Empire Avenue, the Social Stock Market Game, is fighting off the cold Canadian winter with a red-hot announcement. The company has secured the services of the venerable Brent Knowles, a games industry veteran who got his game-design chops at renowned developer, BioWare, and will be working closely with Empire Avenue to further refine, enhance and generally totally-awesomeify its ever-so-addictive Social Stock Market Game at http://empireavenue.com.

While at BioWare, Brent acted as Lead Designer/Creative Director on the studio’s massive hit, Dragon Age: Origins, as well as Co-Lead Designer on Neverwinter Nights, Lead Designer on the Neverwinter Nights expansions and Designer on Baldur’s Gate II and Jade Empire. He has since shifted his focus to his thriving writing career; Knowles placed first in the third quarter of the Writers of the Future Contest and has had his writing published in magazines such as On Spec, Neo-Opsis and Tales of the Talisman. For more information on Brent, visit http://brentknowles.com.

Empire Avenue, in case you forgot, haven’t heard or otherwise chose not to know, has made a game out of social media – in the Social Stock Market Game, players buy and sell shares in other people, businesses – anyone – and earn virtual cash and prestige based on their social activity, reach and influence. So the more people do on their blogs, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube, and the bigger and more engaged their audience, the higher their share price can climb! Brent’s efforts will help the company bring the site’s addictive game elements to new social platforms. More information will be revealed in the coming weeks.