Local Omani design house Albaha Designs is looking for a full time 3D modeler to be based in Oman. Candidates must be capable of using Maya, Photoshop, and Illustrator. CVs are to be emailed to saleh_alrizeiqi@hotmail.com. You can call 00968-2353 8038 or 00968-9230 0505 for more info.

We have been keeping a little secret here at Oman3D about a new project that we launched at the start of April during the annual eGames conference held at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat. This secret is about Chemical Orange, a portal for playing free mobile phone created using Flash Lite.

The idea behind Chemical Orange is to make games which are representative of our local Omani culture and  yet simple and fun to play. We think that we were successful in doing that. We got linked to by one of the two mobile phone operators in the country and our games were downloaded more than 50,000 times within a period that did not exceed three weeks. This is counting only downloads made over-the-air and not downloads made from the actual website. We also do not DRM our games, so users can save them and share them with their friends as they please.

We currently have two games in our catalog, both of which are made using Flash Lite 1.1 to ensure the highest number of compatible devices. We created the games using Flash CS3 and tested using Device Central CS3, two tools that proved the excellence of Adobe’s tools in the field of mobile content production.

We provided users with two methods for downloading the games, the first is by visiting our regular Flash website, select the phone model to download the appropriate game version and then leave the user to transfer the game to his phone as he sees fit, the second method is by downloading the game directly over the air by visiting the mobile portal of Chemical Orange, select the game and phone model and then just play.

Our games also feature a highscore  board feature that lets users submit their score and have their name shown if they get a score within the top five.

You can check out Chemical Orange by visiting our full website or alternatively by visiting m.chemicalorange.com from your mobile phone browser. All our games are free of charge, so you have no excuse not to try them out!

The Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) has announced the launch a student competition to design the logo for Origin Oman, the new Omani government initiative to promote and support local products and services. The winner of the competition will be awarded RO 500 in cash (about $1300) and his logo will be used on the merchandise of all participating local businesses to indicate that they are members of the Origin Oman campaign, just like the older Omani Product campaign. All students of Omani colleges and universities regardless of nationality may participate in this competition, here are the rules:

• The logo design must have two version in Arabic and English where the Arabic includes the word ‘Omani’ in Arabic and the English version includes the words ‘Origin Oman’ in English. A single version will be accepted if it contains both of these elements.
• The submission must be made in AI format.
• The logo must be usable in monochrome and colour media.
• The participant must be a student based in Oman, he/she must include personal details such as his/her full name, age, place of study, postal address, telephone number, and email along with his submission.
• All submissions are to be sent by email to hamida.albalushi@peie.om.
• The deadline for making the submission is the 20th of May.
• The winner will be announced on the 25th of May.

All of you interested in participating in this cool competition should check the detailed description of it after the jump.

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Reality, an architectural & visual effects company based in Oman, is (a) looking for a lead CG artist experienced in architectural visualization and animation using 3D Studio MAX/Maya and (b) offering an internship opportunity to work with them in the 3D architectural industry. You can learn more about these opportunities here. Applications are to be submitted via email to info@realitycg.com.

Oman3D interviewed Tayseerah Al Baram, a Omani photographer and a board member of the Omani Society for Fine Arts to learn more about her experience as a female photographer and as an active member of the Omani Society for Fine Arts and the Omani Photography Club. Click here to read the entire interview text.

The Ministry of Information published an advert on today’s newspaper looking for a web designer and a web developer, both of whom must hold a technical college diploma or an equivalent certificate in IT or computer engineering and must have knowledge of web design applications and web development languages. The job is only for Omani nationals who are not currently working at any other government units or agencies. Applications are to be submitted anytime between the 22nd of March to the 2nd of April to the Employee Affairs Department at the Ministry of Information HQ in Madinat Al Alam.

The Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Muscat, Oman is looking for a graphic designer to join the PR and Publicity Department of SQU who shall be responsible for producing university logos and publications, designing and updating university websites, and design university advertisements. The job advert does not mentions any degree requirements, but says that the applicant must be experienced with Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premier, Quark Xpress and Flash.

Applications are to be sent by mail within two weeks to the Director of HR at PO Box 50, Postal Code 123, Al Khod, Oman. Applicant’s CV, educational qualifications, and samples of previous work are to be submitted along with the application.

Earlier this evening we attended the opening of Anna Mair’s photography exhibition at Bait Al Baranda Museum. The event was inaugurated by Anna’s cute little daughter Aria and her school friend Menaa. Anna’s photography was beautiful, the place was nice, and we managed to chat with a number of interesting people at the event including Anna herself. The event will be open to the public from Saturday the 9th to Thursday the 14th of Feb, make sure you pay it a visit if you have the chance. You can check out some photographs we took at the exhibition after the jump.

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New details are emerging about the upcoming eGames 2008 conference to be held next month in Muscat. Profiles of key speakers can now be seen on the eGames Oman Blog, such key speakers include David Wortley - Director of the Serious Games Institute at Coventry University; Professor Lizbeth Goodman - Founder and Director of the SMARTlab Digital Media Institute and the MAGIC Multimedia & Games Innovation Center, Gamelab and PLAYroom; Dr Sara de Freitas - Director of Research at the Serious Games Institute at the University of Coventry; Mike Gogan - Blitz Games; Dick Davies - Executive Producer of Ambient Performance; and many other experts who will share their experience in the fields of gaming for education purposes (serious gaming), using virtual reality games for the promotion of tourism, and mobile phone gaming.

You can learn more about of these speakers and the eGames conference on the eGames Oman Blog.

Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) has announced that its annual gaming conference eGames will be held on the 31st of March and the 1st of April 2008 at KOM HQ in Rusail. (See our coverage of the last eGames here.) The conference will focus as usual on gaming for education purposes, gaming for the promotion of tourism, and mobile gaming - all of which are fields that the Sultanate of Oman and local business could make use of.

The sessions of the conference will be delivered by a number of academics, virtual reality game developers, and telecom industry professionals. A workshop on Second Life on the second day of the conference will be conducted by David Wortley of the Serious Games Institute of Coventry University.

Conference entry fees, if any would be charged, have not been announced yet. Conference updates will be posted on the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) Blog.