Category Archives: Games Designer

Train2Game News: Black Ops II’s story “is better than most movies” says writer David S. Goyer

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s story is better than that of many films. That’s according to game writer David S. Goyer – co-author of The Dark Knight Rises – speaking in a brand new behind the scenes video from Treyarch and Activision.

“Even though it’s a first person shooter, it’s got to be sophisticated, it’s got to be funny, it’s got to be challenging and it’s got to have twists and turns. In the case of Black Ops, I would argue the story is better than most movies that are being made” said Goyer.

The video also features Award-winning composer of The Social Network Trent Reznor discussing providing the score for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, while Studio Head Mark Lamia and game director Mark Anthony discuss the relationship between movies, music and games.

Watch Behind the Scenes with Trent Reznor & David S. Goyer – Official Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Video below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more Call of Duty: Black Ops II news here on The Train2Game Blog, including a previous behind the scenes video preview.  Be sure to keep reading for more insights from developer diaries.

What are your thoughts on the high-profile team working on Black Ops II? Could it really have a story that’s better than films?

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

Train2Game News: Frogster producer Rüdiger Moersch on getting into the industry

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Getting involved with a gaming community and studying games related courses are great ways to attempt to break into the industry.  That’s according to Frogster producer Rüdiger Moersch who was speaking to The Train2Game Blog at Rezzed.

Frogster are publishers of upcoming monster-hunting MMO RaiderZ, which is currently accepting sign-ups of an upcoming beta.  The German company are also publishers of recently released MMO Tera.

“It really depends on what section of the games industry you want. If you want to go for CS, or something like that, or even some community management, you must have some experience in the community.” Moersch responded when we asked him for advice about getting into the games industry.

“The best way to get into community management for example, in my opinion, is to open up your own guild, manage it on a small scale, get the experience there, being involved in the games and love the games of course. If you want to get into programming or art or something like that, study.” he added.

The Frogster producer also revealed how he got started in the games industry.

“You know, I started something like 25 years ago! I was looking for a job at the time, living in Germany, and I stumbled over an advert in a newspaper looking for a computer gaming company for a CS guy, so I went for it, applied and ended up at Soft Gold.” he said.

“I don’t know if you know the name of it anymore, but it was a German publisher, and we had some really cool games like the early LucasArts games, and I worked my way up, basically.” Moersch added.

There’s more advice from games professionals about getting into the industry here on The Train2Game Blog.

As usual, leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Console gaming “a wrong turn” for the industry says American McGee

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Game designer American McGee believes that digital distribution and free-to-play are the best models for game developers, with traditional console gaming representing a ‘wrong turn’ for the industry.

“It feels to me that with the rise of mobile gaming and ubiquitous networking (social, multiplayer, cloud) alongside pure digital distribution we’re seeing significant change for the first time in 20 years.” the Alice: Madness Returns creator told Game Informer.

“I look back to the era of online, multiplayer PC gaming (DOOM, Command & Conquer, Ultima Online days) and see an absolute fork in the road with the rise of console gaming – a wrong turn, in my opinion.” he continued.

“We’re now back on the right path with developers being able to create and distribute directly to their audiences, with console development (in the current mode) having reached a critical peak and the traditional publishing model making way for a multitude of new paths.” McGee added.

His latest project is free-to-play multiplayer combat title BigHead BASH.

There’s more about the free-to-play distribution model here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on McGee’s comments? Do you think consoles represented a wrong turn for the industry? Are digital and free-to-play the best ways for developers to earn income?

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

Train2Game News: More games should focus on real-world issues and events says Jade Raymond

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Video games can be used to focus on real-world issues and provoke intelligent debate. That’s according to Ubisoft Toronto boss Jade Raymond who was speaking about the state of the games industry in an interview with Develop.

“The Arab Spring, class divide, internet freedoms… why aren’t there triple-A games about these topics? We can actually use the interactive power of our medium to talk about these subjects in a way that can provoke discussion about them.” she said, adding that while these subjects probably won’t become the core focus of games, they can quite easily be made a part of them.

“I am a realist – at $60m per triple-A game it’s not likely we can make a subject like this the core of a brand new IP. Games may be stuck in this narrow genre of action shooters – but that shouldn’t mean we are stuck.” said Raymond.

“So why not weave more meaning into existing blockbusters? Maybe GTA could make a statement about the penal system? Or maybe games like Call of Duty could make a statement about sexism? Maybe Splinter Cell could make a statement about the ethics of interrogation?” she continued.

“The first step is to add that into existing blockbusters, it’s easier to do it this way than introduce a new IP and be riskier with your content and your message.” the Ubisoft Toronto boss added.

The full interview is available to read in Develop magazine, or on Develop Online.

There’s more from Jade Raymond here on The Train2Game Blog, including her advice on getting into the industry.

What are your thoughts? Should video games make more of an effort to focus on real world issues?

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

Train2Game News: Gearbox co-founder Brian Martel on getting into the industry – “Mods are a great way to start”

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Gearbox Software co-founder and company CCO Brian Martel believes modding is a great way for aspiring game developers to gain the skills needed to break into the industry.

“Mods are a great way to start; because that way you can build a community, figure out what it’s like to work with other people.” he told The Train2Game Blog at a recent Borderlands 2 preview event.

“It’s one thing when you’re on your own in your bedroom, garage, whatever, and you’re doing your own thing. But once you start working with people, collaborating and understanding how to make those compromises you have to make, sometimes some of the best things come out of those compromises, they come out of the discussion, because two different people have disparate ideas and you can’t get that on your own.”  Martel continued.

“I think that’s where small teams are really great to do that, and even in large teams, having really great experienced leaders can help that, and the only way to get there is by doing it and getting through it and learning what to do.” he added.

Our full interview with Gearbox Software co-founder Brian Martel will be published shortly, with more from the studio here.

DayZ creator Dean “Rocket” Hall also recently spoke to The Train2Game Blog about the benefits of modding.

Modding is a great way for Train2Game students to practice and show off their skills, and there’s a lot more about it here on The Train2Game Blog, including what Valve, Ubisoft and  id Software told us about it.

What are your thoughts on Brian Martel’s advice?

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

Train2Game News: Born Ready Games release first Strike Suit Zero developer diary

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Get behind the scenes of Strike Suit Zero, the upcoming space combat title from Guildford studio Born Ready Games in the first of a series of developer diaries.

The video sees creative director Jim Mummery and lead designer Christopher Redden discuss various aspects of Strike Suit Zero including narrative, the role of the player, gameplay mechanics and there’s also pre-alpha footage and concept art.

Watch the developer diary from Born Ready Games below, here on The Train2Game Blog.

Strike Suit Zero is scheduled for release through Steam and Origin later this year, with Xbox and PS3 downloads set for early 2013.

There are more developer diaries, giving an insight into development of a wide variety of games, here on The Train2Game Blog.

As usual, leave your comments here or on The Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: “Don’t expect to sit around.” after completing production of your first game

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Finishing development of your very first video game may be an incredibly satisfying experience, but don’t expect that to bring instant success or to be the end of your work either.

That’s one of key themes to come out of a ‘Directions to take after your first game’ session at Develop Conference 2012.

“You build it, you’re happy with it, and you think you’ve crossed the finish line.” said Sean Murray of Hello Games, creators of Joe Danger, before going on to add that feedback from players about almost everything – including in the case of Joe Danger , custom soundtracks not working propely – will keep you busy.

Supermono’s Tak Fung agreed, stating its important for indie developers to keep working even after the game has shipped.

“Don’t expect it to be glorious Vegas gambling.” he said, pointing out the importance of getting knowledge of your game out there through PR and marketing. “Don’t expect to sit around.” he added.

Keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest news from Develop Conference.

What are your thoughts on the advice from the indie developers on what do you after your first game? Have you planned that far ahead?

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

Train2Game News: “Mostly everything successful is a sequel nowadays.” says Dishonored director

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Dishonored looks like it might be on its way to becoming a success when it’s released later this year, but Zenimax visual design director Viktor Antonov believes that it’s now extremely rare for this to happen for a new IP.

He made the remarks while presenting ‘Creating Dunwall’ a session on visual development for Dishonored at Develop Conference 2012.

“Rarely in life in as a developer do you get to start a brand new IP. Mostly everything successful is a sequel nowadays.” said Antonov, who gave the audience a huge insight into the three year pre-production for Dishonored.

Arkane Studios built the visual style of Dunwall by beginning with the Great Plague of 1665, deciding to base the city on London, due to it being both familiar and exotic to those in the United States and in continental Europe. Edinburgh has also influenced design of Dunwall, with the studio taking trips to both cities.

“It’s important to go to the location you want to develop” added Antonov, who was director and concept artist for Half-Life 2.

There’s much more about Dishonored in developer videos with commentary, which you can watch right here on The Train2Game Blog.

Keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest news from Develop Conference.

What are your thoughts on Antonov’s comments about success? Is it really only sequels that are big successes now? Or is there still room for new IP?

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

Train2Game News: “Playing board games is fantastic training for game designers” – Creative Assembly lead designer

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Game designers should play board games in to help improve their skills. That’s the view of The Creative Assembly lead designer James Russell, who was speaking about making the mechanics of Total War and game design at Develop Conference 2012.

“Playing board games is fantastic training for game designers,” he said. “Everything a player does is raw gameplay.”

It formed part of a wide ranging session in which the Total War lead designer discussed subjects ranging from the key game design pillars of Shogun 2: Total War, to how, ultimately every single video game is based around player choices.

“Gameplay is all about choices and trade-offs. Games present players with interesting decisions with pros and cons.” said Russell, adding that weak gameplay is generally down to weak design choices.

The session concluded with The Creative Assembly man showing off pre-Alpha footage of Rome 2: Total War for only the second time. The game is scheduled for release towards the end of 2013.

Keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest news from Develop Conference, while there’s more from The Creative Assembly here. That includes information about their recently released Shogun 2 map editor.

How important do you feel board games are for game designers? Are you a board game player?

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

Train2Game News: “If you want to be successful, do something different” – Ian Livingstone

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To thrive in the games industry, you need to be a little different and preferably own your own IP. That’s according to Eidos Life President Ian Livingstone who was delivering his keynote at Develop Conference 2012.

“If you want to be successful, do something different, follow your heart” he said during his visionary session ‘From Dungeons to Downing Street – A Life in Games.’

The industry veteran discussed everything from founding Games Workshop, to Fighting Fantasy, to Tomb Raider. He also emphasised the importance for developers to control their own intellectual property.

“If you want real value, you need to create and own your own IP.” said Livingstone, later adding “If you can create your own IP, then do so.”

The games industry legend also told the audience how the three most important things in a game for him are gameplay, gameplay and gameplay. And as previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, Ian Livingstone believes “There’s never been a better time to run your own gig.”

Ian Livingstone was one of a number of industry figures who aided in mentoring Train2Game students taking part in Make Something Unreal Live earlier this year. The Games Workshop co-founder said he was “delighted” to be part of the initiative.

The Train2Game Blog will publish an interview with Ian Livingstone in the near future, but in the meantime, there’s more from the Eidos Life President here.

What are your thoughts on Livingstone’s comments? Do you agree that doing something different and owning your own IP are key to success?

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