INplay 2010 – An interactive digital media conference for the kids industry

Interactive Ontario today announced the launch of INplay – a new conference that connects creative industries with interactive kids topics. INplay (www.inplay2010.com ) will take place on May 18 & 19, 2010 in Toronto, Canada, and will examine the creation and commercialization of interactive media content and services for kids ages 4 to 15.

“Interactive Ontario is proud to present this unique event for the global kids media entertainment industry,” says Ian Kelso, President and CEO of Interactive Ontario. “ With tremendous support from our partners, all of whom are leaders in the interactive kids space, we are sure INplay will be a highly valued event for kids content producers and creators worldwide.”

“Ontario is home to a dynamic and growing interactive digital media industry with many talented and award-winning content producers,” says Karen Thorne-Stone, President & CEO of Ontario Media Development Corporation. “INplay will provide a unique two-day forum for Ontario companies to network and to share ideas and strategies with the world’s leading producers and distributors of digital entertainment for children.”

This project is spearheaded by IO in partnership with industry leaders including: The Alliance for Children & Television, Astral Media Inc, Bitcasters, Blue Print Entertainment, Breakthrough New Media, Capybara Games, CBC, Corus Entertainment, Decode Entertainment, Earth Rangers, Kids Can Press, marblemedia, Meridian Artists, Portfolio Entertainment, Spin Master Ltd., and zinc Roe Inc.

“Astral is proud to be one of the founding partners of what promises to be a world-class event that will bring together the best minds in Kids Interactive from Canada and around the world,” says Barbara Baillie, Director of Interactive, Astral Media.

“marblemedia is really looking forward to participating at INplay. We’re always working to make sure our stories are on whatever device kids are using. We see INplay as a chance to be inspired by the latest ideas in how to make fun, engaging experiences for kids,” says Ted Brunt, VP Interactive Production, marblemedia.

INplay is INsight, INgenuity and INterchange with a good dose of fun! INplay is for game developers/publishers, broadcasters, content producers/distributors, interactive/mobile/social media developers, toy/game manufacturers, book/magazine/comic publishers, marketers, researchers/child psychologists and all businesses with interest in the kid’s space.

About Interactive Ontario http://www.interactiveontario.com/
IO is a not-for-profit industry trade organization representing over 200 member companies. IO is committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital media industry. To this end IO is an industry advocate within Ontario and nationally as a founding member of the Canadian Interactive Alliance /Alliance interactive canadienne (CIAIC).

About INplay http://www.inplay2010.com/
INplay is an international conference dedicated to interactive properties for children. Happening May 18th and 19th in Toronto, Canada, the first edition of this event brings together leaders focused on the children’s market to share their ideas, experiences and innovations around the exciting and competitive interactive space. Event attendees will receive access to interactive presentations, panel discussions, case studies, facilitated and informal networking.

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

Registration Now Open for GameON: Finance 2009

From Interactive Ontario news release:

Registration is open for GameON: Finance 2009, taking place October 27 & 28 in Toronto. This is the third edition of the two-day investment forum, designed to bring investors and video game developers together to explore business opportunities in the rapidly expanding games industry.
 
Event attendees will receive access to case studies, business discussions, examples of successful corporate models, project financing ideas and one-on-one meetings between developers and financers. Tickets can be purchased at www.gameonfinance.com

About GameON: Finance (www.gameonfinance.com)
GameON: Finance is an investment forum for the interactive games industry that connects game developers, innovators, investors and industry leaders. Over the course of two days in downtown Toronto, presentations, case-studies and panel sessions will provide insight on the diverse prospects for growth within the dynamic economic, creative and technological landscape of games.

CanDevs

Interactive Ontario to launch Interactive Kids Event in 2010

Entertainment & Creative Cluster Partnerships Fund fuels international strategy to highlight Ontario’s strengths in production of kids interactive & education content and services

June 8, 2009 (Toronto) – Interactive Ontario today announced a new project, ONKidz, that is aimed at promoting Ontario’s Kids sector on a global scale. The ONKidz project will culminate with a business event focused on the interactive kids space in the spring of 2010 in Toronto, Canada. ONkidz supports the creation and commercialization of Ontario-made interactive media content and services for kids ages 4 to 15.
 
“It goes without saying that kids prioritize their interactions with and through digital media very differently than their parents,” said Ian Kelso, President and CEO of Interactive Ontario. “ Interactive Ontario is thrilled to present a unique event pulling together the leading creators of interactive experiences and the producers, broadcasters, and publishers who are leading the charge on building integrated cross-platform markets.”
 
The ONkidz event serves a catalyst for a deeper exploration of the technological and creative potential of kids content. This project will be spearheaded by industry leaders including: The Alliance for Children & Television, Astral Media Inc, Bitcasters, Blue Print Entertainment, Breakthrough New Media, Capybara Games, CBC, Corus Entertainment, Decode Entertainment, Earth Rangers, Kids Can Press, marblemedia, Meridian Artists, Portfolio Entertainment, Spin Master LTD and Zinc Roe Inc.

This project is made possible through the Entertainment and Creative Cluster Partnership Fund, administered by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture.

About Interactive Ontario
IO is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry. To this end IO is an industry advocate within Ontario and nationally as a founding member of the Canadian Interactive Alliance /Alliance interactive canadienne (CIAIC). www.interactiveontario.com

CanDevs

Ontario’s businesses shine in second edition of landmark study of Canada’s interactive digital media industry

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, June 4, 2009 – The Canadian Interactive Alliance / l’Alliance interactive canadienne (CIAIC) today released complete results of its 2008 Canadian Interactive Industry Profile (CIIP), including an analysis of the interactive media industry in Ontario.

For 2008, the CIIP study looked only at firms that derived more than 50 per cent of their revenue from interactive digital media work, which excluded broadcasters, ISPs and other similar media enterprises. Overall, the 2008 CIIP estimates the number of interactive media companies in Canada at 2,960, collectively employing between 51,000 and 52,500 Canadians in various roles. The estimated revenue generated by these companies is $4.7 billion annually, with $3.8 billion of that coming from interactive digital media projects, and $900 million from other forms of media and entertainment.

The full report can be found online at www.ciaic.ca. Highlights of the CIIP:

• Through the recognized gross-up method used in the survey, it is estimated that Ontario is home to approximately 950-1,050 interactive digital media companies that employ more than 16,000 people. These companies generate between $1.3 and $1.5 billion in annual gross revenue, and between $1.1 and $1.2 billion in interactive digital media revenue;

• Among the 45 per cent of Ontario companies surveyed who said they exported goods and services, revenue derived from exports accounted for 54.7 per cent of total revenue – the highest percentage of all five regions in the 2008 CIIP;

• Among small interactive media companies – defined as those firms with less than $250,000 in annual revenue – in all five regions, Ontario’s were the most prolific employers, with an average staff size of five full-time equivalent (FTE) positions;

• Interactive Ontario ranked first out of 20 associations, groups and professional organizations to which the province’s interactive media firms reported belonging.

“The Ontario government has identified the entertainment and creative cluster as the fastest-growing sector of our economy over the next 10 years, led by the interactive digital media industries — and the latest findings from the CIIP certainly bear that out,” said Karen Thorne-Stone, President and CEO of the Ontario Media Development Corporation. “As we continue to strengthen Ontario’s knowledge-based economy, OMDC is proud to support the interactive digital media industry through a variety of programs, funds, events and tax credits, as well as through important research projects like this.”

“Interactive media continues to be a corporate priority for Telefilm Canada, and the findings of the Canadian Interactive Industry Profile demonstrate how important Telefilm has been to this growth industry,” said Wayne Clarkson, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada. “Being recognized as one of the most important national funding sources is proof that Telefilm has played a part in helping to increase revenues and create jobs in the interactive media industry.”

“The 2008 Canadian Interactive Industry Profile clearly shows the future potential of this fast-growing segment of the knowledge economy,” said Ian Kelso, President of the CIAIC and President and CEO of Interactive Ontario. “We believe that the story of Canada’s interactive digital media and its contribution to our country’s GDP, employment base and global competitiveness has only just begun to be told.”

Companies participating in the 2008 edition of the CIIP, which is at present the only national study of Canada’s interactive media industry, reported that revenue from interactive digital media work grew a remarkable 50.9 per cent between 2006 and 2008, and a respectable 17.4 per cent rate of growth in revenue from all sources over the same period.

Other national-level statistics of note from the 2008 CIIP include:

• The vast majority – 85 per cent – of companies are wholly Canadian-owned;

• 60 to 70 per cent of interactive media projects are based on original intellectual property;

• Nearly half – 46 per cent – of industry revenue is generated through two task categories: Game Design and Development, and Website Design and Development;

• A full third of respondents said they performed work in five or more interactive digital media task categories.

Funding supporters of the 2008 CIIP are Telefilm Canada, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, and Business New Brunswick.

About CIAIC

Formed in June 2005, the Canadian Interactive Alliance/l’Alliance Interactive Canadienne is a not-for-profit association and the authoritative voice for Canada’s interactive digital media industry on the national stage. Its membership is composed of seven provincial interactive media associations: Alliance Numérique, Digital Alberta, Interactive Media Alliance of PEI, Interactive Ontario, Manitoba Interactive Digital Media Association, New Media BC, and SaskInteractive.

For more on the alliance, visit the CIAIC’s website at http://www.ciaic.ca.

 

CanDevs

New directory listing: Antic Entertainment, Parallel World Labs, United Front Games

First off, sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve just been lazy. No excuses, just lazy. There are a few events that I’ve missed posting on here so I’ll try and keep up with current events better. No promises though. Anyway, on to the updates.

Thanks to Mark for emailing me about Antic Entertainment out of London, Ontario. They are a casual games developer working on their first published title, Junk Wars.

 

Another company added to the site is Parallel World Labs in Toronto. They’ve been around since the early 1990s when they were known as Immersion Studios. Parallel World Labs creates interactive exhibits for museums and similar public venues.

Yet another BC company is United Front Games. Out of Vancouver, United Front Games is currently working on projects for both PS3 and Xbox360. UFG is comprised of many industry veterans from nearby Vancouver development studios.

CanDevs

Ontario budget clicks with Interactive Media industry

The following press release is courtesy of Danielle Engels from Interactive Ontario:

March 27, 2009, (Toronto) – Yesterday the Ontario government released its 2009 budget which included significant improvements to the province’s competitive edge in the interactive media marketplace. Through a series of improvements to the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (OIDMTC) and a boost to the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), Ontario now offers some of the most competitive production and development environments for the creation of interactive media products and services anywhere in the world.
 
The Interactive media industry is comprised of companies working on emerging and developing platforms such as video game consoles, the web and mobile phones. There are currently about 700 companies working in the interactive media industry in Ontario.
 
“This budget can leave no doubt that Ontario is very serious about its digital future,” said Ian Kelso, President & CEO, Interactive Ontario. “It is a tremendous boost to our competitive edge, and I have no doubt the world will take notice.”
 
“This new support from the Ontario Government will foster new growth in the interactive media industry. Not only will it be easier to market interactive projects, but the development support will give companies the freedom to incubate innovative, forward-thinking ideas and allow us to stay competitive in the global market,” said Mark Bishop, Chair, Interactive Ontario Board of Directors & Partner/Executive Producer, marblemedia.
 
This budget proposes, effective for qualifying expenditures incurred after March 26, 2009 to increase the OIDMTC rates to:

•    40 %  (from 30%) for qualifying corporations, regardless of size, that develop and market their own eligible products; and
 
•    35 %  (from 25%) for qualifying corporations that develop eligible products under a fee-for-service arrangement.
 
For qualifying expenditures incurred after March 26, 2009:

•    to expand the OIDMTC, to allow corporations to claim 100 % of the amount paid to eligible arm’s-length contractors that is attributable to the salaries and wages of the contractor’s employees; and
 
•    to extend the OIDMTC to digital media game developers that incur a minimum$1 million of eligible labour expenditures over a 36-month period for fee-for-service work done in Ontario in respect of an eligible product. Corporations that meet the minimum expenditure test would not be required to be at arm’s length with the purchaser corporation, or to develop all, or substantially all, of the eligible product.
 
This budget is proposing about $100 million annually in additional tax relief and investments of about $30 million to support the entertainment and creative cluster. These measures include proposals to:

•    enhance tax support for the creation of interactive digital media products in Ontario;
•    enhance the refundable book publishing tax credit;
•    make the enhanced tax credit rates under the refundable film and television tax credits permanent, to create predictability and stability for the industry;
•    provide $20 million to the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), an agency of the Ministry of Culture, which supports a number of Ontario’s creative industries as they compete domestically and globally; and
•    invest $10 million in a pilot program, administered through OMDC, that would refund a portion of the costs associated with intellectual property development to Ontario-based companies in the screen-based industries.

CanDevs

 

Interactive Exchange 09: My thoughts

Interactive Exchange is a conference dedicated to interactive media. It features panel discussions and keynote speakers with the intent of sharing ideas and forecasting trends. This year’s version, Interactive Exchange 09 was held from March 17 to 19. Although Interactive Exchange 09 was a 3-day conference, I unfortunately was only able to attend the events on the 18th, and the meet-and-greet held at Shmooze nightclub that same evening. Regrettably I also arrived late so I missed the morning’s only games-related panel discussion, IN Short: Ontario Game Spotlight.

IN09 was held at the Carlu (Yonge and College) in Toronto. It was a very nice venue that is designated a historic site featuring art-deco style architecture. Though not creepy, the interior kind of reminded me of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride at Disney World.

Anyway, since my main interest lies in the video games industry, I was looking to view games-related presentations. Here are some of the floor exhibitor highlights:

CATGames- (Creativity Assistive Tools for Games) is a research network involving several Canadian post-secondary educational institutions and technology partners. CATGames research teams are working on creating technology tools for game production on a variety of interactive platforms. On display CATGames had a demo of a web browser with built-in 3D capabilities.

GestureTek- GestureTek (formerly known as Vivid Group) is a Toronto-based company that creates and develops interactive arenas used primarily in the museum, science centre and hall of fame industry. Unfortunately they did not have a working demo of their products.

George Brown College – Toronto’s George Brown College had an interesting static information display of a kid’s interactive game that was created for the Toronto Zoo. It’s a showcase of the type of project that their post-graduate program is capable of producing.

I was only able to attend two actual presentations. The first one was about how the “Obama Girl” video came into being and how it became a hit on the Internet. It was presented by the creator and founder of BarelyPolitical/ BarelyDigital, Ben Reeles, and “Obama Girl” herself Amber Lee Ettinger. Though not games related, it was an interesting session.

The second presentation was called Apps Boom and featured a panel discussion on the ever-growing mobile phone apps market. The bottom line is that developing mobile games, specifically for the iPhone can be both cost effective and lucrative. As well, Facebook/iPhone game developers through Facebook Connect, will now be able to integrate the Facebook platform and user’s identities into their own applications.

Additionally, I met a few people that I had interesting games-related conversations with. Martin from Marble Media, Andrew from George Brown College, and Ryan from Untold Entertainment. Coincidentally Ryan had emailed me asking to include Untold on CanDevs just a few weeks ago.

Overall it was a good conference. My only gripe is that there were actually two games-related panel discussions in the afternoon (Apps Boom and NP2 – New Platforms/New Players) being held at the same time so I had to choose the one to attend. I would have preferred to have been able to see both. Other than that, things were good.

Anyway, I’d like to thank Danielle Engels from Interactive Ontario for getting me the press pass to the conference.

CanDevs

Canadian Interactive Industry Profile launch next week at IN: The Interactive Exchange

The Canadian Interactive Alliance / l’Alliance interactive canadienne (CIAIC) will release results of the 2009 Canadian Interactive Industry Profile at IN: The Interactive Exchange in Toronto on March 18, 2009.

As the only national research survey tracking Canada’s interactive digital media industry – and in light of the Minister of Canadian Heritage’s announcement on March 9, 2009 reaffirming the importance of the industry – the Canadian Interactive Industry Profile is a vital resource and policy tool for any journalist covering consumer technology.

Funding supporters of the 2009 CIIP are Telefilm Canada, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, and Business New Brunswick.

Formed in June 2005, the Canadian Interactive Alliance / l’Alliance Interactive Canadienne is a not-for-profit association and the authoritative voice for Canada’s interactive digital media industry on the national stage. Its membership is composed of seven provincial interactive media associations: Alliance Numérique, Digital Alberta, Interactive Media Alliance of PEI, Interactive Ontario, Manitoba Interactive Digital Media Association, New Media BC, and SaskInteractive.

For more on the alliance, visit the CIAIC’s website at http://www.ciaic.ca/

For information on IN: Interactive Exchange visit http://www.inexchange09.com/

CanDevs

Digital Media Power Players & Next Generation Entrepreneurs Tackle the Future of New Media and Growth Opportunities in Uncertain Times at IN09

The following is courtesy of Danielle Engels from Interactive Ontario:

March 5, 2009, (Toronto) – Growing a digital business during a recession and debating the future of New Media in Canada are among the themes that will be examined by industry leaders at this month’s digital media conference, IN: The Interactive Exchange (IN09), taking place March 17-19 in Toronto.

The multi-stream conference will open with a keynote presentation by Futurist Christian Crews, Principal, andSpace Labs. Crews helps clients create sustainable competitive advantage in highly uncertain environments. Prior to andSpace Labs, Crews was Director of Futures Strategy, Director of Growth Strategies, and Director of Corporate Strategy at Pitney Bowes Inc (NYC).

IN09 will feature two interactive debates on the future of interactive media in Canada with panels that include Richard Stursburg, executive vice-president English services for CBC, journalist and blogger, Ivor Tossell, and entrepreneur Jeremy Wright, CEO, B5 Media. As traditional broadcasters reel from the downturn in advertising revenue, the CRTC is re-visiting regulation of New Media – a sector that continues to grow despite the global recession. Discussion will touch upon new media broadcasting, net neutrality and strategies key to creating globally competitive companies in the digital media space.

IN09’s opening media power panel features Jonathan Lister, managing director and head of Google Canada, Stephan Argent, vice-president, digital media, CTV Inc., Claude Galipeau, senior vice-president, digital media for Rogers, and Jeffrey Elliot co-CEO of BiteTV who will discuss the shifting market and the evolution of interactive digital media business models.

Representing the next generation of media entrepreneurs, IN09 will feature Joel Auge of Burlington-based HitGrab, makers of MouseHunt, who recently won $250,000 in a Facebook-sponsored competition. Several other emerging digital entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to present their product and company on stage at IN09 via the IN the Spotlight program, supported by the Ontario Media Development Corporation and Interactive Ontario.

Visit www.inexchange09.com for the full speaker list, schedule and conference tickets.

IN09 Press Pass application form: http://www.inexchange09.com/media

About IN: The Interactive Exchange
IN: The Interactive Exchange offers a variety of streams including social media, cross platform entertainment, games, and mobile services. During two and a half days in downtown Toronto, the interactive digital media industry is examined through the lens of business models, research and public policy.

About Interactive Ontario
IO is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry with over 200 member companies.

CanDevs

Speaker Spotlight: Highlights for IN: The Interactive Exchange

The following is courtesy of Danielle Engels from Interactive Ontario:

Speaker Spotlight: Highlights for IN: The Interactive Exchange
A conference where inspired ideas meet the business of interactive

February 19, 2009 (Toronto) – Interactive Ontario has announced some key presenters who will be speaking at IN: The Interactive Exchange <http://www.inexchange09.com>  (IN09), March 17-19, including Ben Relles, creator of BarelyPolitical.com and best known for his YouTube hit, “I got a Crush on Obama,” and Obama Girl herself Amber-Lee Ettinger.

The conference offers a variety of streams, including social media, cross platform entertainment, games, and mobile services, examining the interactive digital media industry through the lens of business models, research and public policy.
 
IN09 launches with a creative keynote presentation from Conductor, Itay Talgam (IL). Music embodies knowledge and innovation, individual effort and collective achievement. Itay founded the “Maestro Program” which utilizes music as a successful metaphor for business, and believes music has the power to create community and reinforce shared values.
 
Other international presenters include:

A Visionary Presentation from Adam Singer, Deputy Chair, Content Board, Ofcom (UK), and Chairman of British Screen Advisory Council, touching on themes as they relate to the future of broadcasting and new platforms.

Juliette Powell, Author (USA) – Juliette draws on experience as a social media expert and co-founder of The Gathering Think Tank, to examine practices of successful business leaders who use social networking, in her book 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking.

Kerrin McNeil, Studio Manager, Hoodlum (AU) – Hoodlum’s project Find815, an online prequel to Season 4 of Lost for the ABC was a Primetime Emmy Finalist in 2008 and a recent winner of the Global Media Awards.

Roland Harwood, Director of Open Innovation, NESTA (UK) – Flagship projects include working with Tim Berners Lee on the future of the web, successfully implementing open innovation with P&G, Oracle and Virgin, and working with Imperial College and the RCA on an interdisciplinary Business Incubator.

Jelle Prins, Founder of Moop.Me (NL) – Jelle founded Moop.Me in 2008 after creating their iPhone hit ‘iNap’ – a ‘next-generation’ travel alarm that uses GPS in your iPhone to determine your location, and wakes you when you are close to your destination.

Dan Hon, Co-founder & CEO, Six to Start (UK)- Six to Start creates new kinds of entertainment that are designed, from the start, to live on multiple platforms and recently went public with its first project, We Tell Stories, for Penguin Books, which received critical and commercial acclaim. 
Visit www.inexchange09.com <http://www.inexchange09.com> for conference tickets and updated news.

IN09 Press Pass application form: http://www.inexchange09.com/media
 
About IN: The Interactive Exchange (March 17-19th, Toronto)
Formerly the Interactive Content Exchange (ICE), IN: The Interactive Exchange is an event dedicated to the business of interactive digital media, bringing industry professionals together for two and a half days of networking and knowledge sharing, as they experience cutting edge interactive properties in downtown Toronto.

About Interactive Ontario
IO is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry with over 200 member companies.

CanDevs

Interactive Ontario Launches Video Game Speaker Series at McMaster

Press release courtesy of Danielle Engels from Interactive Ontario:

 

January 9, 2009 (Toronto) – Interactive Ontario today announced the launch of a new initiative to promote careers in the Ontario video game industry. The first session is taking place at McMaster University on January 14^th, 2009 with speakers from Toronto-based video game developer, Bedlam Games.

 

The Department of Computing and Software at McMaster is hosting the first Go Into Games (GIG) Speaker Series event. Trevor Fencott, CEO, and Jon Paul Schelter, Technical Director, of Bedlam Games are the featured speakers for the event starting at 1:30 p.m. in the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, room 1105.  The lecture is free of charge.

 

“Ontario game developers create some of the best interactive media content in the world,” says Ian Kelso, President and CEO of Interactive Ontario. “In order to maintain Ontario’s reputation for excellence, we need to raise awareness about the opportunities available to students, and the Go Into Games series aims to connect students of video game production with developers.”

 

Mr. Fencott will speak about the video game industry as a whole, touching on the types of career opportunities within Ontario, where the industry is going, and what skills will be necessary to move the industry forward.  Mr. Schelter will focus on more technical issues related to game development and coding such as how programming skills can be used in the different areas of game development.

 

“This is a great opportunity for students to hear directly from leading game developers about what they are looking for in future employees,” says Martin von Mohrenschildt, Chair, Department of Computing and Software.  “The video game industry is growing in Ontario and we’re tailoring programs at McMaster to meet the changing needs of employers.”

 

The Go Into Games Speaker Series was developed by Interactive Ontario to provide students studying video game development an opportunity to connect with industry professionals. It also allows business leaders to form relationships with students who will become their future employees and educates students about the types of employment opportunities that may exist with Ontario game studios upon graduation.

 

For more information on this session, visit the IO Website.

 

 

About Interactive Ontario

IO is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry. To this end IO is an industry advocate within Ontario and nationally as a founding member of the Canadian Interactive Alliance /Alliance interactive canadienne (CIAIC).

 

About McMaster University

McMaster University, one of four Canadian universities listed among the

Top 100 universities in the world, is renowned for its innovation in

both learning and discovery. It has a student population of 23,000, and 

more than 140,000 alumni in 128 countries.

 

Media Contacts:

 

Danielle Engels

Interactive Ontario

416-516-0077 x 224

danielle@interactiveontario.com

 

Gene Nakonechny

McMaster University

905-525-9140 ext. 26781

genen@mcmaster.ca

 

CanDevs

Digital Games-Based Learning Company amongst New Media Companies on 2008 List

The following press release was provided by Glenn from DISTIL:

December 8th 2008, Ottawa Canada: IDC Canada has released a new study naming DISTIL Interactive as one of the ten emerging new media companies in Canada. Companies that make this annual roster typically exhibit category leadership and rapid adoption by the marketplace. DISTIL, which began operations with a staff of two in 2005 and now has over 25 employees, the majority in Ottawa, uses digital gaming technology and methods to build corporate learning environments.

 

The study entitled 10 Canadian New Media Companies to Watch (IDC #CA3TIW8), provides insight into the solutions, go-to-market strategies, partners, and customers of the profiled vendors. Their lessons learned may provide a model for other emerging companies in the Canadian technology marketplace, and help larger vendors and investors identify partnership and investment opportunities.

 

DISTIL CEO Robert Thompson reflected on being profiled by IDC, “It’s gratifying to be recognized for our efforts to differentiate ourselves in an increasingly dynamic new media sector by concentrating on learning games rather than entertainment games.”

 

Thompson continued, “DISTIL, which recently garnered two awards at the DevLearn conference in San Jose, distinguishes itself through a focus on interactive assessment-based learning combining gaming and data mining to enhance both the learning experience and the organization’s ability to quantify student performance.“

  

About Distil Interactive Ltd: DISTIL is a venture-backed new media company, has developed a platform that utilizes “video games” technology for Talent Management applications such as training and performance assessment. 

 

Today the DISTIL platform is revolutionizing the way professionals are trained and certified through Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL).  eLearning games users benefit from the intuitive, immersive, interactive experience provided by DISTIL products that accelerates learning through virtual experience.  Sponsoring organization benefit from the enhanced skills transfer and learning time compression offered by DGBL, and the integrated assessment technology that evaluates performance through game-play.

 

DISTIL also manages on-line distribution and re-sale of award winning DGBL programs co-developed with its training partners, including an extensive set of Quality, Health & Safety, Environmental, Emergency Preparedness and ISO Standards training products. 

 

You can learn more about DISTIL Interactive at www.distilinteractive.com 

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

Toronto’s Pseudo Interactive to close

I just found out that Toronto based games developer Pseudo Interactive is closing its doors. Pseudo is the studio behind the Full Auto games. They have been around since 1995 and employed about 50 people. This is unfortunate for everyone employed at Pseudo; and a blow to Canadian based companies.

 

The decision to close shop was based on publisher Eidos’ financial troubles. Eidos has had to cut its own workforce and cancel titles; including a project Pseudo was working on. This affected Pseudo to the point of not being able to keep operating.

Some former co-workers of my mine were at one point or another employed at Pseudo. But I’m quite sure that with their talents they will find other employment easily. I remember going to an IGDA sponsored paintball tournament for local area (Toronto) game developers a few years back. I met a few of the other Pseudo devs there and they seemed fairly decent. Needless to say though, our team won the tournament. Woot!

I’m not sure how Eidos’ troubles will affect their new studio in Montreal. I guess we’ll have to wait and see and hope that things work out.

CanDevs