Category Archives: games

Improved characters and environments ‘key’ step for next gen games say Epic

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Samaritan

Train2Game students may remember Epic’s impressive Unreal ‘Samaritan’ tech demo posted last month, and now the studio say that increasingly lifelike characters are what’s needed to further progress of games.

That’s according to Epic’s CEO and technical director Tim Sweeney, who was speaking to Game Informer about the Samaritan demo.

“I’m most excited about the ability for more realistic characters and movie-quality environments to enhance the player’s emotional attachment to the game world. In the beginning, games only delivered fun, engaging challenges – Donkey Kong’s graphics were sufficient for that. Doom was, to me, the first game with sufficient realism to deliver a genuinely scary experience,” he said

Game Designers are those responsible for creating realistic characters, while Artist & Animators produce the environments.

And despite the realistic graphics of current games, the Epic CEO says more work needs to be done “Game Developers have much further to go in delivering truly dramatic interpersonal experiences,” he said.

“Alyx in Half-Life 2 offered a glimpse into this possibility; I think increasingly lifelike characters are key to further progress.”

Epic Co-founder and Vice President Mark Rein also spoke about the Samaritan demo last month, and you can read the comments here on the Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, do games need improved characters to advance? What is it about Half-Life 2’s Alyx Vance that makes her so believable? And what other characters do you think are the most life like?

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

[Source: CVG]

Train2Game blog interview with Dragons’ Den: The Official Game Lead Designer Mete Djemal (Part 2 of 2)

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Dragons' Den: The Official Game

Dragons’ Den: The Official Game from DR Studios – under license from 2waytraffic, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, for iPhone and iPad is released in the near future. In the run up to its release, The Train2Game blog caught up with Lead Designer Mete Djemal to discuss features of Dragons’ Den: The Official Game, and give us an insight into the Game Development process behind the title.  

Below is the second part of a two part interview.  While part one is in this previous post on the Train2Game blog.

How pleased are you with what Dragons’ Den: The Official Game has to offer?

Overall I think we’ve actually delivered quite a good experience with Dragons’ Den: The Official Game.  We’ve got really good 3D graphics, the official music from the television programme, it’s very atmospheric and has got a very similar pace to the show in the way that the entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to the Dragons then you decide whether or not you want to invest.  To help with this you get a brief description of the invention giving you an idea of what it is and then it goes round each Dragon who decides whether they want to invest.  In Dragons’ Den: The Official Game we’ve created a nice investment system where you can control both the stake and the amount of money want to invest.

We also added a timer into the actual investment, so rather than it being open and allowing the player as much time as they want to decide, they’ve got a limited amount of time in which to decide whether or not they want to invest or not which keeps Dragons’ Den: The Official Game very interesting!

The Dragons’ Den: The Official Game  scoring system which adds all scores to a worldwide leaderboard listing the top Dragons – the millionaires – so each time you make money it’s added to your accumulated Dragons’ Den: The Official Game d all-time score.

How have you tried to capture the true feel of the show?

In the dialogue we’ve actually managed to retain the humour and feel of the TV show. All of the Dragons have different personalities, you’ve got some who are really aggressive, and like to criticise the inventors if they think the idea is rubbish! So we’ve kept that in Dragons’ Den: The Official Game with each Dragon having their own personality and biography for the player to read – when you select your Dragon you can choose on the personality type. In Dragons’ Den: The Official Game we’ve kept the humour in too.  Of course, the catchphrases of the TV show are “I’m in” and “I’m out” so we’ve retained those and other prominent phrases in there.

Dragons’ Den: The Official Game  faithfully captures the look and feel of the TV show, as a player it puts you in the seat of an actual Dragon.

You’ll recognise them as you play Dragons’ Den: The Official Game, and within the dialogue you can say ‘Hey, that’s like that particular Dragon from the TV show ’ or ‘That’s a particular dragon viewers like’

Tell us about the inventions

The fun for the player is wanting to see what inventions are coming up next and it’s the guess work. Sometimes in Dragons’ Den: The Official Game and invention will sound like a really wacky idea and the player things ‘Actually, that could work’ so you’ll invest, get an outcome at the end and actually see what the real inventions actually were in a sort of historical factor.  We reveal at the end of the game the true name of the invention and how well it did in the grand scheme of things, so in Dragons’ Den: The Official Game you get to see whether it was a successful invention or not. So there’s aspect of the game as well, actually wanting to see what happened to the inventions.

What were the biggest challenges in development?

A big issue with The Dragons’ Den: The Official Game is that as licensed game, the challenge is trying to keep it faithful to the actual content of the license and I think we’ve managed to do that; we’ve got the look and feel down really well, while the Dragons’ aren’t the ones from the TV show you still believe in these characters, that these people would actually be Dragons.

And finally, what are the main selling points of Dragons’ Den: The Official Game?

We’re very proud of the high quality graphics and audio within Dragons’ Den: The Official Game. When you see it you’ll think ‘This is Dragons’ Den’ as it feels like you’re actually playing the TV show. We’ve got full 3D characters, 120 unique inventions. Dragons’ Den: The Official Game has a realistic finance model, the social aspect of the game – being able to play with up to five people – it’s almost got a board game element to it.

For Dragons’ Den Fans, people who are fans of the show will really like Dragons’ Den: The Official Game. Even non-fans will get something out of it as a good, interactive experience. It’s really suited to the iPhone as a game you can play in bite size chunks and with scores being constantly updated you’re able to compete with other players around the world to try and become the top Dragon.

Dragons’ Den: The Official Game is a DR Studios/2Way Traffic production and is released for the iPhone and iPad in the very near future. For more information visit www.dragonsdengame.co.uk 

Train2Game blog interview with Dragons’ Den: The Official Game Lead Designer Mete Djemal (Part 1 of 2)

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Dragons’ Den: The Official Game from DR Studios – under license from 2waytraffic, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, for iPhone and iPad is released just days away on Thursday 21st April. In the run up to its release, The Train2Game blog caught up with Lead Designer Mete Djemal to discuss features of Dragons’ Den: The Official Game, and give us an insight into the Game Development process behind the title.  Below is part one of a two part interview.

Can you begin by telling us some basic information about the Dragons Den: The Official Game project and the challenges behind its production?

With Dragons Den: The Official Video Game, DR Studios were given the opportunity to take the Dragons’ Den License and create a video game. I think the main challenge was how we’d make a game out of a TV show that offered little in the way of an interactive experience on the face of it. But as we looked into it we actually thought it was a pretty good concept because you could actually play as a Dragon and be an investor; make money, lose money so it has that strategy element to it.

The first challenge developing Dragons Den: The Official Video Game was to create a realistic looking environment and the Dragons. We weren’t allowed to use the real likenesses of the Dragons so we had to create characters and we wanted the player to feel as if they were actually in the Den, so we studied a lot of footage of Dragons’ Den. The final result of Dragons Den: The Official Video Game was the creation of a full 3D Den. At first, it was going to be a 2D environment, with static characters and no 3D models, but after looking at it we decided we want to make the most real looking experience so we decided to go full 3D models and it really came from there.

What were the initial concepts behind Dragons Den: The Official Game and how did they develop during the course of the development?

The initial concept of Dragons Den: The Official Game was to create a game in which you play as a Dragon. As with the TV show, you’re presented with various inventions and crazy business ideas, and as a Dragon you choose to invest your money in some of these ideas.  We also decided it’d be better to use real world inventions rather than make believe ones so it’d keep Dragons Den: The Official Game more in fitting with the actual TV show and realistic.

So, one of the biggest challenges during the development of the game was to find enough real world inventions which required a lot of background research. We looked at all sorts of things with some of the inventions being over 100 years old before deciding on the best ones to include in Dragons Den: The Official Game.  We then had to write concepts and short descriptions of the inventions. The idea being we wanted to keep these vague, we didn’t want the player to know what the inventions actually were as that’d make the game too easy.

We therefore had to present these inventions in a way that kept the concept real so you could believe in the invention then at the same time keep it quite vague in terms of what it actually was. For example, the names of the inventions; we had to rename all of the inventions to keep it realistic but not give away the actual real concept, the real name of the actual invention. Dragons Den: The Official Game contains 120 inventions – more than originally planned.

Another challenge in the development of Dragons Den: The Official Game was designing the interactive experience in a way which it was fun for the user and made them want to come back and keep playing.  We went through various designs before deciding on the idea in which you as a player had a certain amount of money to invest in inventions and ideas.  The original idea was for the Dragons Den: The Official Game player to have an unlimited amount of money, but we wanted  a bit of jeopardy in there, so we decided to limit the amount of money the player would have so they’d have to think about which investments you want to invest in without blowing their money away on an invention that could be a complete disaster.

Dragons’ Den: The Official Game has a multiplayer mode, can you explain how that works?

When it comes to the social side, the multiplayer side, we felt that Dragons Den: The Official Game would be even more fun to play as a multiplayer game. As we have five Dragons in the game – like in the actual TV show – it can support up to five players in a turn based game. How this works is that each player takes it in turns to invest or not invest in an invention. The idea is that the players hide from the other players whether or not they’ve invested to keep other players guessing.

In Dragons Den: The Official Game – as in the TV show – you can also share the investment. So we decided that as a player, even in single player mode, if you don’t want to invest the full amount you can actually go in with another Dragon and invest a smaller percentage of the money.

Part 2 of the interview will be published later this week.

Dragons’ Den: The Official Game is a DR Studios/2Way Traffic production and is released for the iPhone and iPad on Thursday 21st April. For more information visit www.dragonsdengame.co.uk 

Train2Game blog modding news: GTV IV Vice City mods in the works

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Grand Theft Auto Vice City

While the reports of a leaked casting called for Grand Theft Auto V has sparked some interest on the Train2Game forum, the news that not one but two remakes of the classic Grand Theft Auto Vice City are on the way in the form of mods may be of more interest to some.

You see, not only was the game highly enjoyable when first released in 2002, but the remakes are yet another reminder to Train2Game students how popular mods can potentially become. In turn this means modding could potentially provide a skilled Train2Game student with a way to get a product they’ve produced out there and do it for free. The Grand Theft Audo mods are being produced using the Open IV mod tools.

It’s a reminder of how the PC and modding could provide and excellent platform for Train2Game students to produce work.

Interested readers can also see an older Train2Game blog post from January about the benefits of modding and community Game Design.

And while the two Grand Theft Auto IV mods – Vice City Rage and Vice IV are far from complete, there are still plenty of excited comments about the first glimpses of footage on YouTube.  You can see the two trailers below here on the Train2Game blog.  (‘In game’ footage of Vice IV begins about 9 minutes in)

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on bringing Vice City back to life through modding? Would you play the game? What game would you like to bring back through building a mod?

Comments can be left here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun)

Interview with Train2Game Game Jam organiser Dave Sharp during the event

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The Train2Game 48 hour Game Jam took place from March 25th through to March 27THDuring the event the Train2Game blog caught up with both students and crew. The following is an interview with Train2Game Jam organiser Dave Sharp which took place half way through the event. The interview is also available to listen to at www.audioboo.fm/train2game

UK Charts: All change as Crysis 2 takes No.1

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Crysis 2 is top of the UKIE GFK-Chart Track All Formats top 40 and is one of six new games in the top ten. Three of them are Nintendo 3DS exclusives.

Over half of Crysis 2 sales were for the Xbox 360 while the PC version accounted for 14% of boxed sales.  The original Crysis was a PC exclusive, and last week the Train2Game blog asked are consoles ruining PC gaming? which in turn sparked debate on the Train2Game forum. Nonetheless the success of Crysis 2 means EA has secured another UK Number 1.  (See the Thoughts of Train2Game blog for the Crysis 2 launch trailer)

Multiplatform Lego Star Wars III: The Clone wars takes No. 2 for LucasArts while last week’s No.1 Homefront drops two to No.3

Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition for the newly launched Nintendo 3DS is the highest placed exclusive title for the handheld at No. 4 and is one of nine 3DS titles to make the top 40.  Pokémon White for the ‘old’ Nintendo DS drops two places from No.3 to No.5 while it’s Black counterpart  drops to No. 7. They are separated by 3DS title Pilotwings resort.

The Sims Medieval for the PC takes No. 8, Rayman 3D for the 3DS is No.9 while FIFA 11 drops to No. 10 in its 26th week on sale.

The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 26th March is therefore as follows:

1. Crysis 2 (EA)
2. LEGO Star Wars III (LucasArts)
3. Homefront (THQ)
4. Super Street Fighter IV 3D (Capcom)
5. Pokemon White (Nintendo)
6. Pilotwings Resort (Nintendo)
7. Pokemon Black (Nintendo)
8. The Sims Medieval (EA)
9. Rayman 3D (Ubisoft)
10. FIFA 11 (EA)

Releases in the coming week include WWE All Stars, Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed and Darkspore. Will any of those take No.1 next week? Or will it be something completely different?

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the big changes to the chart this week? Will the 3DS titles stay in the top ten long or will they quickly fall? And Crysis 2 manage two weeks at No.1?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum.

[Souce: Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2011 UKIE Ltd]

A reminder of the achievements available here at the Train2Game Game Jam

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The Train2Game Game Jam attendees are in full swing producing their games. To add an even bigger challenge to the event – an even greater one than creating a working game from scratch in 48 hours! – the participants can attempt to add certain features to their games in order to earn achievements. All of the achievements that can be earned at the Train2Game Jam are listed below. Which ones are the most appealing to you?

The achievements that can be earned at the Train2Game Game Jam are listed below:

Instant Online Gratification
Game requires no file downloads (browser objects are OK), and has been verified to work on IE8, FF3, Latest Safari and Latest Chrome

Singing the Body Electric
A game that uses only sound effects produced by the body, stomach gurgles, vocalisations, clapping, etc.

The Hack
integrating external gadgets not normally associated with games (e.g. radio, electronic weights, lamps, toasters, barbells, staplers, etc.) as part of the game. This achievement requires that they upload a video of the game to YouTube and link it to the upload (they still have to hand in their game), as well as describing the construction in detail

Take Five
Game can be played to completion in less than 5 minutes

Lo-text
Game has an interactive tutorial

Over Achiever
Implemented the main constraint with 3 or more different game mechanics

Community
Game behaviour is dependent on how many people are playing it simultaneously at the same time

Alternate Control
Game runs on a pc (Win/Mac/Linux) and is controlled with (a) device(s) other than mouse, keyboard or console controller

Universal Language
Game has absolutely no text or numbers

EGA Lives
Game uses a maximum of 16 different colours in all, including light and shading

For a full run down of the rules, see the the Train2Game forum

What Train2Game Game Jam participants are saying on Twitter

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As we’ve mentioned before on the Train2Game Blog, the Twitter hashtag for the Train2Game Game Jam is #t2gjam. Of course, there are many of you who aren’t on Twitter so we thought we’d give you a roundup of some of what’s being said about the Game Jam by those who are at the Game Jam on the Twittersphere.

davywavy A very good way of following twitters and other social media based on a single hashtag: http://www.apprehend.it/projects/jamstream/ #t2gjam

IndiPlays This Week At @train2game will be returning this Wednesday. I’ll have plenty of coverage from the #t2gJam 🙂

davywavy New Train2Game Game Jam 2011 videos up at http://www.binary-asylum.co.uk #t2gjam #train2game #t2g

ashiitaka  Officially been awake 24 hours now, game coming along nicely! Plenty more to do but we have a great team 🙂 #t2gJam about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

ashiitaka 24 hours already too much for some ? #t2gJam http://t.co/SSgDOlK

Hopefully that provides a little insight into what’s going on here and of course the Train2Game and Train2Game Jams Twitter accounts are also using the #t2gjams hashtag

So if you’re on Twitter why not adding a hashtag to your Game Jam Tweets and let everyone else know what you’re up to?

The pre-Train2Game Game Jam event coverage across the BBC

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While we’re providing live coverage of the Train2Game Game Jam, there’s also been plenty of coverage from other sources in the run up to this weekend. 

A number of Train2Game students have featured during primetime shows on their local radio stations eagerly talking about their expectations for this weekend. Links to the audio interviews as listed below and they’ll provide interesting listening during any breaks Train2Game Game Jammers may (or may not!) have during the event. They go from the first to the most recent interviews about the Game Jam and come from across the country.

BBC Radio Nottingham spoke to Train2Game student Iddy Murray about what she expected from the Train2Game Game Jam.

BBC Radio Lancashire chatted to Train2Game student Joe Parker about what he thought would happen this weekend.

Train2Game student Andrew Goodchild (aka Vampire Duck on the Train2Game forum) appeared on his local station, BBC Radio Suffolk to talk about the Train2Game Game Jam and was also asked about the launch of the Nintendo 3DS too

Meanwhile, Train2Game student Brogan Lovatt was on BBC Radio Northampton where she talked about the Game Jam and encouraged more women to get involved with the games industry.

Text versions of all of the interviews are also available here on the Train2Game blog or alternatively on the Train2Game Scribd website.

So if you get some time to rest, why not read up on what your fellow students had to say about the Train2Game Game Jam. If you’ve found our ‘celebrities’ here at the event, how are they holding up?

Remember, you can keep up to date with what’s going on here at the Train2Game Gam by searching for the #t2gjam hashtag on Twitter. If you’re a Twitter user, remember toad #t2gjam to your tweets!

Previously at the Train2Game Game Jam…

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Gabe is going for some well earned rest so I’m taking over coverage of the Train2Game Game Jam through to tomorrow morning – Yes, I’ll be awake at ungodly hours too.

In case you missed Gabe’s blog posts last night, here’s a roundup of what they were:

Like everything – including the Sherlock Holmes books that are the theme of the Train2Game Game Jam – Gabe’s blogs started with an introduction revealing the theme

Gabe then offered a little inspiration by listing every previous video game which featured the great detective. There have been 18 Sherlock Holmes games since the first one arrived in 1984, and you can read about them on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog.

Next up was a blog post – penned in advance by yours truly – detailing the various skills of Sherlock Holmes. Detective work isn’t the only thing he’s good at, and you find out about his various abilities in this post. Useful if you’re stuck over what Holmes should be able to do in your game.

Gabe also took a look at the man behind Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – and as you can see, he lived rather an exciting life. Perhaps some Train2Game Game Jammers will take this as inspiration for their game?

Some of the Train2Game Game Jammers had some very interesting ideas during their brainstorming sessions with some including Sherlock Holmes games based around titles including Grand Theft Auto, Pokémon and even a Violin version of Guitar Hero! Check out the Thoughts of Train2Game blog for a bit more of an insight.

The final update on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog before the Train2Game blog took over was a little different. Gabe took a look at some manga inspired by Sherlock Holmes.

Now stay tuned to the Train2Game blog for future updates. You can also follow what’s going on through Twitter by looking for posts with the hashtag #t2gjam