in Canada and around the globe. Simultaneously, YouTube videos of exuberant children opening holiday gifts can garner millions of views in mere days. With its UNboxing Day contest, Best Buy celebrates both phenomena and offers Canadians the chance to win one of two $2,500 Best Buy gift cards.

Whether it is carefully unpackaging the soon-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy tablet or the shrieking joy of a child in front of the tree on Christmas morning, Best Buy is looking for Canadians to share their special moments with technology.

Canadians 18 and older can enter by uploading their best unboxing video between November 10 and December 31. Electronics enthusiasts and proud parents can go to the Best Buy Facebook page, click on the UNboxing Day tab and enter to win. Anyone who uploads a video by November 30, will also qualify to win the Early Bird prize of a $150 Best Buy gift card.

Videos will be shared on the Facebook page starting December 1, 2010. At that point, people are encouraged to ask friends and family to vote for their videos. The two videos with the most number of votes on December 31, 2010, will win the $2,500 gift card grand prizes. The Grand Prize winners will be announced on January 3, 2011.

The UNboxing Day prizes break down as follows:

Grand Prize: Two $2,500 CAD Best Buy Gift Cards – The two videos that receive the highest number of Best Buy Canada fan votes on the UNboxing Day Facebook Page will win the two $2,500 CAD Grand Prizes.

Early Bird Prize: One $150 CAD Best Buy Gift Card – One $150 gift card is available to be won by anyone who uploads an ‘UNBoxing Day’ video on the UNboxing Day Facebook Page by November 30, 2010.

Weekly Prizes: Three $150 CAD Best Buy Gift Cards for voters and three $150 CAD Best Buy Gift Card for video clip submissions

As of December 1, for every vote made and every video uploaded, individuals will be entered into a weekly draw to win one of six $150 CAD Best Buy Gift Card prizes. The weekly prize draws will take place on December 13, 2010, December 20, 2010 and December 27, 2010 and will be selected through a random draw. Winners will be contacted via Twitter and/or Facebook and telephone.

For complete contest details, including eligibility, video uploading instruction, winner selection and prize description, visit the UNboxing Day Facebook tab. No purchase necessary, correct answer to skill-testing question required in order to win.

Ladies, are you looking for a fun way to spice up your night? Then grab your iPhone / iPod Touch and get ready for a new type of Girls’ Night Out courtesy of new Vancouver studio Wee Black Sheep Entertainment. Part scavenger hunt, part “Truth or Dare,” this entertaining mobile game is the perfect addition to a bachelorette party, a birthday celebration, or a night out with your girlfriends.

Girls Night Out, available now in the App Store for $0.99 USD, turns a night at the bar into a wild game of chance encounters and cheeky challenges. With more than 175 virtual cards in six categories including “Truth Be Told,” “The Hunter,” and “Naughty Girl,” the app sends players on hilarious missions around the bar and awards points to those who rack up the most wins. Highly customizable, this digital party game lets you complete individual or team challenges, race against friends, and even create custom cards to personalize the game for your special occasion.

Girls Night Out is the first release from Wee Black Sheep Entertainment, a Vancouver-based company that creates entertaining apps for a variety of life’s events and celebrations. “If you’re a woman with an iPhone or iPod Touch and you like having fun with your girlfriends, then Girls Night Out is for you,” says Jenny Ramsay, Wee Black Sheep’s founder and CEO. “This app is an instant party—it turns an otherwise ordinary night out with the girls into a wild experience you’ll be laughing about for a long time afterward!”

Florida-based Accel Networks and Vancouver’s Sierra Wireless have announced a joint marketing agreement to promote secure, reliable cellular solutions for customers deploying retail transaction and networking applications. This agreement formalizes a relationship that has already enabled Accel to deploy PCI-compliant cellular fixed wireless solutions for primary and back-up connectivity. Accel Networks, utilizing Sierra Wireless AirLink™ intelligent gateways and routers, has provided reliable and secure solutions for several major national retail customers and food service chains.

By standardizing on the Sierra Wireless AirLink line of devices, Accel Networks confidently deploys business critical solutions for its customers. The combination of Accel’s proprietary antenna technology and monitoring platforms with Sierra Wireless’s best-in-class intelligent wireless gateways and routers makes cellular fixed wireless an effective enterprise-wide solution for mission-critical applications and enables enterprise customers to expand into areas where wired broadband connections are not available or not practical. Powered by ALEOS™ embedded intelligence and managed by AirLink management software, AirLink devices provide a persistent, secure data connection and can be easily configured and controlled from any location with an internet connection.

“We are extremely pleased to have been selected by Accel Networks as the preferred connectivity device for its managed network solution,” said Justin Schmid, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Solutions and Services for Sierra Wireless. “This relationship facilitates a turn-key solution for wireless payment and business continuity applications, which is vital for the growth of the M2M business.”

According to Elaine Healy, President and Chief Operating Officer of Accel Networks, “The reliability and ease of integration offered by the Sierra Wireless devices made AirLink an easy choice for our standard connectivity platform. Formalizing and announcing our JMA with Sierra Wireless at the Customer Engagement Technology World (CETW) show is particularly timely since there is no better connectivity solution for kiosks and digital signage than Accel’s fixed cellular solution.”

Sierra Wireless provides a broad portfolio of high performance mobile computing and M2M solutions, including mobile broadband modems, embedded wireless modules, intelligent gateways and routers, as well as extensive software platforms that enable its customers and partners to deploy powerful solutions. By leveraging the AirLink line of intelligent gateways and routers from Sierra Wireless, Accel Networks is able to provide its customers a consistent and robust fixed cellular broadband experience across all sites, facilitating asset tracking as well as real-time traffic utilization and management, leveraging a private PCI-compliant gateway. In addition, Accel offers a Service Level Agreement (SLA) to its customers, providing peace of mind for those concerned about continuity of mission-critical business functions.

Accel’s approach to connectivity is unique with its primary focus on the “last mile.” Accel’s innovative family of proprietary antennas and monitoring platforms was developed with the deep understanding that RF is dynamic and local. With this combined solution, customers no longer have to choose between the quality of a wireline service and the flexibility of wireless. Furthermore, the AccelView™ portal provides customers access to real-time information about the quality of each link in addition to data utilization and asset tracking.

Accel Networks and Sierra Wireless will be co-exhibiting at Customer Engagement Technology World in New York City from Nov 10 – 11. Visit them in booths # 237 and 336.

As social media makes its way into the workplace, executives are weighing the potential risks and benefits. Nearly half (47 per cent) of chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed recently for an Accountemps survey said their greatest concern is that employees are wasting time during business hours using sites such as Facebook and Twitter. CFOs also expressed worries their staff may behave unprofessionally or post inappropriate information online. However, almost one in four financial executives (24 per cent) said these sites can help staff members expand their networks of valuable business contacts.

The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world’s first and largest staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on interviews with responses from more than 270 CFOs from a stratified random sample of Canadian companies with 20 or more employees.

CFOs were asked, “What is your greatest concern for your company regarding employees using social media?” Their responses:

Wasting time at work………………….. 47%
Behaving unprofessionally……………… 14%
Posting negative comments about company…. 11%
Posting financial/confidential company information… 5%
No concerns………………………….. 12%
Access not allowed……………………. 3%
Other……………………………….. 3%
Don’t know/no answer………………….. 6%

Total: 101% (*Responses do not total 100% due to rounding)

CFOs were asked, “What is the greatest benefit to your company of employees using social media?” Their responses:

Expand networks of valuable contacts……. 24%
Enhance company’s reputation…………… 22%
Provide better customer service………… 18%
Can secure new business……………….. 5%
No benefits………………………….. 21%
Access not allowed……………………. 3%
Don’t know/no answer………………….. 8%

Total: 101% (*Responses do not total 100% due to rounding)

“Many organisations are still determining how social media fits into their workplaces,” said Kathryn Bolt, Canadian division president of Accountemps. “Executives are concerned with the possibility of added distraction from their employees’ daily duties, which may affect productivity and efficiency on the job.”

Bolt also added, “On the other hand, more firms are realizing that the rewards may outweigh the risks, as social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be used by employees to expand their networks of valuable business contacts and enhance the company’s reputation.”

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, four digitally savvy and socially conscious young blogging Canadians are socially suiting up for an opportunity of a lifetime that will see one of them join War Child on an upcoming visit to Ethiopia.

War Child Canada‘s War Child Challenge has bloggers reporting on a variety of issues to win a ten-day trip with War Child to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  The challengers are blogging for the chance to tweet and report on War Child Canada’s Ethiopian efforts.

“The War Child Challenge is one example demonstrating War Child’s consistent leadership in adopting new social media practices,” said James Topham, director of communications, War Child Canada.  “Thanks to funding from the Canadian International Development Agency, the War Child Challenge can illuminate the issues faced in Ethiopia in particular, and the developed world more generally, by communicating on a platform that is much more apt to generate discussion and concern around global youth issues and the Millennium Goals.”

Challengers Joel Kelly (Halifax, NS), Sara Hamil (Belleville, ON), Christine Estima (Toronto, ON) and Ben Boudreau (Halifax, NS) are tackling a variety of multi-media citizen journalism challenges. The War Child Challenge is made up of three main parts: the challenges, vote tallies and post evaluation by a youth jury for clarity, focus, originality and creativity.  The challenges include:

• Creating an image gallery of an event occurring in their community which offers a contribution to overcoming Hunger/Poverty, Conflict, HIV/AIDS, Basic Education, or Gender Equality.
• Profiling a person or organization in their community who is making a difference in one of the following areas: Hunger/Poverty, Conflict, HIV/AIDS, Basic Education, Gender Equality.
• Creating a video up to 5 minutes in length that conveys their thoughts, feelings, etc. regarding the global impact of Hunger/Poverty, Conflict, HIV/AIDS, Basic Education, or Gender Equality.
• Building a feature article which includes video, text, audio and images to tell their story of why they want win the War Child Challenge.

The War Child Challenge officially ends on Monday, December 20.

Bitcasters spin-off Social Game Universe, pioneers of the concept of inter-connected social games, has announced the launch of the Inter-Game API (IGAPI), a solution for game developers to drive traffic by letting users “play” through a cross-promotion bar.

IGAPI uses the power of the social graph to let players interact with their friends across games and apps without leaving the game they are currently playing. Rather than seeing a typical banner ad or cross promotion, players see IGAPI “Action Cards” that they can play on their friends in other apps. Action Cards can vary from the simple (e.g., “Give film to your friend Nathon to help him grow his studio in Hollywood Tycoon”) to the more zany and bizarre (e.g., “Release a horde of zombies on your friend Jen’s horror set!”). IGAPI’s actions are limited only by the imagination and creativity of the developers looking to attract attention to their games.

Originally developed for Social Game Universe’s own critically acclaimed Hollywood games, the IGAPI technology let players in the movie-mogul sim game Hollywood Tycoon hire actors from the fame and stardom game Avastar. Having seen the power of interconnecting the games, Social Game Universe turned IGAPI into a scalable, point-and-click tool that any third party developer can use. The result is greater player interaction, site engagement, and increased awareness of new apps.

“The IGAPI inter-game action system is very innovative, and I think it will improve the way games drive traffic, re-engagement, and revenue across the industry” said Hussein Fazal, CEO of AdParlor, a leading social application marketing business.

According to Eric Goldberg, Managing Director of Crossover Technologies, “IGAPI is a step forward in the cross-promotion of social games and a great tool for independent developers to reach new players”. Mr. Goldberg has now joined the advisory board of Social Game Universe, along with Manu Rekhi (Vice President of MySpace Games & Content) and Greg Bate (Co-founder of Neverblue).

Nathon Gunn, Founder and CEO of Social Game Universe, added “We knew we had something special going on between Avastar and Hollywood Tycoon, and we’re even more excited now that these innovations can be shared by other developers.”

On a side note, Social Game Universe is hiring. Check out their Jobs page for more details.

Toronto’s Longbow Games, one of the few selected for this year’s PAX 10 showcase winners, is proud to announce that their strategy wargame, Hegemony: Philip of Macedon, is now available on Steam. In addition, they have lowered the price to only $19.99.

“As an independent developer, it’s always a struggle to gain the attention of your audience,” said Jim McNally, president of Longbow Games. “We’re very excited to be launching Hegemony: Philip of Macedon on Steam, where we can share our game with a much wider audience.”

Longbow Games is currently working on their next title, Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece, which will soon be in beta testing. Customers of Hegemony: Philip of Macedon can help test the new game for free at www.LongbowGames.com.

Hegemony: Philip of Macedon lets you conquer the ancient Greek world in this PC RTS war game that follows the rise of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. Players campaign across a continuous satellite-accurate map of ancient Greece encountering the full range of warfare from reconnaissance to raids to field battles to mountain blockades. The game also features:

* Innovative supply system – Siege and starve the enemy by cutting their supply lines or burning their crops, all the while building and protecting your own supply network to support your growing empire.
* Steeped in history – In-game pedia and 100+ historical objectives recreate the rise of the Macedonian empire.
* Detailed and stylized world and map – Transition smoothly between the detailed 3D world and the stylized board-game map while maintaining complete control over your empire. Read the rest of this entry »

IUGO Mobile Entertainment and Capcom Mobile are proud to launch Lil’ Pirates, a free-to-play social game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This marks both IUGO and Capcom’s entry into the mobile social gaming space. Lil’ Pirates is launching with Facebook Connect, allowing players to invite, hire and interact with their Facebook friends as part of their pirate crew.

“The launch of Lil’ Pirates begins IUGO’s entrance into the dynamic space of mobile social games,” states IUGO’s VP of Business Development, Sarah Thomson. “This space is something we as a company have been thinking about, preparing for and watching for a long time. Lil’ Pirates builds upon what other companies have pioneered in social games for the iPhone. We believe IUGO has evolved the gameplay to create a compelling experience that is uniquely IUGO. Our partnership with Capcom is exciting and we’re thrilled to have Lil’ Pirates published under such a prestigious brand.”

Lil’ Pirates features hundreds of items to customize both users’ ships and avatars. Mini games, gifting, ship battles and jobs for crew members offers a robust experience balanced by a “pick-up-and-play” simplicitiy in game design. Lil’ Pirates was created by IUGO and owned by Capcom Mobile. Lil’ Pirates is available and free to download on the App Store now.

Avast ya scallywags! Drop anchor and prepare to be boarded. There be Lil’ Pirates in these waters!

Amass your perfect crew and craft the finest ship as you set sail for adventure and plunder as the captain of your own pirate vessel. From a modest beginning you’ll transform your ship into an object of fear and envy and amass a fortune fit for a king.

Features:

* Customize your ship as you see fit from a ghostly galleon to a pink gilded princes to a multi-mast ship of destruction.

* Assemble a crew with diverse skills and dress and equip them as you please with more than 100 items.

* Recruit friends to the pirate life through Facebook and share the adventure.

* Exchange volleys of cannon fire in ship-to-ship combat.

* Bury booty on Treasure Island to increase its worth or plunder a friend’s buried loot.

* Direct your crew to go on missions and amass more treasure!

Wow – one day away and so much went on yesterday! Of course, catching up with yesterday has put me behind for today, but I’ll get all caught up eventually – even on all those games I’ve been trying to get to for reviews. I had a non-digital project to complete and ended up in a very demanding crunch time, because my time line for delivery did not match the deadline that my Mother implemented, and we all know that Mom’s always right…

For those who aren’t already aware, Ubisoft has acquired Longtail Studios’ Quebec City location, and will absorb most of its staff into their own studio. Longtail had contributed to Ubisoft’s Michael Jackson: The Experience, and while this means that Longtail Quebec is no longer in operation, both of Longtail’s maritime studios – Charlottetown and Halifax are still open for business. The Halifax studio recently launched its latest title, Dance on Broadway. By the way, the Halifax studio is currently looking to fill four career positions, including that of Game Tester.

EA Mobile put several of its titles on sale for 99 cents yesterday – if you live in the USA. The only exemption to the USA location restriction is Reckless Racing, which was put on sale worldwide. The other titles currently on sale in the US App Store are:

Tiger Woods PGA Tour – Skate It by EA – Command & Conquer Red Alert – Yahtzee Adventures – Trivial Pursuit – Boggle – Clue – Spore Creatures – Boggle for iPad – Snood – EA Sudoku – Spore Origins – Star Trek – Lemonade Tycoon Read the rest of this entry »