Category Archives: Developer

Train2Game News: Microsoft have announced their Eurogamer line up

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Microsoft have announced their line up for Eurogamer. They will demonstrate the games they have been working on through out the year.

The games that Microsoft have announced are Halo 4 Infinity multiplayer, Forza Horizon, Fable: The Journey, Gears of War: Judgment and Dance Central 3. Xbox LIVE Arcade and entertainment will all be available for visitors to sample on the show floor.

In addition, Gears of War: Judgment is playable for the first time in the UK, with the new multiplayer mode OverRun available for fans to try.

Franchise development director Frank O’Connor from 343 Industries will open the dev sessions at midday on Thursday 27th September with a presentation of Halo 4. At 4pm on Friday 28th September Ralph Fulton from Playground Games will introduce Forza Horizon to attendees.

Eurogamer Managing Director Rupert Loman said “Microsoft Studios’ line-up for the Eurogamer Expo is one of the strongest offerings from any publisher.

“We’re thrilled to offer so many heavyweight titles for gamers to play before release.”

In addition a Halo 4 partnership with Mountain Dew Energy will also come to life with the Mountain Dew Crew fuelling gamers and keeping energy levels up across the four days.

Train2Game will also have their yearly stand at Eurogamer. You will be able to talk to tutors and ask any questions you may have.

 

Train2Game News: Mid-week Round up

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Train2Game student Fiona Stewart has been featured in The Sun. She talks about how she moved from traditional art to digital art and how it has affected her life. The Sun also featured an article about Daniel Gent, a disabled student of Train2Game who uses a voice activated computer.

Microsoft are bringing Atari’s extensive back catalogue to tablets and browsers. The new portal is called Atari Arcade and it’s opening with eight titles: Asteroids, Combat, Centipede, Lunar Lander, Missile Command, Pong, Super Breakout and Yar’s Revenge. The rest of the games are set to be released over the next few months.

343 Industries and Microsoft are releasing eight different pre-order incentives for Halo 4. Depending on where you order the game from you get a different in game item. The in game items include: Different Armour sets, Avatar Items and multi-player Emblems.

Humble Bundle Six has been released. The Humble Bundles are great for picking up some of the top indie games whilst helping charity at the same time. You pay what you want for the bundle but need to pay a minimum amount to get the game Dustforce. Other games included are: Rochard, Shatter, S.P.A.Z, Torchlight and Vessel.

Sony are releasing two new thinner PlayStation 3s. These new consoles are 25% slimmer than the current models and one boasts a 500GB hard drive the other is a 12GB flash memory model but a 250GB hard drive will be available.

Sony are also launching PlayStation Mobile in October. It is a new store for games to be released for mobile devices. An SDK for the store will be released in November opening up a new market for games developers.

Nintendo has come to an agreement with Unity. Developers can use the engine to create games for the Wii U. Unity users will have to pay for a license to develop for the Wii U, just like with the other platforms.

EA will support the very first GaymerCon. The convention is for the LGBT community to come together through their love of gaming. Their website says its purpose is to educate and inform “the gaming community of the presence of sexuality in our digital lives and promoting acceptance and social change through gaming.”

Finally a big congratulations to the winning team at the weekends world record winning Game Jam. RetroMetro won with their game, Royal Rush. I hope you enjoy your prizes and I hope everyone who attended the Game Jam had an excellent time!

Train2Game News: Nintendo’s Wii U UK launch date revealed

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The Wii U will be released in the UK before it’s released in Japan. Nintendo’s next-gen console goes on sale November 30. Japan gets the Wii U a week later.

There will be two hardware bundles being released. The white Basic pack will include an 8GB Wii U console, one GamePad and a Stylus. The black Premium pack contains a 32GB Wii U, one GamePad, all the accessories featured in the Basic pack, plus extras such as a charging stand and a Premium subscription for discounted download games.

UK consumers that pick up the Premium pack will also get a copy of NintendoLand and a Wii Sensor Bar.

Buyers of the Basic pack can pick up a new accessory pack called the “Wii Remote Plus Additional Set”. It contains a Wii Remote Plus, Nunchuk and Sensor Bar.

The trade price for the Basic pack is £205, the Premium is £246 and the ZombiU version – which includes the Premium Pack and a copy of Ubisoft’s horror shooter ZombiU – has a cost price of £270.

A list of launch games have been announced on Nintendo’s official site. Some of the games that have been announced for the launch window are:

  • Rayman Legends
  • ZombiU
  • Mass Effect 3: Special Edition
  • FIFA 13
  • Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2
  • Nintendo Land
  • New Super Mario Bros. U

Train2Game News: Microsoft opening doors to new Windows 8 games studio

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Following the weekend’s world record-breaking Game Jam, Microsoft is making more waves in the UK games industry.

Microsoft is opening their fourth studio in London dedicated to developing games for Windows 8 phones and tablets. The other Microsoft studios in London are Rare, Lionhead and Soho Productions.

The new studio will be headed by Lee Schuneman, current production director of Rare. He will report to Phil Harrison, corporate vice president of the interactive entertainment business in Europe. Schuneman was behind Kinect Sports, the Xbox 360 avatars, Fable: The Journey and the Sky TV app.

Schnueman said “I’m hugely excited by this new venture.

“Adding a fourth UK-based studio to the incredible roster of talent already in place not only increases our regional studio presence, but will allow Microsoft Studios to explore the many creative and business opportunities that developing new games and entertainment experiences on Windows 8 tablet devices and platforms will afford.”

The Windows 8 operating system was put to the test for games development by the students at the world record winning Game Jam at the weekend. The students proved that Windows 8 had a good diversity with all the different games they put together in 48 hours.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sung the praises of Windows 8.

Ballmer said “Windows 8 is going to do great.

“I’m not paid to have doubts. I don’t have any. It’s a fantastic product… people talk about “how healthy is the PC market?” There’s going to be close to 400 million PCs sold in the next year, which makes it a big market. And whether it’s 405 million or 395 million, it’s a big market, and Windows 8 will propel that volume.”

Train2Game students on top of the world

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THEY trained, they gamed and they conquered the world!

More than 295 students stayed awake for 48 hours over the weekend in a bid to create video games from scratch with a pledge from one of the world’s biggest software company, Microsoft, to publish them.

Microsoft has teamed up with the UK’s leading distance-learning college in an attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records with the biggest Games Jam held at the University of Bedfordshire in Luton.

Dr Jan Telensky, majority owner of Train2Game, said: “It’s a gruelling 48 hours for the students, most of them stay awake but if they need to sleep they catch a nap at their desks or even under them.

“But the dedication and determination they show at creating brand new and exciting games from nothing is impressive – they work as teams under tremendous pressure often with team-mates they’ve never met before. For a student it is an incredible experience they have and it stands them in good stead for getting jobs in the industry in the future.”

Microsoft came up with the theme for the Games – Pride of London after the success of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics in the UK.

The teams had a field-day creating games using cartoons of Boris Johnson, London buses and all sorts of iconic images from the capital.

As the gamers worked through the night local MPs Gavin Shuker and Kelvin Hopkins paid a visit.

Mr Hopkins said: “Going for a world record attempt in Luton, particularly when it is to do with the burgeoning games industry, it will really help to put the area on the map.”

Mr Shuker agreed with him saying that “Train2Game was making a major contribution in the battle to get Britain back to work.”

And work was the name of the game as the students huddled in classrooms and labs at the university to create their games which ultimately could be released as apps world-wide by Microsoft.

Craig Moore, aged 30, from Milton Keynes, a member of team 32, said: “This was a massive learning curve but we hit the floor running. It’s been a fantastic experience.”

Chris Ledger, in his mid-twenties, from Cheltenham, said: “I was getting texts from my family and girlfriend – and my mates – in the middle of the night, it was great to have their support. I’m a wreck now but it was all worth it.”

Microsoft representatives at the ‘jam’ were impressed by the dedication shown by the gamers. Scott Henson, Senior director of Microsoft studios said “These students are going to be the heart beat of the industry in a few years. Events like this are incredibly helpful for young developers to flex their creative muscles.”

Train2Game News: Train2Game student gets big chance

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James Valaitis, a Train2Game student taking part in the Game Jam was rewarded with an apprenticeship at 22Cans following his hard work at The Gadget Show Live earlier this year.

James, 19, lives in Essex and has been a student on the developer course from Train2Game for just over 2 years. He has been involved in every Game Jam that Train2Game have hosted and his hard work is now paying off.

At last years Game Jam he was a part of Team Gandalf which went on to become Digital Mage. The team would go on to be one of the winning teams that year. Winning that Game Jam meant James and his team had 6 months to design and develop a game based on the Fighting Fantasy game books written by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson. The end goal was to display the games at The Gadget Show Live at the Birmingham NEC to several industry icons. It was here that James met Peter Molyneux, CEO of 22Cans.

James was the presenter for Digital Mage, as well as one of the developers. He would show the game to an audience and a games industry icon. Mr Molyneux was one of these icons. James did an incredible job of presenting to him and Mr Molyneux immediately saw his potential.

James said “Without Train2Game I would of never been in an opportunity where I got to meet so many legends at last years game jam.

“Going to the studio was an experience I’ll never forget and I think the best decision I have ever made is signing up for Train2Game.”

22Cans are soon to release there first product, the social experiment app, Curiosity – What’s in the cube?.

Good Luck to James in everything he does. I have no doubts that he will go very far indeed.

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 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.”