Category Archives: game

Train2game GDCA Awards to honour Notch

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The 16th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA), the peer-awarded highest honors in video game development, has revealed this year’s recipients of the Pioneer and Ambassador awards.

The Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony takes place on Wednesday, March 16th at 6:30 pm at the Moscone Convention Center during the 2016 Game Developers Conference® (GDC) in San Francisco, and will be livestreamed on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/gdca .

The Pioneer Award, which honors breakthrough tech and game design milestones, will this year honor Markus “Notch” Persson, the famed creator of the 2011 GDCA and IGF Award-winning indie sandbox title, Minecraft. The Ambassador Award, honoring someone who is helping video games advance to a better place through advocacy or action, will be bestowed upon experimental game designer and educator Tracy Fullerton, in recognition of her work at the Game Innovation Lab, which has produced several influential independent games like fl0w and Darfur is Dying.

Pioneer Award recipient Markus “Notch” Persson is most widely known as the founder and former lead game designer at Mojang AB, the acclaimed developers behind the landmark title Minecraft, which blends exploration, survival, resource management and combat into an open-world title with literally endless content and avenues for creativity and ingenuity.  In 2011, history was made when Minecraft became the first game to win in multiple categories at both the Game Developers Choice Awards and the IGF Awards within the same year. The game and its creators  received top honors at the 2011 IGF Awards, winning both the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Audience Award, and that same night were honored with the 2011 Choice Awards for Innovation, Best Downloadable Game and Best Debut. The title has sold a total of more than 70 million copies over console, PC, mobile and other platforms. Developer Mojang and the ownership of the Minecraft property were acquired by Microsoft in 2014 in a deal worth $2.5 billion.

As the associate professor and director of the University of Southern California (USC) Games program, Ambassador Award recipient Tracy Fullerton and her research center, the Game Innovation Lab, has played an instrumental role in the creation of influential independent games that include Cloud, fl0w, Darfur is Dying, the Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom and the Night Journey, with artist Bill Viola. At USC, Fullerton has drawn from her experience as a game designer at companies that include Microsoft, Sony, MTV and many others, to help guide aspiring developers. Her previous achievements include an Emmy nomination for interactive television, IndieCade’s “Sublime Experience,” “Impact,” and “Trailblazer” awards, Games for Change “Game Changer” award, and Time Magazine’s Best of the Web. As the author of the design textbook, “Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games,” Fullerton’s work in and out of the classroom has established her sterling reputation as an esteemed designer and teacher in the art and craft of game development.

This year, Ashly and Anthony Burch, the sibling team behind the “Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’?” video series, will return to contribute original videos to the IGF Awards ceremony. These will complement a series of new videos by Mega64, the video game sketch anarchists, who are also returning to make videos for the Game Developers Choice Awards this year.

The Game Developers Choice Awards are produced in association with the Game Developers Conference® (GDC) and will take place on Wednesday, March 16th at 6:30 pm at the San Francisco Moscone Center and is open to all GDC badge-holders.

More information about the 16th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards can be found on the official website at http://www.gamechoiceawards.com – and for information about the 2016 Game Developers Conference, please visit http://www.gdconf.com .

Train2Game News BAFTA Guru Live

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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) today announced a brand new three-day festival that will give aspiring creatives the opportunity to meet and learn from leading names in the film, television and games industries.

BAFTA’s Guru Live will run from Saturday 30 April to Monday 2 May at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly in London, and will feature masterclasses, panels and keynote talks by professionals including BAFTA winners and nominees. Tickets for individual sessions will cost £6, and professionals with at least six months’ experience will have the chance to purchase one of 150 all-access ‘Guru Pro’ tickets to the event, which include a day of bespoke one-to-one meetings and round tables with top industry speakers.

Guru Live is an extension of BAFTA Guru (www.bafta.org/guru ), BAFTA’s online resource that shares advice and inspiration from the best creative minds working in film, television and games. Each day will focus on a different one of the three industries that BAFTA represents, and will comprise: a ‘Creative Keynote’ talk from a highly acclaimed figure; sessions covering specific craft skills and areas such as finance and distribution; case studies showcasing recent success stories; examples of cross-sector working; and networking events.

Speakers confirmed to attend include: games producer Dan Gray (Monument Valley); film producer Mark Herbert (This Is England, Submarine); games writer Meg Jayanth (80 Days); talent agent for film and television Sara Putt; and games creators Luke Whittaker and Katherine Bidwell (Lumino City).

Tim Hunter, Director of Learning and New Talent at BAFTA, said: “Guru Live brings our successful BAFTA Guru online channel to life, giving emerging talent the chance to learn first-hand from some of the leading figures in the moving image industries. Film, television and games can be among the hardest industries to break in to, so this opportunity to meet and engage with BAFTA members, nominees and winners is a brilliant way to help break down the barriers new talent may be facing. Guru Live also offers a chance for attendees to network with peers at a similar level, which is essential for career starters.

“We’ve already seen huge success with our previous industry-specific events Generation Next for television, Filmmakers Forum and Inside Games, and we’re looking forward to Guru Live streamlining the best elements of those events to create a new BAFTA flagship festival for anyone hoping to build a successful career in film, television or games.”

Applications for Guru Pro tickets, which cost £40, are open now at http://guru.bafta.org/live/pros and close on Wednesday 23 March. Bursaries will be available to support expenses. General admission tickets are priced at £6 per session and open for bookings on Monday 29 February. To book, go to: http://guru.bafta.org/live.

Guru Live has received funding from generous individuals and BAFTA partners supporting ‘Give Something Back’ – BAFTA’s campaign to support emerging talent from all backgrounds to enter the film, television and games industries.

Highlights from the event will be available on the BAFTA Guru website: www.bafta.org/guru .

Follow Guru Live by using #GuruLIVE and following BAFTA Guru on Twitter and YouTube.

GURU LIVE PANELS AND SESSIONS:
(The full programme will be announced on Thursday 25 February)

Guru Live: Games (Saturday 30 April)

    Games Creative Keynote
    Game Masterclass
    Turning Points
    Down with the Kidz
    The Storytellers
    Capturing Performance
    Virtual Reality
    Microtalks

Guru Live: Television (Sunday 1 May)

    Television Creative Keynote
    How To Direct Your First Hour Of Television
    My First Three Years In Television
    Masterclass: Scripted Show
    Idea, Pitch, Commission?
    Casting Real People
    Where Are All The Milennials?
    Entertainment Live!

Guru Live: Film (Monday 2 May)

    Film Creative Keynote
    Panel: British Films & How To Fund Them
    Panel: My First Three Years in Film
    Producing A Debut Feature
    How To Budget And Schedule Your First Credit
    Masterclass: BAFTA Nominees
    Panel: Big Screen On The Small Screen
    How To Be A Successful Freelancer

Train2game News SpecialEffect Accessible Games Room

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David Cameron opens Accessible Games Room at Oxfordshire Charity SpecialEffect

Witney MP David Cameron officially opened the SpecialEffect Accessible Games Room at the charity’s headquarters in Charlbury, Oxfordshire, on 12 February.

The facility, the first of its kind in the UK, will allow the charity to welcome people with disabilities from across the UK and help them benefit from the fun and inclusion of video games and other forms of leisure technology.

The room was established thanks to a £130,000 donation from the inaugural Twin Town Car Challenge Event, organised by Witney businessman and SpecialEffect Vice-President Brendon Cross of STL Communications.

Mr Cameron was joined by SpecialEffect Vice-Presidents Justin Tomlinson MP, Minister for Disabled People, and Tom Watson MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, along with senior figures in the UK video game industry and the local business community.

He described SpecialEffect founder and CEO Dr Mick Donegan as “one of the most inspirational people I have met”. He said: “You are making an enormous difference to lots of people and I will do anything I can to help.

“It is also bringing together the things I am passionate about, because it shows business can be a force for social and economic good.”

“I would urge games companies to join in whatever way they can to back this man, to back this great charity that is doing such extraordinary work.”

Minister for Disabled People, Julian Tomlinson said: “We are very proud to see how quickly SpecialEffect is growing and we will do all we can to get it support from the industry.”

Tom Watson MP, deputy leader of the Labour Party added: “It is a great pleasure to be on the same side as Mr Cameron for once and I am deeply honoured to be involved with the charity. I hope more and more people will support them.”

“We’re delighted and honoured that Mr Cameron is here for this launch,” said Dr Mick Donegan, the Charity’s Founder and CEO. “Leisure technology is an amazing medium for fun, inclusion and quality of life. To be able to level the playing field and extend that medium to people that would otherwise not be involved is a real privilege.”

“The response to our work from Oxfordshire businesses and, increasingly, the video games community has been overwhelming so far. Their support will be pivotal to the success of the SpecialEffect mission to help more people worldwide experience the very real benefits that this technology can bring.”

Train2Game News Video Game Price Comparison

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Console Deals are proud to announce that users can now compare video games deals and prices on their leading comparison website.

Console Deals has experienced year on year growth since launching their console comparison website in 2012. The introduction of game deals is just the first step towards a fully immersive site that will allow users to compare the best console, game and accessory deals while staying up to date with the latest gaming news and reviews.

“The fact that users can now compare game deals on our website shows our commitment towards making gaming affordable,” said Phil Jones, Managing Director of Console Deals.

“As well as providing industry leading accuracy on latest deals, we’ve also launched a new look website to provide the best user experience, simple navigation and an intuitive filtering system so users can find what they need instantly.”

“We’re really excited about including game deals as we believe users will find it a useful tool in saving money on video games. We are also currently working very closely with retailers to provide a number of incentives for game enthusiasts.”

The incorporation of game deals now means that users can compare over 5000 deals from over 25 leading retailers on top titles and pre-orders, including; Fifa 16, The Division, Street Fighter V, Legend of Zelda, Far Cry Primal, Rise of the Tomb Raider and more.

Train2Game News 2016 Mobile Gaming Insights

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SOOMLA, an innovator in mobile gaming analytics, today announced its latest Q1 2016 Mobile Gaming Insights report, which illustrates user spending habits by cross-game behaviour, virtual economy model and game genre.

The new report reveals that users who completed an in-app purchase in one game are six times more likely to pay in another game, compared to any random user who hasn’t purchased. Furthermore, the likelihood of a user to pay in a second game increases by up to 40% based on the amount spent in the first game. Over 20 million players from more than 200 countries were included in the study, which is now available publicly on the company website.

The findings emphasize the contribution of cross-game purchase data to the ability to predict paying users, a coveted virtue in an industry where only 2% of consumers spend in games. Furthermore, knowing a user’s in-app purchase history by genres played, dollars spent and virtual items bought empowers game developers to tailor personalized offers at the user’s “comfort zone” price point.

Yaniv Nizan, Co-founder and CEO of SOOMLA, said: “Attracting payers to your game is like finding a needle in a haystack, but when crossing in-app purchase data from thousands of other games, our payer prediction technology reveals which user segments will eventually convert and what they’re likely to buy.”

Key Report Insights:

●      Past in-game payers are six times more likely to pay in another game.
●      Quick payers (first in-app purchase within 24 hours of install) are nine times more likely to pay in another game.
●      Over 40% of users who paid $25 or more in one game, will also pay in another game.
●      Holiday season savvy developers achieve an average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) lift in December of 83% above the annual average.
●      For each in-game item users purchase with real currency, an average of 18 additional items are purchased with virtual currency.
●      65% of all app revenue comes from “lifetime” goods (e.g. characters, level packs, remove ads), which cost $2.60 USD on average.
●      “Single use” goods (e.g. “save me”, ammo, 30-second boost) account for 71% of all in-game purchases.

Solomon Foshko, Manager of Strategic Intelligence at Wargaming Inc., said: “SOOMLA’s latest report provides a greater understanding of key trends in the mobile market and how best we can apply that insight for a competitive advantage within our product portfolio.”

Additionally, the report provides developers with insights on when players are more likely to play and how they play. For instance, daily active users increase as much as 33% over weekends, and this occurs primarily on phones, although sessions on tablets are often longer. Usage patterns differ across game genres as well, with strategy games boasting the highest average session duration of 11 minutes – 2.6 times more than other genres.

SOOMLA enables payer segmentation with its realtime payer prediction system – a programmatic API that detects when a highly likely paying user has just walked into your game.  Developers can adapt the game to potential payers from the first session and segment them for targeting and in-game promotions. For big publishers, SOOMLA offers highly targeted payer audiences through its recently introduced Audiences dashboard. Mobile marketers can build custom and lookalike audiences based on SOOMLA’s proprietary dataset and provision their campaigns to reach the best users.

Train2Game News Gaming Istanbul Succcess

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From February 04th – 07th, GL Events celebrated a first of its kind gaming expo for Turkey, attracting over 50,000 visitors to Istanbul’s Congress Center.

Furthermore, more than 300 industry representatives from 13 nations attended Gaming Istanbul trade and industry conference. GIST’s pitch & match system alone counted more than 500 meetings that have been arranged through this system. GIST Gaming Istanbul 2016 attracted visitors from all target markets: Europe, MENA and Asia.

“Gaming Istanbul was intended to create a bridge between markets in Europe, the MENA region and Asia – and this is exactly what we achieved. GIST 2016 was an enormous success, after evaluating all data; we can count around 50,000 visitors, said Cevher Eryürek, Project Director Gaming Istanbul at GL Events. She continued, “Gaming Istanbul debuted as the MENA region’s biggest gaming expo, and ranks GIST in the top 5 of European gaming expos in their first year. We’re very thankful that the Turkish and international gaming industry for their support. GIST 2016 connected industry representatives from all our target markets with each other as well as with the Turkish industry.”

With 84% of all B2B visitors originating from Turkey, including distributors, big and medium-sized developers, as well as indie studios and universities, GIST saw representatives from all areas of the local industry attending. International visitors came mainly from Germany, the UK, France and Poland, as well as from MENA markets such as Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran.

Cevher Eryürek continued, “Exhibitors from all areas of the industry, from AAA to indie, presented the latest in gaming and hardware. For the first time, Turkish consumers had the chance to personally interact with the gaming industry in such a broad manner. Consumers reacted very positively, while we had constantly well-filled halls on all four expo days.”

Additionally to Gaming Istanbul, GIST Developer Conference, which took place prior to the expo, and the Turkish gaming industry association TOGED’s symposium generated exceptional content and was well received by local and international attendees.

GIST Gaming Istanbul 2017 is scheduled for February 2017, taking place in Istanbul Congress Center as before. GL Events will announce detailed event dates shortly. For 2017, GIST plans to continue following its successful blueprint and grow in all areas, attracting more international exhibitors and visitors.

Train2Game News UKIE and MCV market research

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Games trade body Ukie and leading games trade magazine MCV held their annual Market Valuation Breakfast today, where it was revealed that the value of the UK games market is up 5% from 2014, and now worth £4.19bn. Overall, the figures show positive growth across most of the categories of the UK games consumer market.

The biggest increase is seen in the mobile games market, worth £664m, an impressive £116m increase from 2014. Console hardware suffered a decrease in valuation, in 2015 being worth £689m, down from £915m in 2014.

For this year’s market valuation, Ukie and MCV added in a new category; specialist gaming PC hardware, which is worth £138m.

The market valuation has been calculated with input from leading data companies, GfK, IHS Technology, Neilson BookData, Official Charts company, NPD and Kantar. Representatives from some of these data companies spoke at a special launch breakfast held at Ukie this morning, where the figures were revealed for the first time.

Dr Jo Twist, CEO of Ukie, said, “This data shows the increasing strength of the games market and confident consumer growth in our industry. We’re pleased to see the market soar to nearly £4.2bn for the first time, which is a result of the constant creative and technological innovation in the UK industry, which makes our consumer market extremely strong. These statistics are hugely valuable to Ukie in our mission to promote the strength of our sector nationally – to investors, the media and policy makers – as well as internationally, where we aim to show that the UK is the best place in the world to make and sell games.”

Editor of MCV, Chris Dring, added, “Almost £4.2bn is an incredible result. And the figures show that there is opportunity across the industry, from games to accessories, past toys, books and events. Almost £1.9bn of the figures come from the booming digital sectors, which has become a major force for growth in games. But physical items still accounted for more than £2.3bn, so the results are positive for the entire business.

“Now we shall see what 2016 has in store with the arrival of new blockbuster games such as Uncharted 4, The Legend of Zelda and Gears of War, a rising tide of excellent looking independently-created titles, plus virtual reality and Nintendo’s secretive new console, the NX.”

Train2Game News EGX 2016 Tickets on sale

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Tickets for EGX, the UK’s biggest video games event, are now available to buy via the EGX website at www.egx.net/egx/tickets .

A successful transition to Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre in 2015 saw EGX attract its largest audience to date. EGX 2016 – powered by Virgin Media – returns to the NEC from 22nd to 25th September.

Over 250 different games on nearly 2,000 screens filled the EGX 2015 show floor, including blockbusters from PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Activision, Ubisoft, SEGA and EA. EGX 2016 is expected to go even further, with even more games from the world’s biggest publishers in tandem with the latest games from the flourishing indie scene.

Virtual Reality was one of the stories of EGX 2015, with PlayStation VR and HTC Vive both making their UK public debuts, and Oculus Rift headsets also available to sample. 2016 is set to be a pivotal year for virtual reality and EGX will once again be the premier event for showcasing this cutting-edge technology in the UK.

EGX has long been the number one choice in the UK for exhibiting pre-release games, and media outlets are expected to bring coverage of the event to an international audience. In 2015 major publications including BBC Newsbeat, Channel 5, Vice and Radio One produced over 400 pieces of coverage for a combined audience of 1.5 billion.

Attendee feedback for 2015’s event was overwhelmingly positive and the EGX team will build on this success with further additions and innovations for 2016. These include the addition of a fifth hall, resulting in 20 per cent more floor space; more playable games and features than ever before; the introduction of afternoon tickets; and extended opening hours on Saturday and Sunday. Additionally, an improved registration process is being implemented to allow attendees to maximise their gameplay time at the event.

David Lilley, Managing Director of Gamer Events, said, “Our focus this year is on delivering what we know attendees want – more playable games and yet more gaming activities. An additional hall will enable us to achieve this aim and will allow us to provide more spaces for attendees to spend time gaming with friends. The changes in ticket structure will result in improved crowd management and an even better attendee experience. EGX is the UK’s flagship games event and we’re excited at the prospect of taking it even further.”

EGX’s long and successful association with Virgin Media continues and their customers will have access to the best value tickets, with a limited number of half-price early entry tickets available for each day.

Features planned for EGX 2016:

●     The number one destination for fans of games to meet up with friends and share their enthusiasm for their hobby
●     A huge Rezzed Zone with the world’s largest collection of independently developed games
●     A packed Developer Sessions schedule featuring the world’s greatest game creators
●     A massive eSports stage delivered in partnership with Gfinity, leaders in eSports
●     The biggest ever EGX cosplay arena
●     More retro games and retro gaming systems than ever before
●     The GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair, offering invaluable advice to those looking to begin a career in games
●     Prominent YouTube personalities meeting fans
●     The Rezzed Sessions stage, featuring panels giving in-depth insight into the game development process
●     Retail stands with limited edition merch and pre-order incentives exclusive to EGX
●     The UK’s number one fighting game stage
●     A large tabletop gaming area with the latest games, and experts from Esdevium Games on-hand to guide players

Early entry ticket holders will have access to the event from 10am, day ticket holders will be able to enter from 11am and entry for those with afternoon tickets is 2pm. EGX closes at 6pm on Thursday and Friday and 7pm on the weekend. Tickets are now available via the EGX website (www.egx.net/egx/tickets ).

Train2Game News The Walking Dead Michonne Game

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Today we can share release dates and all-new screens for the first of three episodes in  The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries.

The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries will premiere its first of three episodes,  ‘In Too Deep,’ this February 23rd on PC/Mac from the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services, the PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One® and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, followed by a release on compatible iOS devices via the App Store, and Android-based devices via Google Play and the Amazon App Store starting February 25th.

The second episode in the miniseries,  ‘Give No Shelter,’ will follow in the month of March, and conclude with the third episode,  ‘What We Deserve,’ in April. All three episodes in the miniseries will be available for purchase at the cost of $14.99 USD or equivalent when the first episode debuts, including access to the second and third episodes as they become available.

In this premiere episode,  ‘In Too Deep,’ Michonne joins Pete and his crew on the sailing ship  The Companion as they cruise the coast for survivors and supplies. When a desperate signal for help draws them to a scene of horrific massacre, Michonne and the crew are lead further to the floating survivors’ colony of Monroe, which may just be harboring the person responsible for the carnage.

The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries stars the iconic, blade-wielding character from Robert Kirkman’s best-selling comic books, portrayed in-game by award-winning actress  Samira Wiley (Orange is the New Black). Haunted by her past, and coping with unimaginable loss and regret, the story explores Michonne’s absence between issues #126 and #139 of the comic book. Over the three episodes of the miniseries, players will discover what took Michonne away from Rick, Ezekiel, and the rest of her trusted group… and what brought her back.

Ahead of its release, fans are invited to get an exclusive extended preview of the first episode of the series on  Youtube.com/TelltaleGames this Sunday February 14th at 8:30pm EST / 5:30pm PST. The development team will introduce the series allowing fans to experience the first five minutes of the premiere episode, exploring Michonne’s struggle to remain among the living while being haunted by her past.

To date,  The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series has sold  more than  50 million episodes worldwide, earning  more than 100 Game of the Year awards from outlets including  Metacritic, USA Today, Wired, Spike TV VGAs, Yahoo!, The Telegraph, Mashable, Polygon, Destructoid and GamesRadar, and was also the recipient of two  BAFTA Video Games Awards for  Best Story and Best Mobile Game.

The Walking Dead is set in the world of Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book series and offers an emotionally-charged, tailored game experience where a player’s actions and choices affect how their story plays out across the entire series.

The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries Episode 1 – ‘In Too Deep’ is rated ‘M’ (Mature) for Intense Violence, Blood & Gore, Sexual Themes, and Strong Language by the ESRB.

Train2Game News Hi-Rez Studios opens in Brighton

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Hi-Rez Studios today announced that it has opened a new office in Brighton, United Kingdom to expand its reach and better serve its rapidly growing European player base.

Veronique Lallier has been appointed as Vice President of European Publishing to build and lead the Brighton office. Lallier is the former Vice President of Digital Publishing at Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment International and has 15 years of experience in the gaming industry, with particular expertise in the European Online Gaming market.

“Fueled by the continued rapid growth of SMITE, our European community has expanded tremendously over the past year,” said Todd Harris, COO of Hi-Rez Studios. “Hi-Rez prides itself in being a highly community-oriented company, and this move will allow us to much better serve our European players, across SMITE as well as our other games.”

The office will focus primarily on community management, localization and marketing operations for Europe. Core development and operations will still be handled from Hi-Rez’s headquarters in Atlanta.

“I am delighted to join the Hi-Rez team to help support and expand our European player base.” Lallier said, “Hi-Rez has a unique and vibrant community in Europe – as evidenced by the European victory at the 2016 Smite World Championship! I look forward to meeting and working with our passionate fan base here in Europe.”

Hi-Rez is currently hiring for positions in the Brighton office.  For more information about available jobs, visit http://www.hirezstudios.com/ .