Monthly Archives: September 2012

Train2Game News: Mid-week Round up of game news

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This will be a mid-week round up of all the biggest news in the gaming industry. Depending on the reaction it gets this may become a weekly post.

Gearbox’s Borderlands 2 comes out next week and in the lead up to that they have released the skill trees for the different classes available in the game. This is a good chance to see how the characters are going to play out through the game.

Valve has released a list of the first ten games being released through Steams Greenlight initiative. Some of the games on the list are Black Mesa the Half-Life mod and Project Zomboid. A full list of the Greenlight approved games can be found here.

The Wii U is having its release date and recommended retail price announced tomorrow. At 8am Nintendo will announce in a special webcast on the official Nintendo Direct Page. The release date is rumoured for UK release date early December with a possible price of £190.

Double Fine studios have accidentally released there first mobile title ahead of schedule. Thanks to some quick thinking from lead designer Kee Chi and the team behind the studios first mobile exclusive, the release turned into an unplanned beta.

Sony is ready to display a new virtual reality headset at the Tokyo Game Show. This follows the news of the Occulus Rift kickstarter and Valves augmented reality headset plans being released. The Sony headset will have a full 360 degree experience with head tracking and a live camera.

The last and possibly biggest bit of news is that this Friday the Train2Game world record attempt sponsored by Microsoft begins. The 48 hour event will see students creating games in the time they have using Windows 8. It is always fun and is always a great learning experience.

Train2Game News: New online indie game market opening soon

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A new online store is going live on 26 September selling indie games. It will utilise a pay-what-you-want scheme.

The new store, IndieGameStand, is run by the same people behind Indie Game Magazine. Its goal is to promote indie games and give indie developers a chance to show their talents.

The pay-what-you-want scheme is a good way for customers to show their support for indie titles. The majority of the games have extra bonuses that come with them if you choose to spend enough. 10% of all sales will go towards the developer of the games chosen charity. Humble Bundle has had good success with a similar scheme.

Every game you purchase from the site can be downloaded and installed as many times as you like, regardless of what you paid.

IndieGameStand states on its website “The purpose of IndieGameStand is to put a spotlight on those indie titles which provide fantastic experiences, but may have been passed over by the mainstream gaming public, portals, websites, or whatever. This site is about supporting all of the fantastic and worthwhile indie developers out there. Every developer out there deserves a moment to shine.”

This is good news for students as it opens up a new market to sell your games on. You can get good exposure, have a game released and help a good cause.

You can learn more at IndieGameStand.com

Train2Game Student featured in Redhill and Reigate Life

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Train2Game Student Richard Scott-Jones has been featured in the Redhill and Reigate Life. Richard talks to the paper about attending the Game Jam world record attempt this weekend.

You can read the article here:
 http://www.redhillandreigatelife.co.uk/news/localnews/9920979.Redhill_games_industry_student_s_world_record_attempt/ 

I am looking forward to seeing you all there.

Train2Game News: 22Cans wants you for curious beta

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Peter Molyneux, CEO of 22Cans sent out a post on the company’s Facebook asking for beta testers for its mysterious new game.

This is the first game to be released by 22Cans and Mr Molyneux since he left Lionhead to create the company. Mr Molyneux attended this year’s Gadget Show Live and gave very valuable advice to those participating in the Make Something Unreal Live contest.

The game is on iOS devices and is called Curiosity – What’s inside the cube. It was previously known as just Curiosity until NASA had them change it for having the same name as the Mars Rover.

The social experiment game gets you to tap on a cube with other players causing it to fracture until it breaks open revealing, to the last person who tapped it, the unknown wonders inside.

The post asks for people to have an hour free between 4 and 5pm any day this week. You’re asked to give your name, email, location and device type, as well as your reason for participating when you sign up to the beta.

The site states “As we get nearer to releasing our first app “Curiosity – What’s inside the Cube”, we are looking for some feedback.

“We are asking for a few kind people to participate in trying out our first experiment. Hopefully these people will give honest feedback on what Curiosity is like, and spot some of the flaws in this totally unique experience.”

The game was scheduled for release in August but has been rescheduled to later this month.

You can register for the beta via the 22Cans Facebook page.

Train2Game News: Valve looking to create virtual reality glasses

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A New York Times interview reveals the hardware Valve has been working on is not a console but virtual reality glasses.

Last week it came to light that Valve were working on hardware for the games industry. Some speculated that they were heading into the console market with a device similar to that of OnLive. Valve addressed the rumours by saying they were more interested in computer input devices instead.

In an interview this morning with Nick Wingfield at The New York Times, Valve revealed its plans for the virtual reality glasses. They were quick to point out that the glasses, or games using the hardware, wouldn’t be hitting the market any time soon.

Valve’s Michael Abrash said “credible augmented-reality games could be three to five years away, though… virtual reality glasses would arrive sooner.”

Valve also expressed an interest in sharing what they have learned with other manufacturers whilst working toward the VR glasses. Valve may not be the one to release them but they certainly want to help move things forward.

The fact that they want to help other companies to develop the glasses shows that they just want to see the games industry move forward to bigger and better things.

It is still not confirmed whether the glasses will work on their own or need a computer to run.

This is a very exciting prospect and will open up games developers to a whole new world of ideas and possibilities.

Train2Game News: Raspberry Pi comes home

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The UK designed bare bones mini computer, Raspberry Pi, is now being manufactured in a Sony factory in South Wales.

The Raspberry Pi was created to get young people and potential games developers interested in programming and computing. Its affordable price and versatility make it an excellent teaching tool.

The device was previously made in China to keep costs down. As of mid August it is now put together in the United Kingdom. The credit card sized computers now come with a “Made in the UK” stamp, located next to the power supply.

Since its launch in April the device has been highly popular and is estimated to sell over a million products by the end of this year.

Eben Upton, a co-founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, said “When Pete Lomas and I built the first Raspberry Pi’s for testing last year, we never dreamed it would become so popular so quickly,”

“The Raspberry Pi was built to develop young people’s skills in computer programming and electronic engineering; we had always intended and hoped that the Raspberry Pi would also be manufactured within the UK.”

“By bringing the production of a UK product back into the country alongside its development and distribution, we can help support our economy and demonstrate the capabilities the UK has in terms of technological innovation, invention, and manufacturing.”

Mike Buffham, global head of EDE at Premier Farnell, who distribute Raspberry Pi, added: “Since the Raspberry Pi was launched globally in February 2012 it has been a tremendous success story.”
“As such we have had huge interest from educational institutions in purchasing the product, innovative design engineers who are using the computer for exciting new applications and also the general public.”

Train2Game News: Robert Boyd wants more opportunities for Xbox indie games

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Robert Boyd believes Xbox should help their indie market by allowing high rated games to break through to Xbox Live Arcade.

It can be difficult to become a developer for XBLA. Taking inspiration from Steams Greenlight, Robert Boyd of Zeboyd believes Microsoft could do more for indie developers.

In his opinion the Xbox Live Indie Games could be a proving ground for new titles, with the best among them being sent forward to be released on XBLA. Similar to Steams Greenlight community rating system.

Boyd said “I’d like to see XBLIG kind of merge into XBLA”

“Keep Indie Games free to everyone but if you have a really good game, you could submit it to Microsoft for it to be upgraded to an XBLA title. Right now, becoming an XBLA developer is fairly difficult for a small team, so reducing the barrier of entry to XBLA could only help Microsoft, I think.”

If Microsoft take this on board any student who decides to create their own game can be spurred on by the thought that if their game is successful it will reach an even bigger audience. That can only be good for everyone involved.

It can be very hard to stand out in the Indie market. Any developer who makes a good game that is enjoyed by players should be rewarded for it.

Train2Game News: Mojang’s building blocks of hope for UN

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Mojang is working with the UN to develop software that will involve young people in making changes in their home town

The new software, named Block By Block, uses the same principles as Mojangs Minecraft, giving young people a simple way to visualize the changes they want to make in the area where they live.

Minecraft building community Fyre UK has been enlisted to render the areas the project is interested in helping. Fyre UK is an English based community in Minecraft who make spectacular creations.

The three year partnership between the UN and Mojang starts with the renovation of Kibera in Nairobi. In those three years the hope is that they will improve hundreds of public spaces around the UN with the help of the young residents. It is not known which places will be using Block By Block as of yet. At this time we can only hope that the UK gets to benefit.

Mojang said “Block By Block aims to involve youth in the planning process in urban areas by giving them the opportunity to show planners and decision makers how they would like to see their cities in the future.”

“Minecraft has turned out to be the perfect tool to facilitate this process.”

“It has proven to be a great way to visualize urban planning ideas without necessarily having architectural training. The ideas presented by the citizens lay as a ground for political decisions.”

Mojang has already had some success with a similar programme called My Block in there native Sweden, allowing citizens to suggest changes for the towns they inhabit.

This is another example of how the software and hardware created in the games industry can do more than just entertain players, it can help around the world with ideas like this one.

Train2Game News: Games distributor Steam blows away Greenlight clutter

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Valve is introducing a cost to post games on to its new Greenlight initiative. Valve will donate all money made this way to the charity Child’s Play.

Greenlight is a service for indie developers to upload there games and the Steam community chooses which game they want to see released on the digital distribution service. Child’s Play is a children’s charity created to help young people in hospital, by providing them with games and toys.

Valve has had to implement this fee to dissuade pranksters uploading fake and unapproved games. There have been phoney write ups uploaded to Greenlight and there was controversy yesterday when Steam had to take down a sex game submitted by an amateur developer.

Greenlight went live a few days ago and already 700 titles have been uploaded, making it very difficult to find any hidden gems amongst the fake titles.

Valve said “There is unfortunately a significant amount of noise and clutter being submitted, either as a joke or by fans not fully understanding the purpose of Greenlight,”

“The proceeds will be donated to Child’s Play. We have no interest in making money from this, but we do need to cut down the noise in the system.”

There are mixed feelings to charging for this service. Some believe it defeats the idea of Greenlight but others believe it’s a necessary charge to clean up the service making it easier to find games submitted by serious developers and students.

With the implementation of the fee, which is under £65, it has deterred many of the pranksters.

Train2Game News: Gaming potential. Apple iPhone 5 almost here

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The Apple iPhone 5 is expected to be released next wednesday.

For gaming and games development this means a more powerful platform to work with.

The invitation to the launch event in San Francisco was a bit special – it had a twelve casting the shadow of a five and the words “its almost here”.

The new iPhone release is the first big advance by Apple since the death of Steve Jobs and it seems to be a big step forward from the 4S.

Leaked photos from some of Apples Chinese manufacturers show the device to have a bigger 4.2 inch screen and a slimmer body. It is expected to support the awaited 4G high speed wireless broadband. The mobile network Orange hopes to set up 4G for the UK the day before the launch of the iPhone 5, according to Ofcom.

4G gives the added bonus of downloading the games you want faster.

Phil Schiller, head of marketing for Apple, testified in court during the legal battle with Samsung, said: “Each new generation of iPhone sold approximately equal to all previous generations combined.”

If this keeps up it means that the market for games on iOS will rise to even greater heights.

Of course the most exciting thing coming next week is the Train2Game Game Jam which starts on the 14th. If you do get an iPhone 5 on release day there is just enough time to get it charged and ready before the weekends fun begins.