Total War: Shogun 2 demo incoming

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

Sega has announced that Total War: Shogun 2 – or Shogun 2: Total War as Train2Game blog readers may remember it was originally called – will get a demo and it’ll be available next week.

Train2Game students who are eager to try out the latest from The Creative Assembly can download it via Steam from Tuesday 22^nd February. The Total War: Shogun 2 will allow “all armchair samurai” to try out land battles on the new Campaign Map. Unfortunately, there is no mention of the new sea battles.

Train2Game blog readers can gain an excellent incite into the Development , Design and Art behind Total War: Shogun 2 in this write up of a preview session at last years’ Eurogamer Expo. Mike Simpson of The Creative Assembly offered an excellent insight to what went on in the development of the game so it really is worth reading.

You can also see the Total War: Shogun 2 story trailer here on the Train2Game blog. It just goes to show that no matter what the genre of a game is, there needs to be a Game Designer working on its background.

Total War: Shogun 2 is set for release on 15^th March, exclusively on the PC.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Total War: Shogun 2? Are you looking forward to the game? Do you think it’ll be the next step in the development of the strategy genre? And will you be downloading the demo?

As usual, you can leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum. Alternatively you can let us know your thoughts via the Train2Game Facebook page, or the Train2Game Twitter account.

Train2Game, in association with DR Studios and the University of Bedfordshire, will be holding a Game Jam at the end of March. For more information, see the official Train2Game Game Jam website or the Train2Game Game Jam Facebook page. Alternatively, keep an eye on the Train2Game Game Jam Twitter account.

Dragon Age gets live action web series

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

The narrative of video games is getting increasingly sophisticated – as Train2Game blog readers will have seen earlier this month – but intelligent Game Design rarely seems to transfer into films and television.

Train2Game students may therefore be hoping the latest game to cross the divide will do a much better job!

The USA Today reports that a Dragon Age mini-series, titled Dragon Age: Redemption, is in the works and is being written by actress and creator of popular web comedy series The Guild Felicia Day. She’ll also star as the main character of Tallis, an elven assassin who “fights dirty.”

The six episode series is set in Dragon Age: Origins’ Fereldon and will air later this year.

Long time Train2Game blog readers will know that we’ve been very appreciative of the narrative on Dragon Age: Origins before.

“Tallis is headstrong, she fights dirty, and she has a really sarcastic sense of humor,” said Day. “I wanted to bring a modern sensibility to a fantasy character in a fantasy world.”

The actress is also aware that game adaptations have a poor history, but as a fan of the Dragon Age series, Day remarked she didn’t want this to be repeated with Redemption.

“I am an organic gamer and I love games, and I particularly love this franchise. I put every single effort into making this something that gamers will be proud of. Even though we were constrained a lot as a Web series, none of the people who were involved took that as a constraint. They took that as a challenge.”

“They are going to take this a step above what we have seen on the Web before” She added.

Bioware co-founder Greg Zeschuk praised the project: “We are really, really excited to work with people like her who have a passion and appreciation for the content and a really good history of quality. That’s who we want to work with.”

Dragon Age: Redemption was filmed over 12 days with Independence Day associate producer Peter Winther as director and Lost’s John Bartley as cinematographer.

Dragon Age 2 itself is set for release next month, but Train2Game students can not only get their hands on the game this weekend at Guardian Gamesblog Live, but also meet Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw. If you’re unable to attend, you can see Mike Laidlaw talk about Dragon Age 2 in this very interesting developer diary, as featured on the Train2Game blog last month.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Dragon Age: Redemption? Do you think the game will transfer well to a web TV series? Do you think Day has enough passion for the Dragon Age? Or are you already convinced that the show will let the game down?

[Source: USA Today]

Media Molecule to release community created LittleBigPlanet 2 campaign

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

It’s another example of how creating community content forLittleBigPlanet 2 could potentially help a Train2Game student find their way into the games industry.

Game Developers Media Molecule challenged a team of LittleBigPlanet 2 community modders to produce a new single player campaign, using only the creation tools in the game. The result is a rather nice looking mini-story mode called ‘Hansel & Gretelbot’

There’s no word on how Hansel & Gretelbot will be released as of yet, but Media Molecule incidate that it’ll be free.

Train2Game blog readers can see the rather nice looking trailer below.

There’s probably plenty of Train2Game Game Developers who’d love the opportunity to have their content released to as wide an audience as the LittleBigPlanet 2 community. A first step towards this could very well be creating their own LittleBigPlanet 2 levels, with Media Molecule previously stating they’ve employed several community developers.

There’s certainly a lot of potential to be extremely creative with LittleBigPlanet 2 as well, as seen in examples of community created levels based on Portal, Flower, Wolvenstein and Dogfight.

LittleBigPlanet 2 last released last month and took No. 1 in the UK Charts in its first week. It’s still in the top ten now, but only just, having dropped to No. 10. The game got very good reviews, with plenty of 9s and 10s from the gaming press.

Of course, LittleBigPlanet 2 isn’t the only game that allows users to create there own content. Another prominent example is Team Fortress 2, where some of the best modders seeing their content being sold by Valve, and making a profit from it too!

Meanwhile, last month saw a Starcraft II modder was offered a job at a Game Development studio.

Train2Game students may therefore find modding and community creation provides a useful step into the games industry.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Hansel & Gretelbot? Do you think it looks as good as the original game? Perhaps even better? And have you created any of your own levels for LittleBigPlanet 2?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum. Alternatively, you can let us know what you think via the Train2Game Twitter and Facebook pages.

[Source: PlayStation EU Blog]

A great opportunity for Train2Game students to meet EA Game Developers

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

Train2Game students have a fantastic chance to meet some of the biggest Game Developers in the world this Saturday, in the first in a serious of Guardian Gamesblog live events.

The first one gives attendees the opportunity to speak to those at the heart of some of EA Games’ most anticipated upcoming titles.

Crysis 2 Executive Producer Nathan Camarillo, Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed Lead Designer Andy Tudor and Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw will all be talking about the games industry. They’ll be covering the following areas:

Nathan Camarillo: Creating stunning graphics and expanding into the multiplayer universe.

Andy Tudor: Creating realism and simulation in Games

Mike Laidlaw: The importance of narrative and storytelling in gaming

Attending Guardian Gamesblog Live will also allow you to play Dragon Age 2, Shift 2 Unleashed and Crysis 2 before they’re released.

“The aim of the Gamesblog Live events is to give our readers the chance to meet the most talented developers in the world and find out how modern video games are created.

It’s the perfect chance for gamers, and people interested in getting into the games industry, to meet the experts without having to be crushed to death at big US events like E3 or GDC.” Writes Guardian video games correspondent Keith Stuart.

Of course, people interested in getting into the games industry naturally includes Train2Game students!

The first Guardian Gamesblog Live event takes place on Saturday 19^th February at The Guardian offices in London and costs £12. You can find out more information and book your tickets here.

It really is something any Train2Game student who can easily get to it should attend!

However, if you’re not able to make the event, you can see Mike Laidlaw talk about Dragon Age 2 in this very interesting developer diary, as featured on the Train2Game blog last month.

So Train2Game, will you be attending Guardian Gamesblog Live? Do you think meeting high profile Game Developers could help you in the long run? Have you attempted to contact developers for advice before? And if you could ask for advice on getting into the games industry from anyone, who would it be?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum. Alternatively, tell us what you think via the Train2Game Twitter and Facebook pages.

UK Charts: Test Drive Unlimited 2 takes pole position

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

Test Drive Unlimited 2 – a game which some Train2Game forum users were looking forward to – has taken No. 1 in the UKIE/GFK Chart Track All Formats Top 40 in its first week on sale.

The multiformat racer provides Namco Bandai with their first Number 1 of the year and knocks Dead Space 2 down to No. 2. EA’s horror sequel spent two weeks at the top. The remainder of the top five looks familiar with FIFA 11, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood occupying third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Nintendo’s Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-land Mayhem reaches the top ten in its second week on sale, rising five places from No. 11 to No. 6, while Mario Sports Mix climbs four spots to occupy No. 8. Just Dance 2 sits in between the two Nintendo titles in 7^th spot.

Grand Theft Auto IV is back in the top ten thanks to the release of the Complete Edition which takes No. 9. (Last month the Train2Game blog reported that the entire series was almost cancelled before it begun!) The Top Ten is completed by LittleBigPlanet 2 which has dropped to No. 10 just four weeks after its chart-topping debut.

Outside the Top Ten, Ubisoft’s childrens’ dancing game Dance Juniors takes No. 12 in its first week, while Madden NFL 11 debuts in No. 14. Namco Bandai also saw Ben 10: Cosmic Destruction re-enter the chart in No. 17 after it was released Wii, PS3, PS2 and PSP last week. It was previously available on the Xbox 360.

The UKIE GFK Chart-Track All Formats Top Ten for the week ending 12^th February 2011 is therefore:

1. Test Drive Unlimited 2 (Namco Bandai)
2. Dead Space 2 (EA)
3. FIFA 11 (EA)
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)
5. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft)
6. Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem (Nintendo)
7. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
8. Mario Sports Mix (Nintendo)
9. Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition (Rockstar)
10. LittleBigPlanet 2 (Sony)

SoTrain2Game, are you surprised to see Test Drive Unlimited 2 at the top? If you’ve played the game, what do you think? And with Marvel vs. Capcom 3 – which you can find out more about on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog – released this Friday, will Test Drive Unlimited 2 be a one week wonder?

You can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum. Alternatively, tell us what you think via the Train2Game Twitter and Facebook pages.

Game Design student Robin Channon speaks to the Train2Game blog

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

The Train2Game blog recently spoke to Game Design student Robin Channon, and you can listen to the interview here on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog. If you don’t have access to audio, you can now read the interview instead. Just select the Scribd document below.

View this document on Scribd

Remember, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum. You can also let us know what you think through the Train2Game Twitter and Facebook pages.

Bioware: World of Warcaft is the “touchstone” of MMO design – Do you agree Train2Game?

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

World of Warcraft – which has many fans on the Train2Game forum – is the “touchstone” of Game Design for all MMOs. That’s the opinion of Bioware who are developing their own MMO in the form of Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Bioware’s Greg Zeschuk hade the comments while speaking on a panel at the DICE summit in Las Vegas.

“It is a touchstone. It has established standards, it’s established how you play an MMO. Every MMO that comes out, I play and look at it. And if they break any of the WoW rules, in my book that’s pretty dumb,” said Zeschuk.

“If you have established standards, WoW established them.”

World of Warcraft certainly does have an established audience of over 12 million subscribers, many of whom rushed out to buy the Cataclysm expansion within its first month on sale.

The Bioware developer also told the audience that despite the rise of casual gaming, triple A titles were still viable and he pointed to World of Warcraft being the best example of this.

“Bigger does work. Big has worked and frankly, WoW is the biggest. On a pure revenue basis it’s probably the biggest game ever by a country mile. It generates so much revenue it’s an incredible international business unto itself. How do we compete with that? It’s an interesting challenge.

He continued. “In some ways they [Blizzard] cracked this market wide open. Obviously Star Wars is a very big licence and it’s something that when done right – and it’s something we did right with KOTOR (Knights of the Old Republic) years ago – it’s an incredible force multiplier on your efforts. We’ve added things so that anyone that plays it knows it’s a BioWare game.

“It’s not like we’re actually going out there to beat anyone, we’re going out to place. The audience will tell us if we have a place,”

Blizzard’s Mike Morhaim was also on the DICE summit panel and suggested that other good MMOs would be good for the genre as a whole.

“BioWare is a great developer and obviously Star Wars is a very strong licence. We think it’s good for the MMO genre for additional MMOs to come out that are actually fun and good to play,” he said.

“I don’t know that it serves the genre very well when MMOs come out and have all sorts of problems and players leave in frustration.

“Hopefully, new players will come in, experience it for the first time and find out that maybe they’re fans of the genre. If they get frustrated and leave maybe they won’t give the genre a try at all.

“So, do a good job” he told Bioware.

The Bioware Game Designers will be hoping they are doing a good job, with publisher EA recently stating Star Wars: The Old Republic will need 500,000 subscribers to be profitable.

So Train2Game, do you believe that World of Warcraft is the touchstone for MMOs? Can Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic come close to its standards? And do you agree that if one game is particularly good, it can encourage you to play others of the same genre?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum. You can also let us know what you think via Train2Game on Twitter.

[Source: GamesIndustry.biz]

‘Most’ FPS games will be played with motion control in a few years says Killzone 3 developer

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

Plenty of Train2Game students now own motion controllers, and according one Killzone 3 Game Developer, they’ll become the most common way for controlling First Person Shooters.

Tommy de Roos is the principal programmer at Guerrilla Games and headed the development of PlayStation Move compatibility with Killzone 3.

“I think they’re opening up to it,” he told CVG when asked how hardcore FPS gamers were perceiving Move.

“At the beginning there was a lot of reluctance but I know that a few of them picked it up, they tried it and they were actually quite surprised at how well it worked and the extra dimension it gives you.

“You lose some of the accuracy when rotating, that becomes more difficult,” He admitted.

“But you make up for that by being able to point anywhere on the screen and send your bullets flying there. So it’s a trade-off and a lot of hardcore gamers are seeing that and actually some of them are starting to prefer playing with the Move.”

The Games Developer then suggested that the change in controller type for the FPS genre could happen in just a few years.

“These are just the initial stages. Nintendo did a lot of research there, we did some research there now and it’s slowly progressing.

“I think, as this develops, in a few years most of the first-person-shooters will be played like this. I really think so. Maybe not the Move specifically but a pointing controller like this.”

Perhaps Train2Game students would be encouraged to use Move to play Killzone 3 with the Sharpshooter attachment that makes it look like a gun. Meanwhile, as reported on the Train2Game blog back in November, Sony said the PlayStation Move had greatly exceeded their expectations.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the potential of motion controllers to play First Person Shooters? Do you think it’ll work, or is it a gimmick? Will you try it out when Killzone 3 is released later this month?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum. Alternatively you can tweet your comments at the Train2Game Twitter account.

[Source: CVG]

Uncharted 3 produced like ‘a Hollywood film’ Is it the way forward Train2Game?

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

Train2Game students may be very interested in this! Naughty Dog have been telling the PlayStation blog about the latest game development techniques they’re using to produce Uncharted 3, and they’ve compared it to producing a Hollywood film.

Not only that but Naughty Dog are keen to further blur the realms of game development and movie production techniques.

“We have two motion capture spaces – a smaller one in the studio that lets us pick up smaller pieces, like idols, and then we have a dedicated stage at Sony Studios, and that’s where we get both the motion capture and the audio – because we do all of the dialogue at the same time – for both gameplay and cinematics.” Naughty Dog Community Strategist Arne Meyer told the PlayStation blog.

“It’s big enough for us to set up and perform everything from rehearsals to the final performances, and that approach, which is basically the same as producing a major motion picture, is what makes the performances so fluid and realistic in our games. When we’re in full swing, we’re doing new motion capture every week.”

Meyer also praised Naughty Dog’s relationship with the cast of the Uncharted series.

“We truly feel that they are part of the studio and they come down a lot on their own. Between working with them solidly for such a long period of time, and giving them input into what their characters are and should be, it’s collaborative and totally in the spirit of how Naughty Dog operates.

They feel invested in Uncharted, and it’s really appreciated when they take the time out to come along with us to events. They’re popular around the studio and we generally just like having them around.”

He went onto speak positively about the studio’s efforts producing fire effects for Uncharted 3

“We’re always on the lookout for new technical challenges and we’re really happy with what we’re achieving with our fire effects. It’s not just a static asset – the fire deteriorates the wood realistically and there are blowback effects, like you would expect. The smoke is looking much better this time around.”

“You could sit down and watch the chateau burn around you, if you sit there long enough.”

Train2Game blog readers can see the new fire effects in the video below.

Uncharted 3 was second in the Train2Game blog most anticipated games of 2011, and is scheduled for release on November 4^th 2011.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the techniques used by Naughty Dog to produce Uncharted 3? Do you think it’s a method that all future blockbusters will use? And what do you think about the new fire effects? Is there any specific game mechanic you’d specifically like to work on in future?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum. You can also let us know what you think the Train2Game Twitter.

[Source: PlayStation blog]

‘PlayStation Phone’ coming in April

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Train2Game Blogger Team

Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play – previously known to Train2Game students as the PlayStation Phone – will be launched in the UK this April.

Mobile phone providers Orange, T-Mobile, O2 and Vodafone all say they’ll be selling the Sony branded phone which is powered by Android. Inside sources quoted by technology blog Pocket Lint point to an April release for the device. PR Manager for Orange UK Conor Maples confirmed the news via Twitter.

“Yes we are due to take the Xperia Play in April” he said.

The Xperia Play features PlayStation branded buttons and is reported to run the PlayStation Suite platform, allowing users to download PSone and Android games.

The PlayStation Suite was revealed last week alongside the NGP, the device formerly known as the PSP2. The Xperia Play and NGP are separate devices but will both run on Android.

Sony has confirmed the Xperia Play will get an official unveiling, along with full technical details, on Sunday February 13^th at 18:00 during the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.

However, you can check out the ‘PlayStation Phone’ in action in these videos on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Sony Xperia Play? Are you interested in the device? Will you get one come April? Or are you perfectly happy with your current smartphone, be it an Apple or Android system?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum. Alternatively, you can leave your comments on the Train2Game Twitter account.

The Train2Game Blog

The world's first blended learning courses in computer games design, development, & art and animation – designed by the industry, for the industry

Monthly Archives: February 2011

Total War: Shogun 2 demo incoming

Dragon Age gets live action web series

Media Molecule to release community created LittleBigPlanet 2 campaign

A great opportunity for Train2Game students to meet EA Game Developers

UK Charts: Test Drive Unlimited 2 takes pole position

Game Design student Robin Channon speaks to the Train2Game blog

Bioware: World of Warcaft is the “touchstone” of MMO design – Do you agree Train2Game?

‘Most’ FPS games will be played with motion control in a few years says Killzone 3 developer

Uncharted 3 produced like ‘a Hollywood film’ Is it the way forward Train2Game?

‘PlayStation Phone’ coming in April