A new gameplay trailer for Fez, the 2D-no-wait-it’s-3D puzzle/exploration game primarily being developed in Montreal, was revealed earlier this week at the Independent Games Festival in San Francisco. The game involves navigating a 3D world from various 2D perspectives. Puzzles and obstacles are overcome by rotating the world and shifting your 2D character’s plane of existence. Just…watch the video below. It’s actually very intuitive and amazing to see in motion.

This past Wednesday, the IGF, a self-described “Sundance for independent game developers,” selected Fez as the recipient of its award for Excellence in Visual Art. The team behind the game received a $2500 cash prize and, presumably, enough exposure to help secure a distribution deal. It was also a finalist in the category of Design Innovation.

Originally attached to the Montreal-based experimental game collective Kokoromi, the virtual team behind the game is now calling itself Polytron Systems Corp. This international team consists of Kokoromi member Phil Fish (design and art), Renaud Bédard (programming), Graham Lackey (animation), and Jason “6955″ DeGroot (producer, music and sound effects).

The video shown above was used by Yannis Mallat, CEO of Ubisoft Montreal at his presentation, at D.I.C.E. 2008. It features cutscenes from the movie Bambi with a song from Evanescence. Yannis stated that even though the movie is 66-years old, it still triggers deep emotional reactions in his son, who cries everytime he watches it.

Yannis Mallat’s point was that pure technology doesn’t work when making video games. In order to have a successful title, you must design above all game mechanics, game flow, Artificial Intelligence, interactions, characters to create emotions.

This closed the panel where he was, which debated if it was better to build your own engine, or just buy a technology and skip R&D. Yannis Mallat said they missed the point because your focus shouldn’t be on getting the best, fastest, best-looking engine and technology, but on innovation and emotion.

Technology’ main role is to serve creative talent. Quite frankly, code does not translate into emotion.

This made quite a spash in the room, where all the big boys were speaking about the merits of the Unreal Engine 3. Yannnis’s philosophy is most certainly interesting and thought-provoking; and in the days where everyone talks about web frameworks, APIs, scalability, I can’t help into making a parallel when making web applications, say code alone does not translate into good user experience

Mark McQueen, who heads Wellington Financial, has been collecting data and writing about the “deteriorating state” of the venture capital industry in Canada. In his latest blog post, he uses the word “crisis” to describe this industry and calls for a Canadian-wide summit where active investors and stakeholders would look aggressively for solutions.

In an earlier post, Mark suggested 5 measures that would dynamize the industry, which boils down ultimately to less taxes, and less bureaucracy, which sounds fair coming from an investor.

Calling for a summit and regrouping key organizations is a great idea; although I am not convinced this is just a money problem. It reminds me of Gulf states, which are drowning in money but have zero innovation compared to their nearby neighbor Israel which holds one of the most vibrant tech industry, even though they don’t have much natural resources. This might sounds as an heresy to a VC, but I think money is just a small (albeit necessary) part of the equation in the process.

Here in Montreal, one of the most dynamic industry is video games, with companies like Ubisoft, EA, Eidos, A2M and many other studios, small and big, pushing innovative and successful titles every month. They have now renowned international video game conferences, the Sommet Internation du Jeu Numérique, networks like Alliance NumeriQC, video game schools, and we have even events like video game music concerts going on in Montreal.

My take is that it was due initially to 3D software makers like discreet and softimage. Their success proved in a way that it was possible to actually start something here. Afterwards, we had tax credits, which allowed companies to actually hire many developers and still get a decent production budget. These tax credits are now at 37.5% and still play a big role in attracting new studios and teams in Montreal (see Eidos’s case). Third, there is always a reason quoted when executives choose Montreal over other development centres like Shangai or eastern Europe cities specialized in outsourcing, and that’s the creativity and talent found in Montreal. 

As far as it goes, I think we actually need more “role models” similar to Discreet and SoftImage. But this is the kind of thing that you only wish for. It might happen in the next few years … or not; and we actually have to make with what’s avalaible right now.

As for the summit suggested by Mark, I suggest this: it would be a good idea to offer entrepreneurship courses in high schools and in universities. Advertising Montreal or other canadian cities as an attractive technology platform in other countries is also something that can only be done and should be done by governements (say, instead of giving $750k to investors)

Unlike one might believe after following popular technology blogs, technology is not limited to web applications or the iPhone.

In Montréal for instance, video games is one of the most, if not the most, dynamic sector with companies like Ubisoft, EA, Eidos or A2M pushing world-class titles pretty much every month. It also has the most demanding jobs, both on the creative side and in programming.  As such, this is a field I want to cover. If you are interested in writing about video games (both about the process of making, and also reviews for new titles) on this blog, shout an email at news@montrealtechwatch.com, or leave a comment.

Of course, this is NOT a job, and you shouldn’t really view it as such. I am looking for someone who can write a post every week or so, in french or in english, who is working (or wants to work) in this industry, and who genuinely interested in video games.

Eidos were the first to make news this week by oficially opening their new Montréal studio yesterday, after announcing it in February this year. The new studio is headed by Stéphane d’Astous, with a staff of over 200, and will be working on the next version of the hit title Deus Ex.

This was only the beginning though. Today was the Montréal International Game Summit, which is a 2-day conference gathering game developers and companies. Amusement Cyanide, a French company which does niche video games, announced they will be opening a local studio, with a staff of 65. Javaground, an american company which does games for mobile phones, also announced they will be opening a game dev center in Montréal. This is all very good news; I’ve heard the mayor M. Tremblay calling Montréal the “cité des arts numériques” last week. He sometimes exaggerate numbers but I agree with him on this one. 

Ubisoft Montréal has released last friday the next-generation video game Assassin’s Creed. The local game studio has also released recently major titles, like Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6, Naruto, the rise of a Ninja, or Far Cry, but I find this new title interesting from a technological and business point of view. Some observations:

• To my knowledge, it’s the first time that a video game producer, Jade Raymond, rose to an internet “superstar” status. I keep stumbling on her subtle and not-so-subtle appearances on the Internet, be it official videos from Ubisoft or from “fans”. Previously, only game coders like John Carmack, Will Wright, or Peter Molynex achieved to get this status. She even made it to the national TV, and appears on every single photo about the game, to the point that I sometimes think that she is more popular than the game itself. 
• Ubisoft Montréal started Assassin’s creed in 2004, when the xbox360 was still in development. It’s their biggest project to date, with a production budget beyond $20 million, a team of 300 developers and designers, and a promotional budget well over $1 million. They also invested heavily to make the game realistic, with professors in medieval history serving as consultants for the game. 
• This is also the first video game from Ubisoft that will be used to make movies, by their new Digital Arts division. 

For me, video games studios are now no different than the cinema industry, with video game producers and designers are the equivalent of movie directors and producers. I remember not so long ago an adventure game,  Another World, which was made by just one guy, Eric Chahi. 

Telefim Canada has just announced that Mindhabits has won the ‘Great Canadian Video Game Competition’. Mindhabits wins a $500 000 prize from Telefilm Canada and an equal amount from private investors, to help them develop and launch their game.

The competition was started to support and highlight independent video games companies from Canada. It was started by Telefilm, along with the support of various governmental agencies and established industry players like Ubisoft or Electronic Arts. Competitors had to display original content, with each of them tested during the competition’s previous 10 months.

MindHabits is based in Montreal and was spun off from original McGill medical and science research. They plan to build a ’serious’ video game to help minds manage social stress, much alike the Brain Age series, which reminds me a lot of the Coué method. Overall, this is a very curious video game, although the prospect of getting social happinness from a video game doesn’t seem ‘right’ to me.

Ubisoft Montreal has relaunched its recruiting campaign tropdimagination. Prospective candidates are invited to test their skills in interactive games and quizzes in memory, creativity and logic. Ubisoft hopes to find 150 designers and developers for its workforce thanks to this initiative.

Although I really disagree with their overuse of flash, I liked the way they diversified their message. There is a facebook group, a myspace page, and videos to expose the company’s culture to the candidates. Here is a sample video about 3D and creativity in Ubisoft, which reminds me a lot of the standoutjobs videos:

Ubisoft Montreal is the heavyweight video games company in Québec, and even country-wide. They have managed to lure and charm all new talents, and are planning to recruit 1000 more in the next 6 years. Thinking about it, if I was right now in high school, I would say my number one goal would be to work for Ubisoft, and I bet it’s the same for many young Québecers. A direct consequence of having so many video games companies hunting top designers and developers is that there would be nothing left for software companies, web design agencies, startups, consulting firms and for the IT industry in general. Of course, it’s quite easy to give a bigger salary package than Ubisoft, but nothing lures the young’uns than the prospect of making their own AAA video game. And if they can’t go to Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Eidos, Artificial Mind and Movement are broadcasting the same message.

CBC reports that the provincial governement and the Entertainement Software Association of Canada have struck a deal, which will force video games companies to release all video games titles sold in Québec to be translated in French.

In a province where up to 37.5% of video games developers’ wages are subsidized by the governement, this seems as a normal measure. It also sounds logical, seeing the number of video games already produced locally, in Montréal and Québec city. Now, I also expect Québecers to get much less video games titles in their hands, in upcoming years, except of course from blockbuster releases. Video game companies are not public organizations anyway, they follow market laws.

Gary Haran, currently a Rails developer for ziplocal, has sold wowdetox, and says he managed to get $3600 out of the website.

The story is interesting, because he went through the World Of Warcraft “addiction”, then created the website in 2 hours, to build a website to help those who spend way too much time in the role-playing video game for their own good. Blizzard has surpassed themselves in this game, with users playing as much as 12 hours per day in the game. Excerpts from the testimonials:

I recently quit playing wow after my wife threatened to leave me. I was playing at all hours of the day and night. I work full-time and would play as soon as I got home, my wife would go to bed alone and I would play until early morning. I would put on the TV to babysit my 4yo daughter so I could play. I havent played WOW for a little over a month, it feels good to have that monkey off my back, but I still feel the pull of the game. My wife and I are in counseling, trying to repair the disconnect and resentment created by my addiction to this game. I hope we can make it, she tells me its ok to keep playing, just limit it… I know I cant do it yet. It is truely an addiction, get your loved one help, just as you would for booze or drugs.

I’ve played World of Warcraft for a while now, and let me tell you guys, I regret buying that game. It has destroyed most of my Mental, Social, and Physical being. To those thinking about starting to play this game, let me just say that be prepared for the consequences ahead of you because this game is like a drug, once you start, you can’t stop. I, myself can’t stop playing constantly, its just too addicting. Should this game take ahold of you, you’ll regret it later.

If you ask me, $3600 is nice for 2 hours of work, but I guess the most valuable for him is the help and support the website gave to all players who wanted to get out of the game. I also think this is just the start of future help services for gamers. Blizzard, Ubisoft, EA, Microsoft, Sony Entertainement are all pushing the boundaries to get more people playing during more time. It’s easy to dismiss it if you never played a game like Battefield2 or World Of Warcraft, but I am sure future generations will need (and pay) for those services. Compute that with sales of virtual in-game objects, and you will get an entire section of the economy dedicated to video games.