Category Archives: games

Train2game Student Diary Craig Moore – What an incredibly exciting week it has been!

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Craig Moore – What an incredibly exciting week it has been!

Student Diary , Week 30

Unleashed on to the world like a penguin in a paddling pool! My Sea Park hit the unsuspecting world head on yesterday and it’s been an incredible experience, and this was only day one!

We had already seen the beginnings of the social media pushes, by our publishers, earlier in the day but it wasn’t until we got word of My Sea Park creeping in to the charts that things really got exciting. There was the hope it was doing well but the visibility wasn’t really available.

That was until around 5pm, while we were in the meeting with the publisher we heard word it had crept in to the top 50! Of course everyone became very excited, but by the end of the meeting it had already, again, crept in to around 37!

Of course this continued throughout the day, admittedly it wasn’t the most productive of days but it was a really lovely reward for all the hard work.  Of course, being a free title, there is now the hope it will actually monetise well.

That was pretty much the key moment of the week, the rest of my week has been spent illustrating and working on the concept document for the next title, which is going incredibly well. I am waiting on feedback from a few of the other guys here, but fingers crossed it will get some approval; It’s a really exciting project!

-Craig

www.train2game.com

Craig Moore

Student Diary – Week 31

What an incredibly exciting week it has been!

Suffice to say, with My Sea Park being released, the entire office were glued to iTunes watching our brand new game slowly work its way around the charts.

It was great watching it go up and down, and really muscling with the big boys, I got in to the habit of checking it with a stupid regularity, but seeing it in the same space as games like Angry Birds, Infinity Blade and Temple Run was such an amazing feat I can’t help but feel proud.

I think everyone in the office is pleased with how it has done, but the fun isn’t even over yet! With version 1.2 of My Sea Park put into submission last week we are hoping for the first update to drop either today or Monday. With that we should hopefully see a load more faces in the door, as well as hopefully some of the older ones who perhaps didn’t get chance to play as much as they would like or simply didn’t give it a good enough try.

I think it does highlight how competitive the market is at the moment, particularly for My Sea Park’s genre. We have to simply keep working on it, while also working on the next project, to ensure it stays fresh for customers both new and old.

This week I have been getting deep with Unity, finding my way around it and putting time into learning the way the UI systems work, it’s been a great learning experience and so far and I’m finding Unity incredibly pleasing to work with.

-Craig

www.train2game.com

Train2Game Student Diary Matty Wyett Simmonds Very exciting news for us all

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Matty Wyett Simmonds Very exciting news for us all

My Sea Park has come out this week! Very exciting news for us all, we’ve all been glued to the ratings and comments on the App store. So far the feedback we’ve had is great with mostly 5 stars!

Currently as I type this Diary My Sea Park is #19 in the Top Free Games in the App store! This is the kind of good news people need to hear, without Train2game Craig and myself wouldn’t have been in the situation that we are now.

We were given such control and flexibility over the games development and thankfully it’s doing well so far beating apps like Facebook and Twitter! Everyone has been working hard up to the release of the game and I am still working on it at the moment for updates and more downloadable content so it’s far from over just yet.

I’m glad everyone thus far likes the game and we’ve had a lot of comments on the art work, which for me is great to see (seeing as I lead the art for My Sea Park), and everyone is finding the Game fun and intuitive which is good for Craig too! Great week and more to come!

Matty Wyett Simmonds

OK so My Sea Park has been out for a week or so now and it’s doing extremely well! It managed to get to number 16 in the Top Free Apps chart on iOS which is amazing for the first day of release too! It got to number 1 in role playing games somehow and managed to get into the 70’s for top grossing apps which means people are enjoying the game enough to invest time and money into it. We’ve had some great reviews from all over the internet and on iOS devices and it’s just generally managing to get a name for itself. I’m very pleased with the outcome of my first published game; it’s amazing for my CV right now.

Thank you to everyone who actually downloaded played and sometimes bought in app items in the game! It has made a massive difference to the success and every download counts, even if it is free. We are working now on updates and more to come for the future!

 www.train2game.com

Train2Game News: Average UK gamer spent £334 on games last year

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The average UK gamer spent £334 on buying video games last year. That’s according to a survey from online retailer ShopTo.net, which suggests that more and more people are playing games on their smartphones, with 35% spending more time on mobile than consoles.

The survey, carried out via email across two days, received 9000 respondents who purchased an average of 16 games a year. Many of them have multiple gaming devices, with 80% owning two consoles a PC and a smartphone.

“Gamers are changing their gaming device of choice with more getting their casual gaming fix from Android and iOS devices,” said Founder and CEO of ShopTo Igor Cipolletta

“Interestingly, we are seeing game sales on the Nintendo consoles losing out as the casual games market on portable devices continues to grow.”

Cipolletta suggests a lack of new hardware is why gamers are moving towards mobile.

“The fact is consumers have more gaming devices than ever before, with thousands of games being published every week and this, coupled with the lack of new hardware from Sony or Microsoft, is seeing consumers move to mobile devices as their platform of choice,” he said.

“We believe this trend will reverse when the next generation of consoles are released beginning with the Wii U this Christmas.” the ShopTo CEO added.

With so much money being spent on games, it seems like a great time to produce and sell games. Indeed, as reported by The Train2Game Blog, industry legend Ian Livingstone believes “There’s never been a better time to run your own gig”

What are your thoughts on the figures from ShopTo? How often do you buy games?

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

[Source: Develop]

Train2Game News: UK Charts – Third No.1 for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

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Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier once again tops the UK charts, taking No.1 for the third week in a row.

The Train2Game Blog recently spoke to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Creative Director Jean-Marc Geoffroy and Ubisoft Development Director Adrian Lacey, with the pair offering advice on getting into the industry.

Ghost Recon is only the third game this year to score more than three No.1’s, the others being FIFA Street and FIFA 12. FIFA 12 itself stays at No.3 this week, just behind another non-mover in the form of Max Payne at No.2 . Battlefield 3 is up four to No.4, with Sniper Elite V2 up one to No.5.

Game of Thrones is the only new entry into the top 40 at No.6,  entering ahead of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 at No.7.  The rest of the top ten looks familiar with FIFA Street at No.8, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic games at No.9, and DiRT Showdown at No.10.

The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 9th June is therefore as follows:

1. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Ubisoft)
2. Max Payne 3 (Rockstar)
3. FIFA 12 (EA)
4. Battlefield 3 (EA)
5. Sniper Elite V2 (505 Games)
6. Game of Thrones (Koch Media)
7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)
8. FIFA Street (EA)
9. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
10. Dirt Showdown (Codemasters)

Releases for the week ahead include Lollipop Chainsaw.

There’s more UK Charts news here on the Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on this week’s top ten? Is it another well deserved No.1 for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier? Will Lollipop Chainsaw steal the limelight this time next week?

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

Train2Game News: Call of Duty: Black Ops II developer diary takes you behind the scenes

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Get a glimpse at development of Call of Duty: Black Ops II in a behind the scenes preview from Treyarch.

The video sees studio head Mark Lamia discuss how Black Ops II is “pushing the boundaries of Call of Duty on every front,” while the team also discuss game design, technology, overhauling the lighting, the zombie mode and more.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops II behind the scenes video features Treyarch developers including director Dave Anthony, game design director David Vonderhaar, and lead animator Adam Rosas, and you can watch it below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

Keep reading for the latest Call of Duty: Black Ops II news, while you can see developer diaries for a variety of games here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on the Call of Duty: Black Ops II behind the scenes video?

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

Train2Game News: Nintendo Wii U is the “Swiss army knife” of gaming

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E3 saw Nintendo reveal more about the Wii U, with one analyst dubbing the upcoming console the “Swiss army knife” of video games.

The one hour presentation saw Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto discuss how the tablet controller can be used in conjunction with the current Wii-remotes and how a “social window” allows new ways to play while allowing users to connect with others.

“For 30 years, game machines … couldn’t take on a more important role than the TV itself,” said Miyamoto  “We knew our next system was going to have its own dedicated screen even if it had to be small. We wanted it to be the first screen people went to when they went into the living room.”

Using the mini-monitor on the game pad was demonstrated by Pikmin 3 and how it uses it to monitor your strategy and the game world as you play through a TV, along with showing off a variety of other things the Wii U can do.

Nintendo has made the console a “Swiss Army knife” said P.J. McNealy of Digital World Research. “Nintendo has a history of creating hardware devices that it takes advantage of over time, whether it was voice commands, the touch panel, the accelerometer, or the gyroscope.”

As of yet there are no price or release date details for the Nintendo Wii U. Games shown for the console however include Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3 and a Wii U version of Batman: Arkham City.

What are your thoughts on the Nintendo Wii U? Do you have a clearer idea of what its about after the E3 presentation?

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


Train2Game News: Paradox on “major hassles” of developing Crusader Kings II Sword of Islam DLC

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Paradox Interactive have posted information about their upcoming Crusader Kings II DLC, Sword of Islam, detailing a number of changes they’re making in order for the game to make sense when using one of the soon to be playable Muslim characters.

The amount research going into Sword of Islam is evident in a post on the Paradox Interactive forum that should make interesting reading for Train2Game students.

“One of the major hassles with making Muslims playable was the prevalence of text with obviously Christian or Western terminology.” said ‘Doomdark’ senior programmer and project lead.

“Therefore, we had to go through all text to make it fit the setting if you are playing a Muslim. Often, this required writing whole new events and decisions. For example, Muslims don’t hold tournaments, they have the Furusiyya instead, which is an exhibition of martial arts and horsemanship.”

“They don’t hold Grand Feasts, they observe the Ramadan, etc. We also added some completely new decisions, like going on the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca), which will initiate a cool little event driven story of what happens on the way to and from the holy city. Of course, there is also a whole slew of events dealing with various new gameplay features.” they added.

A trailer for Crusader Kings II: Sworld of Islam is below.

Crusader Kings II: Sword of Islam DLC is scheduled for release later this month. There’s more Paradox Interactive news here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on the Crusader Kings II: Sword of Islam DLC and the work and research going into it?

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

Train2Game News: Dota 2 officially confirmed as free-to-play by Valve

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Dota 2 will be free-to-play with a microstransaction store allowing players to buy community and developer created items, Valve has announced.  Steam Workshop will be the way in which players submit items to be used in the game.

“The opening of the Dota Store is a big part of our final push to launch,” said Dota 2 lead designer IceFrog.

“With support for the Steam Workshop, the majority of the items made available on day one were created and being sold by members of the community. By making the game Free to Play, we hope to give gamers the ability to decide how – and how much – they want to invest in the game.” he added.

The significance for Train2Game students is that, potentially, items they submit to the Dota 2 workshop could become a full part of the game.

Valve a targeting a full release of the RTS/RPG hybrid before the end of this year, with a Dota 2 closed beta currently underway.

Dota 2 follows in the footsteps of Team Fortress 2 in both allowing users to submit items to the Steam workshop and being free-to-play.

For the latest news from Valve, keep reading The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on the decision to make Dota 2 free-to-play, with the ability to contribute items to the store?

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

Train2Game News: “We’re in gaming in a fairly big way” and will only get bigger say Apple

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Apple is a big player in the games industry and will only get bigger, but isn’t interested in producing a console. That’s according to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

“I view that we are in gaming now in a fairly big way.” Steve Jobs successor told AllThingsD.

“One of the reasons people buy an iPod touch is gaming. Some buy it for music. I realize that is not the big screen you are talking about. Gaming has kind of evolved a bit. More people play on portable devices. Where we might go in the future, we’ll see. Customers love games.” Cook continued.

“I’m not interested in being in the console business in what is thought of as traditional gaming, but Apple is a big player today, and things in the future will only make that bigger.” he added.

Mobile gaming has provided a huge platform for game developers to work on, with many independent studios focusing on iPhone or Android games.  Indeed, four Train2Game student teams will soon see their own games based on the Fighting Fantasy series published on the iTunes App Store.

Valve CEO Gabe Newell has previously stated that he believes Apple will launch a living room product that’ll make consoles “disappear”

Keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest iPhone and Apple gaming news.

What are your thoughts on Apple’s position in gaming? Do you believe they’ll stick to mobile? Or will they make move for consoles after all?

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

Train2Game News: “A tonne of research” going into Company of Heroes 2 to produce authentic experience

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Relic Entertainment game designers have visited eastern Europe in an effort to make Company of Heroes 2, their upcoming RTS title, as authentic as possible.

“We do a tonne of research at Relic. We had a core group of guys go to actual Eastern Europe, to Leningrad, to some of the battlefields like Sinyavino Heights, and Germany to Berlin so it’s incredibly important.” Company of Heroes 2 lead campaign designer Jacen Torres told Shadowlocked.

He added that the trips to Russia and Germany were key to make the player get a feel of what it was like fighting on the Eastern Front during World War 2.

“Now, there’s always a difference between authenticity and realism, and we try to get realistic where we can, especially in things like visuals.” said Torres.

“But obviously gameplay is not going to completely mirror the realism or war, necessarily, but in that particular case we tried to make it authentic and we try and get the tone and a feel and the look or what is the Eastern Front, how does it feel to be fighting in these small Russian villages, and that’s a big part of it.” the Relic lead campaign designer added.

Company of Heroes 2 is scheduled for release in the early part of 2013. Keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest Company of Heroes 2 news it developers.

What are your thoughts on the effort Relic are going to research Company of Heroes 2? How important do you believe good research to be for game development?

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