Tag Archives: PC gaming

Train2Game News: Modding software on Kickstarter

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Game Mod ComicA new Kickstarter campaign has launched which will help the average PC gamer to use Game Mods easier. This is good news for Train2Game students who like to create mods for games.

Olympus Games announced the launch of a new Kickstarter campaign to help fund the development of its upcoming mod management platform, GMOD. Built on powerful new technology, GMOD streamlines the modding experience for hardcore and casual PC gamers, delivering an intuitive platform where mods “just work”. Leveraging this simple and flexible interface, the GMOD team aims to open up the world of modding to mainstream gamers everywhere.

Supporters can learn more about GMOD or help fund the project at the official Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gmod/gmod-0

“Modding has always been a very important part of PC gaming, but there’s a reason why it has failed to reach mainstream gamers – it’s rarely a simple process,” said Skylar Kreisher, CEO of Olympus Games. “Our goal is to make mods so easy to find, play and share, that anyone can become part of the modding community. It’s time for a new generation to re-discover their favorite games with innovative modded content.”

The GMOD client is a mod management platform that’s designed to enable gamers to use mods faster, safer and easier than ever before. Users can quickly install new mods with its drag-and-drop interface, enable and disable mods with just one click, and most importantly, never deal with unzipping, directory-diving, copy-paste-overwrite or mod-based re-installs ever again.

GMOD is pushing the modding scene forward by building a holistic solution where players can use mods from any source or community, discover and share new mods with friends and promote the hard working mod developers that make it all possible. It’s a robust platform that, with fan support, will continue to thrive and improve, eventually incorporate everyone’s favorite games and mods.

For more information about GMOD and Olympic Games:

Visit Kickstarter: http://kck.st/Y0oLhC

Join the Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/gmodsocial

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GMod

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/gmod

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 07.05.13

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Dead Island RiptideThis week, with the bank holiday weekend, was a very quiet week for new games. There isn’t much change in the top 20 and no new games. Dead Island Riptide has kept its number one position as well.

All formats

Week ending 4 May 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 - DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 1
2 - INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 2
3 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 5
4 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 7
5 DRAGON’S DOGMA: DARK ARISEN CAPCOM 3
6 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 11
7 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 6
8 - LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS NINTENDO 8
9 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 10
10 STAR TREK PARAMOUNT 4
11 ASSASSIN’S CREED III UBISOFT 20
12 - FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 12
13 DEFIANCE TRION WORLDS 9
14 - THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM XBOX 360 CLASSICS 14
15 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 16
16 GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION SONY COMPUTER ENT. -
17 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES -
18 SONIC & ALL STARS RACING TRANSFORMED SEGA 15
19 GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY ROCKSTAR -
20 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS -
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 03.05.13

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GameStickIt’s the end of the week and it is time for the Train2Game news round up!

Playjam, the team behind the much anticipated GameStick have released a new product ´explainer´ video. The product came under attack when people felt it didn’t live up to expectations. The console is not yet released however and only developers have had hands on. You can see their explainer video here: http://youtu.be/QlNjIzNZh4o

Gazillion Entertainment will be kicking off a Marvel Heroes “Iron Man 3” Open Beta Weekend beginning on Saturday, May 4 through to Monday May 6. This is to coincide with the release of the film. As part of the “Iron Man 3” Open Beta Weekend, new players who participate will be able to select an Avenger as their starting hero – including Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America and Black Widow. In order access the Marvel Heroes “Iron Man 3” Open Beta Weekend, players should register now at www.MarvelHeroes.com. As the weekend approaches, an email will be sent with download instructions.

In further Marvel news prepare to Hero Up this autumn, when LEGO Marvel Super Heroes puts players in control of their favourite Super Heroes from the Marvel Universe. With more than one hundred memorable characters to choose from, each with their own unique powers and abilities, players are in for a brick-smashing adventure. In a new video released today, you’ll get a sneak peek at a few members of the Amazing, Mighty and Uncanny (hint) team who join forces to stop an array of Marvel villains. You can enjoy the trailer, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYAXHqCM-b4

Now for further LEGO news, The LEGO Group proudly announce that their latest, action-packed free mobile game LEGO Star Wars The Yoda Chronicles will be available to play on iOS devices as well as on the official LEGO website from May the Fourth 2013. This is of course, unofficially, Star Wars Day. Questing with Yoda or Count Dooku, players can choose to join the Light Side or the Dark Side in this new game. The LEGO Star Wars The Yoda Chronicles story and game intertwines with the 2013 LEGO Star Wars novelty products in a mix of real time laser battles, intricate dungeon crawling, lightsaber duels and tense space combat high above Coruscant.

Finally, Perfect World Entertainment Inc. and Cryptic Studios are proud to announce that one of the most anticipated free MMORPG’s of 2013, Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter, is officially in Open Beta. Free to download and play, Neverwinter is built for gamers who crave more action combat, adventure and glory out of MMOs. The major milestone of Open Beta marks the beginning of unrestricted access to Neverwinter and its content creation system, the Foundry, along with no further character wipes. For more information about Neverwinter and to begin playing the Open Beta now, please visit the official website: www.playneverwinter.com/

Train2Game News: International studios game on Kickstarter

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Son of NorStillalive studios is a young independent game development studio who have members all over the world.

They first got together in early 2010 in Innsbruck, Austria as a team of 3. Over time, the team grew due to the ambitious nature of the Son Of Nor project and new members from Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Italy, US, and Ecuador joined the international distributed team of game developers. The core focus of stillalive studios team is to make innovative indie core-games for PC, Mac and Linux with special and unique game mechanics.

Since their small beginnings they have moved on and now have a game on Kickstarter.

The Son of Nor Kickstarter campaign started on 30th April and will run for 30 days and hopes to pique the interest and backing of gamers everywhere to raise the $150k needed to launch this game into the market.

Son of Nor is a 3rd person action adventure game set in a desert world where human kind is on the brink of extinction at the hands of the Sarahul; an evil race of reptilian creatures bent on the destruction of human civilization. Players become humanity’s last hope for survival in an epic struggle to hold back the Sarahul hordes and change the destiny of the entire planet.

In Son of Nor, players command unique force abilities with which they must fight, solve puzzles and ultimately stay alive. These abilities include telekinesis, powerful magic spells and terraforming; manipulation of the game world itself.

Julian Mautner, founder of stillalive studios, said “If you have a specific goal, it will be the player’s choice of how to achieve it. Players can also choose to play in single player mode or enlist their friends to help them. As gamers ourselves we know the co-op in a game is so important and we have had the most amount of fun developing these elements and know, from feedback so far, our backers and gamers alike will find this very appealing.”

The studio released a new video today detailing multiplayer and co-op game elements for their debut title

Co-op is a key motivating factor in the game. Special level sections, in-game rewards and some puzzles will only be achievable and solvable with the help of companions, when playing through the campaign in multiplayer mode.

You can view the trailer for the multiplayer mode below:

A story like this one shows that no matter where you are or what your situation you can make games and get to a successful level. There is nothing stopping you achieving your dream.

To pledge support please visit the Kickstarter page at: http://bit.ly/SonOfNor

Train2Game News: Train2Game Radio – Sam Henderson

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Sam HendersonLast week I got to interview Sam Henderson who was the runner up in the Rapid2D competition. Sam told me about how he came to Train2Game and how he found working with the engine and Windows 8.

You can listen to the interview here: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1366288-train2game-student-sam-henderson-shares-his-prize-from-rapid2d

Or read the following transcript:

My name’s Sam Henderson, doing the Train2Game developer course and I live in Darlington.

Hi Sam, how you doing mate?

I’m good thanks

Excellent, so tell me who you are and what have you done lately?

Well at the moment just trying to be a games developer, went to university for 2 years, didn’t like it, went on Train2Game, learnt loads from that.

I understand you worked with the Rapid2D engine recently, you were part of the competition weren’t you?

Yeah

How did that go?

I came second, I was runner up.

Yeah and what did you have to do for the competition?

Just design games for Windows 8.

How did you find working with Rapid2D and Windows 8 and all of that?

A lot easier than I thought! It was difficult to get used to it but when I did get used to it, it was perfect to use. A lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

Excellent, so what sort of games did you make?

I made a Space Game, I used templates that they provided to us and just tried to edit them. I used a couple of quiz games based on the template they provided us with and I just went from there really.

You had to make a certain amount of games to enter didn’t you? How many?

Yeah it was 5 to enter then for every one you get an extra entry. I made I think it was twenty three in total.

That must have been quite some work!

Yeah, day and night!.

Yeah, who needs sleep!? So was that on your own you did that?

Yeah I was on my own.

You said you were at University and didn’t enjoy it that much. What was it about University that you weren’t into so much?

Um, because we were quite a big class, because games programming is quite popular, I didn’t get the support, the one to one support, I wanted and needed. So the lecturers came in, dealt with the people they liked and who stood out more to them but for people like me who stay back, stay quiet, through certain things, it was a bit harder for me to grasp everything but then I found Train2Game and I found everything a lot, lot easier, a lot more support, got the forum and got the Tutors. It was so much easier to use. In my own time as well.

How did you find out about Train2Game?

I think it was an ad through Facebook!

So how did you initially get into games development? What sparked off your interest for it?

Well my initial games interest was from when I was a kid, I had a lot of free time because I was in hospital quite a bit because I fell in a river and got an ear infection and lost hearing in my ear. So I was in and out of hospital every now and again and I had a games console to play while recovering. That sparked my interest in games and as I progressed through life I just wanted to do more with games and try and produce them myself and get more involved in development for them.

Excellent. So where would you like to end up working in the games industry?

Not sure! Anywhere that’s willing to take me really.

You haven’t got any ambitions to work at any of the big companies or anything like that?

Well I suppose probably my favourite one to work for would probably be Bethesda, working on the Fallout or The Elder Scroll games.

Yeah? They seem to be popular with the programmers because of just the amount of work that goes in to them must be quite appealing!

Yeah.

Alright, well thank you very much then Sam!

Thank you.

Train2Game News: BioShock Infinite DLC leak

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Bioshock InfiniteReports have emerged of a leak on Linkedin revealing a new companion for the next BioShock Infinite DLC.

The Linkedin profile of 2k’s animator Michael Shanan let the information slip but it has since been edited. The DLC has already been announced so that isn’t a suprise but the news of a new companion is new information.

The DLC will apparently contain “hours of additional gameplay and continue the player’s journey in the sky-city of Columbia with new stories, characters, abilities and weapons”.

Given that, it’s possible that this ‘new’ AI companion will be a replacement for Elizabeth. Her travelling through the game was such a key mechanic that it’s hard to see how they could ask us to play through Columbia’s skyways without someone to toss over health and ammo at key moments. It’s all speculation of course, since this hint was clearly not meant to reach the ears of the gaming press, and information has not yet been released.

My theory is that the DLC will follow the story of one of the other characters in the game, just as the Dishonored DLC followed the story of the assassin Daud. There are several other characters the DLC could follow including the leader of the Vox Populi – Daisy Fitzroy, the old solider – Cornelius Slate or possibly even Lord Comstock himself.

I look forward to seeing what they do with the DLC and will most certainly be purchasing it. You can pick up a 3-for-2 price offer and get the season pass in order to pick up all three pieces of future DLC.

Train2Game News: Pirates taste their own medicine

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Game Dev TycoonYesterday saw the release of Game Dev Tycoon, the debut title from developers Greenheart Games. The game in it’s self sounds interesting but the way it has fought piracy is amazing.

Studio founder Patrick Klug decided to pre-empt pirates and he put out a cracked copy of the game himself. He used it to teach pirates a lesson by “holding a mirror in front of them and showing them what piracy can do to game developers.”

The idea of the game, as the name suggests, is to run your own games development studio. Creating games, researching hardware and moving from generation to generation. Those who downloaded the cracked version however will run in to difficulty in about the PS2 generation, where their games will start to be pirated. They’ll see their studio finances dwindle as piracy bleeds out their balance until the point of bankruptcy.

The reactions Mr Klug has found from people pirating his game range from the amusing: “Is there some way to avoid that? I mean can I research DRM or something …” to the depressingly unaware: “Why are there so many people that pirate? It ruins me!”

The sad part of this story comes when you  know of the people playing the newly released game, around 93% are using the cracked version, with just under 7% having to chosen to pay the fee of $7.99. Mr Klug also details the various ways he’s tried to reach out and speak with pirates about the harm they’re causing his studio, yet it seems the stronger message will be the one coded into the game.

Klug leaves you with this final thought “If years down the track you wonder why there are no games like these anymore and all you get to play is pay-to-play and social games designed to suck money out of your pockets then the reason will stare back at you in the mirror.”

Train2Game News: Batman: Arkham Origins details and screenshots

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Batman Arkham OriginsIn the new issue of Games Master magazine speak to WB Montreal, the studio behind the Arkham prequel. They discuss the approach to crafting a different Dark Knight and offers some insight into features that didn’t make the cut.

Warner has confirmed the Batman: Arkham Origins release date as October 25 for consoles and PC. There is also a few new screens from the game which can be seen in the gallery at the bottom of this article.

According to a recent report, Arkham Origins will have a multiplayer mode, making it the first in the series to include it.

Here are the new details as reported in Games Master:

  • Batman: Arkham Origins is the story behind “how the unrefined, rough-around-the-edges, early career Batman” becomes Dark Knight
  • Batman and Captain Gordon meet for the first time during the events of Arkham Origins
  • Senior producer Ben Mattes says there are elements to the story that they will never discuss before the game has shipped
  • Batman in Arkham Origins has the moves and the abilities, but hasn’t faced the challenges that shape him into the Batman we know. Arkham City Batman is described as Batman 5.0, while Arkham Origins Batman is 0.9.
  • It’s “year two” of Batman’s career, roughly speaking
  • WB Montreal has been given everything Rocksteady had, from engine tweaks to concept art.
  • It plays exactly like Arkham City
  • At one point the HUD included a storm indicator. Since Origins takes place during a snowstorm, it provided warning of incoming wind blasts. However, it negatively impacted the freeflow combat as “enemies stand around waiting for you to punch them” and “you’re swinging wildly because you don’t know where they are.” The feature was cut.
  • Another cut feature is the enemy quad-rotor drone which would patrol rooms in search of Bats. The drone “broke the richness of the predator room, which is in giving the player the power to play the way they want.”
  • Detective mode has been overhauled, as has the gadget upgrade progression tree.
  • Goons will be able to “take advantage of the verticality” of New Gotham
  • Legends of the Dark Knight was the “single most inspirational piece of media”
  • “Making Batman scary again is important”
  • WB Montreal believes it has made “the coolest version of Deathstroke. He’s a wonderful counterpart to Batman”
  • Northern Gotham is the area that became Arkham City, it is a mix of low-rent residential and industrial buildings. Referred to as the Brooklyn of Gotham.
  • New Gotham is described as the ‘Soho’ or ‘East Village’ of the city. It is a brand new, upmarket area, borderline financial zone of the city. Focus is tall buildings, catwalks and walkways here.
  • The GCPD is corrupt, so Gotham’s swat teams are out to get Batman too
  • No mention of Joker yet.
  • A ‘Most Wanted’ mechanic offers a selection of mini-campaign side-stories centered around other major villains.

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Train2Game News: TIGA say UK prepared for digital age

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TIGA logo largeTIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry and partner of Train2Game, revealed that UK games developers are well prepared for the sector’s digital future.

77% of UK games companies already working either exclusively or predominantly on network gaming, with 35% of UK video game sales being digital in 2012, up from 27% in 2011, and similar increases expected this year and next, Britain’s game developers are already well ahead of the curve.

The extensive survey of the UK’s games businesses shows developers have rapidly adapted to the ‘death of the high street’, with only 23% of UK game companies now working exclusively on retail games.

Key findings from TIGA’s research include:

  • 94% of independent studios that started up in 2011 – 2012 are focused exclusively on network gaming
  • Across the UK games industry as a whole, 77 per cent of British games companies now work either exclusively or in part on network gaming – a rise of 10% over the last year.
  • Continuing a five year trend, the UK games retail market fell again in 2012, generating £1.6 billion, a 17.4 per cent fall from 2011.

Dr. Richard Wilson, CEO, TIGA said:

“The research shows the UK games development industry is already well ahead of the curve when it comes to digital distribution. Over nine-tenths of new UK game companies are working exclusively or in part on network gaming, such as mobile, massively multiplayer and social gaming. When you consider that digital video game sales grew 7.7% in 2012, making video games the most valuable digital entertainment sector in the UK, it’s clear how hard British developers are working to future-proof an industry that will become increasingly important to the UK economy.”

Patrick O’Luanaigh, Chairman of TIGA’s Self-Publishing Committee and MD of nDreams, said:

“The figures clearly illustrate the rapid movement that has happened in the UK over the last few years towards digital gaming and away from physical retail game development. The UK has a rich history developing some of the biggest retail games of all time, but sadly too many of the famous UK studios no longer exist. It’s great to see so many exciting new start-up studios focusing on digital platforms. Our key goal at TIGA is to deliver services that improve developers’ access to finance and enhance their commercial skills, to help these new studios grow, learn to publish successfully, and hopefully, become the famous UK studios of the future.”

Train2Game News: The Evil Within

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The Evil WithinBethesda Softworks, announced the planned release of The Evil Within, a survival horror game developed at Tango Gameworks under the direction of renowned game designer and studio head, Shinji Mikami.

Best known as the father of the survival horror genre and creator of the Resident Evil series, Mikami is a 20-year veteran of the industry who has developed numerous award-winning titles.

The Evil Within, in development for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, the PC, and next generation consoles, is slated for release in 2014.

The game’s prologue sets up protagonist Sebastian, a chiselled but otherwise nondescript detective called in to investigate a homicide at an inner-city asylum. He and his colleagues – a man called Joseph and a female detective they simply address as ‘Kid’ – arrive late to the scene. The parking lot is littered with police cars. The asylum, all Gothic architecture, looms. The cars are empty, Sebastian notes. There are no signs of violence but every single car is empty.

Venturing into the asylum’s vast, high-ceilinged lobby, someone remarks that the place “smells of blood.” Bodies of cops, doctors and patients slump on chairs and against walls. Sebastian makes his way into a video surveillance room, where a wounded doctor mumbles something. Peering at the screens, Sebastian sees a hooded figure slaughtering helpless police; suddenly, the figure appears behind Sebastian, and he’s knocked unconscious.

Shinji Mikami said ““Horror as a genre has a set number of patterns, and the more time you spend with those patterns the more you get used to them. And the more used to those patterns a person is, the harder it is to scare them and do something above and beyond and original.

“If players say ‘I haven’t played a game this scary in a while,’ that would make me the happiest.”

You can enjoy the live action trailer in the link below which was created by Kyle Cooper, the famed designer known for his award-winning work on title sequences for film and television including Se7en, American Horror Story, and The Walking Dead, the trailer captures and communicates the game’s tone.

YOU MUST BE OVER 18 TO VIEW THE TRAILER. THOSE WITH A NERVOUS DISPOSITION BE AWARE THIS VIDEO FEATURES GOREY HORRIFIC IMAGES.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrvD7jmGG1o&feature=youtu.be

You can find out more about the game at www.theevilwithin.com