Montreal International Game Summit 2009

The Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS) serves members of the video and electronic gaming industries.

Geared to industry needs, the MIGS aims to be the annual event for game development specialists from all over the world.

More than 1500 members of the game industry are expected for this Sixth Edition.

High Level Content
Leading-edge presentations MIGS presents specialized conferences hosted by world-renowned experts in programming, visual arts, game design, audio design, production and business, and Serious Games.

The summit is a specialized event offering an environment conducive to learning, networking and discussion.

Program
- Some 80 courses, seminars, conferences and workshops over a two-day period Big names from the local and international scenes
- Numerous additional activities including a VIP gala, cocktail parties, specialized meetings and more
- Some 30 firms presenting their wares
- A separate Business Lounge

Overview
- First Edition: 2004
- Organized by Alliance numérique
- More than 1500 attendees in 2008
- More than 100 speakers
- Where?: in Montreal
- Duration: Two days
- When?: November 16-17. 2009

Montreal International Game Summit

CanDevs

Vortex 2009 Game Design Competition

TORONTO, ONTARIO – September 18, 2009.   The McLuhan Festival of the Future announces today the official launch of The Vortex Competition which will take place on November 4th & 5th, 2009.

The Vortex Competition, now in its 5th year, is Canada’s pre-eminent forum that celebrates, educates, and casts a spotlight on emerging video game entrepreneurs and companies. Within the Vortex Competition, aspiring video game developers obtain the opportunity to hone their business and technical skills through educational sessions, presented by world renowned game industry leaders, in the areas of game design, development, business, finance, and marketing.

Competitors in this year’s Vortex Competition are invited to submit concepts or prototypes.  All submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by an expert panel and a winner will be selected from each category and announced on November 5th, 2009, at the Vortex Competition Awards Gala.   In addition to cash prizes for the winner, they will also receive the opportunity to have their video game commercialized through a variety of channels.

Vortex Managing Director, Sari Ruda points out, “The Vortex Game Competition was established in 2004 in response to the enormous interest and phenomenal growth of the videogame industry in Canada and abroad. Dubbed the “feeder to the Ontario Videogame Industry”, the Vortex Competition has grown each year and attracted the highest caliber of talent in all areas: speakers, judges, competitors. We are thrilled that as a result of Vortex, our mentoring opportunities, networking and access to publishers, every year winners and other competitors have gone on to launch their games and climb the ladder of success.”

Vortex 2009 Finals Judges:

• Blake Lewin – Senior VP, R&D, Turner Broadcasting and Founder of GameTap
• Kevin O’Leary – Renowned Software Entrepreneur, star of Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank
• Yannis Mallat – President and CEO, Ubisoft Canada
• Marc Saltzman – Internally acclaimed Hi-Tech and Game columnist, and TV personality

“It is clear that Vortex’s primary mission to support emerging entrepreneurs and companies in the videogame industry will strengthen Toronto’s position in the competitive global market”, says Rita Davies, Executive Director, Cultural Services, City of Toronto.

An important component of the Vortex Competition is the Vortex Bootcamp, which will be held on October 7th and 8th. The Bootcamp features exceptional networking opportunities with the industry’s best and sessions include Business 101: IP, Legal, Marketing, Finance; Game Industry Overview: Game Industry Eco System, Big Players, Platforms, Publishers and Distributors; Entrepreneurism and How to Pitch. New for 2009 is a Finance Forum featuring presentations and panels of Venture Capital Professionals, Financiers and Government funding bodies related to the financing of videogame products.  Also new are breakout sessions concentrating on a choice of Game Design or Game Production. The Game Design stream includes: High Concept, USP, Platforms, and Software in Design. The Game Production stream offers: Process, Planning, Workflow, and Capacity Requirements for Production.  The highlight of this year’s Boot Camp Sessions is Key Note speaker, Peter Williams, Chief Strategic Officer of Bamboo Networks, based in New York, Tokyo, China and Thailand.

To commemorate the City of Toronto’s 175th Anniversary, Vortex, in conjunction with our generous sponsor, The City of Toronto, is proud to offer all competitors the opportunity to enter their game in a 175th City of Toronto Birthday Videogame. The winner’s game will be accessible via the City of Toronto’s website which will garner the winner international exposure.

The Vortex 2009 Competition is very excited to announce the involvement of some of the most successful global game publishers, industry leaders, jurists, speakers and mentors who include Ubisoft, Bedlam Games, Transgaming Technologies, Capybara, Yahoo!, Bell, Cerebral Vortex Games, High Road Communications, Miller Thompson, CMF-Telefilm, Frozen North, RBC, Province of Ontario, City of Toronto, Emerson College, Bamboo Networks and many more.

Important Vortex Dates:

Deadline for Boot Camp Registration	Oct 5
Boot Camp & Networking Reception	Oct 7-8
Deadline for Competition Submissions	Oct 23
Announcement of Contenders	Oct 29
Competition & Awards Gala	Nov 4-5

Vortex acknowledges the generous support of the following sponsors: Telefilm Canada, Ontario Media Development Corporation, City of Toronto, Bradon Technologies Limited, Canadian Information Processing Society, Digital Sugar, ANM & Associates Ltd., EM & ME Productions and Parties Without Borders.

www.vortexcompetition.com

CanDevs

Toronto’s Bedlam Games Hired to Complete Development on Scratch: The Ultimate DJ

The following press release was received from Donald Henderson, Studio General Manager & COO of Bedlam Games:

Scratch DJ Game, LLC Announces New Development Team

SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Scratch DJ Game, LLC, a joint venture between Numark Industries, LLC and Genius Products, LLC, announced today that it has recently hired Commotion Interactive, the music and party game division of Bedlam Games Inc., to complete development of its much anticipated music rhythm game, Scratch: The Ultimate DJ. In choosing the industry veterans at Commotion Interactive, Scratch DJ Game, LLC underscores its commitment to successfully launching Scratch and establishing a strong footprint in the progressively growing and competitive music gaming industry.

“With Scratch: The Ultimate DJ we will deliver an innovative, ground breaking video game for fans of hip-hop,” said Jack O’Donnell, CEO of Scratch DJ Game, LLC. “We have selected Commotion and are confident that they are the best choice to help us achieve our mission. The team’s rich and varied development experience includes talent from Rockstar Games, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts.”

“Scratch: The Ultimate DJ offers a revolutionary take on the existing music/rhythm genre. The combination of the game and the proprietary Scratch Deck controller will bring the art of DJing to the masses,” said Trevor Fencott, CEO of Bedlam Games Inc. “The Scratch Deck combines a touch sensitive turntable from Numark with the drumpads from the iconic Akai Professional MPC. This combination delivers an authentic music gaming experience unlike any other. We are thrilled to embark on this venture with Scratch, and can’t wait for this exciting title to hit store shelves.”

Commotion’s mission is to deliver music and party game titles borne of exceptional design, fostered by meticulous planning, and realized by a world-class team. The studio was formed in 2006 by a seasoned group of industry professionals who are united in their belief that games can be developed on a creative level. The Commotion team is dedicated to providing quality titles that resonate with consumers looking for an entertaining and original gaming experience.

Scratch: The Ultimate DJ will be available in early 2010 on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. For more information on Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, please visit: http://www.scratchvideogame.com/

About Scratch DJ Game, LLC

Scratch DJ Game, LLC is a joint venture between Numark Industries and Genius Products formed for the purpose of bringing innovative music games to market.

About Numark Industries

Numark Industries is the global leader of professional DJ and audio equipment, and is known for providing progressive breakthrough technology. Since 1971, Numark has designed and delivered hundreds of innovative DJ products, resulting in numerous music industry “firsts”. Today, the company is at the forefront of the digital DJ revolution, and is recognized for creating the best hardware controllers for professional and semi-professional DJ software in the industry. The team at Numark, under its Ion Audio division, has also enjoyed success in developing music gaming peripherals, having produced and distributed the award-winning Drum Rocker, the Premium Drum Set Controller for the Rock Band music game franchise. For more information, visit www.numark.com; images are available at http://www.numark.com/media.

About Genius Products

Genius Products, Inc. (GNPR.PK) is the owner of Genius Products, LLC, a leading independent home-entertainment distribution company that produces, licenses and distributes a valuable library of motion pictures, television programming, family, lifestyle and trend entertainment on DVD and other emerging platforms through its expansive network of retailers throughout the U.S.

About Commotion Interactive

Commotion Interactive is the music and party game division of Bedlam Games Inc., an independent venture capital backed developer of next generation console video games located in Toronto, Canada. Formed in 2006 and independent since 2007 the studio has gathered some of the finest industry veterans to come together to develop quality titles for current generation console platforms. For more information, please visit www.commotioninteractive.com

CanDevs

DIG London Game Design Competition 2009

 

The following was pulled from the DIG London web site:

The DIG London Game Design Competition for Students is coming again this September 2009!

September 18 – October 5, 2009 (for art and programming) October 12 – October 16, 2009 (for sound).

Artists, Programmers and Audio designers will have an opportunity to earn a share of $10,000 in cash prizes!

The highest quality work will be exposed to the Ontario game design industry at the DIG London Conference, November 3-4, 2009, in London, Ontario.

Last year’s competition produced six cash winners and three of the winners began careers with well known game developers!

Go to game.diglondon.ca for full details.

New French language video game law in Quebec

On April 1st a new law came into effect in the province of Quebec regarding the sale of video games. The law states that if a French-language version of a game exists, it must be made available to consumers. If a game has both a French and English version, only the French version will be sold in stores in Quebec.

The law does not prevent the sale of non-French language games. If a game does not have a French-language version (usually Parisian French), then whatever version has been developed be it in English, Japanese, or other, then it will still be available to Quebecers. If a French version is subsequently released, then it will replace the non-French product on store shelves.

The new law is meant to promote the French language in the province. It also forces retailers, distributers, and publishers to make French-language games accessible to the Francophone community. In many cases there are already localized versions (French included) of games developed, but their distribution in the province of Quebec has been neglected. Developers needn’t worry as their games will still be for sale in Quebec no matter what language their games have been developed in.

CanDevs

GDC Canada 2009

The Game Developers Conference Canada (GDC Canada) will be held May 12-13 2009 at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre.

GDC Canada (evolving from the Vancouver Game Summit) will hold information sessions, have guest speakers, and present networking opportunities for game developers.

Registration is now open and full information can be obtained at www.gdc-canada.com

CanDevs

New directory listing: Streaming Colour Studios, Spongelab Studios, Vive Technologies

The following developers are all located in Toronto, Ontario.

Thanks to Owen from Streaming Colour Studios for informing me of his new company. Streaming Colour Studios is a small, independent video game development studio. Streaming Colour was founded with the goal of developing fun, non-violent, creative, casual games. They currenty develop games for computer and mobile platforms.

Spongelab Interactive is a developer of educational games. They create interactive simulations focusing on cell biology. Spongelab also provides educational game design and production services.

Advised by PhDs, MDs, and educators Vive Technologies is a developer of educational and serious games. Vive strives to use computer gaming technology to create innovative teaching tools.

CanDevs

My impressions on the Ontario Game Summit 2008

First off, I would like to thank Danielle Engels, Communications and PR Manager from Interactive Ontario, for giving me the opportunity to attend the Ontario Game Summit 2008.

The Ontario Game Summit along with GameON: Finance was a two day event (October 28-29 2008) held in Toronto, for the purpose of promoting and growing the video games industry in the province of Ontario. There were invited speakers from many areas related to the games industry including developers, investors, and educators. Speakers were knowledgeable and seemed to have a good understanding of their respective roles and disciplines.

Of the many points raised at the conference, I have noted some of the ones that are most interesting:

- There is an ever broadening game market with more niche audiences. Designers should be creating  games for non-traditional, non-hardcore gamers

- Games should be embraced as culture, not just economic

- Ontario needs an in depth analysis of what is needed to create a balance between government-academia-business interaction in order to grow the games industry in the province

- There needs to be a standardization of education and training of new graduates wanting to be in the games industry. This would facilitate the process for companies to find employees (ie programmers, artists, etc.) to fill roles when a new project starts or when replacement workers are required

- Console games are becoming more expensive to produce, so lighter platform (mobile, handheld) developments are increasing because they have a lower production cost

- Ontario has many small companies, but not any large companies (EA, Ubisoft). Ontario companies tend to focus on one hit at a time, and produce fewer games. These companies are generally Ontario owned, and most of their hires come out of Ontario schools

-There is no shortage of talent in art and programming in Ontario, but there is a talent gap on the production side

- Outsourcing seems to not be a concern. Companies feel production needs to be localized for better interaction between everyone involved in a project

- A large company like EA or Ubisoft in Ontario would attract venture capital investment for smaller companies in the province

- Many companies lack a business plan. This is essential in order to show investors that a compnay is viable and will be around for the long term

Overall I thought that OGS was great. The only issue I felt was that the time alloted to certain speakers was sometimes too short. Regardless, the conference had a professional feel to it, far removed from most video games related events that are generally geared towards gamers. Since this event was more focused on the business end of the video games industry, I feel it gives the industry a boost of maturity. One cannot ignore an industry that is increasingly becoming more integrated in people’s daily lives. Afterall, the video games industry is a multi-billion dollar behemoth that seems to be unaffected by the current global economic slowdown.

CanDevs

Future Play Nov. 3-5 2008 Toronto

Information from the Future Play web site:

Future Play – The International Conference on the Future of Game Design and Technology

The place to discover new directions in computer game technologies and explore groundbreaking visions for the future of game development.

At Future Play 2008 you’ll be able to spend three full days with people from academic, industry and government worlds, examining some of the hottest new research and development information from the world of computer games development.

The Future Play Conference focuses on three main themes. The first theme, future game development, addresses academic research and emerging industry trends in the area of game technology and game design. The second theme, future game impacts and applications, includes academic research and emerging industry trends focused on designing games for learning, for gender, for serious purposes, and to impact society. Finally, the third theme, future game talent, is designed to provide a number of industry and academic perspectives on the knowledge, skills, and attitude it takes to excel in the games industry.

For full details please visit the Future Play web site.

CanDevs

DIG London Game Design Competition

Here’s some info on an upcoming game design competition being held in London, Ontario:

October 24, 2008 - October 26, 2008

Our competition is designed to test the skills of industry professionals, students considering the game design industry and others wanting to join a game company.

Register for the competition, download the art or programming project and upload your results on time.

Judges from the industry will identify the very best work and cash prizes will be awarded to student and professional winners in each category. Sign-up right now and let your friends know about this competition!

http://game.diglondon.ca/

CanDevs

Ontario Game Summit & GameON: Finance

Culled from the Interactive Ontario web site:

Ontario Game Summit

Starts: October 28, 2008 – Ends: October 28, 2008

Are you growing your games company in Ontario?

We have great talent, but what policies and programmes can begin to transform this province into a new global hotspot for game development? How do we accelerate growth and become a more vital industry?

Develop an action plan for Ontario!
Be sure to attend the inaugural Ontario Games Summit on Tuesday October 28, 2008 where we will bring together the major players in the digital games industry in Ontario to develop an action plan and articulate a new vision to put this province on the map when it comes to creativity and innovation in video game development.

Visit the GameON: Finance site to find out how you can become a part of this great event!

—

GameON: Finance

Starts: October 28, 2008 – Ends: October 29, 2008

GameON: Finance 2.0

GameON: Finance 2.0 is an investment forum for the interactive games industry which will connect game developers, innovators, investors and industry leaders. Over the course of a day in downtown Toronto, case-studies and panel sessions will provide insight on the diverse prospects for growth within the dynamic economic, creative and technological landscape of games.

Registration for GameON: Finance is now open and Early Bird rates are available at www.gameonfinance.com

Discounted Start-Up Pass Available
This pass assists small games companies “on the rise” in gaining access to this unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with the investment community, and network with established leaders within the games industry.  Please note that there will be a limited number of Start-Up Passes available, on a first-come, first-served basis only, and are only available to companies who meet the required criteria.

Buy your tickets in advance  – the inaugural GameON: Finance

You can receive up-to-date information about GameON: Finance and other IO events by signing up for the IO newsletter at info@interactiveontario.com

CanDevs

AMP national gaming tour

AMP Your Game is a gaming tour that is making its way across Canada. Touted as the largest event of its kind, entry is free at most locations. Attendees can expect to play the latest games on over 80 gaming stations, compete in tournaments for prizes, and even get the chance to be recruited for a Canadian pro gaming team.

The schedule:

Halifax June 12-15
Montreal June 19-22
Ottawa June 26-29
Toronto July 3-6
Winnipeg July 10-13
Edmonton July 17-20
Calgary July 24-27
Saskatoon Aug 7-10
Vancouver Aug 31-Sep 3

Please go to www.ampenergy.ca for full tour details.

CanDevs

 

Finding Zoe game

Finding Zoe is a free online flash game that promotes the creation of positive relationships between girls and boys. The game is geared towards kids aged 8-14 years old, and explores root causes of violence against women and girls. Among its helpful lessons, it also challenges gender stereotypes and helps kids learn the warning signs of violence.

Finding Zoe was developed by California-based Take Action Games for Toronto’s Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC), in partnership with the Ontario government’s Women’s Directorate. In 2007, the game was one of the winners of the Ashoka Changemakers global competition “Why Games Matter: A Prescription for Improving Health and Health Care”.

Finding Zoe fits into the serious games category. As the title of the game suggests, the goal of the game is to find your friend Zoe. She is believed to be in an abusive relationship, and it’s up to you to try and help her. It is a slower paced game, but fairly interactive. You move through a colourful game world as you follow clues to Zoe’s whereabouts. The game requires players to think about what they believe should be the proper conversational response during in-game encounters. I found the game to be a very interesting showcase of the serious games genre – games that strive to be fun and educational at the same time. Gameplay-wise Finding Zoe could have been a little more intuitive at times; and moving about seemed clunky. However, this may have simply been my own impatience. Overall, I think Finding Zoe deserves a try.

CanDevs

Vancouver Game Summit May 21-22 2008

The Vancouver International Game Summit is being held this month. It’s a conference/exhibition geared towards the video games development community. The event is focused on presenting global perspectives on developing games for next generation consoles. The target audience is studio executives, programmers, artists, publishers, game designers, producers, educators, students, and human resources professionals. There will also be educational, networking and business opportunities for game developers.

This is only the second time this event is being held. It’s expected that there will be more than double the number of attendees than last year. Some big name speakers are attached to this event including representaives from EA, Microsoft, Disney, Relic, Sony, and Radical, among many others.

The summit seems natural for Vancouver as it is home to many developers and is itself a great place. I paid the city a visit back in 2005 and had a great time.

Go to www.vancouvergamesummit.com for full details.

CanDevs

New directory listing: Ingenuity Works

Ingenuity Works is a company that develops and distributes educational software and Internet programs aimed at students from Kindergarten to grade 12. Used in more than 40,000 schools, their award-winning titles cover subjects ranging from math, social studies, language arts, computer technology, science, and keyboarding. Ingenuity Works has been developing products for more than 20 years and is located in Vancouver.

 

Visit Ingenuity Works.

CanDevs

Gamecamp Toronto 2 May 3, 2008

Gamecamp Toronto 2 will be held on May 3, 2008 from 10AM-3PM, at the Bahen Center of Information Technology in Toronto. Registration to attend is free.

GameCamp’s tagline:

“GameCamp Toronto 2 is an event which aims to increase awareness of the game development industry in Toronto. We hope to grow the community of our city into a large, healthy and successful industry. The target audience is composed of: indies, professionals, and aspiring students. Attendees have the opportunity to network with the other enthusiasts, learn various development tricks, and have some fun. Presenters get an opportunity to practice their pitches, share their knowledge with others and recruit young talent.”

Here is a list of the scheduled guest speakers:

Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns, N+ Creators
Jean-Luc David, Microsoft
Mathew Di Iorio, Independent Games Project
Nelson Yu, Casually Hardcore Games
David L. Blazetich, Bedlam Games
Jim McGinley, ToJam
Chris Charabaruk, IGDA indie SIG
Joe Pirrotta, WASD Gameworks Inc.
Andy Smith, IADT

Go to GameCampToronto for more information.

CanDevs

 

Free subscription to Game Developer magazine

Game Developer magazine is dedicated to covering the video games industry. It is mostly meant for developers, the “insiders”, as opposed to it being geared towards gamers. Its stories deal with trends in the industry, new technologies, dissection of game projects after their completion, and other such tidbits. Game Developer is also sort of the paper edition of Gamasutra.

I mentioned it briefly in a previous blog post, but you can get a free subscription to Game Developer magazine delivered to your door – as long as you qualify. You have to be employed in the interactive entertainment industry (in any capacity) to get the free subscription.

Go here to sign up for your free subscription.

CanDevs

Neotronic Arts

Neotronic Arts located in Burnaby BC is now hiring! Click the links on the main page to apply for current openings.

One of NA’s current projects is a new type of skateboarding game called BoardX. BoardX is an original intellectual property that’s set to introduce a new experience to the skateboarding genre. It’s set for a late 2008 release on Xbox360 and PS3.

In addition, if you sign up to be a game tester, you can play some of NA’s other games online. You can check out Insectoid Invasion (a sci-fi shooter), Keyboard Hero (a computer version of Guitar Hero), Vansterdam (become a kingpin in Vancouver), and Claim & Conquer (a turn-based strategy game).

Go to Neotronic Arts.

CanDevs

XOP Black

XOP Black is a cool little shmup (shoot ‘em up). It’s actually a sequel to 2002’s XOP. Christopher (based in Toronto), one the talents behind the game sent me a message to check it out. Even if you’re not a fan of these types of games, I suggest you give this one a try. It’s good.

(note: game plays and looks better than it may seem in the video)

XOP Black is a vertical scrolling shooter – think 1942, with R-Type style graphics. The game is simple to play, but can get intense. You control a spaceship while hordes of enemies rain down upon you. There’s no explanation needed; the aliens are baddies and are simply trying to kill you – you are on the way to destruction, make your time.

The game is for Windows and was written in C and Allegro. Created just for fun, the download is totally free!

Please check out the following links:

XOP Black, XOP (the original), Allegro (gaming library)

CanDevs

Defendoid

Defendoid is an old-school 80s style side scroller that can be played online. You control a space ship while waves and waves of alien craft try to destroy you. It’s a simple game, but gets harder the further you progress. Your ship can be upgraded with double-fire and you get 1ups. At the end of the stage you fight the boss, a big alien vessel called the Supertron!

If you expire all of your lives you can continue play, but your score resets back to zero every time. You use the arrow keys to move, and the space bar to fire. The game is by Bynaplay, 1982.

Check out Defendoid.

CanDevs