Monthly Archives: July 2012

Train2Game News: Valve on free-to-play – “It’s making a new, different thing for talented folks to explore”

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Free-to-play is as good thing for game developers and consumers, because it allows both to try out a wider variety of things. That’s the view of Valve Director of Business Development Jason Holtman

“The neat thing about our industry now is you’re going to have all of those things happen and customers will have, not choices among them as if, like, I’m a free-to-play player and therefore I don’t play games like Counter-Strike and Skyrim and Minecraft. That’s not true.” he told Eurogamer in an interview at Develop Conference 2012.

“Everybody plays all of those. People play their RPGs. They play social games. They play F2P games. That’s what’s exciting about it. They don’t have to replace each other. It’s making a new, different thing for talented folks to explore.” Holtman added.

The huge interview is definitely worth reading, giving readers a massive insight into the business behind Steam and life at Valve.  Read it over on Eurogamer.

There’s more on the growing trend of free-to-play here on The Train2Game Blog, while be sure to keep reading for the latest news from Valve.

What are your thoughts on free-to-play? Do you agree with Valve in it offers more avenues for exploration?

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

Train2Game News: Black Ops II’s story “is better than most movies” says writer David S. Goyer

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s story is better than that of many films. That’s according to game writer David S. Goyer – co-author of The Dark Knight Rises – speaking in a brand new behind the scenes video from Treyarch and Activision.

“Even though it’s a first person shooter, it’s got to be sophisticated, it’s got to be funny, it’s got to be challenging and it’s got to have twists and turns. In the case of Black Ops, I would argue the story is better than most movies that are being made” said Goyer.

The video also features Award-winning composer of The Social Network Trent Reznor discussing providing the score for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, while Studio Head Mark Lamia and game director Mark Anthony discuss the relationship between movies, music and games.

Watch Behind the Scenes with Trent Reznor & David S. Goyer – Official Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Video below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more Call of Duty: Black Ops II news here on The Train2Game Blog, including a previous behind the scenes video preview.  Be sure to keep reading for more insights from developer diaries.

What are your thoughts on the high-profile team working on Black Ops II? Could it really have a story that’s better than films?

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

Train2Game News: Epic veterans form mobile studio BitMonster

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Epic Games veterans including Gears of War gameplay designer Lee Perry have formed a new mobile studio and will release Unreal powered titles on iOS devices.

BitMonster studios have signed a long term agreement with Epic Games to use their tech to produce iPhone and iPad games. Their first game, Lili, is currently in the final stages of development as is described as an adventure game RPG hybrid.

“Epic has been extremely supportive of our new studio and in helping us build the game of our dreams,” said BitMonster president Lee Perry

“We set out to create an adventure that is appropriate for nearly anyone. As a designer, it’s exciting to see that the Unreal Engine 3 tools are better than ever, and they provide everything we need to achieve a gratifying and imaginative experience.” he added.

“BitMonster is set to deliver the triple-A production values that appeal to discerning players,” said head of North American licensing at Epic Games Joe Kreiner.

“Given this team’s crazy mix of passion, talent and chemistry, and with the latest Unreal Engine tools in their hands, BitMonster has a winning recipe for success.”

Watch the trailer for Lili from BitMonster below.

As regular readers will know, Train2Game student team Commando Kiwi are currently developing an iPhone and iPad game using Unreal Technology after winning Make Something Unreal Live at The Gadget Show. Their game, based on Fighting Fantasy book The Warlock of Firetop Mountain will be released soon. There’s more about Make Something Unreal Live here on the Train2Game Blog.

Be sure to keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest from Epic Games and Unreal.

What are your thoughts on the Epic veterans forming mobile studio BitMonster?

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

Train2Game News: Lord of the Rings Online senior producer talks updates in Warbands video

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Get behind the scenes of Lord of the Rings Online and its upcoming Riders of Rohan expansion in a new video from Warner Brothers and Turbine.

Inside the Game: Warbands sees LOTRO Senior Producer Aaron Campbell discusses Warbands with Community Manager Rick Heaton. Subjects include how they’ve changed gameplay mechanics to reward players for helping others and how they’ve tweaked the A.I. in order to improve the game.

Watch the video below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

Get more insight into game development in various other videos here on The Train2Game Blog.

Are you a Lord of the Rings Online player? What are your thoughts on the changes?

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

Train2Game News: Torchlight II delayed due to post-beta game balancing

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Torchlight II is delayed due to the amount of balancing Runic Games are doing following the beta test, and to allow time to make changes to other parts of the dungeon crawler.

“Immediately after the Beta we spent a good bit of time doing the last big changes that we were comfortable doing.” explained founder Travis Baldree on the Runic Games forum.

“We didn’t know how long these would take at the outset, because, well, we hadn’t done the Beta yet. Most of these changes were in response to feedback we received during the Beta and our own observations. The biggest of these had to do with our skill system.”

“It’s hard work to balance the acts of a dungeon crawler” Baldree added. The full post is available to see on the Runic Games forum.

It emphasises the importance of beta testing to game development, with much more about this available on The Train2Game Blog. Fellow dungeon crawler Diablo III also went through beta testing before release.

What are your thoughts on Runic taking time to balance Torchlight II? Are you encouraged by the fact they listened to player feedback from the beta?

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

Train2Game News: Microsoft hiring developer for next-gen Halo

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Microsoft appears to be hiring for a next-gen addition to the Halo series. An advert on their careers website states that Halo 4 producers 343 Studios are looking for an experienced graphics developer.

“Microsoft Studios 343 Industries is looking for an experienced graphics developer to help create the current and next generation of game visuals in the Halo universe. Work on one of the most exciting and creative properties in the industry; Work with the incredible 343 team to help drive the future of Halo.” reads the job advert.

“We are looking for an experienced graphics developer to help us deliver cutting edge graphics technologies for AAA experiences. Candidates should understand and have experience with how to bring great graphics to life.”

While it’s entirely possible that Microsoft may have a nex-gen Xbox console in development, the company says there won’t be any reveal this year.

Microsoft studio 343 are currently working on Halo 4, so be sure to keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest news on its development.

Halo 4 isn’t the first title in the series from 343, who produced last year’s Halo: Anniversary, which you can find out about the development of in this Train2Game Blog interview with producers Dan Ayoub and Dennis Ries.

What are your thoughts on the possibility of a next-gen Halo?

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

Train2Game News: EA announce Battlefield 4 beta spots for Medal of Honor: Warfighter pre-orders

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Battlefield 4 will enter beta in autumn 2013 with exclusive places for those who pre-order Medal of Honor: Warfighter, which is set for release in October this year.

The official announcement of Battlefield 4 comes from EA and DICE following news of the beta leaking on EA’s Origin store. Both games are powered by EA’s Frostbite 2 engine.

“Though Battlefield and Medal of Honor Warfighter each offer players a completely unique experience, they are united by their underlying technology base – Frostbite.” said EA Labels president Frank Gibeau 

“These are two of the hottest shooters, coming together to deliver a one-two punch of action, intensity and shooter entertainment.”

Battlefield 3 went through open beta ahead of its release last year, with DICE making changes to the shooter as a result of testing.

There’s more about Battlefield here on The Train2Game Blog, while there’s plenty of information about the importance of beta testing, and opportunities to get involved, here.

What are your thoughts on EA’s decision to announce a the Battlefield 4 beta over a year before it begins?

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

Train2Game News: Frogster producer Rüdiger Moersch on getting into the industry

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Getting involved with a gaming community and studying games related courses are great ways to attempt to break into the industry.  That’s according to Frogster producer Rüdiger Moersch who was speaking to The Train2Game Blog at Rezzed.

Frogster are publishers of upcoming monster-hunting MMO RaiderZ, which is currently accepting sign-ups of an upcoming beta.  The German company are also publishers of recently released MMO Tera.

“It really depends on what section of the games industry you want. If you want to go for CS, or something like that, or even some community management, you must have some experience in the community.” Moersch responded when we asked him for advice about getting into the games industry.

“The best way to get into community management for example, in my opinion, is to open up your own guild, manage it on a small scale, get the experience there, being involved in the games and love the games of course. If you want to get into programming or art or something like that, study.” he added.

The Frogster producer also revealed how he got started in the games industry.

“You know, I started something like 25 years ago! I was looking for a job at the time, living in Germany, and I stumbled over an advert in a newspaper looking for a computer gaming company for a CS guy, so I went for it, applied and ended up at Soft Gold.” he said.

“I don’t know if you know the name of it anymore, but it was a German publisher, and we had some really cool games like the early LucasArts games, and I worked my way up, basically.” Moersch added.

There’s more advice from games professionals about getting into the industry here on The Train2Game Blog.

As usual, leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Console gaming “a wrong turn” for the industry says American McGee

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Game designer American McGee believes that digital distribution and free-to-play are the best models for game developers, with traditional console gaming representing a ‘wrong turn’ for the industry.

“It feels to me that with the rise of mobile gaming and ubiquitous networking (social, multiplayer, cloud) alongside pure digital distribution we’re seeing significant change for the first time in 20 years.” the Alice: Madness Returns creator told Game Informer.

“I look back to the era of online, multiplayer PC gaming (DOOM, Command & Conquer, Ultima Online days) and see an absolute fork in the road with the rise of console gaming – a wrong turn, in my opinion.” he continued.

“We’re now back on the right path with developers being able to create and distribute directly to their audiences, with console development (in the current mode) having reached a critical peak and the traditional publishing model making way for a multitude of new paths.” McGee added.

His latest project is free-to-play multiplayer combat title BigHead BASH.

There’s more about the free-to-play distribution model here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on McGee’s comments? Do you think consoles represented a wrong turn for the industry? Are digital and free-to-play the best ways for developers to earn income?

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

Train2Game News: More games should focus on real-world issues and events says Jade Raymond

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Video games can be used to focus on real-world issues and provoke intelligent debate. That’s according to Ubisoft Toronto boss Jade Raymond who was speaking about the state of the games industry in an interview with Develop.

“The Arab Spring, class divide, internet freedoms… why aren’t there triple-A games about these topics? We can actually use the interactive power of our medium to talk about these subjects in a way that can provoke discussion about them.” she said, adding that while these subjects probably won’t become the core focus of games, they can quite easily be made a part of them.

“I am a realist – at $60m per triple-A game it’s not likely we can make a subject like this the core of a brand new IP. Games may be stuck in this narrow genre of action shooters – but that shouldn’t mean we are stuck.” said Raymond.

“So why not weave more meaning into existing blockbusters? Maybe GTA could make a statement about the penal system? Or maybe games like Call of Duty could make a statement about sexism? Maybe Splinter Cell could make a statement about the ethics of interrogation?” she continued.

“The first step is to add that into existing blockbusters, it’s easier to do it this way than introduce a new IP and be riskier with your content and your message.” the Ubisoft Toronto boss added.

The full interview is available to read in Develop magazine, or on Develop Online.

There’s more from Jade Raymond here on The Train2Game Blog, including her advice on getting into the industry.

What are your thoughts? Should video games make more of an effort to focus on real world issues?

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