Train2Game Game Designer Darren Price is on a Train2Game work placement at DR Studios. In his latest Train2Game industry experience diary, Darren discusses building the in-game user interface.
Meanwhile, Train2Game industry experience placement student Laurence Gee looks back at what he’s learned during his time in a game development studio.
Read both entries below here on the Train2Game blog.
Here’s a bit of nostalgia with a modern twist for Train2Game students – a Postman Pat game is now available as an app.
The Postman Pat Special Delivery Service App from interactive publisher P2 games is available for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch now and has been designed to coincide with Postman Pat’s 30th Birthday celebrations.
It’s an example of how apps and mobile gaming can bring a new twist to both children’s entertainment and learning, both areas Train2Game students may want to take a look at.
The Postman Pat app delivers there are eight games to choose from plus a special bonus game where players can make pictures and fix puzzles from stamps collected during game-play. Each game has been specially designed so that it is easy to learn and fun to play without young children needing help from an adult.
The Postman Pat Special Delivery Service App is now available for £1.99 from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.
So Train2Game, what’s your take on this twist on an old favourite being brought to the App store? Would you develop an educational game?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog.
Train2Game Game Designer Jonny Robinson is on a Train2Game work placement at DR Studios. In his latest Train2Game industry experience diary, Jonny discusses designing levels for iPhone title Bug Wings.
Read Jonny’s latest industry experience diary here on the Train2Game blog, or on the official Train2Game industry experiences website.
You can also get a taste of Jonny’s experiences at DR Studios by watching his industry experience video diaries.
Train2Game students will be aware that when compared to the traditional retail model, digital distribution provides game developers with a better opportunity to get their titles out there.
Not only does the digital business model knock down the wall of needing a publisher, it also arguably allows developers to take more risks when developing the games. Both of these could potentially be advantageous to Train2Game students.
Indeed, as reported by the Train2Game blog, indie developer Mode 7 Games believes the Steam digital distribution service is ‘essential’ for indie developers.
And in a recent interview, Ninja Theory Creative chief, Tameem Antoniades also praised digital distribution model, stating it’s good for creativity in the games industry.
“There’s always an opportunity between projects to explore things, a lot of team members are hobbyists, they create their own iPhone games and things like that so I can see us kind of taking a punt with that. It can’t come soon enough” Antoniades told GamesIndustry.biz
For more on iPhone development, see the recent Train2Game interview with indie studio Hogrocket. They recently released their first game for the platform, Tiny Wings.
The Ninja Theory Chief Designer suggested that the traditional retail model is on the way out, and that it’s a positive thing for game developers.
“The whole digital revolution is happening now and it can’t come soon enough. The model we’re under, the big retail model, is creaking” he said, before arguing that need for games to be successful at retail in its current is stifling creativity because consumers don’t want to spend large amounts of money on an unknown entity.
“It’s such an opportunity for fun creative games to reach a target audience, there’s this stranglehold that the AAA retail model has which I think is just crushing innovation and access to creative content.”
“If you’re paying that much for a game, you don’t want to take chances. You want everything to be there, all the feature sets. You want it to be a known experience, guaranteed fun. That’s not healthy.”
As previously reported by the Train2Game blog, Ninja Theory’s original IP Enslaved: Odyssey to the West failed to be particularly successful at retail, with publisher Namco Bandai suggesting poor release timing was to blame.
Even if Enslaved wasn’t very successful, Train2Game students would do well to read about the Enslaved Developer Session with Ninja Theory’s Tameem Antoniades at last years’ Eurogamer Expo. Expect more insight into how game developers operate as Train2Game will be reporting from the 2011 expo later this month
What are your thoughts on the comments from Antonides? Do you agree that digital distribution encourages creativity? Would an all digital model be good for the industry?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
[Source: GI.biz]
Train2Game student Daniel Parkes has set up his own blog to share his story about being on the Train2Game QA Tester course. See the blog for yourself at http://train2gamestudentdaniel.wordpress.com.
In post number one, Daniel talks about himself, the reasons he chose to become a part of the Train2Game QA Tester course and how he’s settling into the rhythm of studying. Subscribe to Daniel’s blog for further updates, or look out for more posts to them here on the Train2Game blog.
A cash-strapped student studying in the North East of England has created and published a humorous mobile app for iPad and iPhone that could prevent the ‘Euro Destruction’. The quirky app is the first of its kind created by a novice games designer. It encourages its users to play their way through current financial and political scenarios that culminate in the end of Europe as we know it.
A cash-strapped student from the North East of England has managed to build and publish his own game for iPad and iPhone. Georgij Cernysiov, a student on the Train2Game blended learning course has achieved what many budding games designers dream of. He has managed to get his iPhone game published without the support of a large development team or deep pockets. The humorous game, aptly titled ‘Euro Destruction’ was designed and built in less than a month using virtually no art or programming skills.
Using the ipad and iphone game development software, Thinking Worlds, which is free to download and use, Georgij was able to add a fun twist to a worrying tale and turn the current plight of the Eurozone into a fun app that is available to download for free from Apple’s App Store.
In the game, users must decide the fate of Europe by deciding who to throw money at; the ‘Bankers’ or the ‘Citizens’ or, if they can’t decide in time get lost in the process.
Despite having very little cash or extensive programming knowledge, Georgij’s creativity and the tools he used to create the game made the process accessible to him and he was able to create a downloadable game that was fun, original and has already started getting downloads from the App Store.
When asked about the idea behind the game, Georgij said he wanted to “try and create a game that touched on some of the current issues within Europe without bogging people down with too much economics or politics.”
Georgij’s achievement marks another positive outcome facilitated by the Train2Game course and free to use game development software, Thinking Worlds.
Play the Game for Free:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution stays top of the UK charts despite sales almost halving those of its impressive debut week. As reported by the Train2Game blog, the Square Enix title took No.1 last week, knocking off long time chart topper Zumba Fitness in the process.
As a result Driver: San Francisco, which like Deus Ex is the return of a popular franchise has to settle for No.2 in its first week. As reported by the Train2Game blog earlier this year, Reflections promised a ‘more accessible’ Driver title. The success of Deus Ex and Driver sees Zumba Fitness drop to No.3
Rugby World Cup drops one to No.4 in its second week on sale, while LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean also drops one to No.5.
Madden NFL 12, the American football title from EA Sports enters the chart at No.6, one place ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops which drops to No.7 in its 43rd week on sale. Cars 2 and FIFA 11 drop two spots each to No.8 and No.9 respectively while The Sims 3 moves up from No.12 to complete the top ten.
Bodycount, the new shooter from Codemasters barely makes the top 40 and debuts at a lowly No. 36.
The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 3rd September 2011 is therefore as follows:
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Square Enix)
2. Driver: San Francisco (Ubisoft)
3. Zumba Fitness (505 Games)
4. Rugby World Cup 2011 (505 Games)
5. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (Disney)
6. Madden NFL 12 (EA)
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)
8. Cars 2 (Disney)
9. FIFA 11 (EA)
10. The Sims 3 (EA)
Releases this week include Resistance 3 and the much hyped Dead Island.
So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the charts? Is it a well deserved No.2 for Driver? Why has Bodycount failed to make an impact in its first week?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
[Source: UKIE Games Charts©, compiled by GfK Chart-Track]
Train2Game was at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany from 17th August to 21st August. While there, we spoke with Far Cry 3 Narrative Director Jason Vandenberghe.
In an in-depth interview, he discussed what his role involves, the game design process behind an open world title, creating believable characters and much more.
He also reveals how he got into the games industry and gives Train2Game students advice on how to follow in his footsteps.
Read the interview below here on the Train2Game blog, or listen via Train2Game Radio.
The use of actors and performance capture is the future of game design. That’s according to Far Cry 3 Narrative Director Jason Vandenberghe, who argues that it improves games making characters more believable, something he believes the industry needs to do more of.
It could be a technology that Train2Game students could use in their future careers.
“I think we’ve been putting up with poor performances and poor writing for too long in the industry” Vandenberghe told Train2Game in a soon to be published interview.
“There’s a lot of people who’ve kind of accepted that it’s just a game so you don’t need to have a good story or don’t need to have good believable characters. Why not? We should have good, believable, strong characters every time.”
The Far Cry 3 Narrative Director believes that as the performance capture technology becomes more readily available, more game developers should take advantage of it.
“We have examples of that, there have been great characters in gaming and we should continue with that, we should expect that” said Vandenberghe.
“I believe that now that the technology for performance capture is becoming more and more available, and we’re learning more about it, I expect the quality bar to rise and I hope you guys (gamers) should be demanding better characters out of your games.”
“What I’m trying to do with this game is raise the audiences’ expectations” he added.
Stay tuned to the Train2Game blog for the full interview with Far Cry 3 Narrative Director Jason Vandenberghe. The title from Ubisoft is set for release next year.
Other games that use motion capture include L.A. Noire and its impressive facial animations, and the Uncharted series which takes input of actors very seriously.
And last month the Train2Game blog reported that Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will also use motion technology.
So Train2Game, is Vandenberg right? Is performance capture and the user of actors the future of the industry? Will it help game designers produce better games?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
Train2Game recently announced that a second 48 hour Game Jam will take place in early November, with full details about it available to Train2Game students on the Train2Game forum.
Game Jams are an excellent way for any game developer to test their skills, and in an interesting #altdevblogpostaday article, PixoFactor’s Adam Rademacher explains why Game Jams are “best practice” for game developers.
He argues that Game Jams are a great place to improve your abilities thanks to the focused nature of the 48 hour development period.
“The entire weekend you’re thinking about game development” wrote Rademacher. “Thinking about how to program new features, or how to speed up your art production. Even if you don’t finish the game on time, it’s not hard to see how it can improve your skills”
“Even if you only learn to write one new function, or one new shader, you’ve improved upon your skillset, and now you have a (hopefully) cool prototype to continue building on.”
Rademacher adds that Game Jams are an excellent opportunity to develop prototypes of games, a practice that’s common in the industry. Indeed, an interview with the Train2Game blog earlier this year, Mediatonic Director Paul Croft revealed that they’re a good way of coming up with new games.
It’s also suggested that Game Jams are a great way of practicing creativity, and in an environment where if the idea doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter.
“It’s easy to set out on a project with all intention to create something innovative and new, then be completely distraught when it’s no fun, or unreasonable to try to finish, or just not as innovative as you thought it would be. But that’s cool. Because you’ve only spent a weekend on it.”
The #altdevblogaday piece is a great way for game developers to try out new technology, and learn cool new stuff. This is exactly what Train2Game students will have the opportunity to do at the second official Train2Game Game Jam, in which the Unreal Development Kit will be used to make games! It’s an engine that many Train2Game students won’t have used before.
The importance of Game Jams piece is available in full to read on #altdevblogaday. While full details about the Train2Game Game Jam are on the Train2Game forum.
What are your thoughts on the benefit of Game Jams?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
[Source: Altdevblogaday]
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