Category Archives: Developer

Train2Game news: Double Fine Kickstarter hits $3 million with just hours until deadline

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Train2Game students only have a few hours left if they want to back Tim Schafer’s Kickstarter project to receive exclusive access to the Beta when the Double Fine adventure reaches that stage.

With mere hours to go before investment for the crowd funding project closes, Double Fine Adventure has topped $3 million in backing from fans.

If you wish to pledge your support to Tim Schafers Kickstarter project, you can do so here, so long as it’s before the end of today.

For more about Double Fine Adventure beta access, see this post on The Train2Game Blog. The Kickstarter project’s goal was to reach $400,000, a target that was reached a matter of hours after the funding page went live.

Double Fine will present a special live stream to mark the end of their Kickstarter campaign, which will be able to watched on their UStream channel from 10 p.m. GMT.

This video featuring Double Fine’s Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert discussing game design is also interesting viewing for Train2Game students.

Get more news about Double Fine here on The Train2Game Blog.

Have you pledged support to Double Fine’s Kickstarter project? If so, what are your main reasons for doing so?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Learn how to pitch a prototype game at BAFTA event

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Train2Game students who want to know more about how to pitch a game idea may be interested in attending an event at BAFTA this week which is about just that.

Dare to be Digital: Pitching a Prototype will see this year’s Dare to be Digital finalists pitch their game ideas and receive feedback from a panel of industry experts including:

Riccardo Lenzi – a game producer with many years’ experience in managing internal, external and hybrid development teams across multiple formats.

Matt Sansam – now part of the Technology Strategy Board’s ICtomorrow management team, Matt has worked as Producer and Executive Producer at Rebellion, Core Design, Climax, Criterion, Psygnosis and SCi

Paul Durrant – representing Abertay University’s £25,000 grant for small companies developing their own interactive digital content.

Any Train2Game students who attend the BAFTA event will be able to find out more about what publishers are looking for in a prototype game and discover the lessons learned by the Dare to be Digital teams.

Dare to be Digital: Pitching a Prototype takes place at BAFTA in central London at 19:00 on Thursday 15th March. Tickets cost £5, and can be purchased here. Much more information about the event is on the official BAFTA website.

Previous BAFTA events including Games Question Time and the Games Writers Panel have been very insightful, so Dare to be Digital: Pitching a Prototype will surely be useful to any Train2Game students who attend.

More about previous BAFTA events can be found right on The Train2Game Blog.

So Train2Game, will you attend the BAFTA event on Thursday?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

BAFTA’s public events and online resources bring you closer to the creative talent behind your favourite games, films, and TV shows. Find out more at www.bafta.org/newsletter,www.facebook.com/bafta or twitter.com/baftagames

Train2Game interview: Adam Sherratt of Make Something Unreal Live team Commando Kiwi

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Train2Game students are launching four new development studios in 2012 as part of ‘Make Something Unreal Live,’ a competitive process designed to accelerate their careers by giving them the tools and resources needed to release games for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch this spring.

The studios are Commando Kiwi, Derp Studios, Digital Mage and Indigo Jam.

The first titles released by the studios will be based on the Fighting Fantasy series of books created by Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson.

We caught up with Commando Kiwi’s Adam Sherratt to find out how the road to Make Something Unreal Live at The Gadget Show has gone so far. Listen via Train2Game Radio or read it here on The Train2Game Blog.

Hi Adam, tell us about your team for Make Something Unreal Live, Commando Kiwi.

We all met at the Train2Game & Epic Games game jam in November. We all worked very closely together then and we actually came up with the winning game, obviously, that’s why we’re in this competition! We’ve all grown very close, working closely together on these projects, and we’ve got a nice range of skill sets – we have somebody who is good at just about everything – and it’s really working for us.

How are you finding working with the Fighting Fantasy IP and the Unreal Engine?

The Fighting Fantasy is very exciting. I honestly hadn’t heard of it previous to this, but having read the book, I can see why the series is so popular and it was a very exciting experience to read the book and think ‘we’re going to make a game out of that.’ As for the Unreal Engine, it’s been incredibly helpful, it has little quirks, but I can honestly say, without using such an amazing technology, we wouldn’t be able to pull this off in the time we’ve got.

You’re making a third person game on IOS for Make Something Unreal Live, how is the process of that going? Building a game using UDK for iPad?

It’s a bit more difficult than making a traditional game for PC, there’s a lot of considerations you’ve got to have in watching the performance and that sort of thing; you’ve got to build things in a particular way. Obviously, being on a small screen means you’ve got to watch how it’s laid out. It’s been quite a challenging process but also quite rewarding, because it’s pushed us more to think about what we’re doing and how we’re doing it and how it’ll work for the player.

So you’ve learned new things as you’ve gone along, in addition to using the knowledge you already have through Train2Game courses?

That’s right. As the lead programmer I use a lot of Unreal scripts, and the Train2Game course teaches you C++ which is very similar. I must say, this experience has been incredibly educational, I’ve gone away and learned lots of different things, and putting these into the game has been very exciting and a great learning experience.

What have been some of the landmarks so far in the development of your game?

This first landmark was just getting a character on the screen and running around! We have a very simple touch and move interface, and just getting that nailed so anybody could play it – a 10 year old, a 40 year old, whoever wants to play it – it’s so simple anyone could play it. Next key, milestone is we’ve recently got battles working; once again it’s a very simple interface which we can’t go into much about now, secrets, secrets! But once again, it’s a very simple Fighting Fantasy meets Final Fantasy style, very exciting times.

How have you found the transition from being a team at the Train2Game & Epic Game Jam to being a fully functioning game development studio working on IOS with UDK?

It hasn’t been too bad really because we got on so well at the game jam, and we all became good friends then. The only challenge really is communicating via Skype and the internet. We have our own forum, Facebook page, Basecamp, Skype conferencing every week and we talk to each other over the phone. The only challenging part really is the distance, but we keep in close contact with one another and as a result we’ve been able to stay close together as a team just like we were at the game jam.

Distance won’t be a problem when you’re at The Gadget Show Live, how much are you looking forward to being part of Make Something Unreal live at The NEC, Birmingham?

It’s incredibly exciting. I mean, I’d heard of it beforehand, but I never thought I’d get the opportunity to compete at it. So I’m incredibly excited to show the judges and obviously the 125,000 people there what we can do.

For those who want to keep up to date with Commando Kiwi on the road to Make Something Unreal Live, what are the details of Facebook and Twitter?

You can like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/commkiwi or on Twitter @CommandoKiwi.

Great, thanks for your time Adam and good luck.

Thank you very much.

Keep up to date with the latest news from Make Something Unreal Live here on The Train2Game Blog.

 

Train2Game interview: Laurence Kinane of Make Something Unreal Live team Digital Mage

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Train2Game  students are launching four new development studios in 2012 as part of ‘Make Something Unreal Live,’ a competitive process designed to accelerate their careers by giving them the tools and resources needed to release games for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch this spring.

The studios are Commando Kiwi, Derp Studios, Digital Mage and Indigo Jam.

The first titles released by the studios will be based on the Fighting Fantasy series of books created by Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson.

We caught up with Digital Mage’s Laurence Kinane to find out how the road to Make Something Unreal Live at The Gadget Show has gone so far. Listen via Train2Game Radio or read it here on The Train2Game Blog.

Hi Laurence, tell us about your team for Make Something Unreal Live, Digital Mage.

We were at the Train2Game & Epic Game Jam and obviously selected as one of the winning teams to go to Make Something Unreal Live at The Gadget Show. We came together as a good team, we had good team dynamics at the game jam. We’ve found it a bit difficult taking that into virtual development, it’s a bit more difficult not being in the same room with everybody, but we do get on well and we’ve learned to work with the virtual restriction.

How have you found working with the prestigious IP of the Fighting Fantasy books, and which particular story is your game based on?

It was quite a big surprise getting such a prestigious IP, the book we are based on is Armies of Death. We’ve got a bit of creative license we can use there but we are trying to stick with the story as much as possible.

And what genre of game are you making around that story?

We were given the strategy genre to work with. We’ve taken it to a tower defence style game, but we’ve put a bit of a spin on it in you’re actually attacking the towers rather than defending them. We’ve also another spin where you’re not actually the good guys, you’re the bad guys.

What gave you that idea?

We were throwing a few ideas around between the whole team, and we just stumbled upon it really. We thought it might be cool if we work this in, being the bad guys, as players don’t play as the bad guys so much, especially in tower defence games.

I suppose it’s just one of many good ideas you’ve had on the road to Make Something Unreal Live.

It’s quite nice when you come up with ideas that maybe you don’t initially think will work, but you have a tweak at an idea which fits in perfectly. We’ve had a few circumstances where that’s happened, and hopefully we’ll have many more before The Gadget Show.

Are there any other achievements you’re particularly proud of so far?

I’d say one particularly was last night. We’d hit a bit of a stumbling block, one of the game mechanics, we were having a few problems. But it all seemed to fall together last night, and we’ve managed to put it onto IOS to show to our mentors.

And it’s a good opportunity for you to put into practice the skills you’ve learned on Train2Game courses.

Oh yeah, definitely. The game design course is more geared to the documentation side, it’s later in the course where they start getting you involved in game engines, but obviously UDK is out there, anybody can use it for free, it’s a good engine to start working in.

How much are you looking forward to the Make Something Unreal Live event in April?

Yeah, I can’t wait to get there, it’s going to be a huge experience, it’s going to be a huge opportunity for not just ourselves, Digital Mage, but also all four teams involved it’s a fantastic opportunity. Also it’ll be good to work in the same room as the team again.

For those who want to follow Digital Mage in run up to Make Something Unreal Live, what are the contact details for Facebook and Twitter?

Do a Facebook search for Digital Mage and they’ll find us there, with a nice black icon with a mage figure inside. On Twitter it’s @TheDigitalMage.

Thanks for your time Laurence, and good luck.

No problem Danny, cheers.

Keep up to date with the latest news from Make Something Unreal Live here on The Train2Game Blog.

Train2Game news: PC is best platform to begin making games for says Bleszinski

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Train2Game students looking to kick start a career in making indie games should develop games for PC. That’s according to Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski, who gave advice to the game developers of tomorrow at a panel session at GDC.

“Xbox Live and PSN, skip both of them because you’re at Sony or Microsoft’s will as to what’s on the dashboard. iOS, maybe, but you have to have Apple’s approval, there’s too much piracy on Android, no one has a Windows phone, Kickstarter’s wonderful, go Tim Schafer. I would go with the PC.” he said.

It’s not the first time Bleszinski has given advice to aspiring game developers, with the Train2Game Blog previously reporting that the Epic man suggests game developers need to make themselves stand out.

“First and foremost, make a great game but also have a personality. Be the guy with the hip glasses, with the one gauge earring and the gamer tattoo all the way to the sleeves with a skateboard. Stand out.” he said.

Keep up with Cliff Bleszinski here on The Train2Game Blog.

Train2Game and Epic Games are working together to host Make Something Unreal Live, a contest taking place at The Gadget Show live which will see one Train2Game student team walk away with a licensed Unreal Development Kit.  Find out more here on The Train2Game Blog.

So, what are your thoughts on Bleszinski’s advice? Do you agree that the PC is the best platform for indie devs to begin with?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.


Train2Game interview: Ben Stoneman of Train2Game & Epic Games Make Something Unreal Live team IndigoJam

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Train2Game students are launching four new development studios in 2012 as part of ‘Make Something Unreal Live,’ a competitive process designed to accelerate their careers by giving them the tools and resources needed to release games for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch this spring.

The studios are Commando Kiwi, Derp Studios, Digital Mage and Indigo Jam.

The first titles released by the studios will be based on the Fighting Fantasy series of books created by Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson.

We caught up with IndigoJam’s Ben Stoneman to find out how the road to Make Something Unreal Live at The Gadget Show has gone so far. Listen via Train2Game Radio or read it here on The Train2Game Blog.

First of all, tell us a bit about your studio for Make Something Unreal Live.

We’re a group of ten; we have three artists, three designers, three programmers and we have a QA Tester. We were forged just after the November Train2Game & Epic Game Jam.

Let’s talk a bit about the history of the team, how did you all get on at the Train2Game & Epic Game Jam?

Well, we actually formed afterwards. Basically, I was in a team then I was chosen as an individual, coming into IndigoJam then was voted to be team captain.

How have you found working with the Fighting Fantasy IP, and which story have you been given to make a game about and what genre is it going to be?

We’ve got Deathtrap Dungeons and it’s going to be an action adventure, and Fighting Fantasy in general, I love it. I’m a big Dungeons and Dragons player, and in a way the worlds relate. When I was a kid, I used to read them all the time and my dad has got loads of the books, he’s very much into that sort of thing anyway. So, it’s been something from my childhood I can bring to the game.

You mentioned your dad has a strong interest in games, how does he feel about you heading up a team, making a video game at The Gadget Show Live?

He’s very proud. He’s happy about the theme we received and of course he’s basically been the person who’s headed my Dungeons and Dragons past, as in playing it and he’s chuffed to bits really.

And how do you feel about making a Fighting Fantasy game using Epic’s Unreal Engine for IOS?

I think the Epic Unreal Engine works really well for the theme due to things like the graphics. The engine in general is really good to use, but bringing it to life is…I’d say it’s always a challenge, to want to bring something that these writers have made in the past, like books that are so good, that we’ve got to meet that and we’ve got to deliver the excellence that has come before us as it were.

Of course, the skills you and your team have learned on Train2Game courses are helping the team to achieve that.

Definitely, yeah.  Really, all of the course material helps towards everything we do for Make Something Unreal Live.

What have been the biggest landmarks for IndigoJam so far on the road to Make Something Unreal Live?

Our Alpha version of the game has been our biggest landmark; it’s really our first rush to hit a deadline as it were. And there was also the concept stage where we had to basically design the concept, what we’re going to do, where we’re going to go, what direction the game would take in design.

And how do you feel about developing the game at The Gadget Show Live, potentially in front of thousands of people?

I’m looking forward to it and of course a bit nervous as well, but I think it’ll be really good and I’m confident in my abilities as well as the team’s abilities to show thousands of people that we’re good at game development and show them how exciting and fun it can be to actually do it.

For those who want to follow your progress in the run up to Make Something Unreal Live at The Gadget Show, what are IndigoJam’s Facebook and Twitter contact details?

Follow us on Twitter at @IndigoJamGames and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/IndigoJamGames

Great Ben, thanks for your time and good luck.

Thank you very much.

Keep up to date with the latest news from Make Something Unreal Live here on The Train2Game Blog.

Train2Game news: Go behind the scenes of Journey in thatgamecompany developer diary

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Train2Game students can go behind the scenes of Journey in a developer diary from thatgamecompany.

Journey is a PlayStation 3 downloadable title, that sees plays go on a mystical adventure. In the world of Journey, it’s entirely possible to encounter others playing the game, but there’s no way of voice or text communication, and you’ll never know who they actually are.

The developer diary details the story behind Journey, how it came to have its distinct artistic style, why there is no communication and more.

Watch the video from thatgamecompany below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

Journey is available now to PlayStation Plus subscribers and from 14th March if you’re not.

Thatgamecompany previously produced much praised indie title Flower, and as previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, studio co-founder Kellee Santiago says testing is an integral part of their game development.

So Train2Game, have you played Journey, if so what are your thoughts? And what insights have you gained from the developer diary?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: XCOM: Enemy Unknown developer diary on making strategy ‘sexy’

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Train2Game students can get a first look at XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the reimagining of one of the most loved strategy titles out there that’s being developed by Firaxis, the studio famous for Civilization series.

XCOM gives you the task of commanding a special paramilitary force to defend the earth from an alien invasion.

The developer diary sees the Firaxis team discuss their reimagining of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, explain some of their game design choices and talk about how they’re making a turn based strategy game ‘sexy’

Watch the XCOM: Enemy Unknown developer diary below for an insight into life at Firaxis.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown from Firaxis and 2K Games is scheduled for release in Autumn this year.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on XCOM: Enemy Unknown? What insights have you gained from the behind the scenes video?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game interview: Chris Ledger of Train2Game & Epic Games Make Something Unreal Live team Derp Studios

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Train2Game students are launching four new development studios in 2012 as part of ‘Make Something Unreal Live,’ a competitive process designed to accelerate their careers by giving them the tools and resources needed to release games for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch this spring.

The studios are Commando Kiwi, Derp Studios, Digital Mage and Indigo Jam.

The first titles released by the studios will be based on the Fighting Fantasy series of books created by Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson.

We caught up with Derp Studios’ Chris Ledger to find out how the road to Make Something Unreal Live at The Gadget Show has gone so far. Listen via Train2Game Radio or read it here on The Train2Game Blog.

Hi Chris, how did you come up with the name of your studio?

Well, we unnamed for our first few weeks, debating what to be called, and it turned out the most common phrase we were using was ‘Derp’ because we were making stupid mistakes and saying ‘Ah derp’ we ended up as Derp Studios from that.

How have you found working with the Fighting Fantasy IP, which particular book is your game going to be based on?

It’s based on The Citadel of Chaos, which is the second book in the Fighting Fantasy franchise. It’s been great fun to work with, we’ve had numerous playthroughs of it and we’ve bought some additional books to expand our knowledge about the lore of the franchise as well.

And how are you finding getting to grips with the Unreal Engine using UDK?

I really like UDK, it’s brilliant, absolutely fantastic. We had a few teething problems at the start with the mobile functions as it’s completely different to the PC version, almost. But we were gutted about the terrain, but we’ve worked our way around it by exporting an object and re-importing it, so we’ve overcome the teething problems and it’s going quite well at the moment.

How are you finding the work compared to pressured environment at the Train2Game and Epic Game Jam?

It’s probably equally as stressful sometimes, especially because of deadlines…and even though we’ve got more time to do things, our scope is a bit bigger than what we were doing at the game jam. I suppose it’s equally as stressful, but just as enjoyable.

What deadlines have you met recently, and what progress have you made with your game?

We’ve done our pre-Alpha, so we’ve compiled a small build with most of our mechanics in, just fine-tuning that. What we’ve been doing lately is mostly getting the character models out the way. We’ve done the majority of the levels that we’re planning to have in the game, and now it’s just the character models and adding the code to them.

Tell us about the genre of game you’re working on for Make Something Unreal Live.

It’s a first person RPG. I haven’t seen anything like it on IOS devices at all, I’ve seen first person shooters, but nothing that’s first person melee and magic based, so it should be quite eye opening and interesting to see when it’s fully done.

Does the game have a bit of a Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim vibe to it then?

Yeah, we’ve obviously, often referenced Skyrim, Elder Scrolls and other famous first person melee games. We got a bit nervous at first as people might think it’s just a watered down version of Skyrim, but…they’ll love it!

And it fits in nicely with the Fighting Fantasy IP as well.

Yeah, we’ve taken extra care to fit it perfectly with the IP. Our game is in fact a sequel to The Citadel of Chaos game book.

Why is it a sequel rather than being based on the book itself?

Well, it’s based on the exact same settings, it’s just happening a week afterwards. In the game book, at the end, you kill the main bad guy, and we thought we could have a bit of a twist on it where events happen after his death, but it’s all related to him. So, it’s got a lot of twists that relate to the book.

How are you looking forward to going to The Gadget Show and making a game in that public setting?

I’m nervous and excited at the same time. Well, more excited. It’ll be great just to show off what our studio is doing. It’s eye opening for the public as well.

How can people who want to find out more about Derp Studios on Facebook and Twitter?

We’ve got a Facebook and a Twitter page. Facebook is www.facebook.com/derpstudios and Twitter is www.twitter.com/derpstudios

Great Chris, thanks for your time and good luck.

Thank you.

Keep up to date with the latest news from Make Something Unreal Live here on The Train2Game Blog.

Train2Game news: Dear Esther creator to speaking at GameCityNights this month

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Train2Game students based near Nottingham can an insight into the development of Dear Esther, as creator Dan Pinchbeck is set to offer a behind the scenes look at his work at GameCityNights later this month.

As recently reported by The Train2Game Blog, experimental indie title Dear Esther sold 50,000 copies through Steam in its first week on sale. It started out life as a mod for Half-Life 2.

Thechineseroom founder will cover of areas, including storytelling in games and turning a mod into a full-release, which will surely be useful for Train2Game students who can get to the GameCityNights event.

“I’ll cover the studio’s humble beginnings as a mod team working as part of a research project based at the University of Portsmouth and the philosophy behind the studio’s work, and how this led to this year’s cult indie hit, Dear Esther.” said Pinchbeck.

“I’m also excited to introduce the studio’s two current projects: Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, an open-world purestory game that takes Dear Esther’s explorations of storytelling and gameplay to a new level; and the recently announced Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, a sequel to Frictional Games’ indie horror classic.”

“Along the way, I’ll take in the relationship between academia and the games industry; managing an indie start-up; how to turn an experimental mod into a successful commercial release; and the central design principles of thechineseroom.

“Expect fear, despair, guilt, loss, death, emptiness and some insight into how you can make games fun even without the gameplay.”  he concluded.

The GameCityNights event takes place in Nottingham at 18:00 on 29th March. For more information, and to buy a £4 ticket, visit GameCityNights website.

There’s more about Dear Esther here on The Train2Game Blog.

So Train2Game, will you be attending GameCityNights? And what are your thoughts on Dear Esther?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.