Toronto Digifest - It's A Start Pitch Competition

Toronto Digifest is happening again this year, and with it comes the "It's A Start" Pitch Campaign -  a way for Toronto startups to pitch their company for a chance at funding.

"One of Toronto’s leading pitch competitions is back! The Digital Media and Gaming Incubator at George Brown College is proud to present the 2018 IT’S A START Pitch Competition.

Next April, ten startups will be selected to pitch their ideas in front of a live audience and judges at Digifest 2018.  All startups have the opportunity to pitch their business idea, convince the judges of its value, and impress the crowd in 5 minutes for the chance to win cash, space along with an opportunity to attend Beijing’s Overseas Talent Entrepreneurship Conference.

If you have an idea for a smart sustainable future product or service, please submit an application. We invite everyone from creative professionals, budding entrepreneurs, new startups, students or recent graduates to submit. Whether your business is a Mobile App, Game, VR/AR Media, Digital Design, AI, or Robotics, we would love to hear your ground breaking ideas."

You can check out the full details at the It's A Start Pitch website. The deadline for applicants is January 26th, 2018.

Ubisoft Toronto Announces Indie Series

Similar to last year, Ubisoft Toronto, and National Bank announced the Indie Series which gives independent developers a chance at some cash, mentorship, and helping with marketing. You can check out the full details on Ubisoft's website, as well as the eligible criteria.

A competition designed to drive leadership in the videogame industry

Back for a second edition, the Ubisoft Indie Series presented by National Bank is an annual competition for independent game development studios, offering cash prizes, mentorship, and creative, marketing and financial tools to help local studios and their games reach new heights.

Best of luck to everyone who enters, and make sure to check out the website for full details!

Escape The Internet In Rage Quest - Out Now

In Rage Quest you'll play as Zye, a man who has awoken in the internet with no idea how he got there. The only way out is by creating a portal using the only type of energy available on the internet...hate.

"Zye will journey through the worlds of social media, online gaming, and corporate influence on his quest to amass hate. On his journey he'll encounter enemies such as The Hive Mind, Gamergate, The Twitch Chat, trolls, flamers, hackers, bloatware, malware, spambots, user data, censorship, fake news and many more."

Rage Quest is a real-time, tile-based RPG where you have to time and chain your attacks.

"Every action has a charge time (the time until the action executes) and a cooldown time (the time until the action can be used again). The player must think both quickly and strategically to be effective in combat. It's not just about using the right actions together, but timing the execution of them as well."

Rage Quest is out now on Steam, itch.io, and Google Play with an iOS version coming soon. Make sure to follow the developer Nicolas Fisher on Twitter when you get a chance!

For Honor Season 4 Begins November 14th - Enjoys Free Weekend November 9th-12th

For Honor released earlier this year, and Ubisoft has been putting a lot into their medieval fighter. To celebrate Season 4 (which arrives November 14th), people can play for free this weekend on the platform of their choice.

Season 4, which arrives later in the month, will come with two new heroes, two free maps, and more - you can check out the trailer below:

Cally's Cave 4 Out Now On iOS

Local London Developer Jordan Pearson has released Cally's Cave 4 on iOS for free today - a run and gun action game which features over 300 levels, and 88 weapons to play with. 

"It’s time for Cally’s biggest adventure ever! On a mission to cure her friend Rupert’s curse, Cally must embark on a journey across the globe. Along the way, Cally will make new friends, discover a new arch-nemesis, and fight her way through hordes of enemies on the way to becoming the greatest hero in the world! Do you have what it takes to fight a secret society that holds the only thing that can save Rupert? Take on the challenge in the action platformer, Cally's Caves 4!"

You can pick up the game for free on iOS right here - and while you're at it, check out the soundtrack!

Alto's Adventure Updated For iPhone X

Our friends over at Snowman released an update for their indie hit Alto's Adventure that takes advantage of the iPhone X's shiny new screen.

"We’ve updated Alto’s Adventureto take advantage of the new screen on day one. With more of the mountain in view than ever, we really feel like this is the premiere way to experience the game"

You can download the game on iOS right here, while we wait for Alto's Odyseey, Where Cards Fall, and Skate City.

FDG Entertainment Bringing Blossom Tales To Switch This Winter

Castle Pixel released their Zelda inspired game, Blossom Tales to Steam earlier this year, and now they are getting help from FDG Entertainment to port it to the Nintendo Switch.

"Explore a vast open game world in classic action-adventure fashion as Lily, Knight of the Rose! Slash your way through monster-infested dungeons to save the Kingdom of Blossom from eternal darkness. Collect unique weapons, spells, and more during your journey to take down powerful bosses and solve clever puzzles.Be part of a vivid, dynamic story passed down from grandfather to grandchildren by influencing the course of events yourself!"

The game will be console exclusive to the Switch and we can expect the game to hit this Winter, until then check out the trailer below!

Wytchwood Announced From 'Cryptark' Developer Alientrap

Happy Halloween (yesterday)! In celebration Alientrap, the developer behind Cryptark, and Apotheon, have announced Wytchwood - a crafting adventure game set in the land of fables and fairytales.

"As the mysterious old witch of the woods, you will explore a strange countryside, collect magical ingredients, brew sorcerous enchantments, and pass your twisted judgement upon a capricious cast of characters and creatures."

Right now, you can check out the Steam page where it says the game will out in 2018. Until then make sure to check out the little teaser, and screenshots below.

Happy Halloween from Alientrap Games! Here's an early look at #Wytchwood, our new game about magic, and fairy tales!https://t.co/kJhBGZoci1 pic.twitter.com/b7aRyCPUZ3

— Jesse McGibney (@JesseMcGibs) October 31, 2017

Far Cry 5 Co-Op Trailer

With Paris Games Week happening, we already found out about Gucamelee! 2 - and now we get a new trailer for a game we already knew about: Far Cry 5. In the trailer, Ubisoft announces you'll be able to play the whole game co-op with a friend. Far Cry 5 will be out for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC February 27th, 2018.

Prodigy Game Wraps Turn-Based RPG into Teaching Math for Grade School Kids

Before I started TorontoGameDevs I was aiming to be a teacher, specifically a math teacher. I tutored all through university, while completing a bachelor's and master’s degree in math, and was set on teaching either at the high school or college level. Life took me on a different path, but I've always had a love for mathematics and education.

That's why I was excited to give Prodigy Game a try, which aims to wrap learning math around a turn-based RPG involving wizards and saving the world. Prodigy currently has 20 million users, including students, teachers and parents, and it provides over 1200 crucial math skills to its players. It also follows the grades 1-8 curriculum so kids stay on track with their skills, and are ready for standardized testing.

In the game, you take turns attacking monsters with spells, which require you to solve math questions across various grades and topics, in order to successfully cast. If you answer incorrectly, the game teaches you the concept and has you try again.

Prodigy Game works on the concepts of grade school math, and provides solid hints to help on some of the more troubling questions. There are achievements for answering questions correctly in a row, and each battle presents a different math concept. The battling system is simple enough to move everything along, since at the end of the day the idea is to get students to the next questions.  A story on saving the land keeps the player moving forward, defeating enemies and solving math problems.

The game is free to play, and anyone can sign up, including students, teachers and parents. Similar to mobile games there is a premium membership, which gets you access to more experience points, items and gold - however the educational content is the same as a free membership. There are also toys that you can purchase, which give you in-game bonuses, similar to Nintendo's amiibos.

If you have a child in grade school who could use a little extra help in math I'd recommend checking out Prodigy, which you can sign up for right here. Teachers can sign up for their students, while Parents can sign up for a free account to keep track of their kids’ progress. 

It’s exciting to see Canadian start-ups impacting math education in Toronto and Prodigy Game is currently looking for some top talent to continue to build their team. They’re looking to fill nearly 100 jobs in the next year, so make sure to check out their list of available jobs here.

This post was sponsored by Prodigy in a partnership with Stephen Crane to provide you the most up to date facts, helping you make better informed decisions. All opinions in this article are my own.

Guacamelee! 2 Announced For PlayStation 4

All is good in the world as Drinkbox Studios announced today that Guacamelee! 2 will be coming to PlayStation 4. Taking place seven years after the original, Juan Aguacate is living life with his family and friend but his trainer, Uay Chivo, discovers an evil menace that threatens time and space.

The game will include new abilities, as well as 4-player co-op and according to the trailer, we'll be able to play it "soon-ish".

Who Killed My Uncle From Devon Wiersma Launches On Itch.io

Friend of the site, Devon Wiersma launched a game on Itchi.io called 'Who Killed My Uncle?' Taking place in World War 2, 'Who Killed My Uncle?' is a narrative game about censorship, loss, and family you will never meet.  

Made in just under a week in memory of Sidney George James who served in the International Volunteers during the Spanish Civil War.

You can get the game on itch.io for your own price.

✨My short, narrative game "Who Killed My Uncle?" is now available for free on @itchio! ✨#gamedev #indiedevhttps://t.co/HaGUgg2udo pic.twitter.com/S5EARyXEHD

— A Ghost Or Something (@Devon_Wiersma) October 26, 2017

Rima: The Story Begins Available on Google Play

Rima: The Story Begins is an adventure game where you play as Rima, a small mutant blue-green algae.  You are tasked with restoring the major elements to take back the land that has been seized by Shadow.

Created by UP Entertainment, it has been released on Google Play and on the Amazon App Store, with a planned release on iOS later this year.  The reviews on their Google Play store have been positive so far with many people loving the graphics and the story.

You can follow UP Entertainment on Twitter @UPENT_, on Facebook, and on Instagram @upentertainment_.

Debris From Moonray Studios Released - Escape Together Or Die Alone

Following along with A Mortician's Tale, our friends at Moonray Studios released Debris on Steam this week! It's also enjoying a 15% launch discount, so pick it up today!

You’re part of a small team sent to film a promotional video for a groundbreaking discovery: meteoric debris embedded deep in Arctic ice that provides clean, hyper-efficient energy. But as your dive begins, several explosions create a powerful current that drags you and your team down, trapping everyone in a vast network of submerged glacial caverns.

Escape together or die alone

Stranded at the bottom, injured and running out of time, your only hope for survival is to reach the surface. But the journey through the depths is full of unexpected trials. You and your team will fight your way through hostile creatures in increasingly confusing and dangerous environments. 

But something else is going on. Things aren’t right, they don’t add up, and before you know it the truth comes into question. As you fight your way to safety, you’ll need to figure out what’s behind this surreal world and your desperate situation. Knowing will make all the difference.

A Mortician's Tale - Out Now On Steam

It's finally here! A Mortician's Tale from Laundry Bear Games is out on Steam, which you can pick it up right here on Steam, Humble, and itch.io (and currently enjoying a 20% launch discount).

A Mortician's Tale is a narrative-driven death positive video game where you play as a mortician tasked with running a funeral home. Take on the role of recent funeral direction graduate Charlie as she learns the ropes of the business and industry. Prepare the cadavers of the deceased (via embalming or cremation), attend their funerals and listen to their loved ones' stories, and interact with Charlie's coworkers, clients, and bosses. 

A Mortician's Tale is an informative, honest, and sometimes humorous look at the current state of and the future of the western death industry.