Category Archives: Jobs

Train2game News Global game industry rapidly growing

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The Open Gaming Alliance (OGA), a non-profit trade association focused on the games industry business, will be presenting new research during this week’s Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) that forecast the global game software market to pass $100 billion in 2019.

An overview of these forecasts will be presented by DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole at a seminar on Monday, March 14th, at 3 PM at the OGA Networking Lounge located at SF Green Space at eefg.

DFC Intelligence is forecasting that in 2019 PC games will be the single largest platform at $36 billion. This is up 35% from the $28 billion generated in 2015.

“A major driver of industry growth is not just software but hardware,” said DFC analyst David Cole. “The emergence of eSports and virtual reality is driving consumers to buy high end PC systems to not only play games, but watch others playing games.”

OGA board of director member Matt Ployhar (Intel Corp) is also remaining very bullish on PC gaming:

“I’m very optimistic that 2016 will be the year that PC gaming finally breaks the $30 billion milestone in software revenues,” said Ployhar. “Not only was there a bumper crop of new PC game releases such as Fallout 4, Grand Theft Auto V, & Metal Gear Solid V performing really well on PC for 2015, but this year another incredible lineup of games is on deck with World of Warcraft Legion, Civilization VI, Doom 4, and Dishonored 2. Strong release schedules like this also tend to bode well for vendors on the hardware side of the business, too.”

DFC has been providing research reports to OGA members since 2008. The OGA will release its full market report this spring, free to all OGA members. Currently OGA members are eligible to download the new Game Market Analyzer app for iPad at no cost. The Game Market Analyzer is designed to allow developers to identify key markets for their products so they can better focus their efforts. The app was developed by LAI Global Game Services in conjunction with market research firm DFC Intelligence.

“We designed the Game Market Analyzer app with indie game developers in mind. Our objective was to create an easy-to-use tool that would help developers find the best opportunities for their games worldwide.” said David Lakritz, LAI’s president & CEO.

The research panel will take place Monday, March 14th from 3-4 pm at the OGA Networking Lounge at SF Green Space and is open to all journalists and attendees of the conference.

Train2Game News Insomnia57 Twitter partnership

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Multiplay, organiser of the UK’s largest gaming festival, Insomnia, and a subsidiary of GAME Digital plc (“GAME Digital”), the UK’s leading video gaming specialist, today announced a new event partnership for Insomnia57, with Twitter, showcasing two apps throughout the event, as well as providing enhancements to broaden online conversations at Insomnia57.

Twitter, which reaches over 320 million monthly active users, is bringing two of its new, exclusive apps to the event: Q&A and Challenger. After a successful field test at Insomnia56, Twitter is returning to fully integrate the apps for the duration of the gaming event for the first time. The apps will help users to connect, share and engage with their favourite content across Insomnia57 through dedicated channels, so everyone can easily join the conversation.

Multiplay, which already sees Twitter as one of its main channels of communication to reach the Insomnia community, will be strengthening this connection throughout the festival.

As well as using the exclusive apps, Multiplay will be deepening the conversation on Twitter, using data visualisation to showcase and engage with their social audiences in real-time. Twitter will help bring to their attention live, branded and curated conversations, helping Multiplay amplify Insomnia57 through on-screen activation and audience participations from platforms.

Tapping into Twitter’s first-hand experience, Multiplay will ensure visitors, special guests and Insomnia staff will be able to effortlessly socialise with one another in a dedicated hub of online activity.

“Some of the biggest spikes in conversation on Twitter are driven by gaming – it’s the ultimate platform for people to connect on a global scale. Arming Insomnia57 with our talent apps is the perfect way to harness the conversation even more across that weekend of activity, and we can’t wait to see the results,” said Julia White, Media Partnerships, Twitter UK.

“Twitter is a huge platform for Insomnia visitors, with thousands of Tweets sent by visitors at the festival,” said Craig Fletcher, Founder and CEO of Multiplay. He continued: “With these apps introduced to the event by Twitter, content creators, publishers and developers will be closer to their fans than ever. This partnership will make the event easily visible online for fans in attendance and those around the world, showcasing Insomnia’s truly accessible and family friendly environment.”

Q&A App is exclusive to special guests, enabling YouTube and Twitch stars attending Insomnia to effortlessly keep in touch with their fans by answering their questions via the app. Available throughout the weekend of Insomnia57, people will be able to read the Q&A conversations on the @MultiplayEvents Twitter account as well as our special guest’s channel.

The Challenger App is created for visitors of Insomnia57, where people will be able to search and find members of the Insomnia team around the NEC Birmingham. Visitors will be encouraged to show off their ‘game face’, which will be shared and linked to the @MultiplayEvents Twitter account and stamped with #myi57.

Insomnia57 will take place at The NEC Birmingham, 25-28 March, 2016. Tickets for Insomnia57 are on sale now and can be purchased from the official website at https://insomniagamingfestival.com/tickets/.

Train2game News SDKBOX launches Amazon IAP

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SDKBOX today launched Amazon In-App Purchasing (IAP) within its revolutionary live game operations platform. Starting today, Cocos developers will be able to enable frictionless Amazon payment options such as in-game currency, expansion packs, upgrades, and more for purchase within apps.

Kai Zhao, Head of Operations for SDKBOX, said: “We are continuing to expand our platform leadership with seamless access to key services such as Amazon’s In-App Purchasing API. Cocos developers will be able to enable fast, easy purchasing to increase engagement and monetization within their apps.”

SDKBOX supports industry-leading services for mobile game production and operations, including analytics, user acquisition, monetization, advertising, compliance and more. A recent 2.0 update brought new capabilities including receipt verification for in-app purchases, live ops controls, cloud-based game configuration management and more.

With the addition of Amazon IAP to the SDKBOX platform, Cocos developers can enable simple, secure, and trusted 1-click purchase experiences, resulting in increased engagement and conversion rates for purchases within apps.

Over 700,000 registered developers leverage the award-winning Cocos2d-x open-source game engine, which currently features over 50,000 published titles to date, including some of the world’s top grossing games like Clash of Kings, Puzzle & Dragons, Monster Strike, Fantasy Westward Journey Mobile, Big Fish Casino, The Legend of Mir 2, and The King of Fighters’ 98. SDKBOX is dedicated to enabling simple and easy to integrate services, like Amazon IAP, for Cocos developers worldwide.

For more information on Amazon IAP for SDKBOX, please visit www.sdkbox.com

Train2game News Insomnia Ireland

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Multiplay, organiser of the UK’s largest gaming festival, Insomnia, and a subsidiary of GAME Digital plc (“GAME Digital”), the UK’s leading video gaming specialist, is pleased to announce that tickets are available now to purchase for the very first in a series of Insomnia Gaming Ireland events taking place at INEC Killarney, 10-13 June.

Available now on Ticketmaster, Day tickets for Insomnia Gaming Ireland will start from €12 to €24 and €99 for the Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) LAN Hall. Also available are package deals which includes tickets and accommodation, these can be purchased through the venue. To not miss out on the Insomnia experience, all tickets can be purchased at https://insomniagamingfestival.com/ireland.

Visitors to Insomnia Gaming Ireland will be able to play a host of games, enjoy numerous activities and entertainment inside the INEC. Areas include the Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) LAN Hall; open for 72 hours, hosting 250 people playing multiplayer games with and against each other in a fun and social environment. The Exhibition Hall contains a variety of feature zones and games for all ages.  These include a Minecraft Zone, Over 18s area and the Main Stage, where Special Guests will be playing the latest games as well as Panel Talks and Q&A sessions. Special Guests will include ChooChoosGaming, AshDubh, NettyPlays, AmyLee, InTheLittlewood and MiniMuka.

BYOC ticket holders will be able to delve into the eSports scene with popular competitive tournaments occurring throughout the event such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rocket League, League of Legends and Hearthstone. Daily console tournaments will be taking place, as well as the BYOC LAN Hall hosting tournaments of its own.

“With an even busier year of Insomnia events, we‘re delighted to bring the Insomnia brand to Irish gamers,” says Craig Fletcher, Founder and CEO of Multiplay. He continued “Insomnia already reaches tens of thousands of gamers in the UK and we can’t wait to witness Irish gamers’ passion for all things gaming for the first time. The Irish gaming community is one we’ve looked to tap into for a while and we are excited to be able to offer the Insomnia experience in the region.”

Insomnia Ireland will take place at INEC Killarney, 10-13 June, 2016. For more information, please visit https://insomniagamingfestival.com/ireland

Train2game News Train2Game students creating own Game Jam

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Free Game Jam organised by Train2Game students, for Train2Game students will take place 27th May. Train2Game also helping to create and support the event.

Students looking to improve their skills and network have created their own game jam. Train2Game is helping the initiative with advice and publicising the event on its channels. The game jam will be remote, with participants getting involved over the web from any location.

Participants can create their own teams or sign up via the Team Speak channel and form teams on the group. Those taking part can suggest a theme that will then be selected at the beginning of the event. Judges for the competition will be made of students past and present. All entries will be visible on the forum, where students can vote on their favourite.

Students can use their entries to gain experience and for use in their portfolios. They will also find a network of friends that could become professional contacts in the future. Train2Game is also offering a gaming laptop to the winning team.

Train2Game student and head of Game Marmalade, Slinks said: ‘I decided to do a Game Jam because I was egged on by my fellow students, late at night in my Teamspeak channel. There is a slightly selfish element to putting this event on as well, as I’m also looking out for my future. If I can’t get a new future in game art, I might be able to get a new future in online event organisation. It’s another string to my bow.’

‘Obviously everyone in the Teamspeak channel is interested and I’ve got a team together. But I think this is going to be a slow burner. People are only just learning more about the event as the post I put up this evening has much more information, answers many more questions and gives a better structure for the event. Once people have read and digested the post, I’m hoping it’ll kick things off.’

‘There are many benefits for students such as, learning to work as a team, experience working to a deadline, improving communication skills, discovering your strengths and weaknesses, learning to work under pressure, problem solving, learning how you cope with stress, the sense of achievement when you complete the project, new friendships, new teams, a potential studio, the possibilities are endless. But by forging some strong alliances through events like this now, we give ourselves the best opportunity to be successful in the future as this is how studios are formed.’

‘Not only will you have examples of your own work to show prospective employers, you’ll also have an example or that work in action. Being involved in a team project also demonstrates you are capable of being a team player and possess some of the qualities listed above. So I believe getting involved in Game Marmalade with be good for a student’s portfolio’s and their C.V.’

‘People can help by getting their own teams together and registering them with me as soon as possible. Also if there are any students out there who would like to be involved but can’t make the event, I’m looking for judges so I need to hear from these people as soon as possible as well.’

‘People can sign up with me by sending all the details of their team and a theme to me and I’m holding regular meets in my channel every Friday. People can come to the channel on any other evening as well, I try to be in there most evening around 7pm but people pop in and out at all hours so apart from Friday it’s a case of drop by and see who’s about.’

A spokesman for Train2Game added, ‘This initiative demonstrates a key part of developing students into team players for the modern games industry. Train2Game will be offering a magnificent gamers laptop as the top prize for this Game Jam.’

Email event organiser: slinky.dink68@outlook.com

Find out more about the event on the Train2Game forum: http://forum.train2game.com/showthread.php/22512-Game-Marmalade-A-Game-Jam-by-students-for-students-May-Bank-Holiday

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 MG Games looking for new team members

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Student Games Developers looking for applications to grow studio
Michael McGurk from Northern Ireland seeks new members to join his team, which has released three titles and has another on the way.

This student team is rapidly releasing titles, which are great for portfolios and they could make the next big hit.

The team is looking for new members to expand MG Games and release more titles. It’s looking for an artist and someone to help them build titles in Construct. It’s a two man team at the moment and Michael’s father is the third voluntary member.

The team has released three games already, working on its next bigger one, which is why they need additional support. MG Games plans to expand to make larger games in the future, the next release is coming in two months’ time, with support from new team members.

Michael is a Train2Game student and enjoying the course. He’s balanced creating games alongside his studies. The team likes working on its own titles as means it can deliver the game it wants to, retaining control of what they produce and their production timeline. The benefits for new joiners will be experience and work for portfolio content, and who knows in the future.

Michael is based in Northern Ireland but happy for team members from anywhere in the world.

Michael McGurk, Student Train2Game and head of MG Games, ‘My experience with Train2Game has most definitely been worthwhile and I have enjoyed every minute of it. It has helped me bring my ideas to life and put them into games. Games are my passion and without Train2game I would not have the knowledge I do have in game making. To have created and put my first game out there live, watch the number of plays grow is an indescribable feeling.’

‘I am currently on module D4 lesson 4. The course is slowly coming along, I say slowly because I am taking my time doing the course as I am currently making my fourth game. Its a larger game compared to the other arcade games I have made on the side and is taking a bit of time to do.’

‘I work from home I started MG games so I could build my own gaming company and make my own games I have started MG Games off from scratch. I want to further the company and I would like to give others a chance to use and combine their game ideas and bring them to life.

Currently on the team is myself as the games designer and my dad helps me out with the the art work and the animations. Currently we are making games for browser and mobile devices. Small games such as arcade etc. But in the near future I would like to make bigger games with storylines.’

‘As MG Games expands, I would like to start making bigger and better games with every team member having a say in the games we make. I would like MG games to become a known company, with a large team who is willing to work as a team and express their ideas openly. I would like to have an official studio where all the works will take place as a professional company.’

‘I have worked on four games that are now live on mg-games.itch.io if you would like to take a look and I two more games are in the works. One of which is a larger game and has so far taken me almost seven months to get as far as I have within the game. I’m hoping for this game to go live within the next month or two.’

‘The benefits of working on our own games are that we get to see our games ideas come to life and when the games are done we have the joy of saying we made that. Also we can spend as much time as we want in the making of the games and we are not under any pressure in having the games done for a certain time. No pressure means no mistakes.’

‘I am looking for new members to join MG Games as I said its really only me and more team members will result in better games more games ideas and more fun in making the games and it will help MG Games grow as a company. I would like someone who can do the art work for the games and someone that could work with me building them on construct.’

‘I would like commitment, flexibility and members that are here for the games and the fun of making them and not just for money. The new team members will gain the experience from working in a team, games that they can use on their portfolios and there game ideas being heard and brought to life.’

‘I would like the applicants to show examples of their work, note their strongest and weakest points in game making and what area do they mainly specialise in. I would also like their contact details and to tell me a bit about themselves, why they are applying and what is it that has them interested in this field of work.’

‘If anyone is interested they can email me at mggames0@hotmail.com or messages me over our Facebook page which you can find at this link https://www.facebook.com/MG.Games1/?ref=hl‘

For more information contact mark@train2game.com
Train2Game, bringing City & Guilds to the Games Industry

Train2Game is a proud supporter of  www.gamatier.com

Train2game News Insomnia 57 eSports

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Multiplay, organiser of the UK’s largest gaming festival, Insomnia, and a subsidiary of GAME Digital plc (“GAME Digital”), the UK’s leading video gaming specialist, will be hosting a number of popular eSports tournaments at Insomnia57 from 25-27 March.

Returning to Insomnia, the Halo 5 tournament sponsored by Plantronics, will sport a £3,000 prize pool. Teams of four will be able to compete for a share of the prize on both the Saturday and Sunday of Insomnia57, in which day visitors gain access to the Tournament Zone area for the very first time to watch live matches. For more information and to enter please visit the official site.

There will also be plenty of other tournaments for BYOC Ticket holders to try their luck in, such as Football Manager, SMITE, Heroes of the Storm, and StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, as well as many more. For a full list of tournaments taking place, please visit the Insomnia57 Tournament page.

The Hearthstone Insomnia Truesilver Championship sponsored by GAME and Ballistix returns to the NEC with a completely revamped format as 200 players battle it out for a share of a $30,000 prize pool. For further details please visit the official Insomnia Gaming Festival website.

“After the success of our first major Hearthstone tournament at Insomnia56, we are delighted to once again be hosting the Hearthstone Insomnia Truesilver Championship. With up to 200 players competing for the $30,000 prize pool, we expect to see some competitive and compelling games.” said Craig Fletcher, Founder and CEO of Multiplay. “We’ve also added to the eSports experience at Insomnia57 by providing day visitors access to the area surrounding the Tournament Zone in the Exhibition Hall. We wanted to add more to the atmosphere, as onlookers get a closer look to watch players battle it out to be crowned champion.”

To ensure that you don’t miss out on the Insomnia experience, make sure you purchase your tickets to Insomnia57, which will give you access to the action packed Exhibition Hall, as well as Live interactive stage shows, Cosplay, Tabletop games, Retro zones and much more. Tickets are available to purchase from your local GAME store or online: https://insomniagamingfestival.com/tickets/.

Train2game News WG Labs Dev Contest

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WG Labs has put the call out for development teams to show off their awesome projects and enter the WG Labs Dev Contest.

If you and your friends are aspiring designers then this contest could be just what you need to take your game or service to the next level. The WG Labs Teams is looking for unreleased multiplayer games on PC or mobile platforms, in alpha or higher, that have what it takes to stand out from the crowd, with the chance to win $10,000 in prize money.

The WG Labs Dev Contest is a fantastic opportunity to discover just how strong your team and project are, as well as hear feedback from game industry veterans who have worked on a range of hugely successful titles.

“One of the goals of WG Labs is to help nurture passionate teams with great ideas,” said Maxim Matveyko, Publishing Product Director at WG Labs. “The WG Labs Dev Contest is our way of reaching out to teams across the world and letting them showcase their talent, with the potential to win a cash prize.”

So what are you waiting for? The contest starts today and is open to all those in Europe, the Americas, the CIS, and Asia. It will run until May 30, with the submissions period closing a month before, on April 30. The winners will be announced at the end of May. To discover more about the contest criteria and WG Labs, visit the official portal: WG Labs Dev Contest

Train2game Multiplay Job Opportunity

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Multiplay, organiser of the UK’s largest gaming festival, Insomnia, and a subsidiary of GAME Digital plc (“GAME Digital”), the UK’s leading video gaming specialist retailer, is challenging job applicants to prove their online gaming knowledge and abilities against Craig Fletcher, Founder and CEO of Multiplay, in return for potential employment at the high-tech company based in Blackfield.

Craig Fletcher, a former medical student, abandoned his studies for his hobby, online gaming, and developed it into a highly successful business that he is passionate about, located in New Forest, Hampshire, UK. Insomnia Gaming Festival, which started out as a LAN party between friends and family, has rapidly grown and now attracts crowds of over 37,000 gamers at one time. Multiplay are recruiting new staff as the company continually develops, and in a form of unique interviewing, the CEO is personally challenging applicants at online gaming which integrates with one of Insomnia’s key pillars, LAN gaming.

Craig Fletcher, also known as Wizzo in the gaming world said; “a head-to-head game is a great way to get to know if new recruits are passionate about online gaming and the games they will be working with. At Multiplay we like to work hard, but play hard too, and we are always looking for the most talented individuals to join our family of ardent online gamers.”

For more information on career opportunities, please visit https://multiplay.com/about/careers/  or https://jobs.game.co.uk/.

Train2game News Student working with Theory Studios

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Ezekiel Morris gaining valuable experience by volunteering with studio and working on film projects.

Student Ezekiel Morris is working with animation collective Theory Studios to gain valuable experience as he embarks on his games making journey.

Ezekiel is working as a concept artist for the US team and not currently employed. He has been working on film projects and hopes the experience will be another string to his bow as he looks to gain full time employment in the future.

Theory Studios is an award-winning studio with a team based around the world, producing: commercials, cartoons, and high-quality visual effects.

Ezekiel Morris, Train2Game student: ‘I’m working as a Concept Artist for the Theory Studios but not employed at this time. I am finding it alright actually.  The people are friendly, down to earth; they have a lot of passion and respect. I’m learning some new stuff, it’s a new opportunities with new people.’

‘I’m experiencing good things. My ambition is to break my own records to outpace my yesterday by being better today, to do my work with more force and power now more than ever. I got the position by networking and volunteering. My advice for others is start networking, volunteering and collaborating on small projects.’

‘Studying with Train2Game I’ve learnt how to use different modelling techniques in 3Ds max to speed up my workflow. I am concentrating on other projects at the moment so my work on the course has slown down.’

‘I’m not working on any games at the moment just Film Animation. But I can’t tell you what the projects are, watch this space.’

http://theorystudios.com

www.train2game.com

For more information contact mark@train2game.com
Train2Game, bringing City & Guilds to the Games Industry

Train2Game is a proud supporter of www.plasisgamesportal.com and www.gamatier.com