Monthly Archives: January 2015

Train2Game News Pokemon Shuffle

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The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo have announced Pokémon Shuffle, a new game for Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 2DS systems that can be downloaded by players from Nintendo eShop at no cost.

In Pokémon Shuffle, players will put their puzzle-solving skills to the test as they battle wild Pokémon across a variety of stages. Match three or more Pokémon in the Puzzle Area to deal damage. The aim of the game is to reduce the wild Pokémon’s HP to zero within the number of moves available.

Clearing Pokémon efficiently is the key to success, and players will be able to take advantage of their own Pokémon’s type during gameplay. Each Pokémon has a specific type, such as Fire, Water or Grass, with each type having its own strengths and weaknesses. What’s more, players will also be able to raise the level of their Pokémon as they play, enabling them to deal even more damage.

Just as in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, some Pokémon can even Mega Evolve! Mega-Evolved Pokémon are able to remove many wild Pokémon from the Puzzle Area at a time.

Players start the game with five Hearts, and one is used up for each stage played. When players run out of Hearts, they’ll need to wait for their Hearts to replenish in order to re-enter battle. Optionally, players will be able to keep playing immediately by using items earned in-game through regular gameplay or purchased at Nintendo eShop. Other items that players might find useful will also be available via the same methods.

Train2Game News Oddworld coming soon

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Following on from the critically acclaimed and much loved PlayStation 4 release of Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty – Oddworld Inhabitants Inc are excited to announce the release dates for Steam, Xbox One and PlayStation 3 versions.  

Oddworld fans will be delighted to learn that Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty will be releasing for Windows PC, Mac and Linux on Steam on February 25th, while the Xbox One and PlayStation 3 versions are planned for release early March.

All versions will take advantage of the post-launch improvements and tweaks made to the PlayStation 4 version, including the fan-requested ‘old school’ control settings, feature the same celebrated QuikSave and QuikLoad functions and of course offer a full rack of achievements and online leaderboards for speedrunners, and cloud saves on Steam.

Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty includes art direction from the original Abe’s Oddysee team, music from series staple Michael Bross and a whole host of tweaks, improvements and brand new areas throughout, whilst remaining true to the game fans have loved since the original PlayStation

New ‘n’ Tasty will be available on Steam for $20 / £15 / €20, with a further 10% discount on pre-purchases.  Further details on the pre-purchase offer, date and specs for the Windows PC, Mac and Linux versions will be available soon.

Train2Game News WeWanaPlay around the world

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For the 7th year in a row, Global Game Jam is hosting the world’s largest hackathon  (A marathon for gaming developers) where over 25k developers are coming together for one weekend in almost 500 locations worldwide to build games. This year the event takes place on the 23rd-25th January.

It’s a great opportunity to not only help inspire the next generation of programmers, but a chance for  some of the best, smartest and most entertaining developers to gain international exposure to the rest of the gaming world.

Wewanaplay (a Birmingham, UK based gaming company) are planning to livestream the entire event from over 40 different Jamming locations around the world. Each team will be showcasing their event for an hour, helping to bring together the entire game developing community for the very first time on one channel. It’s a great way to showcase how different cultures tackle the challenge and show that even when we are miles apart, we can still come together for great reasons.

Deepak Pathak, WewanaPlay CEO mentioned “With places like Costa Rica, Jamica and Taiwan getting involved it’s going to be fantastic not just to watch the amazing games they create but also feel like you have travelled the world in one weekend.”

To catch the livestream over the weekend go to http://www.twitch.tv/wewanaplay
For information on the schedule of different teams streaming visit http://www.wewanaplay.com/events

Train2Game News Transforming Gaming Event in London

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The multi-disciplinary talent management agency, DD-Mgmt has confirmed it will host an event at Mobile Games Week at the Google Campus in Shoreditch, London later this month.

The event, which will take place with support from GameSparks, will discuss the transformation of gaming. Focusing on the integration of gaming as a service, the discussion will focus on the development of games-as-a-service, with presentations including innovative ways to monetise the sector.

Entitled ‘Transforming Gaming – Transformation of Gaming and Benefits of Enhancing Games as a Service’ the seminar is set to welcome speakers from Game Sparks and DD Mgmt with additional content from LKWD – Lockwood Publishing. Presented by DD MGMT, the two and a half hour event will take place on Wednesday 21 January, 9.00am – 11.30am. Delegates should expect a lively discussion and transformative ideas, technologies and methods to drive investment and monetisation across the mobile gaming industry.

The inaugural London Mobile Games Week is celebration of the UK’s booming technology and creative sectors. A series of events will take place up and down the country to mark the initiative, with networking, conferences, seminars, meet ups, exhibitions, workshops and awards ceremonies arranged by independent associations and the wider gaming community.

DD MGMT is a talent management service provider. It celebrates individuality and difference, and provides a management service based on cherishing what is original about all of its clients.

Jhannon Fanus, CEO & Co-Founder of DD Mgmt said, “We’re delighted to be hosting the Transforming Gaming event at the Google Campus. Talent is a broad spectrum with many different forms – and we’re here to allow that kind of unique talent to shine through. We provide access to tools and resources that enables individual talent to find a platform. The gaming sector in the UK, along with the tech and creative sectors, are producing some really exciting work and phenomenal talent at the moment, which makes it a very interesting industry to be a part of.”

Train2Game News Future of Telltale

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Episodic story wranglers Telltale have a new CEO, and he’s revealed some interesting information in his inaugural statement.

Not content with their current series The Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Tales from the Borderlands and soon Minecraft: Story Mode, new CEO Kevin Bruner has announced big things in the companies future.

In a statement to Gamesindustry.biz Mr Bruner said “We’re thrilled to continue our growth and bring our unique style of scripted entertainment to the next generation of digital media, and do that across thousands of different devices. Our top priority is to continue fostering an environment where the most talented and creative storytellers in the industry are working side by side with the world’s biggest creative partners. We’re already working on some of the biggest franchises in entertainment, and when you add our unannounced partnerships and upcoming original IP, it’s clear the most exciting time to be at Telltale is now, and there will continue to be more and more opportunity to innovate ahead of us.”

Telltale are fast becoming one of the staple companies in the games industry with their fantastic story telling and moral dilemmas

I for one am incredibly excited to see where this company is going next and what there own IP will entail.

Train2Game News Free Assassin’s Creed Unity DLC

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Today, Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed Unity – Dead Kings is now available, free of charge, for all Assassin’s Creed Unity players on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC, and will be released tomorrow January 14th on PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system in the UK.

After the events of Assassin’s Creed Unity, Arno’s quest for redemption leads him to the town of Saint-Denis, then known as Franciade. There he is sent on a mission that will take him to the depths of the city, an intricate network of catacombs and deep caves that hold the remains and best-kept secrets of past French kings.

To uncover the dark mysteries that lie beneath the Basilica, Arno is equipped with a lantern to guide his way and will gain access to the Guillotine Gun, a powerful weapon made for both long-range destruction and deadly close-quarter combat.

In Assassin’s Creed Unity – Dead Kings, players will encounter familiar faces including Napoleon and the Marquis de Sade, as well as a new enemy faction, the Raiders, merciless foes desecrating the catacombs. Players will also be able to embark on additional side quests including new Murder Mysteries, enigmas, and co-operative missions, where players can join forces for a heist mission and a special Brotherhood mission.

Both single-player and cooperative modes enable players to unlock new weapons, gear, and outfits that carry over between Assassin’s Creed Unity and Assassin’s Creed Unity – Dead Kings.

Ubisoft promised it would give out Dead Kings for free to anyone who bought Unity, as a way of apologising for the game’s bug filled launch.

Train2Game News 15th Game Developers Choice Award Nominees

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GDC AwardsOrganizers have revealed the finalists for the 15th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, the leading peer-based video game event celebrating the industry’s top games and developers.

Winners in all categories will be honored at the Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony, taking place on Wednesday, March 4th, 2015 at 6:30pm at the San Francisco Moscone Center during the 2015 Game Developers Conference alongside the Independent Games Festival Awards.

Leading the pack with five nominations is Monolith Productions’ acclaimed open-world action game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – receiving nods for Game of the Year, Innovation, Best Design, Best Narrative and Best Technology. Following close behind are Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation and Destiny from Bungie, each of which were nominated for multiple awards across categories like Best Audio and Best Technology, and also nominated for the 2014 Game of the Year.

Mirroring years past, titles from smaller teams have once again received strong recognition, with nominations or honorable mentions in nine of the 10 categories. Polish independent studio The Astronauts was nominated across four categories for its work producing the atmospheric first-person mystery game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: the Innovation Award, Best Debut, Best Narrative and Best Audio. Several other games of similar scope garnered multiple category nominations, including 11 bit studios’ This War of Mine, Inkle Studios’ 80 Days and Yacht Club Games’ Shovel Knight.
Nintendo also showed strongly in the Choice Awards nominations across both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. The latest iteration of the publisher’s flagship fighting game franchise, Super Smash Bros for 3DS picked up a nomination for the Best Handheld Game of the year, while the acclaimed puzzle-platformer Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is up for a Best Design award. The Nintendo-published, Platinum Games-developed Wii U character action game Bayonetta 2 was also nominated for multiple awards, including Game of the Year and Best Visual Art.

Additional titles with multiple nominations included Blizzard’s free-to-play digital card game Hearthstone (three nominations), Bungie’s ambitious online first-person shooter Destiny (three nominations) and Yacht Club Games’ love letter to NES platformers Shovel Knight (two nominations),

The 2015 Game Developers Choice Awards are freely open to any video game that was initially released and made publicly available to customers during the 2014 calendar year, irrespective of platform or delivery medium. Both finalists and winners are selected by the Game Developers Choice Awards-specific International Choice Awards Network (ICAN), which is an invitation-only organization, comprised of leading game creators from all parts of the industry.

The complete list of nominees, including honorable mentions, for the 15th annual Game Developers Choice Awards is in the pdf below

Choice Developers Nominees

The Game Developers Choice Awards also gives out three Special Awards yearly: the Pioneer, Ambassador and Lifetime Achievement awards, all of which will be announced in the near future. The Audience Award for the Choice Awards – open to all finalists for this year – will also return and will open for online voting in February.

For more information about the 15th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, visit http://www.gamechoiceawards.com.

Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 12.01.14

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GTA VThe second chart of the week and no new games have entered this week but we do have an old favourite at number one. Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V has retaken the number one spot pushing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare down to number two.

All formats

Week ending 10 January 2015

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 2
2 CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE ACTIVISION 1
3 – FIFA 15 EA SPORTS 3
4 – FAR CRY 4 UBISOFT 4
5 THE CREW UBISOFT 6
6 ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY UBISOFT 5
7 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 11
8 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION MICROSOFT 10
9 DESTINY ACTIVISION 7
10 MIDDLE EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 13
11 ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG UBISOFT 19
12 DRIVECLUB SONY COMPUTER ENT. 9
13 LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
14 THE EVIL WITHIN BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 15
15 FORZA HORIZON 2 MICROSOFT 14
16 HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION MICROSOFT 18
17 WWE 2K15 2K SPORTS 8
18 SUPER SMASH BROS. NINTENDO 20
19 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION EA GAMES 18
20 ASSASSIN’S CREED: ROGUE UBISOFT 19
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2015 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News Films on twitch

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Devolver Digital, the Austin-based independent video game and film distributor, today announced plans to air a weekly series of live screenings of video game related movie titles on  Twitch, the world’s leading video platform and community for gamers.

The series kicks off on January 9, 2015 with a new airing each Friday through February 20. Each film will air at approximately 2:15pm at  www.twitch.tv/twitch and will feature live chatting with the respective filmmakers. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_uE3-OKWC0

The series will begin with a  screening of the Devolver-produced documentary  Stream Dream. This film chronicles the rising influence of gaming video content creators using Twitch and other video platforms to reach their worldwide audiences. Devolver will preface Stream Dream with a premiere of its new Winter Releases Trailer which features upcoming movie releases from the indie publishing and distribution house.

2015 Schedule:

• January 9:  Stream Dream and Winter Releases Trailer
• January 16:  Pixel Poetry – A games-as-art documentary
• January 23: (no broadcast)
• January 30:  Angry Video Game Nerd – The movie adaptation of the popular comic web series
• February 6:   Gaming in Color – LGBTQ gamer documentary
• February 13:  Super Game Jam: The Movie – Game development becomes entertainment
• February 20: To be announced

“Twitch represents a new frontier for filmmakers looking to connect with an audience who is passionate about video game culture,” said Ben Goldhaber, Director of Content Marketing, Twitch. “Devolver Digital is the perfect example of a studio who understands the appeal of Twitch’s social video format by both documenting our brand in Stream Dream and scheduling broadcasts of half a dozen gaming films on our platform.”

All of the films will also be available for rental and download on digital VOD platforms including Amazon, GOG, Google Play, Playstation, Vudu, Xbox, VHX, Vimeo on Demand, and Gumroad.

Train2Game News The Princess Bride game

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Gameblend Studios today announced the launch of  The Princess Bride – The Official Game for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Prepare to play!

Based on William Goldman’s romantic fantasy-comedy, famously brought to life in Rob Reiner’s 1987 film, The Princess Bride – The Official Game takes players into this classic story to experience its best and boldest moments firsthand. There are four games to play within the adventure:

    Survive the Shrieking Eels!
    Scale the Cliffs of Insanity!
    Cross swords and duel with Inigo!
    Wrestle against a Giant!

Each mode features its own unique leaderboard, challenges and rewards, including genuine images and audio clips to unlock from the film. The game is designed with Retina-display art crafted to pop vividly on iPhone 6 and iPad devices.  Future free updates will test the players’ wits and have them running through the dreaded Fire Swamp.

Mars Williams from English rock band The Psychedelic Furs composed the music for the game.

The Princess Bride – The Official Game is available for $3.99 on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch