Category Archives: Developer

Train2Game News Insomnia57 Twitter partnership

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Multiplay, organiser of the UK’s largest gaming festival, Insomnia, and a subsidiary of GAME Digital plc (“GAME Digital”), the UK’s leading video gaming specialist, today announced a new event partnership for Insomnia57, with Twitter, showcasing two apps throughout the event, as well as providing enhancements to broaden online conversations at Insomnia57.

Twitter, which reaches over 320 million monthly active users, is bringing two of its new, exclusive apps to the event: Q&A and Challenger. After a successful field test at Insomnia56, Twitter is returning to fully integrate the apps for the duration of the gaming event for the first time. The apps will help users to connect, share and engage with their favourite content across Insomnia57 through dedicated channels, so everyone can easily join the conversation.

Multiplay, which already sees Twitter as one of its main channels of communication to reach the Insomnia community, will be strengthening this connection throughout the festival.

As well as using the exclusive apps, Multiplay will be deepening the conversation on Twitter, using data visualisation to showcase and engage with their social audiences in real-time. Twitter will help bring to their attention live, branded and curated conversations, helping Multiplay amplify Insomnia57 through on-screen activation and audience participations from platforms.

Tapping into Twitter’s first-hand experience, Multiplay will ensure visitors, special guests and Insomnia staff will be able to effortlessly socialise with one another in a dedicated hub of online activity.

“Some of the biggest spikes in conversation on Twitter are driven by gaming – it’s the ultimate platform for people to connect on a global scale. Arming Insomnia57 with our talent apps is the perfect way to harness the conversation even more across that weekend of activity, and we can’t wait to see the results,” said Julia White, Media Partnerships, Twitter UK.

“Twitter is a huge platform for Insomnia visitors, with thousands of Tweets sent by visitors at the festival,” said Craig Fletcher, Founder and CEO of Multiplay. He continued: “With these apps introduced to the event by Twitter, content creators, publishers and developers will be closer to their fans than ever. This partnership will make the event easily visible online for fans in attendance and those around the world, showcasing Insomnia’s truly accessible and family friendly environment.”

Q&A App is exclusive to special guests, enabling YouTube and Twitch stars attending Insomnia to effortlessly keep in touch with their fans by answering their questions via the app. Available throughout the weekend of Insomnia57, people will be able to read the Q&A conversations on the @MultiplayEvents Twitter account as well as our special guest’s channel.

The Challenger App is created for visitors of Insomnia57, where people will be able to search and find members of the Insomnia team around the NEC Birmingham. Visitors will be encouraged to show off their ‘game face’, which will be shared and linked to the @MultiplayEvents Twitter account and stamped with #myi57.

Insomnia57 will take place at The NEC Birmingham, 25-28 March, 2016. Tickets for Insomnia57 are on sale now and can be purchased from the official website at https://insomniagamingfestival.com/tickets/.

Train2game News SDKBOX launches Amazon IAP

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SDKBOX today launched Amazon In-App Purchasing (IAP) within its revolutionary live game operations platform. Starting today, Cocos developers will be able to enable frictionless Amazon payment options such as in-game currency, expansion packs, upgrades, and more for purchase within apps.

Kai Zhao, Head of Operations for SDKBOX, said: “We are continuing to expand our platform leadership with seamless access to key services such as Amazon’s In-App Purchasing API. Cocos developers will be able to enable fast, easy purchasing to increase engagement and monetization within their apps.”

SDKBOX supports industry-leading services for mobile game production and operations, including analytics, user acquisition, monetization, advertising, compliance and more. A recent 2.0 update brought new capabilities including receipt verification for in-app purchases, live ops controls, cloud-based game configuration management and more.

With the addition of Amazon IAP to the SDKBOX platform, Cocos developers can enable simple, secure, and trusted 1-click purchase experiences, resulting in increased engagement and conversion rates for purchases within apps.

Over 700,000 registered developers leverage the award-winning Cocos2d-x open-source game engine, which currently features over 50,000 published titles to date, including some of the world’s top grossing games like Clash of Kings, Puzzle & Dragons, Monster Strike, Fantasy Westward Journey Mobile, Big Fish Casino, The Legend of Mir 2, and The King of Fighters’ 98. SDKBOX is dedicated to enabling simple and easy to integrate services, like Amazon IAP, for Cocos developers worldwide.

For more information on Amazon IAP for SDKBOX, please visit www.sdkbox.com

Train2game News Insomnia Ireland

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Multiplay, organiser of the UK’s largest gaming festival, Insomnia, and a subsidiary of GAME Digital plc (“GAME Digital”), the UK’s leading video gaming specialist, is pleased to announce that tickets are available now to purchase for the very first in a series of Insomnia Gaming Ireland events taking place at INEC Killarney, 10-13 June.

Available now on Ticketmaster, Day tickets for Insomnia Gaming Ireland will start from €12 to €24 and €99 for the Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) LAN Hall. Also available are package deals which includes tickets and accommodation, these can be purchased through the venue. To not miss out on the Insomnia experience, all tickets can be purchased at https://insomniagamingfestival.com/ireland.

Visitors to Insomnia Gaming Ireland will be able to play a host of games, enjoy numerous activities and entertainment inside the INEC. Areas include the Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) LAN Hall; open for 72 hours, hosting 250 people playing multiplayer games with and against each other in a fun and social environment. The Exhibition Hall contains a variety of feature zones and games for all ages.  These include a Minecraft Zone, Over 18s area and the Main Stage, where Special Guests will be playing the latest games as well as Panel Talks and Q&A sessions. Special Guests will include ChooChoosGaming, AshDubh, NettyPlays, AmyLee, InTheLittlewood and MiniMuka.

BYOC ticket holders will be able to delve into the eSports scene with popular competitive tournaments occurring throughout the event such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rocket League, League of Legends and Hearthstone. Daily console tournaments will be taking place, as well as the BYOC LAN Hall hosting tournaments of its own.

“With an even busier year of Insomnia events, we‘re delighted to bring the Insomnia brand to Irish gamers,” says Craig Fletcher, Founder and CEO of Multiplay. He continued “Insomnia already reaches tens of thousands of gamers in the UK and we can’t wait to witness Irish gamers’ passion for all things gaming for the first time. The Irish gaming community is one we’ve looked to tap into for a while and we are excited to be able to offer the Insomnia experience in the region.”

Insomnia Ireland will take place at INEC Killarney, 10-13 June, 2016. For more information, please visit https://insomniagamingfestival.com/ireland

Train2game News Joystick App

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Coming soon to iOS and Android, Joystick is an incredible new app set to revolutionise the way gamers can consume news in the future!

Joystick is the World’s First one-stop destination where they can watch all live gaming tournaments across Youtube, Twitch & Azubu.

Joystick will also allow users to create a bespoke personalised news feeds in which they can follow their favourite pro-gamers across all social media and keep up with all different types of gaming news plus watch entertaining game shows.

The Joystick GUI is slick, intuitive and a bespoke news feed can be created in seconds. The user will select their choice of platform, genre and topic before being presented with their personally crafted news feed.

The Joystick trailer is available to watch: https://youtu.be/4ej77ZESa-4

Joystick You’re In Control…

Train2game News GAME Stores raise big money for SpecialEffect

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Marathon month at GAME smashes records in aid of GameBlast16

GAME today announces their partnership with SpecialEffect is going from strength to strength on the back of raising a record-breaking £37,000 for SpecialEffect’s GameBlast16. Thousands of UK gamers took to consoles throughout the month of February to support the charity, which enables anyone, whatever their physical disability, to enjoy video games and leisure technology.

With hundreds of GAME stores around the UK joining in the fun, a series of epic gaming challenges and competitions were on offer for gamers of all levels during February, including events like the Street Fighter V GAME OFF, GAME Loves and Drawlanders.

Culminating on 27th February, GAME HQ hosted a 24 hour livestream with over 70,000 tuning in to watch guests including Wheelchair Basketball European gold-medallist Mark Fosbrook, Microsoft’s Graeme Boyd, Lauran Carter from Lionhead and comedian John Robertson.

Gamers also had the chance to get their hands on exclusive gaming gear donated by GAME through SpecialEffect eBay auctions. Up for grabs were fifty life-size Vault Boys courtesy of Bethesda and signed gaming items. Microsoft also donated two exclusive custom-made Titanfall and Gears of War Xbox one consoles, in addition to a very rare Fable Legends Xbox One console donated by Lionhead Studio and previously unavailable to the public. The console fetched over £3,000 at auction.

GAME will continue to work closely with SpecialEffect going forward. Customers can get involved from today by donating in all 319 stores or even trading in old games and donating their value to SpecialEffect. Over the next 12 months, GAME will also be running various fundraising events in stores and is now working with SpecialEffect in ensuring they have all the latest gaming equipment and games.

Fred Prego, Marketing Director at GAME said:

“We are overwhelmed by the incredible response from our GAME community to GameBlast16. Their involvement has helped us support SpecialEffect in not only making GameBlast16 a fun and successful event, but also in helping us to raise five times more than we did last year which will contribute to the fantastic work that the charity does all year round.

“With most of our staff being dedicated gamers, we recognise the responsibility we have to help make gaming a hobby that is accessible to everyone. We are committed to continuing our support of SpecialEffect and there are exciting plans in place to work together over the year, so watch this space.

Train2game News Train2Game students creating own Game Jam

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Free Game Jam organised by Train2Game students, for Train2Game students will take place 27th May. Train2Game also helping to create and support the event.

Students looking to improve their skills and network have created their own game jam. Train2Game is helping the initiative with advice and publicising the event on its channels. The game jam will be remote, with participants getting involved over the web from any location.

Participants can create their own teams or sign up via the Team Speak channel and form teams on the group. Those taking part can suggest a theme that will then be selected at the beginning of the event. Judges for the competition will be made of students past and present. All entries will be visible on the forum, where students can vote on their favourite.

Students can use their entries to gain experience and for use in their portfolios. They will also find a network of friends that could become professional contacts in the future. Train2Game is also offering a gaming laptop to the winning team.

Train2Game student and head of Game Marmalade, Slinks said: ‘I decided to do a Game Jam because I was egged on by my fellow students, late at night in my Teamspeak channel. There is a slightly selfish element to putting this event on as well, as I’m also looking out for my future. If I can’t get a new future in game art, I might be able to get a new future in online event organisation. It’s another string to my bow.’

‘Obviously everyone in the Teamspeak channel is interested and I’ve got a team together. But I think this is going to be a slow burner. People are only just learning more about the event as the post I put up this evening has much more information, answers many more questions and gives a better structure for the event. Once people have read and digested the post, I’m hoping it’ll kick things off.’

‘There are many benefits for students such as, learning to work as a team, experience working to a deadline, improving communication skills, discovering your strengths and weaknesses, learning to work under pressure, problem solving, learning how you cope with stress, the sense of achievement when you complete the project, new friendships, new teams, a potential studio, the possibilities are endless. But by forging some strong alliances through events like this now, we give ourselves the best opportunity to be successful in the future as this is how studios are formed.’

‘Not only will you have examples of your own work to show prospective employers, you’ll also have an example or that work in action. Being involved in a team project also demonstrates you are capable of being a team player and possess some of the qualities listed above. So I believe getting involved in Game Marmalade with be good for a student’s portfolio’s and their C.V.’

‘People can help by getting their own teams together and registering them with me as soon as possible. Also if there are any students out there who would like to be involved but can’t make the event, I’m looking for judges so I need to hear from these people as soon as possible as well.’

‘People can sign up with me by sending all the details of their team and a theme to me and I’m holding regular meets in my channel every Friday. People can come to the channel on any other evening as well, I try to be in there most evening around 7pm but people pop in and out at all hours so apart from Friday it’s a case of drop by and see who’s about.’

A spokesman for Train2Game added, ‘This initiative demonstrates a key part of developing students into team players for the modern games industry. Train2Game will be offering a magnificent gamers laptop as the top prize for this Game Jam.’

Email event organiser: slinky.dink68@outlook.com

Find out more about the event on the Train2Game forum: http://forum.train2game.com/showthread.php/22512-Game-Marmalade-A-Game-Jam-by-students-for-students-May-Bank-Holiday

For more information contact: mark@train2game.com

Train2Game, bringing City & Guilds to the Games Industry

Read the Train2Game blog at www.train2game-news.co.uk Train2Game is a proud supporter of www.gamatier.com

Train2game News Iron Maiden Legacy of the Beast Founders Packs

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Nodding Frog, Roadhouse Interactive and 50cc Games are pleased to announce that the  Founders Packs for their  Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast  mobile game are now available direct from  www.ironmaidenlegacy.com/founders 

Founders Packs and Collector’s Editions are relatively commonplace in PC and console gaming circles, but something new in mobile gaming. In keeping with the spirit of innovation prevalent throughout Iron Maiden’s career, Legacy of the Beast Founders Packs will offer fans and players limited edition collectibles, exclusive insider access to game-design forums, rare in-game Eddies and boatloads of ‘Ferryman’s Gold’ (in-game currency) to commemorate the launch of the game.

“There are tons of Maiden fans at Roadhouse, and rock, metal and punk is a big part of our studio culture with lots of the team wearing band shirts at any given time. We decided to create some exclusive apparel to celebrate the launch of the game and show off the many iterations of Eddie that appear in it. It’s been fantastic to see the band’s fan base show their support for the project online, engaging with our social channels and sharing their views on what we’re up to. Alongside the T-shirts, Hoodies, and other cool swag, we’ve created a new opportunity for fans, gamers, and newcomers alike to have an even greater role in the creation and direction of the game with the Founders Forum” says James Hursthouse, CEO, Roadhouse Interactive. 

Llexi Leon, Creative Director, Phantom Music Management, added “With the Founders campaign we’re offering exclusive access, awesome in-game items, and some killer custom-designed Iron Maiden gear. As a video games Collector’s Edition addict I’ve been particularly thrilled to curate this range, and we’re all excited to be pioneering this approach in the mobile space. We’ve combined items you might expect like T-shirts and Hoodies with totally new offerings, such as exclusive character art cells, a gorgeous giclee on canvas print, and a beautiful digital art book.”

“We’re offering incredible value in every pack, working with our partners at Global Merchandise and Dark Ink Art to ensure the same top quality products our fans expect, but at an unprecedented discount to celebrate this amazing game and the expansion of the Iron Maiden universe. Our friends at Onkyo have even provided a limited number of the remarkable hand-wired Japanese made Ed-Ph0n3s as part of our top tier Eternity pack, a jaw dropping collection that’s limited to 666 units on a first come first serve basis.”

All those who order a Founders Pack will get to participate in online discussions with the development team, be granted access to exclusive community forum content, and have the opportunity to vote on the direction of the game and proposed content.

Seven packs have been created, five of them themed to in-game iterations of the band’s iconic mascot, Eddie, in a variety of character classes. The Packs range from the digital only Part of the Legacy Pack, right up to the strictly limited Eternity Pack that contains all the character class Eddie T-Shirts and art cells from previous tiers, a pair of extremely limited items including an archival quality print on canvas and a premium embroidered hoodie, topped off with a set of Onkyo’s Maiden Audio Ed-Ph0n3s, representing amazing value across the board.

Priced in Canadian Dollars and shipping worldwide, the packs are available for a limited time only and will be dispatched throughout June / July 2016, to coincide with the game’s global launch.

At the time of going to press, the in-game digital add-on packs will be an option only applicable for Android users.

Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast, is an action-packed, free-to-play epic mobile RPG steeped in Iron Maiden mythology, and launches on both iOS and Android platforms in June 2016. “Maiden Vancouver, Played Everywhere!”

Train2game News ESL Streaming

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The world’s largest esports company, ESL, is happy to announce that it will be bringing its core content to multiple global streaming platforms.

Starting with the Intel® Extreme Masters World Championship in Katowice from March 4-6, the broadcast of ESL’s content will be available on Twitch, Azubu, Hitbox and Yahoo streaming platforms.

ESL’s events have consistently broken viewership records, among them the record for the highest number of concurrent viewers on a single channel, when 1.3 million people tuned in for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competition during ESL One Cologne 2015.

Welcoming three new additions to our streaming channels will enable ESL to open up its world class esports competition content to a larger and broader audience worldwide, maximizing the reach and growing the global audience. The company continues to deliver the most legendary esports moments across multiple games and platforms, further growing its offering by expanding to new regions and adding new games to its Leagues and events.

“The most important aspect to keep in mind when creating an esports broadcast is the audience,” said Nik Adams, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Business Development at ESL. “Expanding our distribution channels was done with this very audience in mind. Now viewers all across the world have greater flexibility in choosing how to consume ESL content – a first step with many more to follow.”

All competition can also be followed through IEM’s central broadcasting hub over at live.intelextrememasters.com, which also features streams in multiple languages.

Train2game News eSports Industry Awards

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MBN Events, industry leaders in the provision of high profile sporting lunches and dinners have teamed up with games industry powerhouse NewBay Media, owner of MCV and Develop, to launch the eSports Industry Awards, a brand new ceremony that recognises all of those who have contributed to the sector’s incredible growth across the globe over the past 12 months.

The event will take place on November 21 at The Brewery, London and will be hosted by BBC Radio 1’s gaming expert, Julia Hardy and Jason Bradbury from Channel 5’s The Gadget Show, in order to acknowledge and reward outstanding achievement from the world of eSports, with awards presented across 18 categories including: Team of the Year; Game of the Year; eSports Journalist of the Year and Best Live Event. All of the individual categories can be found here www.esportsindustryawards.com .

Nominations for the eSports Industry Awards 2016 open today, with the final short-list announced on Friday April 8. An international judging panel consisting of respected professionals from a cross section of the eSports industry including ex-players, media and broadcasters will then determine the overall winners in each of the categories.

“I’m really honoured to be invited to help co-host the first ever UK awards dedicated solely to eSports. It reflects just how huge the eSports world is and how quickly it is growing that we can now have a whole awards ceremony dedicated to the people who have strived tirelessly to get it where it is,” stated Julia Hardy, who added “eSports are well and truly here to stay and I’m looking forward to congratulating the winners and the nominees on the night for all their hard work in such a passionate part of gaming.”

The eSports Industry Awards 2016 has already received the backing of Gfinity, who will bring their expertise in streaming live events, as official broadcast partner. Confirmation of further high profile partnerships are expected in the coming weeks.

CEO of Gfinity, Neville Upton commented: “Gfinity is delighted to be the broadcast partner and helping to raise the profile of esports within the UK while recognising the achievements of people throughout the industry.”

www.esportsindustryawards.com

Train2game News MG Games looking for new team members

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Student Games Developers looking for applications to grow studio
Michael McGurk from Northern Ireland seeks new members to join his team, which has released three titles and has another on the way.

This student team is rapidly releasing titles, which are great for portfolios and they could make the next big hit.

The team is looking for new members to expand MG Games and release more titles. It’s looking for an artist and someone to help them build titles in Construct. It’s a two man team at the moment and Michael’s father is the third voluntary member.

The team has released three games already, working on its next bigger one, which is why they need additional support. MG Games plans to expand to make larger games in the future, the next release is coming in two months’ time, with support from new team members.

Michael is a Train2Game student and enjoying the course. He’s balanced creating games alongside his studies. The team likes working on its own titles as means it can deliver the game it wants to, retaining control of what they produce and their production timeline. The benefits for new joiners will be experience and work for portfolio content, and who knows in the future.

Michael is based in Northern Ireland but happy for team members from anywhere in the world.

Michael McGurk, Student Train2Game and head of MG Games, ‘My experience with Train2Game has most definitely been worthwhile and I have enjoyed every minute of it. It has helped me bring my ideas to life and put them into games. Games are my passion and without Train2game I would not have the knowledge I do have in game making. To have created and put my first game out there live, watch the number of plays grow is an indescribable feeling.’

‘I am currently on module D4 lesson 4. The course is slowly coming along, I say slowly because I am taking my time doing the course as I am currently making my fourth game. Its a larger game compared to the other arcade games I have made on the side and is taking a bit of time to do.’

‘I work from home I started MG games so I could build my own gaming company and make my own games I have started MG Games off from scratch. I want to further the company and I would like to give others a chance to use and combine their game ideas and bring them to life.

Currently on the team is myself as the games designer and my dad helps me out with the the art work and the animations. Currently we are making games for browser and mobile devices. Small games such as arcade etc. But in the near future I would like to make bigger games with storylines.’

‘As MG Games expands, I would like to start making bigger and better games with every team member having a say in the games we make. I would like MG games to become a known company, with a large team who is willing to work as a team and express their ideas openly. I would like to have an official studio where all the works will take place as a professional company.’

‘I have worked on four games that are now live on mg-games.itch.io if you would like to take a look and I two more games are in the works. One of which is a larger game and has so far taken me almost seven months to get as far as I have within the game. I’m hoping for this game to go live within the next month or two.’

‘The benefits of working on our own games are that we get to see our games ideas come to life and when the games are done we have the joy of saying we made that. Also we can spend as much time as we want in the making of the games and we are not under any pressure in having the games done for a certain time. No pressure means no mistakes.’

‘I am looking for new members to join MG Games as I said its really only me and more team members will result in better games more games ideas and more fun in making the games and it will help MG Games grow as a company. I would like someone who can do the art work for the games and someone that could work with me building them on construct.’

‘I would like commitment, flexibility and members that are here for the games and the fun of making them and not just for money. The new team members will gain the experience from working in a team, games that they can use on their portfolios and there game ideas being heard and brought to life.’

‘I would like the applicants to show examples of their work, note their strongest and weakest points in game making and what area do they mainly specialise in. I would also like their contact details and to tell me a bit about themselves, why they are applying and what is it that has them interested in this field of work.’

‘If anyone is interested they can email me at mggames0@hotmail.com or messages me over our Facebook page which you can find at this link https://www.facebook.com/MG.Games1/?ref=hl‘

For more information contact mark@train2game.com
Train2Game, bringing City & Guilds to the Games Industry

Train2Game is a proud supporter of  www.gamatier.com