Monthly Archives: June 2012

Train2Game News: Average UK gamer spent £334 on games last year

Posted on by
Reply

The average UK gamer spent £334 on buying video games last year. That’s according to a survey from online retailer ShopTo.net, which suggests that more and more people are playing games on their smartphones, with 35% spending more time on mobile than consoles.

The survey, carried out via email across two days, received 9000 respondents who purchased an average of 16 games a year. Many of them have multiple gaming devices, with 80% owning two consoles a PC and a smartphone.

“Gamers are changing their gaming device of choice with more getting their casual gaming fix from Android and iOS devices,” said Founder and CEO of ShopTo Igor Cipolletta

“Interestingly, we are seeing game sales on the Nintendo consoles losing out as the casual games market on portable devices continues to grow.”

Cipolletta suggests a lack of new hardware is why gamers are moving towards mobile.

“The fact is consumers have more gaming devices than ever before, with thousands of games being published every week and this, coupled with the lack of new hardware from Sony or Microsoft, is seeing consumers move to mobile devices as their platform of choice,” he said.

“We believe this trend will reverse when the next generation of consoles are released beginning with the Wii U this Christmas.” the ShopTo CEO added.

With so much money being spent on games, it seems like a great time to produce and sell games. Indeed, as reported by The Train2Game Blog, industry legend Ian Livingstone believes “There’s never been a better time to run your own gig”

What are your thoughts on the figures from ShopTo? How often do you buy games?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Develop]

Train2Game News: ArenaNet on the importance of testing in making Guild Wars 2 fun

Posted on by
Reply

QA testing and beta tests are hugely important when it comes to designing Guild Wars 2 to be as fun as possible.  That’s according to a huge blog post by ArenaNet, which discusses how they’re determining what will make their upcoming MMO – which isn’t based on a subscription model – successful and fun.

“When looking at content design for Guild Wars 2, we’ve tried to ask the question: What if the development of the game was based on…wait for it…fun?” writes Guild Wars 2 lead content designer Colin Johanson, in a highly informative piece.

He says QA Testers play a large role in development at ArenaNet.

“We ask our QA team to ask this question when they test everything that goes into the game. When they play an event, they don’t just file bugs, they write suggestions and ideas for how to make it better.

“I’ve never heard of a game company where the QA team is so integrated into the development process, where they can enact and impact change on a daily basis in the game. They aren’t just testers, they are developers who help make every part of the game better” said Johanson, adding that many Guild Wars 2 designers started in QA.

“As a result of allowing our QA team to be so involved in the development process, it helps us find people with amazing minds for design based on their feedback and suggestions. Many of our current content designers on GW2 originally started their careers in our QA department” he said.

The Guild Wars 2 lead content designer also discusses how important beta tests and player feedback are to development.

“We added surveys to the game that occur after you finish story steps, renown regions, events, and dungeons. Each of these asks players a few simple questions, but the most important question we always ask? “On a scale of 1 to 5, how much fun was what you just did?”

“From this, we print out giant reports of survey information, then meet as subteams and target the content that isn’t scoring well on “the fun factor” before brainstorming, together, on how to make that content more fun and exciting.”

There’s much, much more on how ArenaNet judge fun when designing Guild Wars 2 in the blog post, which should make interesting reading for anyone on a Train2Game course.

There’s more on Guild Wars 2 here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on how ArenaNet determine what’s fun? Is the fact that a number of their QA Testers have moved into design roles encouraging for you?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: New IP “absolutely critical” for game development say Sony

Posted on by
Reply

It’s extremely important for Sony to support new IP and encourage new ideas.  That’s according to SCE CEO Andrew House in an interview with MCV.

“It is absolutely critical. We’ve always felt that the strength of our platform has been a kind of symbiotic relationship between the platform being created and strengthened by new experiences. And then that reinforcing the strength and one hopes the longevity of the platform overall.” said House.

“I’ve heard conventional wisdom in the industry that says – and it is kind of like an American presidency – that the first two years in a lifecycle is the only chance to innovate with a new audience. We take a different view,” he continued.

“It is part of the role of a platform holder to have the confidence and to make the investment where necessary to show that six years into a lifecycle, there is a significant audience that is going to actively peruse new IP. And the onus on that is to deliver on those expectations.” the Sony boss added.

E3 saw the announcement of new IPs including Watch Dogs, while other brand new games due for release in the relatively near future include Dishonored from Arkane Studios and The Last of Us from Naughty Dog.  The latter are responsible for one of the most successful new IP launches of this console generation, Uncharted.

Of course, it isn’t just PlayStation 3 games that Sony publish, with the PlayStation Vita also on the market.  Indeed, Sony are actively encouraging indie developers to produce games, new IP, for the handheld.

There’s more Sony news here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on Sony’s views on new IP? Are they encouraging for you?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Chinese gaming giant Tencent acquires stake in Epic Games

Posted on by
Reply

Chinese gaming and internet giant Tencent has announced it’s agreed to acquire a minority stake in Epic Games producers of the Unreal Engine and games including Gears of War.

In China, Tencent runs social networks, web portals, e-commerce and MMO services, with almost 650 million users.

Epic state they will continue to operate independently, with the deal expected to go through within the next month.

“We’ve developed a huge amount of respect for the Epic team for many years now, as dedicated players of Epic’s games and as licensees of Epic’s Unreal Engine technology. Epic’s deep commitment to quality across all of its games and technologies inspires us. They’ve been raising expectations in gaming for two decades now and they’re just getting started,” said David Wallerstein, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent.

“We have a lot that we can learn from each other, and we look forward to supporting the Epic team as they embark on their next phase of gaming innovation across both emerging and familiar platforms.”

Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps welcomed the investment from Tencent.

“Tencent’s investment will empower Epic to help us do even more of what we do best, which is making great games and game technology. Their expertise in the global online gaming market is second-to-none, and the opportunity to work with them to bring richer experiences to players all over the world is irresistible,” he said.

“Epic is excited to be full steam ahead on all of its current plans for this generation of games and the next, with the support of a fantastic partner that believes in our strategy and shares our dream.”  Capps added.

Train2Game recently partnered with Epic Games for Make Something Unreal Live, a contest that saw student teams building mobile games based on the Fighting Fantasy series using the Unreal Engine.

There’s more Epic Games news here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on Tencent acquiring a minority stake in Epic Games?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on The Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Unknown Worlds to host Natural Selection 2 developer session at Rezzed

Posted on by
Reply

Unknown Worlds, the creators of popular Half-Life mod Natural Selection are the latest studio to be added to the developer session line up at Rezzed, the PC and indie gaming show which takes place in Brighton next month.

Natural Selection is a multiplayer mode which combined real time strategy with first person shooting, giving one player the role of Commander as they directed the team and constructed buildings from a top-down 2D viewpoint.  Natural Selection 2 is a standalone sequel scheduled for release later this year.

Unknown Worlds’ Hugh Jeremy will host the Natural Selection 2 developer session on Friday 6th July at 5pm, in which he’ll take audience questions and discuss the game. It could be a great opportunity for Train2Game students to find out more about the benefits of modding.

“Natural Selection 2 is now only months from release. Rezzed is about to get up close and personal to some xenomorph evolution,” said Jeremy

Tickets for Rezzed are available on the official website, and it’s looking to be an interesting event for Train2Game students to attend, with a variety of developer sessions including those from Introversion Software, The Creative Assembly, Splash Damage CEO Paul Wedgwood  and Gearbox Software’s Randy Pitchford.

We’ll be sure to keep you up to date with the latest news as the show approaches.

What would you ask Unknown Worlds about Natural Selection and modding?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Epic Mickey 2 video discusses Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

Posted on by
Reply

Learn about the origins of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and what Creative Director Warren Spector wants to achieve with him in Epic Mickey 2 in a new behind the scenes video from Junction Point and Disney.

Spector discusses planning the game around Oswald, how he’s a great character and how Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two can have Oswald and Mickey’s relationship develop like it hasn’t before.

The video also features Walt Disney Archives Director Becky Cline who discusses the history of Oswald. She shows footage of the character that’s over 80 years old and discussing how this has been used to give him certain abilities for Epic Mickey 2.

Watch Epic Mickey 2 – Meet Oswald the Lucky Rabbit below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

The Train2Game Blog recently reported how Warren Spector struggled when trying to make Deus Ex perfect.

There’s more about Epic Mickey 2 here, while be sure to stay tuned to The Train2Game Blog for developer diaries which take you behind the scenes of game development.

What are your thoughts on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his role in Epic Mickey 2? What does it say about video games in being the medium to bring it back?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or here on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Phantasy Star Online 2 open beta begins this week

Posted on by
Reply

Phantasy Star Online 2 enters open beta this week, and you can get involved.  You can sign up to take part in the beta test by downloading the game here.

Those taking part in the Phantasy Star Online 2 open beta, which begins on Thursday 21st June, will be able to reach Level 30 as the game is tested before its planned full release as a free-to-play title this summer on PC, PlayStation Vita and smartphones.

41,500 players took part in a test of SEGAs MMO last weekend producer Satoshi Sakai revealed, say Siliconera.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.

Will you sign up to take part in the Phantasy Star Online 2 beta? Were you a fan of the original?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Unity reveal their next game engine

Posted on by
Reply

 

Unity has revealed the fourth version of their game engine, designed to boost AAA game development.

New features for Unity 4 include all-new Mecanim character animation system, DirectX 11 support, updated  mobile graphics, and the addition of Adobe Flash and Linux as new publishing platforms.

“We’ve been working on Unity 4 for a long, long time and are happy to finally be able to unveil its imminent arrival and outline its core features that will change the industry,” said Unity CEO David Helgason

“The revolutionary animation system and add-on deployments to Adobe Flash and Linux are some of the critical features introduced in Unity 4, which together maintain Unity as the strongest, fastest evolving modern games development platform available.”

“The introduction of the Mecanim suite of animation tools into Unity will completely change how developers integrate interactive animations and will result in awesome new gameplay experiences from the Unity community,” added Unity Lead Animation Developer Robert Lanciault,

“These tools will allow animators to work directly in Unity to create advanced and detailed animation blend trees and state machines for incredible and natural character animation.”

The full list of new features for Unity 4 is below.

• Shuriken particle system supports external forces, bent normals and automatic culling
• 3D texture support
• Navigation: dynamic obstacles and avoidance priority
• Major optimisations in UnityGUI performance and memory usage
• Dynamic fonts on all platforms with HTML-like markup
• Remote Unity Web Player debugging
• New Project Window workflows
• Iterative lightmap baking
• Refined component-based workflows
• Extensible inspectors for custom classes
• Improved Cubemap import pipeline
• Geometry data improvements for huge memory and performance savings
• Meshes can be constructed from non-triangle geometry – render points and lines efficiently
• Search, live preview and buy Asset Store assets from the Project Windo

There’s more on Unity here, including industry experience diaries from Train2Game students on work placement at the game engine creator.

What are your thoughts on the unveiling of Unity 4 and its new features?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Gearbox Software’s Randy Pitchford presenting developer session at Rezzed

Posted on by
Reply

Gearbox Software founder and CEO Randy Pitchford will be presenting a developer session at Rezzed, during which he’ll demonstrate Borderlands 2 and take questions from the PC and indie gaming show audience.

Borderlands 2 is one of a number of playable titles at the Brighton expo, which takes place on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th of July. Pitchford’s developer session is on the Friday and gives any Train2Game students in attendance to ask the games industry veteran questions about the industry.

Gearbox Software titles include Half-Life: Opposing Force, Borderlands, Brothers In Arms, Duke Nukem Forever and the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines.

Tickets for Rezzed are available on the official website, and it’s looking to be an interesting event for Train2Game students to attend, with a variety of developer sessions including those from Introversion Software, The Creative Assembly and Splash Damage CEO Paul Wedgwood 

We’ll be sure to keep you up to date with the latest news as the show approaches.

What would you ask Randy Pitchford at the developer session?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: UK Charts – FIFA 12 takes its 9th No.1

Posted on by
Reply

FIFA 12 once again sits atop the UK Charts, taking its 9th No.1 38 weeks after release.  In that time, the EA Sports title hasn’t dropped out the top five once, beating the achievements of its predecessor FIFA 11 which remained in the top five for 23 weeks.

Having held top spot for three weeks, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier settles for No.2  The Train2Game Blog recently spoke to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Creative Director Jean-Marc Geoffroy and Ubisoft Development Director Adrian Lacey, with the pair offering advice to Train2Game students on getting into the industry.

Max Payne 3 drops one to No.3, while new release Lollipop Chainsaw debuts at No.4, pushing Battlefield 3 down to No.5.

Diablo III jumps 16 places to No.6, with Game of Thrones dropping one to No.7.  Sniper Elite V2 slips three to No.8, Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is a non-mover at No.9, with DiRT Showdown completing the top ten.

New release for PlayStation Vita, Gravity Rush, is the other new entry at No.11.

The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 16th June is therefore as follows:

1. FIFA 12 (EA)
2. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Ubisoft)
3. Max Payne 3 (Rockstar)
4. Lollipop Chainsaw (Warner Bros)
5. Battlefield 3 (EA)
6. Diablo III (Blizzard)
7. Game of Thrones (Koch Media)
8. Sniper Elite V2 (505 Games)
9. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
10. Dirt Showdown (Codemasters)

Releases for the week ahead include LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.

What are your thoughts on FIFA 12 returning to No.1? Were you among those who picked up Lollipop Chainsaw?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum