GameHouse, the gaming division of RealNetworks, announced today that the company is expanding its social game studio to a new office in Victoria, BC, where it aims to double its staff to at least 45 people by the end of 2012.

“Social-game development is the number-one priority for our company in 2012 and Victoria is an attractive area for expansion due to the city’s high caliber of talent combined with a great quality of life.” said Matt Hulett, chief gamer at GameHouse. “I believe this strategic expansion of our social-games studio in Victoria will not only grow our games portfolio, but it will also solidify our leadership position in the overall games-industry.”

The decision to expand follows the release of GameHouse’s successful Facebook games – Collapse! Blast and the recently released Bayou Blast. Both games were launched in the second half of this year and attracted nearly 400,000 daily players. With a total of 3.7 million users playing all its social games each month, GameHouse is hiring aggressively in both Seattle and Victoria and focused on getting the right people in place to make games that millions of people love to play.

Hulett confirmed that GameHouse has invested at least $10 million towards the company’s social gaming initiatives in 2011 and revenues are growing at triple-digit rates. Taking over the top floor of a building located within the Downtown Business District of Victoria, the new studio will specialize in creating popular games on Facebook, Google+, and other emerging social platforms.

“It’s a privilege to work at one of the top social game studios in the best city in the world,” said Alex Mendelev, general manager of GameHouse Canada. “Several of the best designers, developers and producers have already joined our studio for this same reason, and we intend to more than double the size of our team next year.”

GameHouse Canada takes an indie approach to game production where designers are encouraged to express their creative freedom during game development. The new downtown studio at 712 Yates, Victoria opens on January 16, 2012 and will offer its staff several perks including an open and collaborative working environment, a plush gaming and entertainment lounge, creative Fridays, and more.

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A battle between the Victorian Coalition state government and the local Greens Member has erupted in Melbourne.

This year, newly elected Victorian State Premier Ted Baillieu introduced a scientific trail of cattle grazing in areas at high risk of bushfire.

Melbourne Greens MP Adam Bandt has introduced a private members bill to ban the research, as the bush land concentrated on in the study is in the Alpine National Park.

The study was an election promise by the Bailleu government as part of its commitment to explore new methods to reduce bushfire risk.

Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith said research sites had been selected to avoid environmental impact and only areas previously the site of grazing would be used.

When putting forward his private members bill against the cattle grazing, Mr. Bandt said, “Cattle are in the high country again not because the state government has determined the scientific research to be inconclusive; cattle are there only for the basest of political reasons.

“The Victorian State government’s return of cattle grazing to the Alpine National Park is an act of environmental vandalism and this bill puts an end to it.”

When announcing the cattle bushfire study, Mr. Smith said, “This scientific trial, being undertaken by Professor Mark Adams of the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre, will provide much-needed evidence on the effectiveness of strategic cattle grazing for fuel and fire management purposes.

“The Coalition Government is committed to making transparent and informed decisions on bushfire management in Victoria’s high country based on credible scientific evidence.”

The research began with 400 cattle introduced to six sites over 25,600 hectares of the Alpine National Park, where they will remain until 30 April.

The cattle were placed in the Alpine National Park in early January this year.

Speaking against the cattle grazing, Mr. Bandt said the cattle were a threat to the environment of the Alpine National Park.

“Cattle grazing will endanger a number of threatened species, destroy vegetation and pollute creeks.

“These alpine areas are important wilderness and heritage areas and an expansion of cattle grazing would threaten an important part of Victoria’s tourist economy.”

The cattle grazing study is currently being lead by Professor Adams from the University of Sydney.

The Coalition government says the cattle grazing research will ensure all available measures are taken to protect the national parks and state parks from fire damage.

Since the devastating bushfires in January 2009, when large areas of Victorian bushfires were burned and 173 people were killed, governments have been under extreme pressure to ensure home and urban areas are protected from bushfires.

In response to the deaths in the Black Saturday bushfires, a Bushfire Royal Commission was set up, handing down a number of recommendations last year.

There were several high profile members of the previous Labor government, particularly then Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon, who received extreme criticism from the Commission for not reacting appropriately to the bushfire crisis.

The Coalition used many of the findings of the Royal Commission during their successful campaign to oust the 12-year state Labor government in last year’s election.

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Sustainable housing in Melbourne has taken two steps forward, with the Victorian Premier Ted Bailleu launching an alliance between architectural service Archicentre and the Robin Boyd Foundation, a charity organisation focusing on the benefits of design.

Architecture firm Grocon also announced the plans for a new apartment building, known as Delta, which will be carbon neutral and made from timber present in the current building site.

When announcing the alliance Mr Baillieu expanded on the positive affects of sustainable housing, including energy savings with buildings remaining cooler in summer and warmer in winter without electrical devices.

“Trained architects use passive solar design to combine materials, methods, building form and the sun’s natural energy to provide year-round comfort in a house.

“Many Victorians may not be aware that a passive solar home can save them thousands of dollars and add extra value to the home when it is sold,” Mr Baillieu said.

Grocon’s development of the Delta building also placed a great emphasis on the future of sustainable building in Australia as having the potential to reduce energy and heating costs.

Currently the greenest building in Australia is Pixel, also made by Grocon, which has received a perfect score of 105 from the Green Building Council of Australia.

Grocon’s General Manager at the Carlton Brewery site, which will be the site of the Delta building, David Waldren said the company was keen to continue going further towards sustainable housing in the development and construction industries.

“With the Federal Government’s announcement that there will be a carbon price from July 1, 2012, we must all be ready for a new way of living and working. The carbon-constrained economy is upon us.

“More importantly, we must commit ourselves to ensuring less carbon is emitted into the global atmosphere to preserve the environment for generations to come,” stated Mr Waldren.

When Premier Baillieu announced the sustainable housing alliance, he expressed his commitment to promoting sustainable energy for cost-benefit reasons

“The Coalition Government is committed to reducing living costs wherever possible – for example by introducing a year-round 17.5 per cent electricity discount for concession card holders – and we are keen to promote passive solar designs and other
ways to reduce costs by improving the design of new or renovated houses,” said Mr Baillieu.

Mr Waldren has stressed the potential for comfort and quality in the designs of buildings such as Delta, which is planned to be ten stories high with 50 apartments.

“Buildings like Delta will bring a new standard of comfort and quality to Australian residential settings,” Mr Waldren said.

“We believe homeowners should have the opportunity to take advantage of technology available around the world and achieve the most sustainable home possible.”

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When a new government takes charge, there is often divisions over how past policy will fit in, if at all, with their new policy outlooks.

While in Opposition Ted Bailleu, Victoria’s new State Premier was extremely critical of the smart meter system, parictulalry when complaints of shocks resulting in injury were reported to the government and the media.

According to The Age, more then 3500 households in Victoria are at risk of possibly life-threatening electrical hazards due to faults in the installment of the smart meters.

The possibility of electric shock is not the only problem facing the smart meter roll out, with the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) expressing concern over the approval of price increases for the smart meters.

Craig Memery, ATA’s Energy Policy advocate said that “Energy consumers will be charged too much for services that are meant to be automated by smart meters. We accept that it will take some time for energy businesses to get their new systems in order, but in the meantime this is like charging $5 to send a text message.”

The ATA is not the only organisation expressing concern, with Electrical Trade Union secretary Dean Mighell saying on Victorian radio that he was concerned smart meters were sometimes being installed by people without the right qualifications, which could increase the risk of danger in the installation.

The Bailleu government has begun a review of the current roll out of the smart meters, but installments of the meters will continue while the review is being carried out.

The last study on smart meters was conducted in September last year by the then Labor government, led by John Brumby.

Brumby’s government commissioned an independent report conducted by Oakley Greenwood, which found that smart meters would deliver benefits to Victorian households.

Then Minister for Energy and Resources Peter Batchelor said that the smart meter would bring out of date technology into a digital age. .

“Through the roll-out of smart meters we are equipping Victorian families with the tools to manage their energy bills and connect more easily to new technology such as solar panels.”

The Bailleu government’s study will explore the cost effectiveness of the smart meters, with the government waiting until the completion of the report before deciding to halt the program.

SMART METERS KEY FACTS

•    Smart meters are designed to replace current electrical meters on households throughout Victoria.
•    By 2013 Victorian government aims to have the new smart meters installed in 2.5 millions homes and businesses in the state.
•    Smart meters do not need meter readers or estimated bills.
•    Electricity distributors will be able to reconnect power much quicker when power goes out.
•    The smart meters will have more detailed information and household electricity use.
•    The smart meters read outs are said to allow better control over energy use, and could potentially lower bills.

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