Category Archives: Jobs

Train2Game News Behind the Schemes

Posted on by

​The amatuer filmmakers of Devolver Digital have announced Behind the Schemes, a new take on the traditional behind-the-scenes series. 
Each episode in the series aims to uncover the spirit of each game through intimate conversations with the personalities behind them and exploring the tiny apartments, humble offices, and vibrant cities where they are made.

The Behind the Schemes series began as an experiment at E3 to document the notorious Devolver Digital E3 trailer park and shenanigans that took place there each day. The first proper episode launched today putting the spotlight on Le Cartel, the team behind Mother Russia Bleeds, as they take viewers on a tour of the team’s office flat and local boxing gym where the lead artist trains and draws inspiration for the game’s combat animations.

Future episodes will take viewers to the literal attic office of Fourattic (Crossing Souls), the retro FPS altars of Pixel Titans (STRAFE), and the bustling crowds of Gamescom.

“I told the filmmakers that if I saw a single shot of some nerd typing fake code on a monitor or blankly staring at some untextured model I’d cancel the whole thing,” noted Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker. “Not that I’ll watch a minute of this arthouse garbage.”

The Behind the Schemes series is an ongoing effort and each new episode can be found on the Devolver Digital YouTube channel. And now for an obligatory call to follow Devolver Digital on Twitter @DevolverDigital.

Train2Game News London Games Festival 2017 Dates

Posted on by

​The London Games Festival will take place from 30 March to 9 April 2017, organiser Games London has announced, along with its plans to grow visitor numbers to 50,000 next year.
The first London Games Festival took place in April 2016 as part of the Games London three-year initiative delivered jointly by Film London, the capital’s screen industries agency, and video games trade body Ukie (The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment).

Games London is backed by the Mayor of London, with funding worth £1.2m from the London Enterprise Panel. The three-year programme serves to promote the UK’s games sector and seeks to make London the games capital of the world. Games London ultimately aims to attract £35m of investment to the capital and create 280 jobs, all while underlining the cultural significance of interactive entertainment.

The 10-day celebration in April 2016 welcomed over 38,000 people across 30 different events across 20 different venues and culminated in a games-themed street art commission across multiple London landmarks, from a pub in Walthamstow to the Leicester Square cinema district.

Over 50,000 are expected for 2017’s festival, which will run from 30 March to 9 April. The event will open with EGX Rezzed at Tobacco Dock (30 March to 1 April), with other events confirmed for the schedule including the British Academy Games Awards (6 April) and the return of Now Play This at Somerset House (7 April to 9 April). Further announcements to come will detail activity around eSports, the Festival Fringe and a range of summits and lectures for professionals.

Also returning is the Games Finance Market (4 April to 6 April), an instrumental part of the Games London strategy. The Games Finance Market connects games developers and interactive content creators with investors and funders. In 2017 the event will double in size to welcome 60 investable businesses meeting 60 international investors.

Games London’s programme supporting games businesses has already brought in over £8.5m in potential investment to the capital.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “London is a global destination for culture and creativity, and the interactive entertainment sector is playing an increasingly important part in this. Games London focuses on harnessing the city’s talent, with the ultimate aim of making London the world capital for video games. It’s fantastic to see the festival expanding in scope, reach and ambition, and connecting London-based talent with overseas investment partners – further proof that our city is open for business.”

Follow @londongamesfest on Twitter or head to www.games.london for more updates over the coming weeks and months.

Train2Game News Insomnia58 confirms Microsoft

Posted on by

Multiplay, the company behind the largest gaming festival in the UK has today revealed the games Microsoft will be showcasing at Insomnia58 this August bank holiday.  
The blockbuster titles join an already exciting line-up, making this summer’s event the best place for fans to try the latest games.

Upcoming releases from Microsoft’s biggest franchises, all highlights of its E3 presentation, will be available to play for the first time in the UK, including Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3 and the latest zombie epic, Dead Rising 4. All Titles will be exclusive to Xbox One and Windows 10 PC, with the majority being part of the Xbox Play Anywhere programme.

Gears of War 4, the cover based shooter, features an all new cast of characters, including JD Fenix, the son of the legendary Marcus Fenix. Set 25 years after the events of Gears of War 3, the newest instalment in the franchise is set to be a huge hit with Xbox fans.

Insomnia58 will be the first time driving game fans in the UK will be able to experience the fast-paced action of Forza Horizon 3, experience thrilling racing, addictive gameplay and stunning graphics.

The Xbox One timed exclusive, Dead Rising 4, due for release later in December, will also be at Insomnia58, giving fans of the ever popular zombie-smashing genre exclusive access to the hotly anticipated game, months before its release.

Additional titles on display include Remedy’s Quantum Break, fighting classic Killer Instinct as well as the exciting new Xbox exclusive action-adventure Recore. Microsoft is also bringing the latest details on Indie games such as Cuphead, Everspace, Raiders of the Broken Planet and The Turing Test. 

Insomnia58 is taking place at the NEC, Birmingham from 26-29 August 2016, with day tickets available online from £25: https://insomniagamingfestival.com/tickets/.

Train2Game News Retro-Bit Generations

Posted on by

​This past June, Innex Inc®., an exclusive distributor of  Retro-Bit® unveiled the brand’s newest product at the 2016 E3 Expo –  Retro-Bit Generations, a plug and play console loaded with more than 100 classic retro games estimated to be available in the Fall of 2016 for $59.99.
Unlike the previous Retro-Bit consoles, which ran and read gaming cartridges, Retro-Bit collaborated with world-renowned gaming developers like Capcom, Data East TM, Jaleco LTD., IREM and more to provide a full-fledged roster of titles easily recognized and admired by the retro-gaming community such as, Ghosts’N Goblins™, Gun.Smoke™, Kid Niki Radical Ninja, Kung-Fu, Captain Commando™, Kickle Cubicle, Rival Turf, Super R-Type, The Super Bases Loaded Series, Knights of the Round, Brawl Brothers, Ring King and more! 

Along with a catalog of popular gaming titles, the Retro-Bit Generations is accompanied with two USB retro-style six button controllers and designed with a sleek user-friendly interface and AV and HDMI ports.  The console also includes an SD card slot allowing users to save or transfer archived game progress to other consoles.

“Retro-Bit has been known to make products for the hardcore retro gaming crowd, and we are thrilled that Retro-Bit created a product that is aimed at a wider audience. We believe that the Retro-Bit Generations is a fantastic introduction for beginners into the world of retro gaming, however, it includes a lot of titles that resonate with experienced gamers.” Said Ron Pang, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Innex Inc. 

With the success of Retro-Bit’s previous consoles (Super Retro-Trio® and the Retro-Duo®), which operates on gaming cartridges, the Retro-Bit Generations opens retro gaming to new patrons of all ages.  Retro-Bit continues to make great strides to bridge the gap of between gamers past and present.

Train2Game News Edinburgh Digital Entertainment Festival

Posted on by

Edinburgh Digital Entertainment Festival (EDEF) today announces a spectacular range of panel discussions and keynote speeches, covering Gaming, Virtual Reality + Future Technology and Next Generation in Arts & Entertainment. 
The iconic Assembly Rooms will host the inaugural festival from 4 to 28 August alongside the Fringe Festival. 

Event Cinema and Live Events

In the first major festival of its kind – EDEF will include: 24 days of event cinema, with screenings of world-renowned art exhibitions, theatre, opera and ballet performances as well as special events that bring the “live” experience into the cinema.  Transforming the Assembly Rooms’ iconic music hall into a state-of-the-art cinema, audiences can discover digital theatre screenings, from Benedict Cumberbatch in  Hamlet, to Matthew Bourne’s ground-breaking dance productions, plus art exhibition screenings including a portrait of Ai Wei Wei and the works of Vincent Van Gogh. Special events include sing-a-longs, the cult-hit  Dune with a live electronic sound mix and an interactive evening of gaming weirdness in  Rab’s Videogame Empty.

Virtual Reality, Gaming and New Technology

Audiences are invited to discover the immersive world of virtual reality and explore how technology is shaping the future for art, entertainment and creative minds.  The unique festival will host a Virtual Reality ’cinema’, an exhibition of new technology and interactive arts in the  Tech Hub from broadcasters to independent games, which will be open daily, alongside gaming and coding workshops for young people in partnership with Microsoft, Lego Education, Minecraft and BBC Micro:bit, curated by the Big Learning Company.

Discussions and In-Person Demonstrations

·    Gaming focus 8 and 9 August

·    Virtual Reality + Future Technology focus 15 and 16 August

·    Next Generation Arts & Entertainment on 22 August

The festival’s  Ideas Studio presents keynote speeches and panel discussions from industry leaders from gaming, virtual reality, and performing arts.

Speakers announced today include NASA-funded scientist Peggy Wu, who will discuss her cutting-edge work in using VR to help astronauts as they embark on deep space missions. 

Sol Rogers, CEO and Founder of REWIND:VR, who will introduce the possibilities of VR across different industries having recently worked with Björk, Lexus, Rolls Royce and BBC home. 

Joe Stevens, CEO of Whispering Gibbon, will explore the future of the 3D printing for virtual worlds, while Tanya Laird, Director at Digital Jam Ltd, convenes Scotland’s first ever VR Writers Room.  

Sarah Ellis (RSC) and Tawny Schlieski (Intel) give insight on their upcoming collaboration with The Imaginarium Studios for RSC’s November production of  The Tempest; 

Flo Buckeridge, General Manager at National Theatre Live, will discuss how the theatre industry is embracing digital innovation; and 

Will Saunders, Creative Director, Digital at BBC Studios presents  Thinking Outside the Box – exploring the battle for attention in an online world.  

William Burdett-Coutts, Festival Director EDEF, Assembly and CEO Riverside Studios said:

“Our ambition is to bring together the world of arts and entertainment with digital technology – to show the best of what is happening right now and provoke the conversation about what comes next. The festival offers a diverse range of activities, allowing audiences to explore the future of the entertainment industry in an ever-growing digital world.“ 

Outside the festival, Edinburgh’s George Street comes to life with food stalls, a bar and the innovative Picturehouse Travelling Cinema, hosting a classic film programme of science fiction, musicals, short films and a selection from the BBC Series, Play for Today.

For more information or to book tickets, please visit edef.co.uk or call 0131 623 3045.

Train2Game News BAFTA Game Lecture

Posted on by

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced today that Ilkka Paananen, CEO and co-founder of Supercell, creator of popular mobile games including Clash of Clans and Hay Day, will deliver this year’s prestigious BAFTA Games Lecture. 
The event will take place at BAFTA’s headquarters, 195 Piccadilly on Monday 5 September.

The BAFTA Games Lecture aims to deliver valuable insights into the creative minds of some of the world’s most compelling and esteemed games professionals, providing a platform for speakers to share their experiences, as well as their personal vision for the future of the industry. Previous speakers include Jade Raymond, Will Wright, Peter Molyneux, Hideo Kojima, Drs Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk and David Cage.

Ilkka Paananen co-founded the Helsinki-based Supercell in 2010. Since then its four games – Clash of Clans, Hay Day, Boom Beach and Clash Royale – have amassed 100m daily players and remain in the global top 10 years after launch. In June 2016 it was announced that Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited will acquire a majority stake in the Supercell, making it the first European technology start-up to reach a valuation of $10 billion.

During the lecture, Paananen will use case studies to demonstrate how Supercell works to achieve excellence through its company culture and how, through nurturing an environment of small, independent teams, organisations of all sizes can enhance their creativity and business success.

Harvey Elliott, former Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee said: “Ilkka Paananen has been instrumental in establishing the ever-more important role of mobile within the games landscape as a whole. His belief in the importance of company culture in nurturing creative excellence, and his passion for creating simple, fun, memorable games are central to his work; and we look forward to him sharing these insights at the BAFTA Games Lecture which has over the years hosted creative leaders from all over the world, making it a truly global platform for the games sector and the wider creative industry.”

In addition to his role at Supercell, Ilkka Paananen helps other entrepreneurs as both an investor and as an active member of the Helsinki-based startup community where he mentors and coaches other founders. Alongside his co-founder Mikko Kodisoja, he has established the We Foundation to fight social inequality and help disadvantaged children in Finland.

Prior to founding Supercell, Paananen was the CEO and co-founder of Finnish games developer Sumea, which was later acquired by Digital Chocolate, where he worked as President until 2010.

‘BAFTA Games Lecture: Ilkka Paananen’ event details:

Monday 5 September at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly in London

19:30 Champagne Taittinger Reception

20:00 Event commences

Public tickets for the BAFTA Games Lecture will go on sale at 13:00 on Friday 22 July 2016. To book tickets, please visit www.bafta.org/whats-on .

Video highlights, a podcast and a transcript from the event will be available in BAFTA Guru, BAFTA’s online learning channel www.bafta.org/guru . Recordings of previous Games Lectures are available now.

Train2Game News PlasisGames is back and better than ever

Posted on by

Free online games platform created by Train2Game student updated and now back online.

A platform created by Train2Game student Sean Brady updated and now available for the people of the world to enjoy free-to-play online games. 

Sean from Dublin, Ireland, is delighted to have the platform live again. He’s been working to give the site a new look and remove barriers for player enjoyment.  Games are available in all popular online formats, the new site has been streamlined and many new games have been added. 

The site will continue to be improved with user feedback, also, games will be boosted and removed based on the popularity of the games when on the site. Plasis will work with partners that would like to post games on the site, which can be submitted through the platform.

Plasis game will also continue to develop its own games, including Hut of The Dead, which is inspired by zombie games, films and TV shows, such as The Walking Dead.

Sean Brady, Plasis and Train2Game: ‘The’ portal is back online with more addictive games and endless fun. Flash, HTML5, Unity3d, etc… 

‘Games are continuously being sourced for your never-ending enjoyment. Any obstacles which contributed significant delays to the growth of the portal have been overcome with new games being processed thick and fast to deliver a more varied entertainment mecca. After a considerable amount of years spent playing and crafting the experience of gameplay I know the portal will eventually provide everything desired contemporary fun-seekers.’

‘We are currently in the testing phase of hundreds of games at the moment to confirm they deliver the experience required. The games are sourced from any avenue that is approved by the author or provide free to use. At this time, we have 196 games residing on the portal that have been validated through our strenuous testing suites. They vary across many genres/platforms and use a freeform model of placement to allow a greater variety of fun choices. If any wishes to partner with Plasis Games or to have games included in the portal, please contact us using for further information.’

‘Apart from the publishing of games, the development side of Plasis Games is in full swing and will result in a small indie horror game for World Weaver to continue with Hut of the Dead series. Actually the game is a different take on the hut/house full of the walking dead/dying concept to deliver a more immersive relatable experience. The main delay has involved developing solutions to surpass the technical limitations of the prescribed engine and feature vacant tools. 

Frankly, the development is leaning more towards manual-granular game development trials and tribulations instead of their modern hyper productive counter-parts. In the end the quality delivered shall be the same using either approach leaving an extended development time as the only negative among an arsenal of hard-fought positives for guaranteed delivery of a solid game.’

‘There will be a lot of advancements over the coming year, all to provide more opportunities for players, developers and publishers a like. If anyone wants to view the portal, the web address is www.plasisgamesportal.com and again the contact email is info@plasisgamesportal.com ‘

‘Don’t forget to come along to play some games on the portal and follow us on the channels below as updates are soon to come…’

Twitter (https://twitter.com/PlasisGames)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PlasisGames/)

YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6VCNG4OATLjY0twFL7lag)

For more information contact: mark@train2game.com

Train2Game, bringing City & Guilds to the Games Industry

Read the Train2Game blog at www.train2game-news.co.uk Train2Game is a proud supporter of www.gamatier.com

Train2Game News Games London sees West Coast investors

Posted on by


​This week Games London brings a delegation of West Coast games investors to the UK as part of its ongoing work to forge new business relationships between talented London developers and US investors looking for the next global gaming hit.

Execs from CrossCut Ventures, Upfront Ventures, The Venture Reality Fund and Zynga, Inc. will be taken on an intensive business trip to showcase the city’s creative talent, its rich, versatile skills base and demonstrate how the UK’s generous creative sector tax reliefs can be put to good use.

The visiting execs will visit London studios including Improbable Worlds, Lift, Mind Candy, Space Ape, Third Floor and ustwo. They will also listen to pitches from UK developers, receive talks from tax and legal experts and a take part in a trip to Brighton’s Develop Conference and the Develop Awards. 

Games London is a partnership between Film London, the capital’s screen industries agency, and games trade body Ukie. This aspect of the project builds on successful familiarisation trips run by Film London for the capital’s film, television and animation industries and Ukie’s intricate understanding of the gaming landscape. This trip forms part of a wider programme of ongoing work, which has so far included the inaugural London Games Festival – which welcomed some 38,000 attendees – and the Games Finance Market which linked UK developers with overseas investors who, between them, had over £100m to invest in UK businesses.

Andy Payne, Chairman of Games London, said: “London’s games industry is very much wide open for business, and there really couldn’t be a better time to come experience the city’s amazing tech talent, diversity, creativity and downright disruptive nature. Over the course of five days we’ll be taking our visiting execs on an intensive tour of what our vibrant games sector has to offer, providing an invaluable opportunity to forge connections, strike up new new business partnerships and help us in our mission to make London becomes the games capital of the world.”

Train2Game News UK Games Fund

Posted on by

Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy has today announced the successful applicants to the second round of the Government’s UK Games Fund.
The UK Games Fund attracted an incredible 235 applications for the second round of the Fund. The 23 businesses winning grant funding are located all over the UK – including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Belfast, Bristol, Brighton, Guildford and London, and represent the best of the UK’s emergent games development, innovation and creativity.

The £4 million, four-year UK Games Fund is accelerating the growth of games clusters around the UK – by helping creative young businesses develop new games idea and by supporting talent. The Fund will run until 2019 and will provide grants of up to £50,000 to support video games projects, create jobs and help develop new talent.

Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy said:

“The UK’s creative industries are one of our greatest success stories, generating more than £84bn a year for the UK economy. Our video games industry is world-renowned, but we know that many small businesses sometimes lack the capital to help develop their ideas and attract private investment. Our fund is helping bridge that gap and help developers take their ideas from the drawing board and into production.”

The talent element of the UK Games Fund – the Tranzfuser™ initiative, has also got off to a flying start.  A total of 19 teams of eager young graduates have been chosen to develop their games ideas over 10 weeks this summer, hosted in 10 regional centres covering the breadth of the UK. They are all working towards a showcase of their working games prototypes at a leading consumer-facing games forum in September. http://tranzfuser.com/

Paul Durrant, Managing Director, UK Games Talent and Finance CIC said:

“With 235 applications, there was unprecedented demand for our funding in this round so these successful applicants really do represent the best of the UK’s emergent games development talent. Now that the success stories from our first round are just beginning to emerge, we’re expecting to see a similar level of success from these projects.”

The successful applicants to the second round are:

Brightrock Games Ltd, Acid Nerve Ltd, Penny Black Studios Ltd, Draw and Code Ltd, A Brave Plan Ltd, Rekim Ltd, Mode 7 Ltd, S2 Entertainment Ltd, Skoogmusic Ltd, Fireblade Software Ltd, Twisted Tree Games Ltd, Beatnik Games Ltd, Broken Fence Games Ltd, Kinesthetic Games Ltd, Auroch Digital Ltd, Rhizome Games Ltd, Damp Gnat Ltd, Talony Games Ltd, Me, We Studios Ltd, Oddtales Ltd, SMAC Games Ltd, Silo Games Ltd, Inlifesize Ltd

The UK Games Fund is managed by UK Games Talent and Finance CIC and works with organisations such as Digital Catapult, BAFTA, Ukie, Tiga, Creative England, Creative Scotland and BFI.

More information on the next round of funding will be released after the summer. Follow @ukgamesfund for the latest information.

More details can be found at www.ukgamesfund.com

Train2Game News Cyber Sprites win first ever Game Marmalade

Posted on by

image

Train2Game toasts the winners of the first ever dedicated online Game Jam for students

The first ever Game Marmalade has drawn to a close and Cyber Sprites were announced as the winners. The winning team will be provided with a Games spec Laptop provided by Train2Game.

The student organised Game Jam for Train2Game students was well attended and the games produced impressed event organisers. The event was a great chance to meet new people and learn new skills. It was a close call between Psyber Sprites and the Loonys right up to the very end.

The event was created and managed by Train2Game forum member Slinks. She was extremely happy with how the event went, especially with the games the students produced and the networking opportunities created.

There’s potential for another Game Jam in the future but that’s not confirmed at this time. Slinks and participants will continue ongoing networking discussions and are happy for students to join in future chats via TeamSpeak.

Game Marmalade founder Slinks said: ‘Great evening in the channel, it was an awesome event with lots of positives for the future. I think everyone who took part should be really proud of everything they achieved. Congratulations and well done to all of you.’

Artwork from winning game

image

image

image

The Official Game Marmalade site: http://slinkydink68.wix.com/game-marmalade

For more information contact: mark@train2game.com
Train2Game, bringing City & Guilds to the Games Industry
Read the Train2Game blog at www.train2game-news.co.uk Train2Game is a proud supporter of www.gamatier.com