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  • 28 Jul 2021 by DigiBC

    Submissions are open for The VIFF Immersed XR Market, which brings together leaders in art, tech, and entertainment to discover the next wave of great VR/AR narrative content from live-action, documentary and animation. A virtual event presented by Vancouver International Film Festival, produced by Artizen, and hosted at the Museum of Other Realities, the 2021 Market will take place October 4–5 and feature networking, presentations, and an exhibition of the best in narrative VR. Selected artists will have the opportunity to pitch their projects to potential investors and distributors as well as compete for the VIFF Immersed Grant.
     

    SUBMIT A PROJECT

    Submissions Deadline: August 10, 2021 @ 5:00 PM PDT

    Eligibility

    • Project delivery format must be either virtual reality, augmented reality, or mixed reality
    • Projects must be in development and looking for funding and distribution
    • Projects must fall into on at least one of the following categories: documentary, live-action, or animation


    Artist Benefits

    • Selected projects will present to potential investors, funders, and distributors
    • Selected projects will compete for VIFF Immersed XR Market Grant

  • 26 Jul 2021 by DigiBC

    Our first-ever DigiCamp took place from July 12-16 and we are happy to report that it was a success! This online game development camp was for girls aged 9-13 years old and students got to create an HTML5 game using PixelPAD and Python. It was taught by UTG Academy instructors and their report below details how the week went for everyone.

    Have a daughter, niece or sister who's curious about coding? This same camp is taking place next month from August 9-13 and there are still some openings available!
     

    Ages: 9-13
    Days: Monday-Friday
    Time: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM PDT
    Dates: August 9-13, 2021
    Location: Online (Zoom)
    Cost: $125

    CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

     


    DigiCamp Instructor’s Report (July 12-16, 2021)

    The camp kicked off on Monday with some icebreaker activities including Scribbl.io, an online Pictionary game. The students and instructors all had a great time getting to know each other, so it was a perfect start to the week! After the initial games and discussions, the students and instructors went into their assigned breakout rooms to begin working on their games. This was a crucial moment in the week when campers brainstormed together to come up with the initial ideas for their game. We had several designs, from space shooters to platformers to I spy projects, and everyone was excited to get started making their games. The campers used PixelPAD.io, UTG Academy’s custom online integrated development environment that runs with Python code perfectly suited to introducing beginners to the world of programming, to build and finish their games.

    The first two days of the camp focused on ensuring the campers understood the fundamental concepts of coding, including variables, conditions, differences between the Start and Loop sections in PixelPAD, the Cartesian coordinate system, and basic commands in Python code. While learning these foundations, the students worked on setting up the backdrops and art for their games, as well as some character movement and mouse input. Everyone enjoyed playing the favourite game Scribbl.io together during the breaks and there were many times when a student or instructor pulled a beloved pet into the camera frame to share with the group!

    The next two days was where the real work took place. Campers now had the chance to work with their instructors to customize and finish up their games. One group decided to take the theme of “dark/light” literally and created a platformer where the player had to switch between daytime and night-time to reach the end goal, while another created an ‘I Spy’ type of game using mouse input, and a different group focused on making a galactic shooter inspired by retro classics.

    On the final day, students added some finishing touches to their games such as extra levels and enemies, custom art made in Piskel, text to give the player instructions on how to play their game, and some projectiles or power-ups. Everyone then congregated in the main room to have some final ‘share-your-game’ sessions where we had lots of fun playing each other’s creations and celebrating our achievements!


    Final Projects (Students)
    Frances: https://pixelpad.io/app/letkrtbzpea/
    Avery: https://pixelpad.io/app/nlhpoiwkucr/
    Alexis: https://pixelpad.io/app/agpobqxnxsg/
    Chahal: https://pixelpad.io/app/vozglfsxxny/
    Sarah C: https://pixelpad.io/app/otrkofzismv/
    Linda: https://pixelpad.io/app/ybcmvrkvzim/
    Sophie: https://pixelpad.io/app/nluxlhxotry/

     

    Final Projects (Instructors)
    Mia Gieselmann: https://pixelpad.io/app/txyhktbayuy/
    Lydia Assion-Nielsen: https://pixelpad.io/app/uqafntpsphf/

     

  • 23 Jul 2021 by DigiBC

    Are you ready to take your video game studio to the next level? Join us for Video Games Canada 2021 and participate in the upcoming virtual trade mission to the Devcom Developer Conference (August 23-27). This is presented by the Canadian Interactive Alliance (CIAIC), a not-for-profit trade association that serves as the voice of Canada’s interactive digital media industry.

    As a member of CIAIC, DigiBC has been able to secure some spots for BC companies to attend. Additionally, selected companies will get the chance to increase visibility during the mission thanks to individual coaching and business support from CEIM experts.

     

    ➡️ If interested in participating, please email team@digibc.org

    ➡️ Deadline to apply is August 3

     

    Cost:

    • $265 + taxes
    • Registration limited to 1 person per company


    What You Get:

    • Business Pass
    • Individual coaching and business support from CEIM experts
    • MeetToMatch account
    • Participation in pitch sessions hosted by the Trade Commissioner Service


    Application Criteria:

    • Strong export potential
    • At early commercialization stage
    • Video game developer established in Canada with majority Canadian ownership
    • We will give priority to companies with annual revenues of less than $5 million

     

    CEIM (Centre d’entreprises et d’innovation de Montréal) is dedicated to helping early-stage and growth-stage tech companies that present innovative projects with strong commercial potential. They foster close relationships with clients and offer a wide range of services that are tailored to specific needs, with a view of providing them with the optimal conditions to grow and sustain projects in the long term.
     

    Devcom Developer Conference will once again offer a wide range of events and sessions for international game developers, game publishers, and services providers. This will be fully digital and have a conference program, business program, unlimited matchmaking (24/7), networking events, and a daily Twitch show.

     

  • 16 Jul 2021 by DigiBC


    Calling all women* in the creative technology industry! Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to empower and grow your career!


    DigiBC is thrilled to present our next event on August 12 in collaboration with Women in Games Vancouver (WIGeh) and Women in Animation (WIA) Vancouver. This will be an online panel discussion with some of the sector’s most influential trailblazers. They will be sharing valuable advice and insight on topics such as the
    basics of networking, how to handle bullying/sexism, communicating and understanding your worth, expanding your influence, and more! We want you to come away from this workshop with added confidence and life skills that will help advance your career.

    CLICK HERE TO RSVP

    Facilitator

    • Cathy Lim (HR Director, PopReach Inc)

     Panelists

    • Jennifer Twiner McCarron (CEO, Thunderbird / Atomic Cartoons)
    • Heidi Eaves (COO, Relic Entertainment)
    • Sara Maseko (Director of Finance, SkyBox Labs)
    • Karen Addison Te (Development Director II, EA)

     

    This event is is intended for all Women*. We say women with * because "female" or "women" is not an accurate description for all. Using * is to specifically and intentionally include cis and trans women, as well as non-binary, agender or intersex folx and other gender minorities.


    Panelist Profiles
     

    Cathy is a seasoned HR professional with 20 years of experience in Vancouver’s tech industry. She is currently the HR Director for PopReach Inc and is also the volunteer Executive Director for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, helping advocate for under-represented groups in mass media and increasing awareness against anti-Asian hate crime. Cathy has been teaching throughout her career for multiple post-secondary institutions such as UBC, BCIT, VFS, and CDM, and several non-profits such as the Vancouver Asian Film Festival and YWCA. Her passion to engage and enlighten those around her feeds her limitless energy. 

     

    Heidi’s goal is to help people succeed at work. An energetic and collaborative leader, she creates programs to empower managers to support their teams and help everyone thrive in a healthy, happy, and productive way. Heidi has over 25 years of video games delivery and consulting experience as a project and people manager, human resources professional, leader, and coach.

     

    Jennifer joined Atomic as the Head of Production in 2011, was promoted to CEO in 2016 and then CEO of all Thunderbird companies in 2018. Over the past 20 years, she has produced or executive produced dozens of animated series, video game cinematics, and direct-to-DVD features, including the popular Barbie Princess franchise. Prior to joining Atomic, she was VP of Production for Rainmaker Entertainment.

    Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carleton University and a degree in film studies from the Vancouver Film School. She is an award-winning producer having received multiple Leo Awards, an ELAN and a DTV Award. She was voted one of the ‘Top 25 Women in Animation’ by Animation Magazine in 2004 and named ‘Executive of the Year’ by Playback Magazine in 2018. In 2019, she was also named by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) as one of ‘Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women’. Jennifer’s greatest achievement, however, is her family and she cherishes spending time with her husband and three children.

     

    Sara is a CPA currently working as the Director of Finance for SkyBox Labs and has also been on the DigiBC Board of Directors since 2019. She’s spent 14 years continuously developing expertise in accounting and finance, having previously worked freelance and in public practice. While she makes a living in numbers, she is also an advocate for positive self-image and mental well-being. In her leisure time, Sara can be found working in her garden, playing mobile games or working on mastering her cooking skills.

     

    Karen is a strategic and visionary project and team leader. With an education background in Computer Systems Technology from BCIT, she has focused the last 14 years of her career on building, leading and coaching high-performance software and product development teams. A lifelong love of video games and a tendency to gravitate towards the most complex and challenging problem sets led her to the mobile games industry. Since 2009, she has developed 18 mobile games including top-grossing titles such as Knights and Dragons and The Walking Dead: Road to Survival.

    Karen considers herself blessed to have had some great opportunities to partner and collaborate with other women in tech and looks forward to expanding on those opportunities. She believes in approaching career progress with an abundance mindset that involves lifting up and supporting others. She truly believes that any time you are part of a team or a community, the only way to win is to win together!