Train2Game Student Fiona Stewart, or Fee The Giraffe on the Train2Game forums, was interviewd by BBC Radio Leeds yesterday.
She discusses her move from traditional art to 3D Modelling and how her dislike of the smell of paint came about. She also explains how she got funding from Microsoft for FormerDroid LTD where she is the Managing Director.
You can listen to the interview by clicking on the picture below
Curiosity: What’s inside the cube? was released for iOS and Android on Tuesday and already the first layer has been tapped away. There has been so many people trying to satisfy their curiosity that there has been some server issues but Peter Molyneux and 22Cans are working to fix that.
Peter Molyneux has said that the big game that 22Cans is leading to will be the last game he makes. He revealed the information in an interview 24 hours after the launch of Curiosity. Mr Molyneux has also revealed that the next experience could be “kind of” live on Friday.
Total Film has revealed that a reboot of Mortal Kombat will be coming soon. The original film based on the video game is one I always enjoyed so I am really hoping they do a good job. Kevin Tancharoen has been named as likely director of the film, who previously worked on the digital series released in anticipation of Mortal Kombat 9.
This month, if you play the Halo 4 multiplayer Microsoft are giving you points to spend. You do have to clock some serious hours to earn points. 35 hours earns you a whopping 100 points. Over 70 hours and you’ll receive 300. Playing 140 hours earns you 600 MS points. It is all part of the Microsoft Rewards Scheme.
Several sources aware of plans within Microsoft’s Redmond HQ have said that initial hardware planning for an Xbox Surface has begun. Specifications for an Xbox Surface 7-inch tablet computer leaked back in June ahead of Microsoft’s Surface announcement. The news outlet says the final implementation of new Xbox tablet is being worked on now.
Resident Evil developer and publisher Capcom is looking to hire 1,000 developers over the next ten years, the company has claimed. Capcom, which currently houses around 1,500 developers, also said that it wanted to increase the number of employees at the company to create a larger percentage of its games internally.
Finally Angry Birds: Star Wars has hit iOS, Android and Windows Phones today. You can see the trailer for the game, here.
This weeks SpecialEffect case is a very special one. One of the young girls in the video is the daughter of the founder of SpecialEffect. The two girls use Kinect to play together, you can see how much fun they are having.
SpecialEffect has almost reached their goal of 25,000 views so lets keep watching and sharing to help them out!
You can hear the interview here:
http://audioboo.fm/boos/1037414-train2game-students-chloe-talks-to-mark-on-t2g-radio
or read the transcript below:
Hello, could you tell me your name please?
Hi my names Chloe Martin
What course are you taking?
I’m currently studying Game Art & Animation
How did you find the experience of the world record winning game jam and how did it feel to win?
I found the experience unforgettable and it has really made an impact on me, rubbing shoulders with a wealth of knowledge. Being thrown into the deep end with people I had never met before and creating a team and a playable game was just overwhelming let alone winning the competition.
After finding out the theme, how did you get the idea for your game, Royal Rush?
We chucked around lots of ideas, mainly focusing on the theme but kept it as simple as possible, taking into account what the platform was and how to make it easy as possible to make within the time we got. We chose the final idea from working out which mechanics would be easy to develop, considering we only had one programmer, and making it as fun as possible. The idea came from an old-school game called Frogger. Trying to avoid traffic with a sense of urgency which gets players really excited.
Some people may know we worked together at The Gadget Show Live after winning the 2011 Game Jam. What do you think makes a winning game?
I think the limited time the Game Jam has, it needs to be as simple as possible but flexible enough to expand if you have time. Make sure the game is easy as possible to understand. However I think the enjoyment is a major factor, you need to grab the players attention, make them excited when playing so they want to come back to it again and again. Let’s not forget having a great time behind the scenes!
Who inspires your art work?
I love fantasy and technical design work. I don’t have a favourite at any one time. I get a lot of my inspiration from fellow students on the Train2Game course.
What is the most dramatic or exciting thing you have done in your life?
I would say probably the Game Jams run by Train2Game. Everyone of these events I have been to has been a great experience and I have learnt so much and met some great people.
What is your reason for getting into the gaming industry and how will the gaming industry change your life?
I just love games, being part of making ideas come to life for people to get enjoyment from the experience in games just gives me such a buzz. It has already changed my life being part of this course, it has opened up so many experiences; meeting people who inspire me, creating games from scratch and seeing people play your game and enjoying it is a great satisfaction that I want to take to the top.
What is your greatest ambition?
My greatest ambition is to inspire people with my work and to be part of the future of gaming.
What’s next for you and your career?
Well I am determined to find a job in the gaming industry in 2013.Successfully finish my course and work on improving the game Royal Rush ready for Windows 8 Marketplace.
What’s your story, what are the past experiences that have shaped your life?
I think the main reason is being brought up with the games consoles and the satisfaction of learning how to play a game and how the game makes you feel when you’re consumed in it. To this day I still think back on the games that made my childhood amazing. Before this I never thought games was a career I guess. I studied and enjoyed art through most of my education and one day just put my love of games and my talent together. It has opened up this path for me. My passion for games has driven me to what I want to become in the future.
Thank you very much Chloe. Good luck with everything you do in the future.
Thank you for having me.
The game Royal Rush will be available on all Windows 8 devices.
Take-Two boss, Strauss Zelnick, believes that developing for the next generation of consoles could be cheaper.
Despite the jump forward in technological prowess expected for Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen consoles, Zelnick suggests that development costs may actually be lower than the present.
Zelnick said “Do we believe that titles will be a whole lot more expensive to make for next-gen? The answer is we do not
“In many instances, we believe that it may be somewhat easier to make titles for next-gen depending on how the technology comes together.”
Sony and Microsoft are believed to start releasing news on the new consoles next year, hopefully followed by the release of one of them by the end of 2014.
There is still a long road ahead before the next generation so many things may change but as it stands at the moment the future looks bright.
With the release of Windows 8 and the student games being published on the Store, Eurogamer has done a story on the World Record Game Jam.
You can read the article below
You can listen to the interview at
http://audioboo.fm/boos/1030916-train2game-student-talks-to-mark-kingdon-on-t2g-student-radio
or read the transcript below:
Hello, I am here with Jonny Robinson from Milton Keynes, how you doing Jonny?
I’m doing very well thanks how is yourself?
I’m very good thank you, Could you tell me what course you’re on?
I’m on the Games designer course.
What is the most dramatic or exciting thing you have done in your life?
Winning the Gadget Show, that was quite cool, the Make Something Unreal Live 2012. Pretty exciting times with Epic!
What is your reason for getting in to the gaming industry and how will the gaming industry, change your life?
I wanted to get in the gaming industry when I was very young, it’s one of those things that I explain a lot to my friends that when I was young I used to put the gaming industry on a pedestal. You know you kind of worship it, you want it so bad but then you realise, I don’t know if I can do that so you kind of dismiss it for years. I then saw this course advertised in the news paper and I thought, you know what – I’ll give it a shot, it’s an online course I can do it in my own spare time and when I actually did the course I felt a lot more confident in myself. I felt I should share my experience with people so I did a lot of Train2Game promoting for the design course because it helped me a lot with my confidence and so really I would say it is one of the best decisions I have ever made so far.
After you earn your Train2Game diploma, what would be your greatest ambition in the industry?
Obviously get a full time job. I am also working with my team, the Commando Kiwi team, on a new project. I’ll chuck that out there as well, it’s the first time I’ve mentioned it. We are going to put something up on our Facebook very soon. We made a game for the Gadget Show which was “The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain” on the iOS and now we are taking a further step into the industry with the Unreal Engine, as that’s what we won at the Gadget Show. I can’t really say to much but we are on the fronts of making this new game.
What platform is the game going to be on?
At the moment we are going to stick to our current market and go with iOS but there has been hints with the team for Steam as well.
What genre is it going to be?
That’s stuff I am keeping reserved, I will let you know the scoop when I am ready to release the information.
What is your story, what are the past experiences that have shaped your life to who you are today?
Being where I am at the right time I suppose and just keep on striving for success, keep your head up and just keep going. I wouldn’t say anything has altered me, I would just say it’s the path I have been led on, you know, by destiny or whatever you want to call it but so far, if it is so called destiny, it has led me down a fine route, I have met some really interesting people.
I also know you have a blog to help fledgling designers get in to the industry, what inspired you to start that?
I have been doing video diaries for a long time and I know there are a lot of blogs out there like Gamasutra, they make some really incredible articles. I realised that there are not many from a student point of view that’s actually been in the industry and tasted that addiction as I like to call it. You know once your in the industry you kind of feel like an over whelming sense of adrenaline and I just feel like if I need to keep blurting my mind out there to people saying you need to get in this industry, it’s amazing! I’m doing whatever I can as it’s not programming or art its more design and it is a very niche market. I can guarantee you, you ask any designer and you say, what does it mean to be a game designer? What skill sets do you have? Every designer will tell you something completely different and that’s what I am trying to get across in my blogs. You have to be really open minded to be a designer and really blend your key skills to the actual studio themselves.
That leads me quite nicely on to my last point, what advice would you give to someone looking to get in to the games industry?
First of all, attend Game Jams, that’s the first one. I know Train2Game just did one with Microsoft and I attended one last year that was with Epic. The second I would recommend is trying to talk to people in the community, go on the Train2Game Forums and just generally create games. No one ever says in the industry who have you worked for, they say what experience have you got?
If people want to read more about it, where can people find your blog?
My website is www.ironcore1.wordpress,com
Thank you very much Jonny and keep us updated on all things Commando Kiwi
No problem, thank you very much for your time Mark, Ta-ra!
FIFA 13 has finally been knocked off of the top spot with the release of Medal Of Honor: Warfighter. Some other new additions are Forza Horizon which has come in at number 3, the new Professor Layton at 7 and Moshi Monsters at number 8.
Week ending 27 October 2012
| POS. | TITLE | PUBLISHER | LAST WEEK |
|
| 1 | MEDAL OF HONOR: WARFIGHTER | EA GAMES | – | |
| 2 |  |
FIFA 13 | EA SPORTS | 1 |
| 3 | FORZA HORIZON | MICROSOFT | – | |
| 4 | |
SKYLANDERS GIANTS | SKYLANDERS | 2 |
| 5 | |
DISHONORED | BETHESDA SOFTWORKS | 3 |
| 6 | |
JUST DANCE 4 | UBISOFT | 4 |
| 7 | PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE MIRACLE MASK | NINTENDO | – | |
| 8 | MOSHI MONSTERS: MOSHLINGS THEME PARK | MIND CANDY | – | |
| 9 | |
DOOM 3: BFG EDITION | BETHESDA SOFTWORKS | 5 |
| 10 | |
RESIDENT EVIL 6 | CAPCOM | 7 |
| 11 | |
BORDERLANDS 2 | 2K GAMES | 8 |
| 12 | |
POKEMON BLACK VERSION 2 | NINTENDO | 6 |
| 13 | – | THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM | BETHESDA SOFTWORKS | 13 |
| 14 | |
007 LEGENDS | ACTIVISION | 12 |
| 15 | |
F1 2012 | CODEMASTERS | 11 |
| 16 | |
POKEMON WHITE VERSION 2 | NINTENDO | 9 |
| 17 | |
PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2013 | KONAMI | 15 |
| 18 | |
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 | NINTENDO | 16 |
| 19 | |
LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES | WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE | 18 |
| 20 | |
XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN | 2K GAMES | 10 |
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2012 UKIE Ltd
Steve Ballmer at the Windows 8 launch
Windows 8 is here. After many months of building anticipation the new Microsoft operating system has arrived.
Today saw the launch of the Windows 8 operating system, the Microsoft Surface tablet running the system and the Windows store.
Unlike previous versions of Windows, this one is designed for an array of different devices, including: PCs, notebooks, tablet computers and smartphones. It is built for a new generation of touchscreen devices, rather than the traditional PC and mouse.
Windows 8 has better battery life, faster boot time, a smaller memory footprint and has undergone 1.2bn hours of pre-release testing.
Windows have said that more than one thousand new PCs have been certified for Windows 8, with some being more affordable than several, already available, tablet computers. Many of the new PCs running the new operating system will have touchscreen ability, for users that want to control there PC with the swipe of a finger, instead of using a mouse.
Steve Ballmer, the Microsoft chief executive, says “Windows 8 PCs will be the best PCs ever, as the company faces down competition in tablets and smartphones from Apple and Google.
“Windows 8 shatters perceptions of what a PC really is and is a bold and innovative break from past Windows versions.
“Welcome to the world of Windows 8.”
Every Windows 8 device will come with the Windows store available and developers are adding hundreds of apps to it every day. The store has launched with an initial one thousand five hundred apps.
At the September world record winning Game Jam, the students who participated, worked on Windows 8 and a number of those apps are being released to the store. A list of all the student apps will be announced this coming Monday.
More people are playing Minecraft on Xbox Live Arcade than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or FIFA 13.
The latest Microsoft Live activity chart shows Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition at the top for the first time, rsing ahead of acclaimed retail games Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and FIFA 13. The Call of Duty games have been at the top of the chart for much of the past four years.
It is another impressive milestone for Minecraft. Earlier this month, developer 4J Studios revealed it had sold over four million copies becoming the best-selling XBLA game ever, beating titles such as Trials, Trials Evolution and Castle Crashers.
Other games Minecraft is more popular than are Call of Duty: Black Ops, Borderlands 2, Halo: Reach, Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Interestingly GTA IV is still in the top twenty and it is nice to see the free-to-play title, Happy Wars, in at eleven.
Microsoft’s Live Activity chart is based on unique users – that is, game playing while connected to Xbox Live. You can see the top twenty below:
As you’d expect, Minecraft is also the top Arcade title, ahead of The Walking Dead, Sonic Adventure 2 and Trials Evolution.
The Train2Game Blog 