Category Archives: Developer

Train2Game News Flawless Studios recruiting

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New Train2Game student studio on the hunt for team members

Flawless Studios looking for Train2Game students to join existing young team and work on The Damned One

The Flawless Studios team are working on a British set survival horror game called: The Damned One. It is about a village where people are mysteriously going missing, after the lead character summons a demon through a Ouija board. The hero then goes through the game searching for his family, closely pursued by the demon.

Flawless Studios is made up of three members: Lead Designer and CEO: Aaron Miles, Ashley Miles: Audio engineer and composer and Artist: Mike Cahill. The team is looking for dedicated artists and developers. The successful applicant will be someone who can commit time to a project all the way to its completion. The team are currently looking for Artists and Developers. But they are open to interest from all Developers, if you are skilled, they want you in the team. It’s an unpaid opportunity but the experience will be great for students portfolios.

The team are relatively early into the course but they have the enthusiasm and dedication to get making games. Long term they plan to launch a successful games on to the Playstation Store and Xbox Live, they want to create a dedicated fan base of gamers following the work they create.

To apply all you need to do is get in touch with the team and be able to dedicate your time to a project. Apply by emailing aaronmilescontact@gmail.com

Train2Game News Franco Jam

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Franco JamUK studio Creative Assembly is hosting a game jam this weekend in honour of Simon Franco, a member of the team that passed away earlier this year.

Franco was a senior programmer on Alien Isolation, and worked on multiple Total War games during his 10 years at the Surrey studio.

This weekend, small teams of Creative Assembly staff will compete to create a whole game in two days, with proceeds raised and donations going to Royal Surrey County Hospital, which cared for Franco.

The judges panel for the contest will consist of Franco’s friends and family, plus Sprungdigi ambassador Darius.

A live stream will run throughout the event, which will also include a charity auction of Steam keys and signed goodies from Creative Assembly’s various games.

“Simon Franco was a dear friend and colleague to many here at CA,” the studio wrote on its blog.

“Simon was a big Magic the Gathering enthusiast, with a passion for creating retro games in his spare time, as well as being a dedicated father who sadly didn’t get to meet his youngest daughter before he passed. He was positive, kind and always had a time for anyone that asked for it.

“We were all deeply saddened by his sudden passing earlier this year and to commemorate his life, work and passion for retro gaming, we’re hosting a weekend-long GameJam in his honour.”

Creative Assembly is also inviting people to donate to their cause by clicking here.

Train2Game News Unity Sound Plugins

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unity-logoAstound Holdings is proud to announce its new suite of gaming plugins are now available on the Unity Asset Store for game developers.

The highly immersive AstoundSound 3D spatial audio technology software core powers the plugins with two solutions made available: AstoundSound 3D RTI and AstoundSound Expander available for Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, and Linux platforms. The plugins provide superior 3D audio spatialization for all types of games (2D and 3D) including VR, First Person Shooters, Third Person, and more.

The 3D audio technology powering AstoundSound goes far beyond Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) which are based only on the anatomy of the ear and skull or traditional dummy head recording devices. The unique psychoacoustic approach used for AstoundSound is based on how the actual human brain perceives sounds, called Brain-Response Transfer Functions (BRTFs). Where conventional HRTFs work only with headphones, BRTFs allow for the most immersive and natural 3D spatial audio experience with headphones AND speakers.

AstoundSound 3D RTI brings true 3D audio spatialization to any sound emitting object. AstoundSound 3D RTI processes any mono source in real-time during gameplay and creates a stereo output spherical sound field experience. For more information about the AstoundSound 3D RTI for Unity plugin please visit the AstoundSound 3D RTI product page on the Unity Asset Store:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/24064

AstoundSound Expander greatly enhances pre-mixed stereo background music and ambience tracks to produce an incredibly immersive stereo experience. The AstoundSound Expander plugin can also be used to significantly enhance the master stereo audio output for 2D games. For more information about the AstoundSound Expander for Unity plugin please visit the AstoundSound Expander product page in the Unity Asset Store:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/24658

“After enormous demand from game developers worldwide, we are excited to launch our 3D game audio plugins for Unity” said Jerry Mahabub, CEO of Astound Holdings. “AstoundSound has established itself as the leading 3D positional audio technology for the top professional game audio engines. We are very pleased to bring our AstoundSound technology to the indie game development community.”

With AstoundSound, game developers can dramatically enhance their games’ audio soundscape allowing players to hear sound coming from all directions, including height and depth perception. This enables game players to improve their game reaction times and response to enemies/threats by knowing where critical sound cues are coming from during gameplay.

For more information on current and upcoming AstoundSound gaming products visit: www.astoundgaming.com

Train2Game News Try before you buy on PC

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Game SessionsGameSessions today announced additional investment for its free PC trial game service, taking the total raised to $5m, and the release of Crytek’s ‘Ryse – Son of Rome’ trial among the first batch of titles released on the service as it enters Beta 2.

GameSessions offers a fresh option for gamers and publishers – with this new PC game trial service users can play a range of games for free before deciding whether to purchase, opening up a broader audience for publishers.

The Beta 2 phase of GameSessions begins today with the free trial of ‘Ryse – Son of Rome’, now players can experience the glorious action of this Ancient Roman historical fantasy for free. During the trial users can purchase the full game instantly and continue playing straight away, keeping their progress through the game.

Ed French, CEO of GameSessions said, “We passionately believe that people will buy more games if they can try them first. With our free trial service our mission is to deliver more great game experiences to more players.”

GameSessions’ proprietary technology ensures publishers’ content is secure, so ensuring the best content can be available, and typically downloads games 3x* faster. The service also helps to avoid downloading games that won’t run well on users’ hardware, and final peace-of-mind comes from the guarantee of always playing a game before purchase.

Users can now download and play the free trial of the stunning ‘Ryse – Son of Rome’ on PC as part of the Beta 2 phase. More exciting titles will be added in the run up to the full launch of the service in early 2015.

What is GameSessions?

• GameSessions’ proprietary technology enables publishers to efficiently and securely deliver trials of PC games to consumers
• It’s FREE for publishers
• It’s FREE for consumers
How does GameSessions work?
• Users download the game and play the trial; the full
game is unlocked by simply purchasing in-game (retaining progress) and added to their Steam library.
• The proprietary technology checks the user’s PC for compatibility prior to download
• Game Sessions is Steam compatible – fitting into the existing publisher framework.

Unique remote-control DRM means publishers’ content is safe

Rental options allow new audiences to be reached, and pricing can better match emerging markets.

Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 17.11.14

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Call of Duty Advanced WarfighterA wave of new big name games has just been released but none were enough to knock Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare from the top spot. Assassin’s Creed Unity sneaks in to number two and Halo: The Master Chief Collection fights its way to third. The new LEGO Batman game has swooped in to fifth with the other Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed: Rogue in sixth. Finally Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 heads to eighth in the table with the new World of Warcraft expansion, Warlords of Draenor, battling its way to number nine.

All formats

Week ending 15 November 2014

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 – CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE ACTIVISION 1
2 ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY UBISOFT –
3 HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION MICROSOFT –
4 FIFA 15 EA SPORTS 2
5 LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE –
6 ASSASSIN’S CREED: ROGUE UBISOFT –
7 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 6
8 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2015 KONAMI –
9 WORLD OF WARCRAFT: WARLORDS OF DRAENOR BLIZZARD –
10 DESTINY ACTIVISION 5
11 SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM SKYLANDERS 7
12 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION MICROSOFT 10
13 DISNEY INFINITY 2.0 DISNEY INFINITY 12
14 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2015 SEGA 3
15 ALIEN: ISOLATION SEGA 4
16 – ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG UBISOFT 16
17 FORZA HORIZON 2 MICROSOFT 11
18 SUNSET OVERDRIVE MICROSOFT 8
19 – TOMODACHI LIFE NINTENDO 19
20 WWE 2K15 2K SPORTS 13
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2014 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 Winter Gaming Knitwear!

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GAME-store-logoThe nights are growing longer, and the shops on every High Street have begun to play Noddy Holder, it’s nature’s way of telling you it’s time to start thinking about your Christmas attire before the Tinsilitis kicks in.

There’s nothing like a new item of clothing to bring up the elf-esteem and this Christmas, GAME is offering customers the chance to pull a cracker as it brings a touch of retro with a new range of gaming-themed jumpers and socks for those who want to indulge in a little festive geekery.

The range includes jumpers that even your Grandmother’s knitting skills couldn’t match with a span of iconic gaming themes; Playstation, Sonic & Robotnik, and Street Fighter are all available for £29.99 in store and online at www.game.co.uk. The socks will please even the most ungrateful uncle at only £9.99, and with the same range of gaming themes and unique designs.

Charlotte Knight, Category Director at GAME says: “We know gamers eat, sleep, dream games and now they can wear them too… every stocking needs socks and these are the perfect gift for the gamer in your life.”

Train2Game News Tales of the Borderlands

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Tales from the BorderlandsTelltale Games welcomes you back to Pandora with the very first look at Tales from the Borderlands.

Announced less than a year ago, and shown behind closed doors at E3 and PAX Prime, today is the FIRST time the studio are sharing a look at the game to fans across the world.

The final casting details have also been revealed. The season will feature Troy Baker as Rhys,  Laura Bailey as Fiona,  Chris Hardwick as Vaughn,  Erin Yvette as Sasha, Patrick Warburton as Vasquez, Nolan North as August, and  Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack. Additional casting details from the season are yet to be announced.

Set on the unforgiving world of Pandora after the events seen in Borderlands 2, Tales from the Borderlands is a five part episodic game series full of Borderlands’ trademark humor, following two adventurers on their quest for greatness.

You’ll play as Rhys, a Hyperion ‘suit’ with dreams of being the next Handsome Jack, and Fiona, a Pandoran con artist looking to score her biggest ever swindle. Thrown together as unwilling partners in an adventure to recover cash they both think is theirs, their journey will take you on a wild ride where gangsters, bandit lords, and Vault Hunters are just some of the obstacles you’ll encounter, in this new take on the award-winning universe created by Gearbox Software.

The season premiere episode of  Tales from the Borderlands, titled  ‘Zer0 Sum,’ will soon be available for digital download worldwide across multiple platforms. Stay tuned to Telltale Games on  Twitter and  Facebook for the latest details on release dates.

Each episode will be available via PlayStation Network for  PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 for US$4.99 or equivalent. Alternatively, consumers can purchase a Season Pass for US$19.99 or equivalent, which entitles players to all five episodes in the season as they become available.

The season will also be available on Xbox Games Store for  Xbox One and  Xbox 360 for just US$4.99 or equivalent per episode. Players will also be able to purchase a Season Pass upgrade for US$14.99, which entitles players to Episodes 2-5 as they release.

The series will also be available for  PC/Mac via the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other online digital distribution outlets as a Season Pass for US$24.99 or equivalent that includes entitlement to all five episodes as they release.

The series will also be coming to compatible  iOS devices via the App Store and to Android-based devices before the end of 2014.

You can view the trailer for the game by heading to YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOPmNBM3Yew&feature=youtu.be

Train2Game News Clan of the Cloud

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Clan Of The Cloud has today unveiled its new ‘platform agnostic’ CloudBuilder framework for any developer to incorporate social elements into their app, game or any program they are working on, whether for corporate content to social gaming.

The company is already partnered with and speaking to many indie game developers, medium sized studios and healthcare companies including Pastagames, The Game Bakers, Astraware & Advanced Mobile Applications.

The launch of this new version for the framework sees these libraries come out of Beta and phased into general release and can be accessed here:

https://account.clanofthecloud.com

Clan of Cloud is truly disrupting the social experience – with only one line of code you can add many features such as:

    Social Features – Chat, Twitter & Facebook sharing, Leaderboards, Challenges, Push Notifications, Offer Rewards/Gifts and more.

    Monetisation – IAP, Set your own virtual currency, view sales/ROI, Virtual items on the fly, Rewards & promotions all in real-time.

There’s also a full CRM system, which gives developers complete data collection & control per user in real-time including data export/bulk push notifications.

Whether you’re working on Mobile (Android, iPhone, BB, Windows Phone), web (HTML5) or desktop to third- party middleware including STEAM, Unity3D, Marmalade, all these features are available and cross pollinated seamlessly with all of these platforms.

The features the cloud-based framework offers would usually take developers a minimum of four months to create via dedicated programmers – Clan of the Cloud are already there.

The latest version of the framework is online from today via http://cloudbuilder.clanofthecloud.mobi/

Train2Game News Rugby Lunch Supporting SpecialEffect

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The inaugural fundraising lunch for rugby connoisseurs is bringing together three legends of the modern game to raise money for the charity, SpecialEffect.

The charity enable everyone, whatever their disability, to enjoy video games and leisure technology not just for the sake of fun but by giving individuals the means to participate, they are kick starting their rehabilitation, self-esteem, and most importantly, inclusion. Truly life changing support for the inspirational people they support.

Tables are now available for the Legends Lunch, which will feature former internationals Paul Wallace, Simon Shaw MBE and Zinzan Brooke. The event will be hosted by Miles Harrison, the Principal Rugby Commentator for Sky Sports.

A three-course gourmet lunch will be followed by entertainment and banter from the panel of rugby legends, who will be recounting their sporting and not-so-sporting experiences on and off the rugby field. There will be plenty of opportunity to put your questions to the panel and meet the players.

The event, organised by Limelight Interactive, will be held on Thursday 26 February 2015 at the Minster Exchange in central London. The beneficiary charity, SpecialEffect help people with disabilities to benefit from video games and leisure technology.

Matt Hampson, former England International is the proud Patron of SpecialEffect, having worked with the charity after his own life-changing injury;

“I know how it feels to have the opportunity to play a game at the highest level, and how it feels to lose it.  I’m very proud to be the Patron of SpecialEffect – the only national charity specifically dedicated to helping everyone with disabilities to enjoy a better quality of life through games and leisure technology”

“It’s exactly the kind of support that SpecialEffect gave me following my own injury so I know firsthand the difference it can make between watching others enjoy themselves, and joining in yourself”

– Matt Hampson, Patron of SpecialEffect

The cost for a table is £850 plus VAT for a table of 10 people, and interested parties are invited to contact Alison at alison@limelightinteractive.co.uk

Train2Game News TopLoaded Rewards Skilled Gamers

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TopLoaded.com, www.toploaded.com,  is an innovative online community that rewards video game enthusiasts for playing their favorite video games.

TopLoaded.com is the first website, built from the ground up for gamers by gamers that is designed to showcase the skills of its members. TopLoaded.com allows gamers to show they indeed have game by rising to the top of the leaderboard in their game of choice – from FIFA 15 to World of Warcraft to Call of Duty Advanced Warfare. Games are played on any platform, then gamers upload a photograph of their best score to receive points. If they post a score and earn one of the top three places for a given competition, points are added to their profile, as well as a cool custom badge showing their skill level – recognizing gamers at the top of their game.
 
Once gamers have enough points, through competitions or through a variety of means to earn points, they can unlock challenges, the next level of achievement, with eight new challenges released each week. After completing the challenge, gamers upload a photo proving it has been completed, with the first person completing the challenge winning prizes such as gift cards, gaming gear, games, and entertainment packages. TopLoaded.com is mobile friendly, allowing gamers to upload a picture of their score pics using cell phones, tablets, as well as desktop and laptops. TopLoaded.com has no ads and is fully integrated with social media tools like Twitter and Facebook, allowing members to share in even more gamer glory.

Unlike other websites that host tournaments, there is no waiting period to play any of the weekly competitions and challenges. The entire TopLoaded.com experience encourages gaming skill enhancement.  Competitions and challenges are designed so that they’re hard enough that not everyone can accomplish them. They provide gamers incentive to keep improving in their chosen game.

“We live and breathe games, and we wanted a site to challenge our members and to give them an opportunity to be recognized for their skill through badges, prizes and other incentives because no such site existed,” said TopLoaded.com CEO John Phillippe. “We wanted to create a community for gamers by gamers that, had an easy barrier of entry, and provided them a chance to have fun through a community of like-minded people.”

Gamers have the option of using the site for free or by paying for an Elite membership. Free and Elite members can earn points for customizing their profile, as well as by completing competitions, posting comments to the forum, submitting game play videos, winning special forum contests and winning special Twitter contests. Points can also be added to a gamer profile by purchasing Top Paks.  Top Paks allow free and Elite members to add points to their profile without having to do the competitions.

TopLoaded.com is community-driven, meaning Elite members vote on the competitions and challenges for the next week. At the end of each week, highlights from the different competitions, gamer interaction, and site news are seen in the Weekly Wrap Up video on the Elite page, providing additional exposure for gamers.

In only a few weeks of operation, TopLoaded.com already has distributed thousands of dollars in gift cards and rewards.