Category Archives: Games Designer

Train2Game Game Artist & Animator William Alexander – Industry Experience Diary No.6

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Train2Game Artist & Animator William Alexander is on a Train2Game work placement at DR Studios. In his latest Train2Game industry experience diary, William writes about his time with Train2Game at the Develop Confernce, which includinf talking to some high profile industry figures. a

Read Williams ’s latest industry experience diary here on the Train2Game blog, or on the official Train2Game industry experiences website.

 

William also features in the Train2Game industry experience diaries produced by Game Design student Jonny Robinson, which you can see here on the Train2Game blog.

Train2Game Game Developer Darren Price – Industry experience diary No. 7

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Train2Game Game Designer Darren Price is on a Train2Game work placement at DR Studios. In his latest Train2Game industry experience diary, Darren writes about  coding during a sprint, and his time at the Develop Conference.

Read Jonny’s latest industry experience diary here on the Train2Game blog, or on the official Train2Game industry experiences website.

Train2Game Art & Animation student Robert Ramsay speaks to Train2Game Radio (Part 1)

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Robert Ramsay is studying to become a Game Artist & Animator with Train2Game.

In first part of a special in depth interview, Train2Game Radio caught up with Robert to find out he chose to study with Train2Game, what he thinks about the future of the industry and a little bit about his personal side project, Mage Listen at www.audioboo.fm/train2game

Read his story below then leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

 

Train2Game news: id Software support Blizzard’s controversial ‘always on’ DRM

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Train2Game students, as game developers of the future, may already be thinking about how they can prevent their games from being pirated.

There are various different forms of DRM in PC gaming, with Steam perhaps being used the most by PC Gamers. Blizzard have their own DRM, which has proved controversial in that in order to play their upcoming Diablo III, the player will have to be connected to the internet the whole time.

The idea has caused controversy, because it means if your internet connection flickers for just a second, you’re dropped from the game. Any progress made since the last time a game save is made will be lost.

The DRM also means playing PC games on the move using a laptop goes somewhat out the window. It’s therefore something that may annoy Train2Game students as gamers.

However, while gamers may find the ‘always on’ DRM controversial, it seems to have won over game developers.  Indeed, id Software Creative Director Tim Willits believes it’s the best way forward.

“Diablo III will make everyone else accept the fact you have to be connected” Willits told Eurogamer at QuakeCon.

“If you have a juggernaut, you can make change. I’m all for that. If we could force people to always be connected when you play the game, and then have that be acceptable, awesome,”

It isn’t the only comment the id Software Creative Director made at QuakeCon that could be seen as controversial. Indeed, the Train2Game blog reported that he said the FPS is the ‘best genre’

“In the end, it’s better for everybody,” Willets continued on the subject of the DRM, suggesting it has benefits.

“Imagine picking up a game and it’s automatically updated. Or there’s something new you didn’t know about, and you didn’t have to click away. It’s all automatically there.  I’m a big proponent of always connected. I’m always connected. Our fans are always connected.”

“There will be a few people who will resent the fact you have to be online to play a single-player game. But it’ll change.” he concluded.

So Train2Game, do you think ‘always on’ DRM is the way forward? Or does it come across as too restricting to regular gamers? Are internet connections reliable enough for it to work?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Eurogamer via Industry Gamers]

Train2Game student Georgij Cernysiov industry experience diary No.6

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Train2Game student  Georgij Cernysiov is on a Train2Game work placement at Caspian Learning. In his latest Train2Game industry experience diary, Georgij writes about his work at the studio, and considers the future.  He also teases a game project that’ll soon be launched on the Train2Game forum.

Read Georgij’s latest diary here on the Train2Game blog, or on the official Train2Game industry experience diary website.

Catch up with previous diaries here on the Train2Game blog.

 

 

Train2Game students can try OnLive when it launches at the Eurogamer Expo

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It’s a date that Train2Game students should mark in their diaries as one that could potentially change the future of the industry.

Cloud gaming service OnLive will arrive in the UK On 22nd September, with a launch at the Eurogamer Expo.

As previously reported by the Train2Game blog, cloud gaming could potentially bring Triple-A gaming to anyone, including smartphone and tablet computer users.

The launch coincidences with the Eurogamer Expo – which Train2Game will once again be attending – and OnLive will be giving out thousands of free game systems that’ll work on any TV.

OnLive will utterly transform gaming in the UK,” said OnLive founder and CEO Steve Perlman.

“No discs, big downloads or specialised hardware needed. OnLive gives you the latest games instantly, anytime, anywhere on HDTV, PC, Mac, as well as iPad, Android tablets.

High-performance gaming as accessible as streaming video, with unique social features such as massive spectating with voice chat and Facebook integration.”

And speaking earlier this year, Perlman, as you’d expect, believes cloud gaming is the future for the industry.

“The power of the cloud is definitely the theme this week, displacing what had been assumed to be platforms that could never be displaced,” he said at the E3 app launch..

“The OnLive Player App for iPad and Android shows how with the power of the cloud, the question is not whether cloud gaming will be able to catch up to consoles, it will be whether consoles will be able to catch up to cloud gaming.”

There are however, as the Train2Game blog has previously reported, concerns about latency when it comes to cloud based gaming. A reliable internet connection will of course be needed to connect to servers, which could be very far away.

But is cloud gaming a threat to traditional consoles? As reported by the Train2Game blog, yesterday, Gaikai’s Dave Perry doesn’t believe so.

“We don’t think we’re a threat to console. I think the threat to consoles is actually Apple” Perry told GamesIndustry.biz.

Train2Game students will have the opportunity to check out OnLive and cloud gaming at the Eurogamer Expo which starts on September 22nd.

So Train2Game, are you tempted to try out OnLive? Do you believe it could change how the industry works?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Eurogamer]

Train2Game student industry experience diary: Laurence Gee – week 6

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In his latest Train2Game industry experience diary Laurence Gee writes about building a game with Train2Game forum users, working on his course and what he’s been getting up to on placement.

Read it here on the Train2Game blog, or on the official Train2Game industy experience diaries website.

Train2Game student diary: Craig Moore week 0

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Train2Game Game Designer Craig Moore starts a Train2Game industry experience placement at DR Studios next week. In his first industry experience diary, Craig writes about what he expects to gain from the work placement at DR Studios.

Read it below here on the on the Train2Game blog, or on the official Train2Game industry experiences website.

Find out a bit more about Craig by reading his interview with the Train2Game blog earlier this year.

Craig also took part in an extensive interview on BBC Radio Oxford in the run up to the Train2Game Game Jam.

Train2Game news: FPS is the ‘best’ genre say id Software

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Many Train2Game students will be very familiar with Id Software; the game developer is arguably the father of the first person shooter with the likes of Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake and soon, RAGE, coming from the studio.

However, despite the amount of competition in an FPS market – with Call of Duty currently the most successful – Id Software still believe the genre still has a massive future.

“The FPS I feel is the very best genre because it places you, the game player into the experience like no other type of genre does.” creative director Tim Willits told Quakecon.

The comments from Id software echo those made by Irrational Games Ken Levine earlier this, as previously reported by the Train2Game blog.

“It’s one less barrier to the experience,” The Bioshock  creatorsaid on the subject of making games immersive through a first person view.

“It’s a strange thing to be in someone else’s shoes. It’s something we do very naturally as children, but it’s something that is much more difficult for adults. I think that games give us enough of a nudge in the right direction to have that childhood experience of play.”

While RAGE will be played from a first person perspective, Id Software’s title will feature driving and RPG elements, and Willits believes this is a positive step for the games industry.

“Even the word genre is a bit too constricting and I think that people should remove labels from games and let games just be games.” He said.

“I’ve always felt that the future is very bright for first person shooters. We have so many fans and there are so many different directions it could take that I believe that in itself, it’ll be around for years and that id software will be around for years too.” Willets added.

RAGE will be helped along by the fact that graphically, the games Art & Animation looks very good indeed, and as reported by the Train2Game blog this week, id Software believe that “graphics will always matter.”

RAGE could provide a great opportunity for Train2Game students, given that modding tools will be available for the PC version.

So Train2Game, do you think the FPS is the ‘best’ genre? Or is genre becoming an obsolete word?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: CVG]

Train2Game news: The main threat to consoles is “actually Apple”

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The Train2Game blog has previously reported on cloud gaming, and how some believe it’s the future of the games industry.

However, owner of cloud gaming service Gaikai Dave Perry – who has previously been quoted by the Train2Game blog – doesn’t believe cloud is a threat to consoles. He think the threat to those comes from somewhere else.

“We don’t think we’re a threat to console. I think the threat to consoles is actually Apple” Perry told GamesIndustry.biz

“I think the concern there is that they’re generating hardware so quickly now. If you’re creating and shipping new hardware every 12 months, and during that 12 months you’re also giving pretty impressive upgrades, the features that people want, and you’re giving them those every six months and hardware every 12 months, I think the idea that you would have five to seven years on hardware refreshes is becoming a technical problem.”

And while Perry believes games consoles like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 could survive thanks to their ability for use as multimedia entertainment devices, he’s not so sure about traditional handhelds.

“I think the handhelds are getting challenged very aggressively by the mobile phones,” he said. “I find myself spending a lot of money on iPhone, and if you look at a handheld today, the ones that people keep making, they still make them as a gaming machine.”

“Kids today… don’t want to carry anything that just does one thing. They carry their phone and it does everything. And so if you make single function devices, then you’ve got a problem. That’s my concern for handhelds, is this single function side of it”

Perry’s comments echo those the Train2Game blog reported Capcom made at the beginning of this year. They argued that smartphones including the iPhone are dragging consumers away from traditional handheld consoles.

And as reported by the Train2Game blog earlier this year,  Apple could ‘own’ the games industry, at least according to Former PlayStation executive Vice President Phil Harrison.

“At this trajectory, if you extrapolate the market-share gains that they are making, forward for ten years – if they carry on unrestrained in their growth, then there’s a pretty good chance that Apple will be the games industry,” Harrison told Edge

As Train2Game students will know, the iTunes App store could potentially provide a Train2Game student with a large audience for the games they produce.

So Train2Game, is Apple the biggest threat to the rest of the games industry? Should it be considered a threat at all?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: GamesIndustry.biz]