Train2Game Students Dan Hawkins, Richard Scott-Jones and Jason Teefey have been featured in their local papers. The students talk about their time at the World record breaking Game Jam.
You can read the articles in the links below:
Games Sudbury Mercury September 2012
Choosing Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows 8 wasn’t the only notable aspect of Train2Game’s recent game jam at the University of Bedfordshire.
The event was also a world record breaker.
The 48 hour hack saw a total of 299 students come together to create a series of games fit for the platform’s Metro UI, with an adjudicator from Guinness giving the event his seal of approval when the coding was over.
But, according to Train2Game course director Myra Smallman, Train2Game’s hacks aren’t all about setting records – they’re also about helping newcomers gain exposure, and uniting them with the platform most suited to the kind of games jams deliver: mobile.
We caught up with Smallman for her take on Train2Game’s record breaking bash in Bedford.
Pocket Gamer: What makes Windows 8 a good platform for today’s students to familiarise themselves with?
Myra Smallman: On our courses we aim to give students training with a wide range of different development tools.
We see Windows 8 as a vital development tool for them to be able to use as we think it will be one of the main platforms for games design in the future. It also supports the native languages they are familiar and comfortable with.
The students have the chance to choose what is right for them – C++/DX, HTML5/JS, XAML, C#
Can you tell us some more about the event’s ‘best in show’ winner, Royal Rush? Will it be released on Windows Store?
Royal Rush was chosen as the winner because the judges could see so many positives about the game.
The team jelled well together, the game used an innovative gaming mechanic and was perfect as a mobile title, with drop in game play and it’s instantly addictive.
We hope to see it in the Windows Store for Windows 8 on 26 October.
The game jam produced some 20 games, which have apparently been submitted for review to the Windows Store. How many of these will make it to market, and what slice of the profits would students see if so?
The plan is for all the games to be free to download, so there’s no revenue to share, but this is a great promotional opportunity for the students and their games.
Some would say there’s more value in them showcasing their work at this point in their careers, rather than making a quick buck.
Microsoft’s Andrew Webber, Guinness World Records’ Gaz Deaves and Myra Smallman
One thing we try to communicate to the students is the that gaming is a business, publishing and marketing are going to be vital to their future in the games industry. This experience is part of our whole ethos of getting students ready for work.
We hope to see the vast majority of the games in the Windows Store as long as they meet the required quality measures for successful submission.
Is a 48 hour game jam actually a good way of developing games intended for release??
Primarily, game jams are fun, but we also like to think that they teach our students how to work as a team and how to work under pressure.
We are very proud that our students have a level of dedication and talent that has allowed them to produce playable games within 48 hours.
In terms of quality of a release, it’s unlikely that all the titles completed in this way will be up to the standard of a game built over months or even years, but what it can produce is innovation.
Many mobile titles are based around a simple and addictive gaming mechanic, and the game jam environment is ideal to produce this simplistic game play that demonstrates a clever idea. Should one of the games prove particularly popular it could be further developed in the future by the students that created it.
Do you imagine you will work together with Microsoft on a similar sort of event in the future?
Hopefully. At the moment we are all exhausted, but we very much enjoyed working with Microsoft.
Those at Microsoft involved provided tremendous support to our students and given the opportunity we would very much like to work with them again.
Thanks to Myra for her time.
Craig Moore
Student Diary
Week 43
So, I must apologise for the radio silence as of late. With the combination of the upcoming Game Jam, my heavy concentration on Train2Game coursework and a consistently frantic day at work, occasionally things will slip my mind.
I blame my age, since I am now the oh-so lofty age of 30! I collect my pension soon …
So last time I left you I was heavy in to UI work and really learning Unity and getting to grips with the tech. Not much has changed to be honest; there is simply so much UI work that needs to go into games of this type that it’s a lofty job for anyone. That being said it is coming along very well, elements of the game are fully implemented with just some polish required and it’s actually becoming a product!
I was able to get a build on my phone, which is one of my favourite moments, to see it actually on device and I was very pleased. Taking all I had learnt from my work on Sea Park and how I feel I have naturally grown; really shows. It has made a much cleaner UI and it just generally feels much more accomplished. Each little icon I have been doing has become a little art piece in its self, it makes me incredibly proud whenever I can see these little things and how they look in the game. It’s those moments that remind you why you are doing this in the first place and why you have made the decision to follow this path!
As the first submission draws ever closer there is no let down on the work that needs doing, as each task generally leads to more tasks it often balloons before it gets completed. I foresee a few late nights as we go forward but it should make for a much better game and something I am genuinely excited to play myself!.
Hopefully I should be back rolling with proper updates after this weekend’s Game Jam, without that on my plate and my recent submission of coursework for Train2Game I have a little extra free time so things won’t slip.
Until next time!
Craig
This is a video of students talking about Train2Game and the Game Jam from the weekend!
Train2Game student Fiona Stewart has been featured in The Sun. She talks about how she moved from traditional art to digital art and how it has affected her life. The Sun also featured an article about Daniel Gent, a disabled student of Train2Game who uses a voice activated computer.
Microsoft are bringing Atari’s extensive back catalogue to tablets and browsers. The new portal is called Atari Arcade and it’s opening with eight titles: Asteroids, Combat, Centipede, Lunar Lander, Missile Command, Pong, Super Breakout and Yar’s Revenge. The rest of the games are set to be released over the next few months.
343 Industries and Microsoft are releasing eight different pre-order incentives for Halo 4. Depending on where you order the game from you get a different in game item. The in game items include: Different Armour sets, Avatar Items and multi-player Emblems.
Humble Bundle Six has been released. The Humble Bundles are great for picking up some of the top indie games whilst helping charity at the same time. You pay what you want for the bundle but need to pay a minimum amount to get the game Dustforce. Other games included are: Rochard, Shatter, S.P.A.Z, Torchlight and Vessel.
Sony are releasing two new thinner PlayStation 3s. These new consoles are 25% slimmer than the current models and one boasts a 500GB hard drive the other is a 12GB flash memory model but a 250GB hard drive will be available.
Sony are also launching PlayStation Mobile in October. It is a new store for games to be released for mobile devices. An SDK for the store will be released in November opening up a new market for games developers.
Nintendo has come to an agreement with Unity. Developers can use the engine to create games for the Wii U. Unity users will have to pay for a license to develop for the Wii U, just like with the other platforms.
EA will support the very first GaymerCon. The convention is for the LGBT community to come together through their love of gaming. Their website says its purpose is to educate and inform “the gaming community of the presence of sexuality in our digital lives and promoting acceptance and social change through gaming.”
Finally a big congratulations to the winning team at the weekends world record winning Game Jam. RetroMetro won with their game, Royal Rush. I hope you enjoy your prizes and I hope everyone who attended the Game Jam had an excellent time!
Following the weekend’s world record-breaking Game Jam, Microsoft is making more waves in the UK games industry.
Microsoft is opening their fourth studio in London dedicated to developing games for Windows 8 phones and tablets. The other Microsoft studios in London are Rare, Lionhead and Soho Productions.
The new studio will be headed by Lee Schuneman, current production director of Rare. He will report to Phil Harrison, corporate vice president of the interactive entertainment business in Europe. Schuneman was behind Kinect Sports, the Xbox 360 avatars, Fable: The Journey and the Sky TV app.
Schnueman said “I’m hugely excited by this new venture.
“Adding a fourth UK-based studio to the incredible roster of talent already in place not only increases our regional studio presence, but will allow Microsoft Studios to explore the many creative and business opportunities that developing new games and entertainment experiences on Windows 8 tablet devices and platforms will afford.”
The Windows 8 operating system was put to the test for games development by the students at the world record winning Game Jam at the weekend. The students proved that Windows 8 had a good diversity with all the different games they put together in 48 hours.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sung the praises of Windows 8.
Ballmer said “Windows 8 is going to do great.
“I’m not paid to have doubts. I don’t have any. It’s a fantastic product… people talk about “how healthy is the PC market?” There’s going to be close to 400 million PCs sold in the next year, which makes it a big market. And whether it’s 405 million or 395 million, it’s a big market, and Windows 8 will propel that volume.”
THEY trained, they gamed and they conquered the world!
More than 295 students stayed awake for 48 hours over the weekend in a bid to create video games from scratch with a pledge from one of the world’s biggest software company, Microsoft, to publish them.
Microsoft has teamed up with the UK’s leading distance-learning college in an attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records with the biggest Games Jam held at the University of Bedfordshire in Luton.
Dr Jan Telensky, majority owner of Train2Game, said: “It’s a gruelling 48 hours for the students, most of them stay awake but if they need to sleep they catch a nap at their desks or even under them.
“But the dedication and determination they show at creating brand new and exciting games from nothing is impressive – they work as teams under tremendous pressure often with team-mates they’ve never met before. For a student it is an incredible experience they have and it stands them in good stead for getting jobs in the industry in the future.”
Microsoft came up with the theme for the Games – Pride of London after the success of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics in the UK.
The teams had a field-day creating games using cartoons of Boris Johnson, London buses and all sorts of iconic images from the capital.
As the gamers worked through the night local MPs Gavin Shuker and Kelvin Hopkins paid a visit.
Mr Hopkins said: “Going for a world record attempt in Luton, particularly when it is to do with the burgeoning games industry, it will really help to put the area on the map.”
Mr Shuker agreed with him saying that “Train2Game was making a major contribution in the battle to get Britain back to work.”
And work was the name of the game as the students huddled in classrooms and labs at the university to create their games which ultimately could be released as apps world-wide by Microsoft.
Craig Moore, aged 30, from Milton Keynes, a member of team 32, said: “This was a massive learning curve but we hit the floor running. It’s been a fantastic experience.”
Chris Ledger, in his mid-twenties, from Cheltenham, said: “I was getting texts from my family and girlfriend – and my mates – in the middle of the night, it was great to have their support. I’m a wreck now but it was all worth it.”
Microsoft representatives at the ‘jam’ were impressed by the dedication shown by the gamers. Scott Henson, Senior director of Microsoft studios said “These students are going to be the heart beat of the industry in a few years. Events like this are incredibly helpful for young developers to flex their creative muscles.”
Microsoft has joined forces with, Any Games Any Where Instantly (Agawi) to bring Cloud gaming to Windows 8.
The company Agawi, formerly known as iSwifter, has just released version 2.0 which allows streaming of everything from social games to triple A titles on to current supported devices is now bringing its services to Windows 8.
Some big name titles will be available for instant play on Windows 8 devices with no additional work from developers and Agawi encourages more companies to contact them about having their game ported to the cloud.
Microsoft VP Walid Abu-Hadba said “Game developers want to focus on building great games, not worrying about back-end issues like scalability and platform management
“With Windows Azure, Agawi 2.0 enables developers to make high-performance games easily accessible across devices with the high-quality graphics and virtually instant game downloads. For gamers, Windows 8 delivers a fast, fluid and no-compromise experience that opens the door to exciting new form factors.”
Agawi demoed their Windows 8 service at Cloud Gaming USA in San Francisco on Tuesday and Wednesday.
With the Games Jam tomorrow, knowing that Windows 8 is using the Cloud, the games that are released could have a wider audience.
Apple’s new iPhone 5 is available to pre order from tomorrow. Details were announced in San Francisco yesterday.
Apple’s Phil Schiller announced it as “the most beautiful product we have ever made.”
The new iPhone is thinner and lighter than its predecessors but has a bigger 4 inch screen which will be good for gamers. It uses a 16:9 screen ratio, letting you get the most out of your screen. The device also improves on touch sensitivity with a sharper response, further improving gaming inputs.
It will support the new 4g, meaning faster speeds. The WiFi connection gives 2.4ghz and 5ghz on 802.11n. Theoretically with these higher speeds it is possible to get 100mbps downloads.
Inside the new handset will be Apple’s new A6 processor which is smaller and quicker than the A5 that is used in the 4s and iPad2.
Apple has said that the battery life will be better which means you can game for longer without worrying. The charging connection has been updated to a slimmer plug but an adapter priced at £25 from Apple will be available so you can still use older docks and chargers.
The handset is said to have console quality graphics. This was proven by a demonstration of Real Racing 3 – released later this year – which had impressive real time reflections in the rear view mirrors of the in-game cars. Game Centre was shown to have improved as well, now incorporating time-shifted multiplayer.
This new device opens up a whole new possibility of gaming potential on mobile devices.
It will be sold with either 16 gigabytes, 32GB or 64GB of storage. The basic model will be sold for £529 and is available for pre order from Friday.
The Apple iPhone 5 is expected to be released next wednesday.
For gaming and games development this means a more powerful platform to work with.
The invitation to the launch event in San Francisco was a bit special – it had a twelve casting the shadow of a five and the words “its almost here”.
The new iPhone release is the first big advance by Apple since the death of Steve Jobs and it seems to be a big step forward from the 4S.
Leaked photos from some of Apples Chinese manufacturers show the device to have a bigger 4.2 inch screen and a slimmer body. It is expected to support the awaited 4G high speed wireless broadband. The mobile network Orange hopes to set up 4G for the UK the day before the launch of the iPhone 5, according to Ofcom.
4G gives the added bonus of downloading the games you want faster.
Phil Schiller, head of marketing for Apple, testified in court during the legal battle with Samsung, said: “Each new generation of iPhone sold approximately equal to all previous generations combined.”
If this keeps up it means that the market for games on iOS will rise to even greater heights.
Of course the most exciting thing coming next week is the Train2Game Game Jam which starts on the 14th. If you do get an iPhone 5 on release day there is just enough time to get it charged and ready before the weekends fun begins.
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