Category Archives: iOS

Train2Game News: Jonathan Ross’s game coming to Android

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Catcha Catcha AliensThe wait for the Android version of Jonathan Ross’s critically acclaimed “Catcha Catcha Aliens!” is over as it will be released on Google Play for Android on March 7. The game will be free to play and the iOS version will follow suit the same day.

Alien catchers who have already purchased the iOS App will be credited with 20,000 Zhillings, the virtual currency of the game, if they have the initial version installed on the device when they update their game.

“Catcha Catcha Aliens!” was originally released on December 3 for iOS and is the first title from Hotsauce interactive, a new development studio set up by TV personality, Jonathan Ross.

The game, which is a mission based catching game, has received plaudits for its high quality distinctive graphics, quirky humour, level based mini-challenges, original sound-track as well as its take on a popular genre. It has also been voiced by Stephen Fry and Jonathan himself.

Commenting on the Android launch and iOS update Jonathan Ross said “We’re quietly pleased with how our first game turned out. An Android version was always in the works but having made the decision to go free to play on iOS devices we decided to wait until we could launch both together.

To ensure that everyone who has already purchased the App won’t lose out, we are giving free in-game money to everyone who has already bought Catcha Catcha. Two new levels are nearly finished, and we are working on more characters as well as more games. Being involved in this process is even more exciting than I imagined it to be, and I hope that at least some of this excitement comes across in the finished game”.

For further information on “Catcha Catcha Aliens!” you can log on to http://hotsauceinteractive.co.uk/ follow on twitter @HotsauceTV or visit http://www.facebook.com/HotsauceInteractive

Train2Game News: Apple paying compensation over in-app purchases

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Apple LogoApple have proposed to pay compensation to several parents for not making some of it’s in-app purchases more secure after minors had charged costs to their parents accounts. A judge will consider the proposal on 1 March.

The legal action dates back to April 2011 and allegations made by a California-based man that his youngest daughter had racked up a series of charges without his knowledge. Garen Meguerian said his nine-year-old’s actions had cost him approximately $200 after she bought game currencies within apps including Zombie Cafe, Treasury Story and City Story.

His lawyer noted that some titles in Apple’s store allowed children to buy more than $100 worth of items in a single click without entering a password. Apple took a cut of each in-app sale. The case was later combined with other parents making similar claims.

The issue has since been address with Apple now ensuring that a password is entered before each and every in-app purchase.

Apple acknowledged it would need to tell more than 23 million iTunes account holders they might qualify. Affected users would receive an email offering at least $5 (£3.20) in credit if they confirmed a minor had charged their account without permission, and that they had not already had the fee deleted after making a complaint.

Apple’s proposal suggests affected parties can:

  • Email in their details to qualify for a $5 iTunes credit
  •  Request the $5 in cash if they no longer have an iTunes account
  • Provide full details of each in-app purchase to be reimbursed in full in credit or cash, for totals of at least $30

Apple indicates it will give claimants 180 days to submit their requests and will also award Mr Meguerian and four other named plaintiffs an additional $1,500 service award.

The plaintiffs have accepted the proposal and it is now set to be signed off by a judge in San Jose’s courthouse on Friday.

Apple declined to comment when asked whether it might consider offering a similar deal to users outside the US.

Train2Game News: Make Something Unreal Live winners game comes to app store

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Warlock of Firetop MountainTrain2Game Student studio and Make Something Unreal Live 2012 winners, Commando Kiwi, have released their first game on to the app store.

The game, Warlock of Firetop Mountain: Lost Chapters, was created by the students in their spare time for last years Make Something Unreal Live contest, held by Epic. The game was created using the UDK software and is based on the very first Fighting Fantasy novel, Warlock of Firetop Mountain which was written by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson.

The studio, which consists of Cat Forsyth, Martyn Whittel, Tom Chipchase, Jonny Robinson, Ashley Taylor, Adam Sherratt, Aaron Reeve, Andrew Smallwood, Tom Constable and Ezekiel Morris, have been working on the game since the beginning of 2012.

The students won the competition after demonstrating their game to a number of industry professionals, including Peter Molyneux, Cliff Bleszinski and Jon Hare. The final descision was that of Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson who decided Commando Kiwi’s game best captured the essence of Fighting Fantasy.

The game is a third person action game which puts you in the shoes of the adventurer who is travelling through the deadly Firetop Mountain in search of the fabled treasure of the all-powerful Warlock. The game features enemies and locations from the classic book with a battle system based on the system from the book its self. The unique combat system based uses skill and luck combinations made famous by the series of novels in an intuitive Active Time Battle System.

The game is available for free to download now from the app store.

You can re-live the Commando Kiwi story in the video below:

Train2Game News: Smart device games outselling handheld

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Smart devicesGames on smart devices are outselling games on Nintendo and Sony handheld consoles. This is excellent news for Train2Game students looking to break in to the industry.

The final quarter of the year’s sales are normally the best for devices such as the 3DS and VITA, thanks to all the package deals around Christmas time. This time however iOS and Android games completely eclipsed the games sales of the consoles.

A breakdown of the data also indicates that iOS games made three-and-a-half times more money than Android ones over the period but Android games are growing at a faster rate.

The data covers global sales between October and December 2012 and comes despite the fact that games for the PlayStation Vita and 3DS typically cost more than their smartphone equivalents. In-game ad revenues were excluded.

Despite the findings, the researchers said they believed the Japanese firms would release further handhelds.

The Portable Gaming Report by IDC and App Annie is the first of its kind produced by the companies. It helps build on NPD’s influential monthly study of US games sales which does not include smartphone and tablet games.

IDC’s Lewis Ward said “If you rewind the clock a year you will find the dedicated handhelds were clearly ahead, and this year they are more or less tied with an edge going to Android and iOS games.

“If we fast forward to the end of 2013 we should see a decisive edge for smartphone and tablet gaming.

“I think a further version of the Vita could be the last dedicated handheld from Sony, but I suspect Nintendo will continue for a while. They are three to four times as large as Sony in this business and I think they have a much more defensible niche.”

All this data is good news for Train2Game students as the mobile market is much easier to develop for than the console market and with the mobile market growing to even bigger and better heights there should be more chance of developing a financially successful game.

Train2Game News: Train2Game Radio talks to Lee Sainsbury

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Lee SainsburyEarlier this week I got the pleasure of talking to Lee Sainsbury, Game Designer of Icey Monty who are hoping to release there first title, Tamarex, this Sunday, Lee talks about how Train2Game has helped him and how the idea behind Tamarex was formed.

You can listen to the interview, here: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1215262-train2game-student-lee-sainsbury-speak-to-mark-on-t2g-radio

Or read the transcript below:

Hi I’m Lee Sainsbury, I am 24 from Manchester and I am studying the Game Design course.

Hi Lee, how you doing?
I’m not to bad Mark, how are you?

I’m very well ta buddy! So tell me a bit about yourself, how did you get to where you are now?
Well I started the Train2Game Course in 2009, I really wanted to study Game Design all my life. I’ve always been a gamer and Train2Game just popped up and it was a perfect opportunity to study in my own time and yeah really give me the opportunity to grow.

What sort of things are you doing with it now?
Well since I’ve been on the Train2Game course for so long, I’ve made a lot of contacts, worked on a few personal projects and recently I’ve just joined Icey Monty, where we developed Tamarex.

How did the idea for Tamarex come about?
Well, before we worked on a project that ran into some circumstances and we had to stop. So really we wanted to come up with a really easy fun idea that we could just sit down and work on. The idea for a Tamagotchi game came around and of course, my generation, everyone had a Tamagotchi! I thought it would be fun to make a fresh take on the Tamagotchi genre. That’s where the idea for Tamarex came around.

So what’s the idea behind Tamarex?
Ah, the idea behind Tamarex. OK well, the idea behind Tamarex is that you take care of a pet Dinosaur. We didn’t really want to go for the usual Cats and Dogs. We found that the Dinosaur was a bit funny, a bit quirky. So yeah you have to take care of a pet Dinosaur, you can feed it, you have to wash it, you have to clean up after it, you can play with and yeah that’s it.

Were you a big fan of the Tamagotchi when you were younger then?
Oh definitely! I think every kid my age, at the time, had a Tamagotchi and we all used to palm it off on our parents when we went to school.

Yeah I remember doing the same thing! So how’s the course helping you get to making the game?
Well there’s no bounds, it’s helped me massively! Just understanding game design and game development was a help too. I think that if I hadn’t done the course, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s just helped me so much, it’s unbelievable!

Is that where you met the other members of Icey Monty?
Yes! John and Nick, both Train2Game students and they’re both programmers. We met through the forums, we did a couple of projects together and then decided we would go for a commercial release eventually, which was Tamarex!

Where can people find out more about the studio?
We’ve got a website which is www.iceymonty.com we also have a Facebook page at IceyMonty. Or you can come and chat to us on the forums at http://www.forum.train2game.com we are all on there.

Excellent, so it’s all going pretty well then?
Yeah, it’s going fabulous actually!

When is the game going to be out?
We have scheduled the release for this Sunday! If everything goes well with Apple, and they decide the game’s going to be released then it should be this Sunday, hopefully, fingers crossed! It will be on the Android store as well.

Excellent, brilliant news! Thank you very much Lee
Thank you very much Mark

And good luck with everything
Cheers

Train2Game News: Pokémon TV app for mobile devices

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Pokémon TV appToday Train2Game brings more great news for Pokémon fans around the globe! You can now watch Pokémon episodes on your iOS or Android device.

The Pokémon Company International launched the official Pokémon TV application earlier this week, it is available now for free on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch—and Android devices. The Pokémon TV app helps fans follow the many adventures of Ash, Pikachu, and their friends in fan-favourite episodes from the animated television series that will be updated weekly from a library of more than 700 episodes spanning fifteen seasons. In addition, Pokémon fans can catch special features, trailers, and Pokémon movie events using the Pokémon TV app.

Also, Pokémon fans can catch the debut of the animated short Meloetta’s Moonlight Serenade on February 15—available only through the Pokémon TV app and on www.pokemon.co.uk. This special event will be the first time Meloetta’s Moonlight Serenade is shown in English, and fans who watch can expect a sneak peek at the magic of Meloetta’s Pirouette Forme! Stay tuned—further exciting Meloetta news for video game fans will follow shortly!

Standard data charges will apply when using the Pokémon TV app. The Pokémon TV app is available in countries outside of Asia and can be downloaded from the App Store here:
https://itunes.apple.com/uk/app/pokemon-tv/id594261405?mt=8

Or from the Google Play Store here:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pokemontv&hl=en_GB
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Be sure to visit Pokemon.co.uk, Like the official Pokémon Facebook page at Facebook.com/Pokemon, and follow Pokémon on Twitter @Pokemon to receive the latest Pokémon news.