Monthly Archives: November 2012

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 – 5.11.12

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Assassin’s Creed 3 has entered the charts right up at number 1 with last weeks number 1, Medal Of Honor: Warfighter dropping down to 6th. WWE ’13 has come in at an impressive number 3. The highest a WWE game has been for a while. My review of WWE ’13 is coming soon. The other new entrants to the charts this week are Football Manager 2013 at number 3 and Need For Speed Most Wanted at number 5.

 

Week ending 3 November 2012

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1   ASSASSIN’S CREED III UBISOFT –
2 –  FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 2
3   WWE ’13 THQ –
4   FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013 SEGA –
5   NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES –
6 MEDAL OF HONOR: WARFIGHTER EA GAMES 1
7 FORZA HORIZON MICROSOFT 3
8 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 4
9 JUST DANCE 4 UBISOFT 6
10 DISHONORED BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 5
11 PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE MIRACLE MASK NINTENDO 7
12 MOSHI MONSTERS: MOSHLINGS THEME PARK MIND CANDY 8
13 RESIDENT EVIL 6 CAPCOM 10
14   ASSASSIN’S CREED III LIBERATION UBISOFT –
15 POKEMON BLACK VERSION 2 NINTENDO 12
16 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 13
17 F1 2012 CODEMASTERS 15
18 DOOM 3: BFG EDITION BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 9
19 BORDERLANDS 2 2K GAMES 11
20 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 19

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2012 UKIE Ltd

 

Train2Game News: Teenager gets massive funding

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A teenager from London has recieved incredible funding for the app he has developed.
This is a nice reminder that unique ideas still make good money and there is unlimited potential in making apps.

You can read the story in the link below:

17-year-old Londoner receives more than $1m in funding from investors.

Train2Game News: Dire Consequences for App Store

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After eleven months in development, Derp Studios game has hit the App Store. The game was made for the Make Something Unreal Live contest in April this year.

Following on from the 2011 Game Jam four teams went on to compete in the Make Something Unreal live which took place at The Gadget show in April. The four teams were the winners of the contest, Commando Kiwi, A team I was a part of, Digital Mage, Indigo Jam and Derp Studios.

From January to April the teams worked relentlessly on their games which were based on the Fighting Fantasy IP of Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson. The books from the series in particular that were chosen was: The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain, Armies Of Death, Deathtrap Dungeon and Citadel of Chaos. The last of these is the book Derp Studios worked on.

The game, Dire Consequences, is a first-person action game by Derp Studios, and sees players take on waves of enemies to collect souls and progress their character for new spells. The game is currently only available for iOS devices.

The Gadget Show Live was a life defining moment for many of the Train2Game students involved, including myself and having to do some research in to the whole event to fill in some gaps in my memory was a lovely journey. I am so pleased one of the teams got their game uploaded as they were all amazing games and the whole event really kick-started our careers.

A massive congratulations to Derp Studios and I urge all those with access to an iOS device to go and download the free game immediately!

Train2Game News: SpecialEffect Case – Chloe & Ella

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This weeks SpecialEffect case is a very special one. One of the young girls in the video is the daughter of the founder of SpecialEffect. The two girls use Kinect to play together, you can see how much fun they are having.

SpecialEffect has almost reached their goal of 25,000 views so lets keep watching and sharing to help them out!

Train2Game News: Train2Game Radio talks to Chloe Martin

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You can hear the interview here:

http://audioboo.fm/boos/1037414-train2game-students-chloe-talks-to-mark-on-t2g-radio

or read the transcript below:

Hello, could you tell me your name please?

Hi my names Chloe Martin

 

What course are you taking?

I’m currently studying Game Art & Animation

 

How did you find the experience of the world record winning game jam and how did it feel to win?

I found the experience unforgettable and it has really made an impact on me, rubbing shoulders with a wealth of knowledge. Being thrown into the deep end with people I had never met before and creating a team and a playable game was just overwhelming let alone winning the competition.

 

After finding out the theme, how did you get the idea for your game, Royal Rush?

We chucked around lots of ideas, mainly focusing on the theme but kept it as simple as possible, taking into account what the platform was and how to make it easy as possible to make within the time we got. We chose the final idea from working out which mechanics would be easy to develop, considering we only had one programmer, and making it as fun as possible. The idea came from an old-school game called Frogger. Trying to avoid traffic with a sense of urgency which gets players really excited.

 

Some people may know we worked together at The Gadget Show Live after winning the 2011 Game Jam. What do you think makes a winning game?

I think the limited time the Game Jam has, it needs to be as simple as possible but flexible enough to expand if you have time. Make sure the game is easy as possible to understand. However I think the enjoyment is a major factor, you need to grab the players attention, make them excited when playing so they want to come back to it again and again. Let’s not forget having a great time behind the scenes!

 

Who inspires your art work?

I love fantasy and technical design work. I don’t have a favourite at any one time. I get a lot of my inspiration from fellow students on the Train2Game course.

 

What is the most dramatic or exciting thing you have done in your life?

I would say probably the Game Jams run by Train2Game. Everyone of these events I have been to has been a great experience and I have learnt so much and met some great people.

 

What is your reason for getting into the gaming industry and how will the gaming industry change your life?

I just love games, being part of making ideas come to life for people to get enjoyment from the experience in games just gives me such a buzz. It has already changed my life being part of this course, it has opened up so many experiences; meeting people who inspire me, creating games from scratch and seeing people play your game and enjoying it is a great satisfaction that I want to take to the top.

 

What is your greatest ambition?

My greatest ambition is to inspire people with my work and to be part of the future of gaming.

 

What’s next for you and your career?

Well I am determined to find a job in the gaming industry in 2013.Successfully finish my course and work on improving the game Royal Rush ready for Windows 8 Marketplace.

 

What’s your story, what are the past experiences that have shaped your life?

I think the main reason is being brought up with the games consoles and the satisfaction of learning how to play a game and how the game makes you feel when you’re consumed in it. To this day I still think back on the games that made my childhood amazing. Before this I never thought games was a career I guess. I studied and enjoyed art through most of my education and one day just put my love of games and my talent together. It has opened up this path for me. My passion for games has driven me to what I want to become in the future.

 

Thank you very much Chloe. Good luck with everything you do in the future.

Thank you for having me.

The game Royal Rush will be available on all Windows 8 devices.

Train2Game News: Minecraft meets guns

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Jagex, the team behind RuneScape, have developed a new free-to-play first person shooter that has been described as Minecraft meets Team Fortress.

Jagex, Europe’s largest independent games studio, today formally unveiled details of its previously unannounced innovative shooter, Ace of Spades. Ace of Spades is the latest title from the multi-awarding UK studio behind the leading free-to-play browser MMO RuneScape.

Ace of Spades is a retro-looking intelligent creative shooter that gives players complete strategic freedom over a battlefield they can evolve and built on throughout a game session.  Featuring up to 32 players, Ace of Spades destructible environments are only limited by the imagination of the players creating them. The game provides players with all the ‘world-building’ freedom of a voxel-based sandbox, but with the addition of competitive, team-based multiplayer FPS gunplay.

Creativity is key to succeeding in Ace of Spades as the game gives players the freedom to construct anything from simple bunkers to elaborate fortresses and tunnel networks. This adds a new and innovative component to the game giving players unrestricted freedom to plan their own battles, construct purpose-built defences, and adapt the environment in real-time, changing the course of the battle.

Jagex CMO David Solari said, “If you’re tired of the same old first person shooters, coming out year after year with a fresh lick of paint and a hefty price tag, then Ace of Spades will tick all the boxes for you, offering an all action multiplayer featuring up to 32 player FPS combat and a fully customisable environment which will continuously develop throughout your battle.

“Despite keeping this game under the radar during development, it has still proved to be hugely viral with more than two and half a million players entering the prototype phase. Ace of Spades is set to take FPS to the next level, adding evolving tactics and strategy to twitch FPS gameplay. We have blended the artistic style of voxel-based sandbox games, such as Minecraft, with the class based combat of titles like Team Fortress, and added an extra dimension with real-time evolving battlefields to create a game which we firmly believe will appeal to FPS gamers looking for a bigger challenge.”

The game, which has been developed by Jagex and a small team of talented independent developers, has been running a massively successful prototype since April last year which has been downloaded in excess of 2.5 million times and currently has 550,000 active monthly users.

The full version Ace of Spades featuring an improved graphics engine and an armoury of new weapons will be available to download from Steam in December 2012 for a small one off fee.

You can watch the trailer for the game below:

 

 

Train2Game News: Cheaper Next-Gen development

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Take-Two boss, Strauss Zelnick, believes that developing for the next generation of consoles could be cheaper.

Despite the jump forward in technological prowess expected for Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen consoles, Zelnick suggests that development costs may actually be lower than the present.

Zelnick said “Do we believe that titles will be a whole lot more expensive to make for next-gen? The answer is we do not

“In many instances, we believe that it may be somewhat easier to make titles for next-gen depending on how the technology comes together.”

Sony and Microsoft are believed to start releasing news on the new consoles next year, hopefully followed by the release of one of them by the end of 2014.

There is still a long road ahead before the next generation so many things may change but as it stands at the moment the future looks bright.