Category Archives: games

Train2Game News, Media Molecule revealed as Develop Conference headliners

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Develop Conference logo

Many Train2Game students already know that the Develop Conference is one of the biggest games industry events in the UK.

It’s been announced that leading UK games developer Media Molecule, the studio behind multi-award winning LittleBigPlanet, will headline this year’s Develop Conference, which takes place 19 – 21 July in Brighton.

Industry luminary Phil Harrison, co-founder and general manager of London Venture Partners, will interview Media Molecule founding directors Alex Evans, Mark Healey and Kareem Ettouney for the conference’s Opening Keynote session: Living Inside a Molecule.

“We’re delighted that Media Molecule is opening the conference this year,” commented Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events.

“They are the pioneers of user-generated content and remain one of the most creative studios around. It will be fascinating to hear their stories from the trenches – and who better to help them relive their tales than the man who helped them on their way: Phil Harrison.”

The Train2Game blog has previously promoted the potential importance of LittleBigPlanet 2 to Train2Game students, with a in depth rundown of why available to see here.

The user generated content tools allow LittleBigPlanet players to create their own levels, with the Train2Game blog reporting that the best community level creators even being hired by Media Molecule.

And in an interview with the Train2Game blog last month, Red Faction: Armageddon Lead Level Designer Jameson Durall recommended Train2Game students get their hands on the LittleBigPlanet creation tools purely for the experience of building their own creations.

The sixth Develop Conference will take place at the Hilton Metropole in Brighton, UK, from 19 – 21 July 2011. It attracts around 1300 game developers from over 20 different territories and has become firmly established as the leading conference in Europe for games developers.

The Train2Game blog will be sure to report on the biggest news to come out of Develop later this month.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Media Molecule giving the keynote? Do you see them as one of the top British studios?

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

Train2Game student Jonathon Robinson shares his work placement experience video diary No.2

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Train2Game Game Designer Jonathon Robinson, recently joined DR Studios as part of theTrain2Game industry experience placement programme.

In his second experience diary, Jonathon and Train2Game incubator scheme and Art & Animation student William Alexander discuss a little more about what goes on behind the scenes at DR Studios, and let us know about the fun they’ve been having during breaks.

Watch the video, produced voluntary by Jonathon, below and leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Disclaimer: views expressed in the video are those of the person expressing them, and not ofTrain2Game or DR Studios.

UK Charts: Three in a row for Zumba Fitness

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Train2Game students may be getting fed up with hearing the same news again and again, but Zumba Fitness is top of the UK Charts for the third week in a row.

As reported by the Train2Game blog, the fitness title was No.1 last week, and a release of very few new releases sees it hold onto the position once again. That makes it a total of six weeks at No.1 for Zumba Fitness.

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean moves up to No.2, equalling its highest ever position, former long time no.1 – as reported by the Train2Game blog – L.A. Noire  drops one place to No.3, pushing F.E.AR.3 down one spot to No.4.

Wimbledon fever plays a part in Virtua Tennis 4 jumping 15 places to No.5, while the release of the new film sees Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon move from No.17 up to No.6.  DIRT 3 moves down to No.7, while another Tennis game in the form of Top Spin 4 sits at No.8, up two places since last week.

Former No.1 Brink – as reported by the Train2Game blog – remains at No. 9, while FIFA 11 is No.10. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Duke Nukem Forever both drop out of the top ten.

Capcom’s ‘Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D’ and THQ’s ‘UFC Personal Trainer’ are the only new entries this week, entering at No.2 1 and No.2 2 respectively.

The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 2nd July 2011 is therefore as follows:

1. Zumba Fitness (505 Games)
2. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (Disney Interactive Studios)
3. L.A. Noire (Rockstar Games)
4. FEAR 3 (Warner Bros)
5. Virtua Tennis 4 (Sega)
6. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Activision)
7. Dirt 3 (Codemasters)
8. Top Spin 4 (2K Games)
9. Brink (Bethesda)
10. FIFA 11 (Electronic Arts)

It’s a quiet week for releases, with arguably no huge releases.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the continued dominance of Zumba Fitness? Will a slow week for releases see it achieve a 7th No.1? What releases are you looking forward to this summer?

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

[Source: UKIE Games Charts©, compiled by GfK Chart-Track]

Train2Game students MUST read this! Molyneux reveals wacky sources of game ideas

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In a Gamelab talk that should provide a lot of interest to Train2Game students, Peter Molyneux has revealed what inspirations lie behind some of his games, and some of them are a little…odd.

For example, Train2Game students may find it strange to hear that Black & White was inspired by a time when Molyneux had a pet hamster at the age of 12.

“I spent the first three months of my hamster’s life teaching it tricks,” he told the Gamelab.

“Now, sadly, hamsters aren’t clever animals. So eventually I ignored him. One day I came back and, after ignoring the hamster for a month, I found it in its cage and realised it had been dead for two weeks.”

“It was the shame of letting this cute creature die that inspired me,” Funnily enough, Black And White is a game where neglecting your character has consequences.

Molyneux also revealed that the inspiration for Dungeon Keeper came from watching Bond film ‘You Only Live Twice’

In this film, James Bond single-handedly takes out an entire base from an evil villain by pressing one button. I thought this was incredibly unfair. What about the bad guys?” he said

“They’ve spent years building this entire base and it is completely wiped out when James Bond presses a single button?! We never know about what happens to the bad guy,”

“I decided to embrace the dark side, so Dungeon Keeper is all about being evil.” He added.

His main point is sure to be useful to the Train2Game Game Designers.

“Nurture your ideas. Care for them. Don’t criticise them. Think about the reasons why they excite you. I obsess about the reason why my ideas excite me,” Molyneux told Gamelab

“And be prepared before you tell other people about them. As soon as you present your idea you’ll have to answer to the negativity. Start with the people who will believe in your idea. Eventually, you’ll need to be prepared to change your mind as well.”

Useful advice for Train2Game students if there ever was any.

Peter Molyneux often offers advice to up and coming developers, and as reported by the Train2Game bog, he believes they should be getting more support. And as also previously mentioned on the Train2Game blog, he’s offered advice on how to get into the game industry.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Molyneux’s inspiration and advice? Have you had game ideas in odd situations?

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

[Source: Develop]

Train2Game good news for modders! Source SDK will soon be free

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Exciting news for Train2Game modding enthusiasts! Valve has revealed that their Source Software Development Kit will be available to anyone for free.

The announcement comes following Valve stating that they were working on making the Source SDK ‘less painful to use, as reported by the Train2Game blog earlier this year.

Currently, you need to buy a Source based game such as Half-Life 2 in order to gain access to the mod tools, but it appears Team Fortress 2 going free-to-play last week has fundamentally changed this.

The news of the Source SDK becoming free first appeared on Reddit, after a mod tester known as Riley contacted Team Fortress 2 developer Robin Walker to ask if buying an in-game item would allow access to the tools. Walker replied with:

“Yep. That said, your email has triggered a process here that made us re-examine that, and we’re going to just go ahead and make the Source SDK freely available. Thanks for making us better!”

PC Gaming blog Rock, Paper Shotgun also contacted Walker to confirm the news, to which he replied:

“We are in the process of getting it all done. It’s a bit messy because we have multiple versions of the SDK, and there’s some dependencies we need to shake out. But yes, the gist of it is that we’re just going to go ahead and make the Source SDK freely available.”

So there’s good news for budding Train2Game game developers, you’ll now be able to access the Source modding tools for free!

Valve have a long history of supporting modders, and as many Train2Game students will know, the popular shooter Counter-Strike begun as a mod for the original Half-Life.

More recently, Valve have allowed Team Fortress 2 community developers a cut of the revenue made from the in-game items sold through digital transactions.

In an interview published on the Train2Game blog last month, Red Faction: Armageddon Lead Level Designer Jameson Durall said that modding is an excellent way for those with desires to get into the games industry to practice their skills.

So Train2Game, will you be using the Source SDK? Have you used it before? And does the  support Valve give mods inspire you?

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

[Source: Rock, Paper Shotgun]

Train2Game students have the opportunity to join Hellgate Open Beta

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Here’s something that may especially be of interest to Train2Game students on the Games QA Tester course, the Open Beta period for T3 Entertainment’s MMO Hellgate has begun.

As Train2Game students will know, a Beta period not only acts as a good source of promotion for a game, it also allows users to essentially become QA Testers and report any bugs or problems they encounter.

The Hellgate Open Beta could therefore provide a Train2Game QA Tester with an opportunity to test their bug testing skills, while having some fun with a new game at the same time.

Hellgate is described as “an online, action RPG that allows you to play in a first-person or third-person perspective.”

Set in a near future where the gates of Hell have opened and Demons roam the earth, the game is based in London! Perhaps some Train2Game students would be interested in testing Hellgate purely for that reason.

To sign up for the Hellgate Open Beta, visit the official website and follow the Hellgate logo.

Hellgate is a free-to-play MMO, and as reported by the Train2Game blog just yesterday, freemium games can become very profitable for developers and publishers.

Train2Game students who want an in-depth look at how developing a free-to-play title can bring success should see this previous post on the Train2Game blog

So Train2Game, will you be joining the open beta? Do you see it as a good opportunity to test your abilities as a QA Tester?

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

[Source: Gamasutra]

Train2Game Artist & Animator Owen Jones From Liverpool speaks to Train2Game Radio

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Owen Jones is studying to become a Game Artist & Animator with Train2Game. Train2Game Radio caught up with him to find out why he chose to study with Train2Game, how he’s finding the course and what he wants to achieve in a career in the games industry.  Listen to the interview at http://audioboo.fm/train2game

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

Train2Game News, Nintendo on why core gamers will love the Wii U. Will YOU love it Train2Game?

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As reported by the Train2Game blog earlier this month, perhaps the biggest news from E3 was the reveal of Nintendo’s Wii U.

And in a Q&A session with shareholders, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained why he believed core gamers – a group many Train2Game students fall into – didn’t take to the Nintendo Wii.

“Wii was not accepted by core gamers because they did not want to abandon their preferred control approach” he said.

“Additionally, Wii did not use HD because HD cost performance at the time was low. Wii U makes it easier to use conventional controls. Also, the Wii U controller is not as big or heavy as it looks,” Iwata added.

Nintendo say that initial impressions from the video game press, themselves core gamers, have been very positive.

“Reactions directly from L.A. were extremely good. The reaction differed greatly between those who covered the product at the show and those who just covered it online. In other words, the point is how Nintendo can convey the value of the product,” Iwata explained.

And as reported by the Train2Game blog earlier this month, EA boss John Riccitiello believes the future of the games industry is here. Indeed, he made a personal appearance during the Nintendo E3 Wii Upresentation.

So Train2Game, do you believe the Wii U can bring core gamers back to Nintendo? Will you buy one? And would you like to develop for the console in future?

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

[Source: Andriasang via Industry Gamers]

Train2Game student developed game Postal Panic released via iTunes app store

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Train2Game student developed game Postal Panic is now available to download for free from the iTunes App store!

Postal Panic was produced by Train2Game student team Horizon Studios  in just 11 days as part of the Train2Game Christmas competition 2010. 

The game is free to download for its first three weeks of release, and then the price will rise to 59p. Half of the revenue from Postal Panic will be going to the Prince’s Trust charity.

Postal Panic is the fun postcode delivering game developed by Train2Game students. Your job is simple; deliver the parcels to the postcodes as quickly as you can.

As the Parcels come down the conveyor belt, you need to deliver them to the postcode displayed on the Postal Scanner 7000; you need to do this before they hit the bottom, as this will damage the parcels and Postal Paul will get fined. Too many fines and you’re in for the sack!

Features

• Accurate map of the UK postal code system

• Simple, intuitive touch &swipe game controls

• Single or Multiplayer with up to 4 players

• Addictively fun puzzle game play and scoring

• Learn the Post Code areas of the UK and impress your friends & family

For updates on Postal Panic head to the official website at http://postalpanic.horizonstudios.co.uk/ 

Postal Panic can be downloaded now from the iTunes app store. The Postal Panic trailer can be seen on the Train2game Youtube channel.

To play more games developed by Train2Game students, visit the official Train2Game Game Jam website, where all the games developed during the 48 hour event are available for free.

So Train2Game, will you be downloading Postal Panic?

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

Laurence Gee – Industry Experience Diary No.4

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Train2Game student Laurence Gee writes about his Train2Game industry work experience placement for the fourth time.

Read his Train2Game industry experience diary on the official website, or here on the Train2Game blog. Industry diary 3 is also available on the Train2Game blog.