Our very own Mark Kington is joining the Train2Game Online Team replacing Danny as our team blogger.
We would like to thank the amazing number of people that applied for the position. With so many GREAT candidates it was a really tough process, but after being grilled by three of us at the Luton Office. Mark, also a T2G Student, is the victor.
After a period of training, so don’t bug him for now, Mark will take charge of Train2Game News, Facebook and other social media, plus Train2Game Student Radio. Mark will also become an Admin of the T2G Forum and work with the Forum Admin Team.
If you fancy being one of his first victims, I mean guests, on Train2Game Student radio drop a note to suggestionbox@train2game.com giving a little detail about things you would like to talk about.
Again congrats to Mark and WELCOME aboard.
Category Archives: Parent
Train2Game Student Diaries Matty WS weeks 36 and 37
Week 36
On week 36 of my diaries now! That’s a lot of weeks so far, and yet everything is still going swimmingly well. The new project is underway now and we are all working hard on it. My Sea Park is doing pretty well too. This week has been quiet though, since Jonny and Ben are no longer here and there are some people away too, making the office a lot more empty than normal. I’ve been quietly working away doing what I’ve needed to do. Not much of an eventful week really.
I have also been going through the course a little faster, currently verging on the end of section 2, so far the course has provided some insightful knowledge into my role as an artist, I look forward to seeing what section three will teach me, which I should be on very soon if I keep up the pace I am at. I have spoken to quite a few students on the artist course and none that I know of are on section 3, so I have no idea what it’s going to be like! Should be interesting
Week 37
This week so far has been a bit of a headache week, as I try to fix a problem we are having with axis translates vertex values, local and world pivot locations and parent/child objects,
since all of these values display differently from Maya to Unity or Max. This is probably the most confusing problem I’ve come across since I started modelling eight years ago. Other than that issue my week has been ok! We have started doing regular weekly sprint meetings again which is good, because it means I can be a little more organised with my work and it also means I always know what I am doing.
I’ve also now done the section 2 exam for the A&A course, which makes me on section 3 in five working days! This also means I am as far in to the course as Craig Moore is into the
designer course, he started the course about a week before I did so I’m not doing too badly I don’t think. That being said, how far people are into the course is not a rating for how good they are at their roles, there is a lot more information to learn that may not be on the courses that people can acquire through experience or looking up online for info or tutorials.
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Train2Game Student Diaries Craig Moore Weeks 37 and 38
Week 37 – It’s all kicking off now!
This week we really have started on the new title full swing. Art is doing arty things, development is doing developy things and I’m getting to do a little bit of everything; which is lovely and just what I want to be doing.
Most the week I have been assisting Rory in just concreting a load of the design functionality and, particularly, social aspects of the game. We learnt so many things from My Sea Park that going in to this next project we feel much more confident as to what we are doing and it’s making the process much more concise.
I have also had to do some more changes and updates to a pitch document which has gone off to yet another magical destination in the ether! It’s very exciting seeing my documents go off to people, so far the feedback has generally been positive so I must be doing something right.
Other than that the next Game Jam is coming out of the wood work, and teams are being assigned. I got myself in the nice and high Team 32. It’s been a bit of a quiet reception so far and fingers crossed some coders will come out the woodwork as we won’t get very far in Metro without them.
Craig
Week 38 – Properly back in to the fray.
This week has been the first proper return to agile development and scrums for the team. Poor Rory has been neck deep in planning and attempting to foretell his way through a large project which is no simple feat considering everything that has to be taken into account.
In saying that, it is great to have a concrete list of things that need doing for the week and targets to aim for, despite working hard, there is something about a task list that pushes you towards the goal for the week so much stronger than simply having “stuff to do”.
Using new tech we do have a lot of unknowns, which do contribute to the uncertainty of time scales, but as a team we have overcome them successfully. It is Friday afternoon and I am 99% done on my tasks. The general idea is not to ever return to these once they are ticked off, but I think we might just pop our heads in to tweak from time to time as the project goes on, when things don’t quite match up or look slightly wrong. I’m not sure if that’s just because it’s possible to do or because it fits the nature of the project, but I like the ability to go back to things if they simply no-longer work/look good or I feel that there is a better way to do the task.
More next week I guess, it’s about to get a bit crazy in here!
Craig
Train2Game Student Diaries Ben Collings 16 – 27 July
Monday 16th July 2012 – So turns out what I was trying to do with the extra detail just wasn’t needed in the end so I was able to quickly add it into all the levels done up till now. Just need the lead designer to implement all the changes and make sure there’s nothing wrong. There shouldn’t be but you never know when exporting to FBX, miss one little tick box and it can all go to hell!
Unfortunately the lead designer was busy with other tasks today so to avoid me twiddling my thumbs I was moved onto the same project Rod had been moved onto the other week.
Tuesday 17th July 2012 – Spent the day drawing up concepts for scenery items, that and trying to get to grips with the visual style of the game.
Wednesday 18th July 2012 – More concepting done today, working hard towards getting a game pitch document done. Exciting times.
Thursday 19th July 2012 – I’ve got a four day weekend starting tomorrow so had to work extra hard to get all my components drawn up today, got it done and the pitch document went down well.
Friday 20th July & Monday 23rd July – Day off.
Tuesday 24th July – More concepting work, drawing scenery items till the cows come home it seems.
Wednesday 25th July – More concepting but not any scenery items this time, today was accessories! Don’t think I’ve ever spent so long just doodling random items!
Thursday 26th July – Had to make some final little tweaks to the levels I’d been working on for the previous game. Ended up taking up most of the day fixing them just lots of little tweaks, making sure things weren’t too close to each other and other similar tasks.
Friday 27th July – My final day of work experience. It’s been a blast I’ve learnt a lot and I’ve even got my name into a couple of games!
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More soon as we add them
Train2Game teams with Microsoft to set game jam world record
The Guinness Book of World Records (for largest game jam in a single location) to be set at event organised by Microsoft and Train2Game
Luton, 01 August 2012: Microsoft Corp. will collaborate with online blended learning service Train2Game to set the world record for the largest game jam held in a single location, at the Microsoft and Train2Game Gameathon 2012.
Students on Train2Game courses will gather at the University of Bedfordshire from 14th September to 16th September 2012, forming development teams and creating Metro style videogames for Windows 8 in 48 hours. The world record will be set with a target of 301 or more participants. Representatives from The Guinness Book of World Records will adjudicate the event.
Microsoft experts will be on hand and the contestants will use Windows 8 software. Games completed during the record attempt deemed suitable for release will be available through the Windows Store. A judging process will take place with gaming industry representatives choosing a best game of the show.
“We’re teaming with Train2Game not only to set a world record, but also to support gaming development in the UK,” said John Richards, senior director, Windows Partners and Developers at Microsoft Corp. “We’re working with the students developing for Windows 8, as they are the future of the industry.”
Myra Smallman, Course Director, Train2Game: “This is a tremendous opportunity for our students to work with one of the most respected technology companies in the world. Microsoft is a major player in the video games industry globally and being part of this relationship will be incredibly positive for Train2Game students when they look for employment in the future. The students taking part will also be world record holders, a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Train2game Student Diary Craig Moore – What an incredibly exciting week it has been!
Craig Moore – What an incredibly exciting week it has been!
Student Diary , Week 30
Unleashed on to the world like a penguin in a paddling pool! My Sea Park hit the unsuspecting world head on yesterday and it’s been an incredible experience, and this was only day one!
We had already seen the beginnings of the social media pushes, by our publishers, earlier in the day but it wasn’t until we got word of My Sea Park creeping in to the charts that things really got exciting. There was the hope it was doing well but the visibility wasn’t really available.
That was until around 5pm, while we were in the meeting with the publisher we heard word it had crept in to the top 50! Of course everyone became very excited, but by the end of the meeting it had already, again, crept in to around 37!
Of course this continued throughout the day, admittedly it wasn’t the most productive of days but it was a really lovely reward for all the hard work. Of course, being a free title, there is now the hope it will actually monetise well.
That was pretty much the key moment of the week, the rest of my week has been spent illustrating and working on the concept document for the next title, which is going incredibly well. I am waiting on feedback from a few of the other guys here, but fingers crossed it will get some approval; It’s a really exciting project!
-Craig
Craig Moore
Student Diary – Week 31
What an incredibly exciting week it has been!
Suffice to say, with My Sea Park being released, the entire office were glued to iTunes watching our brand new game slowly work its way around the charts.
It was great watching it go up and down, and really muscling with the big boys, I got in to the habit of checking it with a stupid regularity, but seeing it in the same space as games like Angry Birds, Infinity Blade and Temple Run was such an amazing feat I can’t help but feel proud.
I think everyone in the office is pleased with how it has done, but the fun isn’t even over yet! With version 1.2 of My Sea Park put into submission last week we are hoping for the first update to drop either today or Monday. With that we should hopefully see a load more faces in the door, as well as hopefully some of the older ones who perhaps didn’t get chance to play as much as they would like or simply didn’t give it a good enough try.
I think it does highlight how competitive the market is at the moment, particularly for My Sea Park’s genre. We have to simply keep working on it, while also working on the next project, to ensure it stays fresh for customers both new and old.
This week I have been getting deep with Unity, finding my way around it and putting time into learning the way the UI systems work, it’s been a great learning experience and so far and I’m finding Unity incredibly pleasing to work with.
-Craig
Train2Game News: “This is the most exciting time in this industry” says Peter Molyneux
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Peter Molyneux believes we’re currently going through the most exciting time there’s been in the games industry. The veteran game designer made the comments during his hugely popular developer session at PC and indie gaming show Rezzed.
Molyneux told the packed room at The Brighton Centre, suggesting that while AAA titles like Call of Duty provide a feature film experience, the most exciting, innovative games are released for PC or mobile phones.
Indeed, Molyneux is extremely enthusiastic about the rise of mobile apps allowing almost anyone to produce a hit, multimillion selling game.
“You could go home and work on a game that could reach one hundred million people. How f**king cool is that?” he said.
Molyneux also spoke about how his enthusiasm for developing video games as he did when he started making them almost 30 years ago.
“I truly love what I do as much as I do when I wrote my first game.” he said.
Peter Molyneux is currently working on Curiosity, the first game from his new 22 Cans Studio. It’ll be released for free on iPhone and Androud on 22nd August, with the option to buy items including a $50,000 diamond chisel, which Molyneux says he’ll be shocked if anyone actually buys.
There’s more Peter Molyneux news here on The Train2Game Blog.
Do you agree that this is the most exciting time for the games industry? And what are your thoughts on Molyneux’s continued enthusiasm for development?
Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
Train2Game News: Train2Game student developed My Sea Park reaches 250,000 downloads
My Sea Park, a mobile game developed with significant input from Train2Game students has been downloaded over 250,000 times.
The management title, created with help from Train2Game students on work placement at DR Studios, was released worldwide less than two weeks ago.
Seven students worked on the iOS game, with Train2Game game designer Craig Moore serving as design lead.
My Sea Park lets players explore their creativity by building the biggest and best marine-themed amusement park in the world.
Watch the trailer below, here on The Train2Game Blog.
Like it? Then support fellow Train2Game students by downloading My Sea Park from the App Store now!
There’s more on My Sea Park here on The Train2Game Blog, while keep reading for the latest industry experience diaries from Train2Game students on placement at DR Studios.
As usual, leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
Train2Game News: My Sea Park, a new mobile game with heavy Train2Game student input released worldwide
My Sea Park is a brand new mobile game that’s received heavy input from Train2Game students on work placement at DR Studios and its available worldwide for iPhone and Ipad now.
Seven students worked on the iOS game, with Train2Game game designer Craig Moore serving as design lead.
My Sea Park lets players explore their creativity by building the biggest and best marine-themed amusement park in the world. The following Train2Game students also aided in development of My Sea Park, using skills learned on the developer, designer and art and animation courses.
Ben Collings – Art
Ezekiel Morris – Art
Jonny Robinson – Design
Matty Wyett-Simmonds – Art
Rudi Will – Design
Tim Woods – Programming
With more than 50 different attractions available, My Sea Park allows players to maintain and fill their parks with wonderful sea animals, rides, restaurants and other special items to entertain their guests.
In addition, My Sea Park allows players to completely customize their sea attractions with an abundance of decorations, cute animals and shows.
Watch the trailer below, here on The Train2Game Blog.
Like it? Then support fellow Train2Game students by downloading My Sea Park from the App Store now!
There’s more on My Sea Park here on The Train2Game Blog, while keep reading for the latest industry experience diaries from Train2Game students on placement at DR Studios.
As usual, leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
The Train2Game Blog 