Category Archives: Games Developer

Train2Game News: Paid C++ Job Opportunity

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Top job opportunity for Train2Game students with raw talent who want to join a London based indie that is going places.

A friend of Train2Game is looking for a C++ coder to work in Soho for a contract which runs until January that could then become permanent.

The details of the job can be found below, if you are interested contact harry@swanpr.co.uk and he will put you in contact with the studio.

Role Purpose
Looking for a skilled and experienced Server Developer to join a small, creative, indie team working in Soho London.

Team/Department Mission
This role is part of a larger team creating games and entertainment services influenced by changing consumer consumption and emerging business models. Part of its purpose will be to showcase functionality of specific platforms but the primary goal is to establish new entertainment franchises. The ethos of this team is to be distinctive, deliberate and disruptive. It has large ambitions.

Key Accountabilities

  • Develop and maintain software services to support gameplay, data sharing, and title instrumentation.
  • Develop and maintain client (game) side library’s to interface with server/cloud hosted services.
  • Work with IT infrastructure engineers to onboard and maintain services.
  • Affect gameplay engineers to ensure game supports synchronous, remote multiplayer modes.
  • Implement game state synchronization.
  • Understand and refine game & customer behaviour requirements by working with non-engineering disciplines.
  • Implement in-game telemetry and reporting mechanism.
  • Understand and create data storage and reporting system to deliver relevant game & customer behaviour reports to non-engineering disciplines.
  • Affect IT infrastructure decisions to support the above.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Requirements

  • Have shipped something really cool that is networked/online/connected to a cloud or datacentre

– could be a AAA game or an indie game or both,

– could be a streaming service, peer-to-peer BitTorrent-like system, anything web-service on the backend. It just needs to demonstrate that you can design and implement web services in a game-like environment

  • Have good understanding of caching, queuing, naming, and data structures, especially how they’re key to making backend systems work
  • Have designed and implemented working modules (ie cache server, proxy server, leaderboards, authentication, chat systems)
  • Experienced, willing and eager to work with cloud platforms and services. You’ve got to have a bit of sys-admin in you!
  • Proficient in Java, C++, C#, Node.js or whatever language you need to get the job done well
  • Very strong problem-solving skills.

Personal Attributes/Interpersonal Skills

  • Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  • Outgoing and pro-active personality who thrives on working within a team.
  • Self-motivated with a drive for excellence.

If you are interested in applying for the position then email Harry at Harry@Swanpr.co.uk

Train2Game News: Train2Game in The Guardian

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Train2Game and Icey Monty have been mentioned in an article in The Guardian news paper.

Under the Learn and Earn heading in the paper they talk about Nick Walker of Train2Game Student Studio Icey Monty. The article discusses how Nick runs his own app creating company at the age of nineteen and lives debt free, allowing him to enjoy a healthy social life, with never going to University.

Click to enlarge the image to read the article.

The Guardian 28 May 2013 T2G

Train2Game News: Top 3 Game Engines

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UDKAcross the past week Train2Game held a poll to see which is your favourite game engine. These are the results!

In descending order the Third most popular games engine for Train2Game Students is the CryEngine 3.  It was originally developed by German studio, Crytek, as a technology demo for Nvidia and, when the company saw its potential, it was turned into a game. That first game developed using the engine was the first Far Cry.

The CryEngine 3 Free SDK, originally called Sandbox Editor, is the current version of the level editor used to create levels for the CryEngine line of game engines by Crytek. Tools are also provided within the software to facilitate scripting, animation, and object creation. It has been included with various Crytek games and is used extensively for modding purposes. The editing style is that of the sandbox concept, with the emphasis on large terrains and a free style of mission programming. The editor can also construct indoor settings.

Recently the engine has been used to create games such as Crysis 3, Monster Hunter Online and Ryse which will be released on the Xbox One.

Second in the poll was the Unity engine. Unity (also called Unity3D) is a cross-platform game engine with a built-in IDE developed by Unity Technologies. Unity is primarily used to create mobile and web games, but can also deploy games to consoles or the PC. The game engine was developed in C/C++, and is able to support code written in C#, JavaScript or Boo. It grew from an OS X supported game development tool in 2005 to the multi-platform game engine that it is today.

The Unity Engine is simple to use and as of this month free to publish to mobiles. It is clear why it is popular among Train2Game Students.

The Unity Engine has been used to create popular mobile games such as Bad Piggies, Slender: The Arrival and it was used to port Temple Run 2 to Android devices.

Finally the number one games engine according to Train2Game students is Epic’s Unreal Engine. Although primarily developed for first-person shooters, it has been successfully used in a variety of other genres, including stealth, MMORPGs and other RPGs. With its code written in C++, the Unreal Engine features a high degree of portability and is a tool used by many game developers today. It was first developed in 1998 for Unreal.

The third and current generation of the Unreal Engine (UE3) is designed for DirectX (versions 9-11 for Windows and Xbox 360), as well as systems using OpenGL, including the PlayStation 3, OS X, iOS, Android, Stage 3D for Adobe Flash Player 11, JavaScript/WebGL, PlayStation Vita and Wii U. Its renderer supports many advanced techniques including HDRR, per-pixel lighting, and dynamic shadows. It also builds on the tools available in previous versions.

In October 2011, the engine was ported to support Adobe Flash Player 11 through the Stage 3D hardware-accelerated APIs. Epic has used this version of the engine for their in-house games. Aggressive licensing of this iteration has garnered a great deal of support from many prominent licensees. Epic has announced that Unreal Engine 3 runs on both Windows 8 and Windows RT.

The engine is free to download and has a small charge of $99 to publish from, as long as you don’t make over $50,000 after which Epic will start to take a percentage.

The Unreal engine has been used in countless games including The Batman Arkham Games, BioShock Infinite, The Borderlands games, Dishonored, The Gears of War series and countless others.

It is quite clear why the Unreal Engine is the most popular engine among Train2Game Students.

Train2Game News: Games Industry Jobs – 21.05.13

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Train2Game wants you to work in the industry we all love and with that in mind it is time for another job posting!

DEVELOPER

Job Title Gameplay Programmer
Job Category Programming
Skills Required Programming
Location North West, North West
Job Description My client is a successful studio based in the North West, together with their partner studio they have been responsible for creating some of the most fun and original titles of the last few years.

They are seeking a gameplay programmer to work on a major next-gen project. It will involve a bit of everything on the gameplay front – game mechanics, AI, scripting, UI, effects etc. All based on a long established game engine. The role could possibly include working on the handheld version of the title at a later date.

For this role, the ideal candidate will need:
At least one product’s industry experience, or a stunning demo to show their ability/potential.
Solid knowledge of C/C++ with a strong maths background.
Good all round programming techniques.
It goes without saying that experience in any of the aforementioned gameplay tasks would be a major bonus.

In return the company offer an excellent Salary and Benefits.

More details are available by contacting Lisa Corbett via email: lisa@aswift.com

 

ARTIST

Job Title Artists
Job Category Art / Animation
Skills Required Art / Animation
Location UK & Europe
Job Description Videogame 3D Artists

We’re looking to recruit a number of experienced artists with a wide range of skills at our studio on the South Coast of England to work on high-profile projects.

We offer excellent conditions and a competitive package in a fun working environment.

As an artist at Stainless you will be working with a creative agile team to deliver high quality art assets in collaboration with designers and programmers.

Successful candidates will be passionate about making the best games and making them look damn fine at the same time!

Essential Requirements:
Passion for creating art for games.
Good sense of scale, composition and staging.
Professional attitude and work ethic.
Good written and verbal communication skills.
A desire to learn.
Self-motivated and organised.

We require artists with any or all of the following skills:
3D Environment creation
3D Vehicle creation

The following are desirable but not essential:
Experience working on games as an artist at any level.
Keen eye for detail and art style.
Skills in Adobe Flash / UI Design
Strong traditional art skills.
Understanding of open world/driving games.
Formal qualifications in related fields.
Knowledge of additional software and plugins

You can apply here, http://www.stainlessgames.com/careers/go/

QA

Area: South East
City: Horsham
Company: Creative Assembly

Position Overview
– The Games Tester position is a responsible job; reporting bugs and providing quality feedback for our titles in development.
– These fixed term contracts are for our new Alien IP title currently in development. Several additional positions are also needed for our established Total War team during the same period.
– Test games in development for software bugs
– Enter bugs clearly and accurately into our bug database
– Verify and recreate bugs as required
– Report additional balancing, design and accessibility problems
– Specific support and general roles available

Essential
– A clear understanding of QA process
– A keen enthusiasm for gaming
– Good communication and reporting skills
– Driven and flexible approach

Desirable
– A clear understanding of QA process
– A keen enthusiasm for gaming
– Good communication and reporting skills
– Driven and flexible approach
– Experience of testing one full shipped title
– A good understanding of Strategy games (Total War)
– A good knowledge of current generation consoles (Alien IP)
– Games industry related degree (e.g. audio, art, design, etc.) or expertise in a specific game area is an asset (e.g. audio, technical, PC hardware, design or scripting etc.)
– Fluent in one or more of the following languages: French, German, Italian or Spanish
– Strong technical knowledge/skills (e.g. programming, scripting)

You will need to be available to start between June and October 2012

You can apply here, http://www.creative-assembly.com/jobs/

Train2Game News: Icey Monty require staff

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Icey MontyTrain2Game Student studio, Icey Monty have been so successful over the past few months that they need a new member of staff!

If you are unaware of who they are, Icey Monty Ltd. is an app and games development start-up targeting PC and Mobile markets, headed-up by Train2Game students John Esslemont and Nick Walker. The young developers didn’t anticipate the acceleration of business and in the next few months are looking to hire an additional developer on a full time basis.

Due to the nature of freelance work, the length of the employment cannot be guaranteed. Similarly, Icey Monty cannot give any exact figures about wages, work hours or job demand. Given the studios current rate of work, you can expect a junior designer’s salary, this is likely to fluctuate however.

The chosen candidate will likely be hired on a per job basis, as this is how the team currently pay themselves, with a schedule based work flow on a semi-consistent hourly rate. Icey Monty is looking exclusively for a Unity3D developer, who is able to work from home.

The ideal candidate would have the following:

  • Ability to code to a moderate standard in any object-orientated language, although proficiency in C# is preferable.
  • A good understanding of Unity’s IDE, including its non-scripting features.
  • Coding skills in the context of Unity’s engine; Abstraction, Inheritance, Serialization, 3D math, generics, reflection, modularity, logic, events & delegates, procedural, state machines, commenting. Most importantly, the desire to be consistently improving and the ability to teach oneself.
  • General skills, including; time management, mathematics, cooperation, commercial business software, communication, composure, literacy, dedication, stress management, commitment, confidence, respect, ambition and drive.
  • Skype and mobile availability.
  • A passion for games development, design, and quality.

The Icey Monty team are hoping that you can expect an average of forty hours per week. Usually 9-5 Monday to Friday, although there will be fluctuations and quiet days on almost every project. Bonuses may be available for these periods, depending on the client.

Those forty hours will be used doing the following:

  • Creating entire games and apps to client’s specifications in a given time frame.
  • Working with SVN software on team based projects.
  • Scripting key components on top of existing frameworks.
  • Suggesting and incorporating new game and level design to clients in parallel with their ideas and direction.
  • Working with the Icey Monty team; handling clients, organising prices, features and meetings.

The team will ease you into all of the above, especially regarding finances and client interaction. Icey Monty is relatively new to operating as a studio and learning through experiences what works best.

If you think you would like to work with Icey Monty, you can send your CV and application to them at nick@iceymonty.com. Icey Monty also require you to CC them to nickwalker12@googlemail.com

Train2Game News: Train2Game Radio – Muir Halleron

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Muir HalleronI got the pleasure of interviewing a young man named Muir recently who is just coming to the end of section 1 of his course. You may have seen Muir on Twitter or the Train2Game Forum as he is always very active on there. Now you can find out more about him!

You can here the interview here: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1391947-train2game-student-muir-halleron-talks-to-t2g-radio

Or read the transcript below:

Hi my name is Muir, I’m a Games Development student with Train2Game and I live in Widnes, Cheshire.

Hi Muir, how you doing mate?

I’m alright thanks Mark, how are you?

I’m good cheers buddy. So tell me, how did you get into Games Development?

Well, I’ve always loved games. My first games console was when I was like four years old and it was an Odyssey 2, if you can remember back that far! Showing my age. I’ve just been really interested in games going all the way up to Nintendo, Xbox360 and PlayStation. When I saw the Train2Game thing online I went on the website, filled out a form and didn’t think twice about it really.

Was there any particular game that made you want to get in to development its self?

Probably the Elder Scrolls series. I had a play with the Elder Scrolls, Skrim it was, there game engine that they use that they have opened up to allow people to mod the game. I was just absolutely gob smacked by it and everything that goes in to making a game. I’d say that’s probably the biggest series that’s worked.

Yeah. Were you into coding before that or is it something you have learnt through Train2Game entirely?

It’s pretty much something I am learning just through Train2Game. I remember when I was really little, about five or six years old, my Dad bought a home computer and I actually had a go at learning BASIC on that. It got to the point where I could make a really, really simple game on BASIC and that was about it.

So what have you been up to with your games development at the minute?

Well right now I’m nearly finished with Section one in the course and I’ve lately been doing the one game a month challenge that’s online. That’s www.onegameamonth.com

Oh yeah? How’s that going?

It’s going pretty good, this month has been pretty slow, I’ve had a mental block with coding for some reason this month but the last 3 months I’ve made one game a month. The first one was something based on one of the Game Maker tutorials in the intro booklet for the Train2Game course and the other two were ones I came up with, on myself. The last one being completely done in C++. I’m actually really proud of that one!

Nice, so it sounds like you are progressing quite well then?

Yeah and I just recently I’ve also been accepted with Road Hog Games. Doing there student initiative.

Ah very nice and what are you doing with them?

Well right now it’s a group of two developers, two designers and two artists I believe. We are in the process of making a game under the tutelage and support of Road Hog Games.

Finally, What is your greatest ambition for your career?

Well I am hoping eventually to be able to get to a point where I can either work for a well developed gaming company as a developer or go in as an indie dev and make my own games.

Is there any company in particular that you’d want to work for?

Well in this area, just in Widnes, there’s actually Sony Evolution Studios is in Runcorn which is real close to where I live. So I’ve been feeling the waters with them a bit and there’s a few other small gaming companies in Liverpool and Manchester as well.

Excellent. Well thank you very much Muir!

Thank you Mark!

Train2Game News: Games Industry Jobs – 07.05.13

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It is Wednesday so it is time for a job blog in the hopes we can help you get in to the industry we all love!

DEVELOPER

Job Title Gameplay Programmer
Job Category Programming
Skills Required Gameplay, Mobile / iOS / Android, Core Technology, UI / Front End, Flash / Actionscript / HTML5, Mac / OSX
Location warwick, Midlands
Job Description Founded in 1996, Full Fat is an independent company that is proud, passionate and tirelessly dedicated in making innovative, world-class games that surprise, entertain and delight players.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve helped create and build some of the biggest game franchises in games; Harry Potter, The Sims, Spore, Sid Meier’s Pirates, Littlest Pet Shop, Dave Mirra and Sim City.
We’ve developed over 75 games (more than 100 across all formats), and we continue to be an accomplished partner to publishers wishing to build new IP for handheld, mobile and emerging digital markets.

In the last 3 years, we’ve developed and self-published 11 games on the App Store, all brand-new intellectual properties, achieving worldwide Apple features and fantastic chart successes, Metacritic and player ratings. To date, our games have been downloaded by over 25 million people, with repeated success in reaching #1 ‘All Apps’ in multiple territories.

Full Fat is looking for an iphone programmer. Joining the programming team, the candidate must be a team player, with awareness of all aspects of Game related Programming. The candidate will get the opportunity to work in all code disciplines within the Game development environment. The Candidate will be joining our experienced teams and will have the chance to progress and learn within FullFat.

-Objective-C, XCode
-MAC-OS
-C++
-C#

Experience with any of the following iPhone technologies is beneficial:

+Maps and GPS integration
+Push notifications
+Calendar and Contacts integration
+Data Visualisation

If you’re interested in the above position, then please forward your CV’s to Job Enquiries

 

ART

Job Title Game Marketing Artist
Job Category Art / Animation
Skills Required Environment Artist, 2D / Concept / Texture Artist
Location Oxford
Job Description Rebellion Oxford is currently seeking a Marketing Artist who is passionate about creating world-class promotional graphic artwork. The successful applicant will be talented, highly motivated and enthusiastic with a genuine interest in playing games and being part of the games industry.

The marketing artist will work with both the game art team and our marketing team to create stunning artwork for press releases, print & web articles, box art, logos, icons and other supporting artwork. The role will require the creation of both original materials and an ability to work within the existing art style defined by the game. The successful candidate will have a strong creative vision, realized through their outstanding 2d and 3d skills.  This role is full-time based in-house at our Oxford headquarters. We can consider permanent or contract employment but not freelance or agencies. You must be able to legally work in the UK.

*Important* In order to be considered for this role, we require:
– A completed Rebellion application form
– A portfolio or samples of your work – please provide the address of your website/portfolio if applicable

Qualifications & Experience:
A degree-level education would be preferred. Video games industry experience is not essential but you must have experience in producing promotional 2D and 3D artwork in various styles suitable for games.

Responsibilities:
– Working with the Art Director and Marketing team to produce promotional artwork to support our games marketing strategies
– Working closely with the development team in the production of screenshots and promotional video work
– Creating logos and key art for Rebellions forthcoming game titles
– Creating printed materials including final box art

Skills:
– Excellent artistic ability, with an excellent eye for colour and composition
– Ability to take the initiative, be highly disciplined to produce impeccable artwork
– Highly experienced and knowledgeable in Photoshop
– Experience of using other 2d packages such as Illustrator and InDesign
– Experience creating a large variety of online media, including flash banners, HTML email templates and website assets
– Highly experienced in using and rendering from 3d software such as 3dMax/Maya
– A familiarity with animation either independently or working alongside an animation team
– A knowledge of graphic/visual/stylistic trends through art, film, games…
– Additional knowledge of other software – Zbrush, After Effects, video editing, etc – may further support your application, as would any additional knowledge of photography, traditional arts, sculpting, etc.

To Apply:
Our application form is available at our jobs pages www.rebellion.co.uk/jobs/ along with details of other opportunities at our UK offices.

Please apply to vacancies@rebellion.co.uk quoting “Games Marketing Artist GI214CP” – remember to include your CV, completed application form and a link to your portfolio.

Rebellion can only consider applicants who can legally work in the UK. This is a permanent full-time role based in-house at our Oxford headquarters, not open to freelance or agencies.

Join the Rebellion… find out more about us at www.rebellion.co.uk

 

QA

Job Title QA Engineer
Job Category QA / Localisation
Skills Required QA Tester, Lead QA Tester
Location London
Job Description Hello, we’re Mindshapes.

Mindshapes is an award-winning creator of fun mobile learning applications for kids aged 2 to 8, used by more than 400,000 families every month!

Mindshapes creates enhanced storybook experiences for kids, which feature educational learn and play activities, and a reward system.

Mindshapes apps aim to delight, engage and educate kids, while allowing them to engage with their favorite characters from the worlds of illustrated books, TV and film.

The company was founded by veterans of the gaming, entertainment, publishing and mobile industries, and has offices in London, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Description

Mindshapes is a interactive education company, which means we make educational apps that kids actually want to play with. We’re putting the fun into learning, and we like to put the fun into working too! Our passionate, friendly team works out of an open-plan studio in Chelsea with state-of-the-art equipment and software, a well-stocked fridge and snack cupboards, and a delicious team lunch every Friday.We have the opportunity to make a real mark on educational technology – are you in?

Main responsibilities

  • Creation of functionality test plan and test cases.
  • Coordination and execution of thorough functionality testing.
  • Coordination with external test teams when required.
  • Evaluate test coverage with a view to assisting QA Manager in determining and updating test strategy and approach.
  • Clear, concise bug reporting and verification of bug fixes.
  • Validation of bugs entered.
  • Compiling database reports when required.
  • Ability to provide qualitative feedback regarding game content and features.

Skills and experience

  • Experience testing mobile applications on iOS and Android
  • A clear and confident communicator with the ability to perform under own initiative.
  • High IT proficiency with strong knowledge of PC and Mac hardware.
  • Previous experience in a Games QA role.
  • Experience using bug reporting databases (e.g. JIRA, TTP, Devtrack, etc).
  • Experience testing Flash applications and websites an advantage though not essential.
  • Ability to perform to a high standard, especially when under pressure.
  • Ability to adapt to a fast moving development environment.
  • A passion for games and games development.
  • Flexibility to work additional hours when required.

If you’d like to make exceptional kids’ apps, and work with a committed team in a fun, fast-paced environment, send your CV and a covering letter to careers@mindshapes.com

Train2Game News: Train2Game Radio – Sam Henderson

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Sam HendersonLast week I got to interview Sam Henderson who was the runner up in the Rapid2D competition. Sam told me about how he came to Train2Game and how he found working with the engine and Windows 8.

You can listen to the interview here: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1366288-train2game-student-sam-henderson-shares-his-prize-from-rapid2d

Or read the following transcript:

My name’s Sam Henderson, doing the Train2Game developer course and I live in Darlington.

Hi Sam, how you doing mate?

I’m good thanks

Excellent, so tell me who you are and what have you done lately?

Well at the moment just trying to be a games developer, went to university for 2 years, didn’t like it, went on Train2Game, learnt loads from that.

I understand you worked with the Rapid2D engine recently, you were part of the competition weren’t you?

Yeah

How did that go?

I came second, I was runner up.

Yeah and what did you have to do for the competition?

Just design games for Windows 8.

How did you find working with Rapid2D and Windows 8 and all of that?

A lot easier than I thought! It was difficult to get used to it but when I did get used to it, it was perfect to use. A lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

Excellent, so what sort of games did you make?

I made a Space Game, I used templates that they provided to us and just tried to edit them. I used a couple of quiz games based on the template they provided us with and I just went from there really.

You had to make a certain amount of games to enter didn’t you? How many?

Yeah it was 5 to enter then for every one you get an extra entry. I made I think it was twenty three in total.

That must have been quite some work!

Yeah, day and night!.

Yeah, who needs sleep!? So was that on your own you did that?

Yeah I was on my own.

You said you were at University and didn’t enjoy it that much. What was it about University that you weren’t into so much?

Um, because we were quite a big class, because games programming is quite popular, I didn’t get the support, the one to one support, I wanted and needed. So the lecturers came in, dealt with the people they liked and who stood out more to them but for people like me who stay back, stay quiet, through certain things, it was a bit harder for me to grasp everything but then I found Train2Game and I found everything a lot, lot easier, a lot more support, got the forum and got the Tutors. It was so much easier to use. In my own time as well.

How did you find out about Train2Game?

I think it was an ad through Facebook!

So how did you initially get into games development? What sparked off your interest for it?

Well my initial games interest was from when I was a kid, I had a lot of free time because I was in hospital quite a bit because I fell in a river and got an ear infection and lost hearing in my ear. So I was in and out of hospital every now and again and I had a games console to play while recovering. That sparked my interest in games and as I progressed through life I just wanted to do more with games and try and produce them myself and get more involved in development for them.

Excellent. So where would you like to end up working in the games industry?

Not sure! Anywhere that’s willing to take me really.

You haven’t got any ambitions to work at any of the big companies or anything like that?

Well I suppose probably my favourite one to work for would probably be Bethesda, working on the Fallout or The Elder Scroll games.

Yeah? They seem to be popular with the programmers because of just the amount of work that goes in to them must be quite appealing!

Yeah.

Alright, well thank you very much then Sam!

Thank you.

Train2Game News: 2013 Game Events Round up

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EurogamerOne of the best ways a Train2Game student can expand in their career is by going to Video Game events and with that in mind here is a round up of some of the big up coming events.

The Gaming Den
When: 4 May
Where: Visual Collective, 10 Vyner Street, London
What: The latest in a regular series of events organised by Average Gamer. As editor Debbie Timmins explains, “One day a month we take over an art gallery in Bethnal Green and fill it with games for the ultimate multiplayer experience. With three massive projectors covering the walls, gamers can race head-to-head in the first public, multiplayer demo of GRID 2. Serious racers will be able to test their skills in the Vesaro racing rig. Set the best time on the Red Bull Ring Power Lap to win GRID 2 swag and a copy of the game when it comes out. Over in the retro room The Gaming Den has your favourite living room classics. Grab a drink from the cash bar and challenge your friends at Mario Kart 64, Micro Machines v1, v2 and v3, Virtua Cop 2, Super Smash Bros Melee, Tekken and many more.”

Wild Rumpus: On a F*****g Boat
When: 11 May
Where: MS Stubniz, Wood Wharf, London
What: The Wild Rumpus nights are a glorious mash-up of music, play and alcohol, showcasing some of the most intriguing developments in social gaming. Try Tenya Wanya Teens, hear Chipzel and MUCH more (keep checking the website for updates).

GameCamp 6
When: 18 May
Where: Keyworth Centre, London South Bank University
What: Described as an “unconference” this is an annual gathering of artists, designers and coders, with the aim of talking about and making games. From the website: “There’s a theme this year: Show and Tell, or Run What You Brung. Bring along a game you’ve made, a prototype you’ve got in testing or a work you have in progress, and be ready to show it off and talk about it. Digital or physical, both are great. Have a session to crow about your success or explore why something failed, or asking where you go from here, or to pull people into your new project. Get people to playtest and give you feedback on the day. Unashamed bragging is absolutely encouraged.”

GameDev Midlands 2
When: 18 May
Where: Utopia Bar, Birmingham
What: From the nice people who bought you GameDevNorth comes this midlands version – essentially a networking event for all developers in the area, whether they’re running a major studio or writing Android games in the garden shed. It’s free and there is a bar.

Leamington Backspace
When: 18 May – 2 June
Where: Leamington Spa, various venues
What: Taking place as part of the Leamington Looks Back heritage festival, this fortnight-long collection of events will celebrate the town’s rich history in games development. From the website: “The event will also include programming workshops, a cross-town ‘games trail’ and a careers evening, and is designed to showcase the current and future of creative innovation in the region as well as tell the story of times past.” Also, IndieCity will be running a Rapsberry Pi Workshop for anyone who wants to learn how to use this ingenious home computer.

GaMe 2013
When: 20 May
Where: Imperial College, London
What: A day of lectures on games-related research by academics and industry insiders. Eidos and Games Workshop founder Ian Livingstone is one of the speakers.

MCM Expo
When: 24-26 May
Where: Excel, London
What: Once again the London comic convention features a video game component, this year organised by the chaps at XboxAchievements. Site founder Dan Webb says, “We’ll be showing off a host of upcoming games, giving out cool prizes, getting all kinds of studio talent up on the stage for Q&As, as well as some big name voice actors and even closing the show with a video game-themed musical arrangement by a pianist.”

London Game Jam
When: 1-2 June
Where: Modern Jago, Shoreditch
What: A two-day game jam with a five pound entry price that will be donated to SpecialEffect, Child’s Play and EFF. Organiser Roberta Saliani says, “Microsoft will give prizes such as a Windows 8 phone, a Kinect dev kit and a Windows 8 OS to the best Kinect/Windows 8/Windows mobile app or game. GiftHub will give out five free accounts and Insert Coin has already sent T-shirts!”

Rezzed
When: 22-23 June
Where: The NEC, Birmingham
What: Organised by RockPaperShotgun and Eurogamer, this showcase of PC gaming has grown considerably since its modest – yet unmissable – introduction in Brighton last year. We’re promised hands-on time with the biggest mainstream releases of the year, plus the chance to discover plenty of interesting indie titles. Introversion will be there showing off Prison Architect and there’s a live Total War: Rome II demo among many other sessions.

Eurogamer Expo
When: 26-29 September
Where: Earls Court London
What: The biggest UK video game event of the year returns with its usual mix of Triple A hands-on demos, tournaments, developer sessions and retro gaming. Expect to see most of the big Christmas releases on the showfloor, but don’t miss the packed programme of talks and discussions – a unique opportunity to see key game makers revealing the secrets of their craft.

Norfolk Game Expo
When: 11-12 October
Where: Epic Studios, Norwich
What: A new event featuring 50 developers from the region as well as national and international studios. From the website, “The Norwich Game Expo will showcase the latest videogames created by developers in the East of England and beyond, giving members of the public a chance to play games in development for consoles, PC, and mobile phones before they are released, and talking directly to the developers making those games.”

These events are brilliant for meeting other members of the games industry and getting some valuable contacts.

Train2Game News: Train2Game Radio interview with Icey Monty

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Icey MontyI got the pleasure of interviewing the Train2Game Student Studio Icey Monty earlier this week. They are really going from strength to strength in this industry and you can read about or listen to their company adventures below.

You can listen to the interview here: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1350533-train2game-student-studio-icey-monty-talks-to-t2g-radio

Or read the following transcript:

John: Hi, my name’s John, I’m on the Developer course and I’m from Scotland but now live in Newcastle.

Nick: Hi I’m Nick, I’m also on the Train2Game course and I’m from Newmarket, Suffolk.

Hi guys, how you doing?

John: I’m good, how about you?

Nick: I’m good, really good.

I’m good cheers guys, so tell me who you guys are and what you have been up to?

John: We’re Icey Monty, we started our own company two weeks ago and we are now officially working on a couple of clients games.

Very nice. So what clients, what games? If you can say of course

John: Nick is working for a professor in California at the minute, he specialises in eye to brain coordination. He’s asked for a thing to be created that will measure reflexes, how quick the eye can send a message to the brain. So Nick’s been working on that for the past two or three weeks now and I’m working on a racing game for a client in the Ukraine. He’s got a website that currently gets about three hundred thousand hits a day so that’s pretty cool!

You seem to get a lot of international work. Where do you source your work from?

John: I’ll let you answer that one Nick.

Nick: Sure. Well we started off by just posting in the Unity commercial forums just saying we are a small start up and we are available for work. After that, we had about two or three jobs leading from that and from there we had the funds to start a website and since then we haven’t had to contact anyone really. We’ve had people contact us for the last few weeks.

So, is it just the two of you working then?

Nick: It is, yeah.

Are you happy working in a small team?

Nick: Oh absolutely yeah!

John: Most Definitely.

Nick: So much better than with the pressure you get with a large team.

John: Especially from a management side of things.

Nick: Oh definitely yeah. Things are a lot more flexible for us now. Things are a lot more laid back. Some days it doesn’t even feel like working really. A bit of a cliché but we really enjoy it so it’s nice.

Excellent. So you’ve had quite a lot of success so what advice would you give to students who are looking to start making games professionally?

John: Oh, be prepared to work, a lot. That’s how we done ours. When we got a clients job we literally wouldn’t rest because the way we thought about it was, this is our dream and they’ve given us the opportunity to where we want to be with our careers and our lives, so really we are indebted to these people.

Nick: You give them everything you can offer them. Don’t think of it as a job, you’re giving them your expertise. You’re showing them that you can do these kind of things, your proving yourself in the market, in the work you do.

So work hard and you will be noticed, kind of thing?

John: Yeah. The other thing we do is, if we know we are ahead of our schedule, we will actually contact the client because we’ve had an idea, literally me and Nick will talk all day – obviously we still get our work done, we don’t sit down and have a nanny chat, but if we come up with a cool idea we will contact the client and say “Look, we are a bit ahead of schedule, would you like this added to your game?” at no extra cost, it won’t cost you anything, we are just really enjoying what we are working on at the minute.

Perfect, so always go that extra mile for them?

Nick: Yeah, it pays back ten-fold.

John: It does, insanely.

So finally then lads, where can people find out more about Icey Monty?

John: If you just go to www.iceymonty.com which is our professional website or you can go to www.iceymontyblog.com and there are things we are working on personally for our clients projects, obviously with permission, some of the systems we create or just some general ideas and some doodles we do through the day.

Perfect well thank you very much guys!

John: No problem, thanks very much!

Nick: Cheers!